Supermarket shops are one of the biggest expenses of a household. Prices for food and household necessities have been increasing and many people are concerned about their food shop becoming too expensive. For some, it is already too much, and many families are going hungry as the cost-of-living skyrockets. In September 2022, 9.7 million adults were living with food insecurity.

If cutting back is something you’re trying to do, here are some helpful ways to make a positive difference to your purse.

Plan Your Meals

Before you go food shopping it’s wise to plan your meals for the week. Take a few minutes to look at the week ahead and make a note of particular activities that will impact your meals.

Take stock of what ingredients you already have and aim to use as many of them in meals as possible, so you buy less at the supermarket. Once you know what you and your family will be eating for the week, use that to create a shopping list.

Write A Shopping List

A shopping list keeps you focused on what you need to buy and doesn’t allow for deviation. Make the shopping list at home where you have checked what ingredients you already have.

Go around the house to check household essentials like toilet paper. Don’t rely on your memory to tell you if you need more, when you check you get accurate information. This saves you buying something you don’t need.

Make the list clear and easy to follow. If you usually buy some of the same products each week, keep your shopping list saved to save time writing the same stuff down each week. This is also the best time to check for any discounts or special offers so you can plan those into your list too.

Make Use of Discounts and Loyalty Schemes

You can save money on your weekly shopping by planning and checking what special offers or vouchers are available. If you have a loyalty card, look to see if you can save on something that week.

Almost all the major supermarkets have a loyalty scheme, the key is making it work to your advantage. The same goes for discounts. Supermarkets want to make money, so try not to fall into any traps of buying something because it’s 50% off, when you wouldn’t have bought it anyway. However, if you see something for ‘buy one get one free’ and it’s a product you usually buy, and you’ll use both, go for it.

Shop With A Budget

A budget is one of your best defences against overspending at the supermarket. Shopping with a budget, gives you a limit and confines you to purchasing only what is needed. Ideally your shopping list needs to reflect your budget.

When shopping, if something takes you over budget, have a plan in mind. Ask if it is a necessary item that has increased in price, or is there a cheaper alternative. Spending a few minutes reviewing your list to check can really help you stick to your budget.

Choose Own Brand Produce

Most supermarkets have their own range of food and household items that are usually cheaper than ones from other brands. Some supermarkets have a very clear range of their own brand and others used lesser known brands as their value range. Regardless of what it is, they are often cheaper and fairly similar to other brands.

When you’re looking at two cans of chopped tomatoes, for example, they may be priced differently if they are different brands. You can look at the ingredients and see how similar they are. Cheaper brands often have more water and less fats and oils in. This is great for if you are trying to eat healthily, and it can help save money. Try the cheaper one and if your family don’t like it, you can always go back to the original.

Shop Around

With the price of fuel so high, we aren’t recommending you drive miles to a cheaper supermarket to save money. You don’t want to save on food but spend extra on travel. However, going to more than one supermarket, or switching entirely, can make a difference to your wallet.

It may take a bit of experimenting, but you could find one supermarket has a much tastier own brand for your staples and a home discount store (such as B&M) is cheaper for your household products. Even better if these two places are near each other as it can make sense to shop at both. If you currently shop at one supermarket for everything, take the same shopping list to a different shop one week and see how much you save.

Shopping smartly to save money is all about planning ahead first.

• Think about what you already have, and your budget, before you make your list.
• Plan how you can save money before you go to the shop.
• Double check a spur-of-the-moment purchase before you commit to it.
• Take some time after your shop to evaluate, and keep your shopping list for next week.

When you apply these principles regularly, it is possible to see a real difference in how much you spend. Soon you’ll be spending smarter and spending less. Talk to us if you’re saving money to buy a house, we may be able to help.