Saving Money on Groceries-Continued

When I wrote the last post, I included the basic framework for money saving. If, however, you wish to take it a step further, you may want to consider these options:
1) Check out your local markets.
If you live in a place where there is a lot of farming, then this is usually a good option. Look out for in season fruit and veg, and check out local box schemes. If you end up with excess veg, you can just put it into a pizza, bolognaise, or soup.


2) Check out farmers' places for your eggs, and potatoes.
We can get a 25kg sack for £7, and if we buy 5 we save more. Potatoes will keep for a few months in cold conditions. In summer, I buy less in bulk.


3) Check out places like Approvedfood. They deliver, and you can also pick up, if you are near Sheffield. They offer food past its best before date, but which is still safe to eat. (I have also found discounted stuff past its sell by date in out of the way cheap stores. Keep your eyes open!)


4) Grow your own.
Even if you don't have loads of space, you can still grow herbs, and salads in pots. Even through winter on south facing window sill.


5) Check out the supermarkets' reduced aisle.
Often this is good an hour, or two before the shop closes. So, generally at the end of the day.

6) Do a menu plan. Make sure you have a variety, I have 3 red meat meals, and at least one veggy meal a week. I can change this to fit offers, and such, but it means I know how much I need to buy!

How I save over £3000 on Food each Year

If you have a large family, you will especially notice how the food bill can so easily tot up, and get out of control. Here, is how I manage to save each week....
1) I tend to do a bulk of my grocery shopping online, as we live a long way from any supermarkets. I save on delivery slots by opting for the cheapest slots, and working around that. Waitrose offers free delivery, a free newspaper, and magazine. Asda, Morrisons, and Tesco offer £1 slots.


So, firstly, I always log onto mysupermarket.co.uk. Reason being, as it compares prices across all the shops, including Aldi. Also, there is often good cash back on items, and sometimes they can be free. They pay the money within a couple of weeks straight into paypal. Very handy if they are things you buy.

2) I register with every possible online grocery store there is. I find then, that they often send money off offers, especially if I haven't shopped for a while. Two current offers are with Waitrose, and Morrisons. Spend 2 £100 shops with Waitrose online before 10th Nov with my Waitrose card, and they will send a £20 voucher in end of November. Morrisons spend £40 a week for the next 6 weeks to get £25 off your Christmas shop. Not to be sniffed at, they now price match Lidl, and I already have earned my first voucher to use online.

3) Bulk buy stuff you use when it is on offer. A current example of this, is the porridge half price offers, which some of us like to have for breakfast. There are a lot of things we like to eat, but I wait to buy on an offer, and then fill the freezer accordingly.

4) When I do get time to shop at a store I go to Lidl, or Aldi. Watch out for £5 coupons in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. I have found a couple of late, which have been very useful. I top up at Lidl and Aldi with free range chicken, ground coffee, croissants, nuts, and chocolate. Great quality, at not to be missed prices.

5) Quality, that is one thing I don't like to compromise on, especially when it comes to meat. Check out beef offers, for joints at Christmas, and Easter each year. It goes for half price in most stores, meaning I can stock the freezer. Very expensive otherwise, especially for a family of 12.

6) If you are registering for the first time with a grocery shop, check out topcashback, or quidco first, as there is always cashback for new customers. I got £11 back off my first Morrisons shop.

If you have another idea, or something you have found helpful, leave it in the comments.