Shop Smarter, Not Harder!
It quite literally pays to shop smart! What I mean buy this is think about what you're buying and if you are getting value for money - for example a lot of herbs, spices and spice mixes are cheaper per gram in the World Foods Aisle in a lot of supermarkets!
World Foods Aisle
If you've never been down the World Foods Aisle (or not been down one for a while) then the next time you're out shopping make sure you go and have a look. There's often a selection of herbs and spices in much larger packets where the cost per gram is a lot less than if you buy a tiny jar in the 'normal' aisle so there's definitely a potential saving to be made there.
You wont find all the herbs and spices but there will be things like black pepper (both whole and ground) along with favourites like turmeric, garlic powder, cumin, chilli powder and more!
Fruit and Veg Special Offers
When shopping for Fruit and Vegetables (unless you're a fussy eater), always take a look on the gondola ends of the aisles for any offers that are currently on.
Aldi's Super 6 Fruit and Veg offers change every two weeks or so, so it's always worth a check there. You might go in for some broccoli but if a cabbage is on special offer, save some money and go for that instead - it all counts towards your 5 a day target!
When it comes to fruit and veg you will always find apples, pears and carrots in my fridge! Yes, fridge - it's the best place to keep them staying crisp and fresh for longer and that's what the salad/crisp drawer is for.
The other vegetable you will always find in my kitchen is the humble onion - so, so versatile and can add flavour and sweetness to almost any dish from soups to a roast dinner.
Make A Shopping List and Stick To It!
Such a simple thing like writing a shopping list can make such a difference to the overall cost of your food shop! Supermarkets employ people who specialise in Retail Psychology where they use tactics to get you to buy things that you didn't go in for so it's no surprise that people go in for one thing and come out with items that they didn't initially want nor need.
If you make a list then keep to the simple rule; if it's not on the list, don't buy it!
Obviously you can use a good old fashioned notepad and pen - maybe get a bit fancy and find one with a magnet on it so you can put it on the fridge, but I personally prefer to use the Shopping UK app on my iPhone. There is a paid for version, but you can have a couple of separate shopping lists in the free version which is more than enough for me.
After adding all your items it groups them in to the appropriate section making it a lot easier to find the items as you navigate your local supermarket and all you do is put a tick in the check box as you shop - it then gets removed from your list and put in the basket (don't worry if you get trigger happy and tick/check the wrong box as you can go in to the basket and return it to the list).
If you have any shopping money saving tips then please make a comment below!