How to save on food

They say you can't save on food, or at least not on quality. There is a lot of truth in it, but we can pay more attention to the process of sourcing food, its possible processing and, above all, the products themselves. In this matter we have much more room for manoeuvre, but unfortunately not many people think about how we can leave less money in the stores. However, this is a big mistake, because in the long run it can add up to quite a decent amount. So how to save on food?

Introduction

Before we move on to saving money on food, it is good to prepare for it. One of the best ways is to properly plan a household budget, which makes it much easier to save, not only on food. This way we have much better control over our spending and we know how much we can afford.

How to save on food while shopping?

Tips on how to save money on food let's start at the very beginning, i.e. grocery shopping. All we need to do is change a few shopping habits and pay more attention to what we buy, and we'll surely feel the difference in our wallets. For many, it will be nothing new, but I'm sure there will be people who have never thought about it before.

Private labels of food products

It is worth trying products from the so-called. private labels of particular food discounters or supermarkets, because very often they are much cheaper, and their quality does not differ from the more expensive ones. The only thing we have to remember is to read the ingredients and check the percentage of specific ingredients. However, in most cases, it turns out that these are the same quality products, only in packaging without a specific, well-known logo. If they have the same nutritional value, why overpay?

Loyalty cards

Many stores and stores also have their own loyalty cards, thanks to which we can get extra benefits. Most often there are various discounts and rebates that only the holders of such cards are entitled to. An example can be the card "Moja Biedronka" (My Biedronka), which can be requested at the checkout and registered via the Internet or the application "Żappka.

Shopping with a list

According to the latest research, a statistical Polish family throws away 50 PLN worth of food to the garbage every month! It's hard to imagine a bigger waste of money. So, isn't it better to buy less and then stock the fridge with the missing product than to make huge, ill-considered purchases and throw away food? This is not a new trick and certainly many people know it, but few actually apply it. Preparing a list of the most necessary products in advance and buying only these will protect us from buying unnecessary things that scream to us from the shelves and are not necessities. It is important to have a strong will while shopping and to stick to the plan. It is also worth paying attention not to go shopping hungry!

Converting the price into kilograms

It's easy to see that larger packages are much cheaper per kilo, so it's a good idea to choose those. Of course, this applies only to products that we are sure will be used before their expiry date. There's no point buying a bigger pack if you have to throw some away. It's also worth noting that supermarkets make it easier for us by giving us the price per kilo, usually in the corner.

Taking advantage of online hypermarket shopping

This is not only a great way to save time, but also money. There's a good chance that a million more unnecessary things will catch our eye as we stroll through the shelves. Shopping on the Internet is not conducive to spending money on nonsense, because we put in the virtual basket only those products that are on our shopping list. Moreover, we can do our shopping this way at any time of day or night without leaving our home. Simple, easy, convenient and economical!

How to save on food at home

Apart from the issue of shopping, there are also issues of saving on food at home. While it's the shopping that saves you the most money, there are a few things to consider here too.

Home made preserves

We can also save on food in winter by preparing homemade preserves in advance. Delicious jams will be perfect for sandwiches and pancakes in winter, while vitamin-rich fruit juices will help keep the whole family immune system strong. Homemade stocks not only make it easy to save money in the winter and fall, but are also a fantastic way to make a quick lunch. Undoubtedly, it is much better than ready-made food from the supermarket or pizza ordered from a pizzeria.

Our own vegetables

To some extent we can also save on vegetables, simply by planting them in our garden. Of course, not everyone has the house or space to grow their own vegetables, but it turns out that some will work even in a block of flats, on the balcony. All vegetables that require a lot of space to grow and those with deep roots are out. Vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, chives, parsley, and radishes will do well on the balcony.

Water instead of soda

Water is not only much cheaper than popular and unhealthy fizzy drinks but also much healthier. In addition, to save money in the long run, we might consider installing a reverse osmosis filter at home.

Sandwiches for work or school

Making sandwiches for yourself every day is maybe time-consuming, but it is definitely healthier and more profitable than buying unhealthy snacks in vending machines. In addition, buying lunches from canteens at work can also lead us to ruin when we still have to feed the whole family at home. Self-prepared lunch heated up in the microwave at work is certainly healthier and tastier, because it perfectly appeals to our taste buds – after all, we prepared it ourselves.

Limiting coffee and eating out

Eating out once or twice a week can be a significant amount of money per month. It's time to get out of the habit of eating in restaurants and bars and start preparing meals yourself. Similarly in the case of buying coffee in popular coffee shops. A much cheaper and more economical option is to make your own aromatic, favorite coffee in a thermal mug. This way it will not only be much tastier, but also warm for several hours.

