Grocery Shopping Does Not Have To Break The Bank, Here Are Some Tips

That dreaded time comes every week and we wonder how little money we’ll have to live on, it’s one of the worst times when it comes to shopping. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love payday and getting to spend a little extra on my kids where I wouldn’t normally but the weekly grocery shop is a dread I think every parent has. I couldn’t think of anything better than to save some money and without the help of my other mummy and daddy friends, I wouldn’t know how to. I no longer dread going to the shop every week because of just a few tips that helped make it much more efficient and easy to do. Grocery shopping doesn’t have to break your bank and unfortunately, if you don’t plan then it can do. Money is often precious so you need as much to save as much as possible especially with Christmas coming up in a few months!

This should definitely be a crime, one of the worst things you could do to your shopping and groceries is to be hungry whilst you’re buying them. Not only will you eat things along the way but you will end up picking up things you don’t need. Some chocolate bars are great for the fridge but when you nearly buy the whole biscuit isle on your shopping trip you’ll regret it later. Have something to eat before you do your shopping, make sure you aren’t even the slightest bit hungry and you’re sorted, no more impulse, hunger buying for you.

In my family, we tend to do a monthly shop in a big retailer like Costco and then weekly shops that are a lot less. In Costco, we usually spend around £250 depending on what we get then we will normally spend £50 a week going forward on little bits and essentials meaning you’re not spending over £100 a week on shopping for your family. Before we switched to doing this method, there were weeks I was spending £200 anyway so it’s definitely something to consider that will save you an awful lot of money. It also means that on a week by week basis you don’t have to spend most of a day trailing around a supermarket looking for the things you need, as you can know what you want, go in and get it. Make sure you’ve got a decent sized fridge and freezer though as a lot of meat and veg will have to be kept in there so they can preserve the life of them.

Impulse buying is a complete no-no, especially when you want to save money. The best thing to do is go to your shop with a list of everything you need and purely stick to that list. Don’t go down aisles you don’t need things from and get in and out as fast as possible. You shouldn’t be wasting precious time of a weekend going around the shops for hours, take an hour and get it done. That way there is no stressing and you know what you’re getting and how long you’ll be. Simple.

I could easily go into a supermarket like Asda, Morrisons or Tesco and spend £300 without thinking about it, the best way to shop is going to a retail park where there are other shops too and you can go to various ones. For example, shopping in Aldi is great but they don’t really supply branded bits such as sauces or chocolate which means that going into a bigger supermarket afterwards could save you money. Aldi and Lidl are amazing for meat, they taste great and are cheap which is a win, win for everyone. Start shopping with more of a goal in mind rather than just aimlessly, this will help you with saving so much!

Again, it’s kind of a big deal. Budget. Don’t go in without a price tag in mind otherwise, you’ll stroll out of the supermarket with a receipt as long as a mile. Budget and all of your money problems to do with groceries will disappear. Just thank me later!

If you have any tips to saving money whilst shopping for a family let us know! We love hearing your stories and tricks for people to do. Get involved!