Saving on Supermarket Shopping

Like many families, we work within a tight budget and we watch what we're spending.  In particular, one area I save lots of money on is food shopping.  I write lists, I plan my shopping trips, I use coupons and I compare prices to ensure my money stretches as far as it can whilst still keeping our meals healthy and nutritious.

I'm always surprised when I come across people nowadays who don't do this!  It's so easy to be tempted at the supermarket to part with more cash than you had originally planned.

Here's what works for us!

I do my shopping weekly every Friday.  I've tried different techniques, for example doing a "big shop" monthly and then top-up visits in between, but we only have a small fridge and freezer so it's difficult to store a lot of items.  I've been shopping weekly now for nearly a year and I find it works best for our family - nothing ever goes to waste, no food is thrown away, and any leftovers are used up in meals the following day or frozen for another time.

Usually on a Thursday I check out what's still lurking in the fridge and hidden in the freezer, and I sit down and plan out the meals for the week ahead.  I use up what we have and then write a shopping list for the ingredients I need to fill the gaps.  Once I have my meal plan for the week, I stick it on the wall in the kitchen and then I know (and the family know) what we're having for dinner every night.  This means that if my husband is home before me, he'll happily make a start on the tea.  I also stick a blank post-it on the meal plan and any shopping items that come up during the week, I make a note of on the post-it for the following Friday.

Before heading off to the shops on the Friday I check in my purse for any coupons that I can make use of.  The free magazines offered at supermarkets usually have lots of vouchers inside them.  Then I take my list and my coupons and head off to whichever supermarket suits me for what I am buying.  Aldi and Tesco are right next to each other and Asda is only five minutes away, so it's no hassle to get round them all if I need to!  While I'm out I'll get petrol if I need it (usually I buy this every two weeks).

This method means that I can keep my weekly supermarket spending to below £30 every week for the entire family.  This is for everything, including all food items, cleaning products and toiletries.

Do you budget and meal plan in your house, too?  I'd love to hear your tips on keeping costs to a minimum.

Best Wishes
Debbie