To ask for your thrifty tips on keeping the food shop down

[savingsavvy]

Absolutely everything in the food shop has gone up and not just by 10% in some cases a lot more. The 20p here and 50p there is adding up and I'm keen to be as thrifty as I can to retain our current shopping budget without having to increase it too much.

I already intend to to the following but there must be more that you can share and we can all help each other:

Buying bigger/bulk packs such as pasta, toilet roll, where it's cheaper it buy a bigger pack

Stock up on non perishable items when I see them on special offer

Convert a bit of the fresh items to frozen and stock up on the freezer - tends to be cheaper and don't need to worry about things going out of date

Downgrade where possible, I've done this with bread so far and will try some of the cheaper butter/spreads

Over to you!

Whilst I'm all for being thrifty and avoiding waste, how sad we are all struggling at the moment due to greedy bastards who want their millions.

OP... do you use the bones to make a stock?

I go shopping most days, just for what we need. Definitely cuts down on food waste

Make curries and freeze them.tastea better than takeaway, healthier and no effort to defrost / reheat on a Friday night

Lidl £1.50 box (if you can get one).

Home Bargains for cleaning products, snacks, sweets, chocolates, treats, breakfast bars/cereals (Pound Shop, Pound Stretcher also good if you have any around you).

Package free/refill shops - massively cheaper, especially for herbs/spices/oats. If you have one locally pop in to see the prices. Pasta bought this way is also much cheaper. You don’t need to buy packaging, just start collecting jars/boxes.

Fruit/Vegetables from a greengrocer/market - again a lot cheaper and better quality than supermarkets.

I changed my shopping habits during the pandemic, mainly because working from home meant I had more time, so could go for a trip to the market/other shops rather than massive supermarket trips. I noticed I was saving quite a lot of money and have kept up the habit so even with rising prices it’s still working out more cost effective for me.

If you have room a few pots for planting hardy herbs, like rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, lemon balm - whatever you use. Once the plants establish they will last for years, need minimum care and the more you pick the more you get. Obviously you can also dry these for winter.

If you see yellow sticker fruit you could try making jam? It’s not difficult and much cheaper than what is sold in supermarkets. If you have a friend, relative, neighbour who gardens accept anything they offer! Normally courgettes are prolific growers and there’s always someone looking to give some away.

Look in ethnic supermarkets for some foods such as dried herbs, tinned beans and tomatoes, dried pulses and lentils. They sell them in larger packs which work out as much better value.