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With inflation on the rise, many of us are feeling the pressure to find ways of cutting back when working out our monthly budget. And if you have a family to provide for, that challenge is seriously taken up a notch!
In this week’s blog, we’re listing some easy ways you can save money when doing the family food shop - no matter how often you go shopping or how many little mouths you have to feed!
Here are our tried-and-tested methods to help stretch your grocery budget a little bit further this month:
1) Check the Lowest and Highest Shelves
When we go shopping, our eyes naturally gravitate to whatever is directly at eye level when browsing the shelves. This means our attention is usually focused on the middle shelf - but this doesn’t always mean good value!
In fact, the supermarkets know this and use it to their advantage to encourage you to spend more. So, make sure you check the bottom shelves - and higher ones too - to find the cheaper products and better prices.
2) Start Bulking Everything!
To make sure you’re getting the most out of your weekly or monthly grocery budget, start getting into the habit of buying items in bulk - and then bulk (or batch) cook to save both time and money.
Save yourself from making multiple visits to the supermarket every week and buy in bulk, freezing what you can. You can then bulk cook meals for the family using the ingredients you have to make your food last longer. Meals like curry, casseroles, and anything you can make with a pasta sauce are great options!
3) Eat Less Meat
Sorry meat-eaters, it’s true - eating less meat helps the planet and your wallet!
This isn’t necessarily the case if you start substituting your meat for expensive vegan alternatives, but there are plenty of cheaper foods you can use to bulk out your meals - think vegetables, beans, rice or pasta. Try at least one meat-free day per week and see if you notice a difference.
4) Ditch the Branded Items
Next time you embark on the family food shop, try swapping your usual branded goods for the supermarket’s own.
Items like flour, eggs, painkillers & tinned foods are a great place to start - and most of the time, there's little (if any) difference! Set yourself the challenge of switching to at least one value brand per week to see if you can save yourself an extra quid or two.
5) Earn Points While You Shop
If you’re not doing so already, make sure you take advantage of store cards and points every time you shop. If the place in question offers a free points card, sign-up and reap the rewards.
Tesco Clubcard is a popular choice for many, whilst Morrisons and Sainsbury's also offer their own versions of a loyalty card. We’ve also heard rumours that Asda is releasing their own rewards programme too at selected locations - watch this space!
5) Avoid the Corner Shops & NEVER Shop Hungry!
You’ve probably noticed before that the supermarket’s petrol station shops are significantly more expensive than their bigger stores. Whilst it can be tempting to get the shop done quickly in these shops, and corner shops, you’ll likely end up paying more - so avoid them like the plague!
And of course, refrain from shopping when you’re hungry. Keep some nutritional snack bars in your car to satiate your hunger before you enter that shop!
Click here for more on how to save money on your food bill.
5) Use a Prepaid Card
With a prepaid card like ImageNPay, you can create a grocery budget to help curb overspending when you’re doing the family food shop.
Simply top up the card with an allowance of your choice and use it every time you shop. There’s no need to remember to bring a separate card, either - you just need to download the ImageNPay app on your phone and add it to your Apple Wallet to pay!
Click here to find out more about why an ImageNPay Prepaid Card is great for budgeting.
If you’re a parent looking to teach your kids the value of money and help them develop healthy money habits, the ImageNPay app could help 👇
With our latest features designed specifically with families in mind, you can add up to 3 separate cards for your kids to learn financial independence. You can even set up a card for yourself specifically for the family food shop!
Tap the button below to find out more and download ImageNPay FREE on the App Store and Google Play Store today.
*Thanks to MoreThanAMummy.com for these great money-saving tips