Manage your food budget
How to stretch your budget and save money on your monthly grocery bills.
Managing the food budget for a family can be a challenge with the constant escalation in prices. “I find that every time I go to the supermarket, things are more expensive,” says Jessica Robson, mother of two. “I’m constantly having to juggle our food budget to make it stretch through the month. I’m looking for ways to save and reduce wastage, while still making sure that my family is eating healthily.”
Food budgets
If you don’t already have a budget, now is the time to work out how much money you need for food every month. Some families use a separate saving accounts for this amount and money gets spent from this account as it is needed. Others use a regular current account from which all bills get paid. This is fine, provided you keep a record of what you spend.
In terms of the 35-25-35 budget principle introduced by Octogen, around 35% of your monthly income should be placed in the household expenditure category. Groceries fall into this category.
According to Paul Slot of Octogen, the average person spends between 14 and 18% of their take-home salary on groceries. “The starting point is to spend less than 35% of your take home pay on household expenditure,” says Slot. “Included in this is the 14 to 18% on groceries, so when a budget is tight this would mean 14% on groceries is a good average.”
17 savvy ways to save on food bills
Stretch your food budget, cut down on waste and shop smartly.
- Learn to cook
If you eat out a lot or order takeaways because you aren’t sure how to make healthy, hearty meals, it’s time to learn to cook! With a few basic skills under your belt, you’ll be able to make a number of healthy dishes. Enrol in a cooking class or buy a recipe book and give home cooking a try. There are a lots of simple, budget-friendly, healthy recipes on the internet. Many of these meals only use a small number of ingredients and are easy to make. - Decide on a monthly or weekly food shop
Some families plan meals for the week and do a weekly shop, others buy cleaning and store cupboard items in bulk once per month and then top-up on the fresh items, milk and bread when necessary. Find what works for you and stick to the arrangement. Plan a monthly or weekly budget and discipline yourself to stick to it. - Eat before you shop
Never shop on an empty stomach. You are far more likely to add a number of items you don’t need to your trolley just because you feel hungry. - Sort out your kitchen
If your pantry cupboards are in a mess you won’t know what you need to buy. Place store-cupboard ingredients and cereals in see-through plastic containers and label them. Check what you need before you head to the supermarket. Invest in a selection of glass jars for crackers, biscuits and rusks to keep them fresher for longer. - Shop with a list
Whether you are buying monthly groceries or going into the shop to pick up a few things, have a list of items you need to buy. If you’re in charge of the household budget, shop alone. If you shop with your family, you’re much more likely to be influenced by what a spouse or your children want and will likely end up overspending. - Rethink brand loyalty
Consider how much you pay for a specific branded product. Have you tried a cheaper product? Changing to a cheaper option on each of the items on your list can add up to significant savings. Also consider generic store brands. Many of these products are made in the same factories as the brands, with an identical ingredient list, and at a much better price. - Write out meal plans
Even if you shop monthly, you still need to buy milk, bread, vegetables and fruit on a weekly basis. Write up a meal plan for a week or two so you’ll have a good idea what you want to make. Most major supermarkets bring out a leaflet for specials around Wednesday each week. Have these leaflets on hand and plan your meals around the items offered at a discount. - Check bulk buying
Purchasing certain items in bulk can save you money, but you need to be careful when buying in bulk. Do you have space to store these items? Will you be able to eat all the items by the sell-by date on the product? Also know your prices. Buying in bulk works if the items are cheaper than individual purchases, but this is not always the case. Check to see the per item cost before buying in bulk. - Shop smartly
Gone are the days when consumers were loyal to one supermarket chain. Today’s consumers are savvy shoppers who look out for bargain buys. Store cupboard items like flour, oils, rice, pasta, legumes and lentils have a long shelf life, so consider these when they are offered on special. When shopping for bargains, follow the same principles as for buying in bulk. If you have space and will eat the items before they spoil, by all means stock up. However, don’t buy items just because they are on special if you are unlikely to eat them. - Start a meat-free Monday
Aim to cook a healthy vegetarian meal every Monday. Find recipes that include beans and lentils. They are high quality carbohydrates and provide protein and fibre in the diet. They are also very filling and cost significantly less than meat. As a general rule eating more vegetables, beans and lentils and reducing the amount of carbohydrates and meat that you eat is good for your pocket and better for your health - Buy meat packs
Watch the supermarket leaflets or specials at your local butchery and find out about their ‘monthly meat packs’. Mixed meat packs, lamb, beef and pork packs are available and can be very cost effect per kilogram. When you get home, split the pack into ‘one meal’ freezer-bag packs. - Choose chicken
Don’t buy deboned and skinned chicken cuts. They cost significantly more per kilogram and you can easily do the butchering job yourself at home. A store-cooked BBQ chicken can be very cost effective. Most supermarkets charge a reasonable price and they’re spiced and cooked so you save money on time and electricity. They’re a better option than takeaways if you’re pressed for time or in an emergency. - Pre-make and freeze meals
If you work full time it can be very exhausting to cook when you get home. The local takeaway may seem like a good idea, but the meals are costly and not good for your health. If you regularly get home late and are too tired to cook, take a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon to pre-cook meals and freeze them. Soups and stews can be cooked in large quantities and frozen. Don’t add potatoes to those dishes you want to freeze – they don’t freeze well. Instead, add them when you re-heat the meal. - Save leftovers
Never throw leftovers away or give them to the dog (no dogs should be eating table scraps). Put leftovers in a sealed container and take them to work for lunch. Consider leftovers in a small container for your child for school lunch – pasta, chicken and stew can all be enjoyed cold, provided they are kept overnight in the fridge. - Fruit-wise guidelines
Many of the cheaper packs of fruit are quite big and can be difficult to finish before the fruit starts to spoil. If you get a good deal at your local fruit and veggie store, cut fruit up into small chunks and freeze. Use the frozen fruit pieces to make delicious and healthy smoothies – a meal in a glass. If your child doesn’t like vegetables, you can sneak veggies into his or her diet by adding them to a smoothie. - Veggie buying tips
Buy vegetables only as you need them to avoid wastage. If you are able to get a good deal on a bulk buy, peel, chop and blanch the vegetables before freezing them in portion bags. Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, peas, pumpkin, hubbard squash and turnips can all be safely frozen. - Buy cheese in bulk
You can get a good price per kilogram on a bulk buy, but often if cheese is in the fridge it gets eaten just because it’s there! Grate the block when you get home and store portions in freezer bags. Freeze until required. Cheese is safe to freeze for up to six months. It can then be added to sandwiches for lunch the night before to allow it to thaw. Grated cheese can also be added frozen to sauces and meals you are cooking.
Resources
- Eating Well, www.eatingwell.com
- Disabled World, www.disabled-world.com
- Web MD, www.webmd.com
- Still Tasty, www.stilltasty.com