6 Mar 2023
The cost of living is putting pressure on people and families in many ways.
With that in mind, we’ve put together some useful tips on how to save money in the kitchen and on your weekly shop.
Things to remember before and whilst you shop
It’s best not to go shopping whilst you’re hungry, as you’ll end up wanting to buy more.
Make sure to go with a list and buy things in bulk where possible, as this will bring the cost down. This also goes hand in hand with meal planning. If you head to the shops without a plan, you’ll end up coming back with more than you probably need.
Set a spending limit and be strict - don’t go over it.
Don’t just head to the most convenient shop, visit the places which have the cheapest prices or the best deals.
If you shop at the right times, then you’re more likely to grab yourself a better bargain. Find out when your local supermarkets mark their reduced items down for the day and try to time your visit alongside this.
It can be really tempting to stick with our favourite brands, but most supermarkets now have own-brand alternatives, why not try them and see what you think?
Discounts
Make sure you have any discount cards, codes and apps on your phone or in your purse or wallet, ready to use anytime. You never know when you might need to grab some milk, and you might have a 50p off code somewhere!
- Tesco Clubcard: Earn 1 point for every £1 with your Tesco Clubcard, to use on your food shop. You’ll also get three times as much if you use the rewards for days or meals out instead.
- Asda: Earn Asda Rewards from your shopping by receiving money back into your Cashpot. You can also find Milestone Missions which give you extra rewards, as well as Star Products which give you an instant boost equivalent to 10% of the product price.
- Sainsburys: At Sainsburys you can use the Nectar card where each point is worth 0.5% of your shop price. You can also benefit from promotional offers and use your Nectar card at other shops such as Argos and Ebay.
- Morrisons: For each £1 spent, you’ll earn 5 points with your Morrisons More card, receiving a £5 discount once you reach 5,000 points.
- Waitrose: They have a scheme called My Waitrose which gives you the opportunity to win prizes or instantly get products for free, amongst other regular deals.
- Marks and Spencer: The Sparks card gives both money off as well as experiences, getting you access to exclusive in-store events, as well as early alert for any sales or promotions going on.
- Iceland: The Iceland Bonus card allows you to manage your budget and plan ahead. It can also act as a pre-paid card. You’ll gain an additional £1 for every £20 added. You can get free home delivery for shopping either in-store or online, as well as exclusive deals and promotions.
- Co-op: With a Co-op membership you can earn rewards, get 5% back on select Co-op branded items and you’ll also take a share in company profits. Membership costs £1.
When cooking
When preparing food, try to batch cook and freeze items where possible as this will help to bring the cost down, whilst also making cooking easier during a busy week.
It’s always good to prepare, so making sure you take food to work with you or on days out, rather than needing to buy food whilst you’re out and about.
And if you’re struggling to cook healthy and on a budget CLIP and Riverside Training both have lots of courses available to help you.
Extra support
Period products – Morrisons is giving out free pads if you ‘ask for Sandy’. Food banks also tend to have sanitary products and other toiletries too.
If you have a smart phone, apps like OLIO and TooGoodToGo are trying to tackle food waste by letting people know when there is food which would otherwise go to waste .
Healthy Start vouchers can be used by families to buy cows’ milk, formula milk, fruit and veg for those at least 10 weeks pregnant, those who have at least one child under four and those on low incomes.
At Acis we have a number of activities, events and courses to help you. Riverside Training and Clip both have a number of courses and workshops available from managing money to how to navigate through the difficulties posed by the cost of living. And don’t forget about their Healthy Families events and Café CLIP warm spaces.
If you need to access a food bank, then you can find more information about the process here .