Money Saving Tips - Food
Healthy eating on a budget
You can still get your recommended five portions of fruit and
veg a day without busting the budget. Shop around and plan.
- You don't need to buy top-of-the-range products to get the
nutritional benefits of fruit and veg. Buying from supermarket
budget ranges is a great way to save. The main difference between
these and standard fruit and veg is usually only their
appearance.
- Try to buy food when it’s in season – it tastes better and it’s
cheaper.
- Try canned fruit or frozen vegetables, which can be cheaper
than and just as nutritious as fresh.
More top tips
- Plan your meals ahead to avoid costly impulse buys.
- Stick to a list of what you ‘need’, you’ll be less likely to
buy extra products.
- Check out stores own brands, they may be cheaper than
well-known ones
- Buy starchy foods in bulk (rice, pasta etc).
- Make meals from scratch rather than buying processed
foods.
- Look for the cheapest prices rather than the largest
discount.
- Shop with a friend and share the buy-one-get-one-frees
(BOGOFS)
- Think how and when you are going to use all of the food you buy
– ONLY BUY WHAT YOU NEED. Cutting out waste saves you money. The UK
chucks away 7 million slices of bread a day.
- Regularly check the use-by-dates of the foods in your fridge,
so you can use up items before they go out of date.
- Get to know your local supermarkets and find out when things
get reduced
- 'Use by': Never eat products after this date, and follow the
storage instructions.
- 'Best before': These dates refer to quality rather than food
safety. Foods with a best before date should be safe to eat after
the 'best before' date, but they may no longer be at their best.
One exception is eggs - never eat eggs after the 'best before'
date.