by Judith Willson

Created on: June 17, 2010   Last Updated: June 22, 2010

For many households groceries are one of the big expenses, and cutting the bill might make a substantial difference to the household budget.  Saving money on food needn’t involve going hungry or even skipping your favourite treats.  There are simple ways to cut your grocery bill without making sacrifices.

Don’t buy what you won’t eat

The amount of food that ends up in the garbage is astonishing.  Be honest with yourself, if you are throwing out food every week because it has spoiled you are wasting money.   Plan out your week’s meals and only buy what you plan to eat. 

Resist temptation 

Stick to your shopping list.  You have probably been told not to shop when you are hungry, and this you definitely should not do.  However you are likely to see all kinds of nice foods and treats even if you are not starving.  You don’t need these and they can increase you bill substantially.  A way to avoid those tempting treats is to speed shop.  Push your trolley round the supermarket as quickly as possible, only collecting the shopping list items.

Take advantage of discounts and coupons

These can save you money but only if you were going to buy the products anyway.  The reason stores have these offers in to tempt people into buying more, not to save them money.  If something you use is on special offer then stock up.  If it is something you rarely use then ignore all those enticing two for one offers. 

Buy in bulk 

Non- perishable foods such as pasta, rice, dried beans, sugar, coffee and tea are cheaper if you buy a lot in one go.  For example a sack of pasta quills costs far less per portion than a tiny packet.  

Learn to cook 

If you are dependent on ready meals then you are spending more than you have to.  Cooking your own food is far cheaper, nicer and healthier.  If the reason you don’t cook is time then bulk cook at weekends and freeze portions.  Raw ingredients cost a lot less then a prepared meal. 

Shop towards the end of the day 

This is when products nearing their sell-by dates have reduced prices for quick sale.  You can often save 50% or more.  Again don’t be tempted by things that might be reduced but you weren’t planning to buy. 

Shop online 

This helps you to avoid temptation and also saves on fuel costs.  The disadvantage is that you might not be able to take advantage of special offers but this is probably outweighed by the benefits.

We all need to eat and groceries are not a cost you can cut completely.  Well, not unless you have a farm.  However you can substantially reduce your grocery bills with a little planning.

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