Not only on food we can save money

Buying food is only one of many issues which should be taken into consideration when saving money. By changing a few habits and paying more attention to what is going on around us we can really save a lot of money in the long run.

Giving up unhealthy stimulants

Maybe it's not exactly saving money on food, but it's worth giving up stimulants like cigarettes and alcohol. It will not only help you save quite a lot of money, but it will also make you healthier and make you feel better. People who smoke cigarettes can spend up to 500 PLN per month on this habit! It's time to stop this, and put the money you save into a piggy bank or jar for a dream vacation, quality equipment, or use it for another purpose.

Summary

Saving on food is quite an important issue, which is worth paying special attention to if we are looking for savings. It is so important because food is one of the few things we cannot simply give up. Unlike television, subscriptions to various online services, etc. The other thing is that we can save quite a decent amount of money on food if we approach it wisely.

You save on food? If yes then how, if no then why? Share your opinion in the comments.

9 comments on “How to save on food”

A very useful post for members of larger households and especially for students who have to manage without much financial support. From a student's point of view I would like to start with the last point about cutting down on stimulants. Of course everything is for people in healthy quantities, but given the current rising prices of both tobacco and alcohol products, smaller and smaller amounts of these „goodies” cause bigger and bigger holes in our wallets. Here, too, in an enterprising young mind a strong will should work, self-limiting the large sums spent on this type of entertainment.

Another important aspect of saving money in college is cutting down on snacking. As we all know it is not an easy task due to little time to prepare meals, but I think it is worth trying. On the web you can find many videos such as „How to survive on x amount of money per day”, which show us how to eat substantial and tasty, and at the same time with a smile on your face save a good amount of money. By the way we can also start to be more conscious about our diet, which in the future will result in measurable benefits in health areas. Actions such as replacing sodas with water (it can even be tap water), in addition to the benefits of a fuller wallet can reduce the risk of diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

Since the nutritional needs of an average student are not diverse enough to be noted down on a piece of paper, it is best to pay more attention to market substitutes of well-known brands. The phenomenon of poorer products is increasingly common in our markets and due to the significant difference in price, it is becoming a good alternative to avoid draining your wallet with little sacrifice.

In the case of loyalty cards, this is a great, often used option, profitable for both consumers and corporations, because in return for sharing your shopping preferences you get substantial discounts, which for a young person means quite a lot.

In conclusion, a very useful article that I would recommend to any student of my kind!

Everyone can save money if they want to. I think you have to start by cutting back on grocery store visits because the more often you go to the stores the more money you spend. When we buy fresh produce, we don't use the older stuff, we just throw it in the garbage and yet two-day old bread can be toasted in a toaster and eaten as a toast.
Since I started using this method I have noticed a significant difference and I recommend everyone to try it.

In general, if you want to save money on food, you should learn to cook yourself. Ready-made meals are the most expensive, apart from the price of the products there are also costs of energy and production. Of course, this only makes sense if you have the time

Saving on food, by the way, will not waste it. My parents taught me to respect food and the money spent on it. In fact there are many ways to save money and we don't have to limit ourselves and deny ourselves what we like. Just go to the store with a list and look at the expiration date, with "use by" and "should be used by" being important. If it says "use by", it means that the product is also safe to eat after its expiration date and we won't be poisoned.

Actually a lot of people approach saving money on food a little so reluctantly. I don't really know what this is about. Cooking by yourself can be pretty fun once you've learnt how to do it, but there are so many ways to do it that I'm sure there's something for everyone.

I think that saving money on food does not have to mean buying poor quality products. I think the most you can save is by not eating out at restaurants. Cooking can be a problem for some as it is quite time-consuming, but the savings from switching to home-cooked food on a scale of e.g. The year are quite specific, so it is worth considering.

I am using a few of them and I am also willing to share my own private ways. One of them is to do bigger shopping every once in a while, rather than going to the store every day or every two days for smaller purchases. Thanks to this it is easier to control our expenses and avoid buying unnecessary things.
Another way is to set our shopping budget. It is really simple.

Saving on food comes very easily to me since I realized how to do it. Namely, just making a shopping list and sticking to it in the store (not buying anything you see in the store and suddenly want to have it). It saves a lot of money that we spend unconsciously when we shop everyday 😉

Saving on food does not have to mean starving. You just have to be aware of the prices and look for promotions, because many items can be bought cheaper in packs or bags. Let's save most on fast food items because they are unhealthy and it is worth reducing them.

Saving on food is all about planning your purchases wisely. Browsing the newspaper and based on it finding out what I am going to buy in the store that week and what I am going to prepare to eat. And besides it is giving up ready-made products. And your wallet will thank you and your body.