How To Save Money On Groceries

With clever shopping you can become supermarket savvy, and enjoy healthy eating on a budget.

There are plenty of ways to save your precious cash when you're shopping for food. Many of these strategies can quickly become second nature, and over time can save you masses of dosh.

Even if you only implement a handful of these money-saving budget-friendly ideas, you'll still be saving on food - and that has to be good.

SAVE MONEY ON GROCERIES: SUPERMARKET SHOPPING

• First tip, is not to go the supermarket at all if you can help it. Supermarkets are out to make money and the temptation to you of being surrounded, not just by food, but by clothes, electrical appliances, music, magazines and other non-essentials is too much of a test. It's almost impossible to step into a supermarket and not come out having spent more than you intended.
• Consider a change of supermarket - check price comparison websites for detailed comparisons, or do a similar shop in two different supermarkets and compare - but factor in distance and the time it takes to get there.
• Split your shopping between two supermarkets. Buy basic goods at an ultra-cheap store like Aldi or Lidl in the UK and shop for others at a pricier store.
• Consider home delivery - there is a fee, but if it stops you making impulse buys and saves on time and petrol it could definitely help you to save money on groceries.
• Plan healthy meals. Sit down before you shop and work out the meals you'll serve for the next few days. Make a list, then shop just for those meals.
• Try moving down one rung of expense on the items you buy regularly. For example, if you always buy premium teabags, switch to a mid-price branded type. If you usually buy the mid-price product, drop down to own-brand. And if you usually pick own-brand, switch to the budget range. Monitor your family's reactions - surprisingly often, they won't detect any difference, meaning you can continue to buy the less expensive version from now on.
• Ignore those tempting 2-for-1 and BOGOF (buy one get one free) deals unless you can say, hand on heart, that you would buy these products anyway. Be especially wary of offers on fresh foods, unless you know you can freeze or use them before they go off.
• Use coupons wisely. You can find them by subscribing to money-saving online newsletters. Don't chuck way coupons that come through the door, usually at the end of the week, but plan your weekend shop to take advantage of savings. Be aware though that many coupons give you money off unhealthy foods like biscuits, crisps and high-fat snacks. It's not worth buying those, ever. Instead, look for healthy snacks.
• Don't shop with children if you can avoid it. They have a habit of demanding unhealthy snack foods, or anything that catches their eye. And if they misbehave, you'll throw any old thing in the trolley just to get out of the store faster.
• Never shop on an empty stomach. It really does make a difference.
• Scan the whole height of the shelves. The best budget buys are often shelved high, or low - the goods that your eye lights on most easily are the ones that hold the profit for the supermarket.
• Similar goods can be priced differently depending on how they're packaged and marketed. Dried fruit snacks for children, for instance, are sold in tiny amounts at inflated prices. Go to the cake-making section, and chances are you'll find bags of chopped dried fruits for far less. Portion and package them at home for yourself, and save money.
• Just because an item is on special offer, doesn't mean it's good value. Even on special offer, branded goods often cost more than own-brand or budget lines at full price.
• The freshest goods are at the back of the display, so that the older stock sells first. Reach to the back of the shelf and take home food that will keep for longer.

SAVE MONEY ON GROCERIES: STORECUPBOARD STRATEGIES

• There's no need for your larder to be jam-packed unless you live in the outback - why tie up your precious money in a stash of spaghetti and cans of beans? How much does your family consume between shops? That's the quantity you need to keep in the house, plus a little more as backup.
• Too much storecupboard stock tends to lie unloved on the shelf, and although canned goods will keep for years, other items like flour, pasta, spices, lentils and many others go stale and must be used faster. Don't buy more until you've eaten what you have.
• Organise shelves so that the newer items are at the back and use up the older items first.
• Operate a one out/one in policy. When you use anything, add it to the list for replacement.
• Got an item in the storecupboard that you bought on a whim weeks ago and still haven't used? Look up a recipe today, place your item at the very front of your cupboard and use it this week.
• Always keep supplies of useful ingredients in your storecupboard so you can do some frugal cooking that will stretch fresh or cooked foods to serve more people, or that can turn a small amount of leftovers into a proper meal. Canned and dried pulses, tomatoes, tomato passata, canned fruits and veggies all deserve a place and are worth buying when you see them on special offer.

More tips on how to Save Money On Food.