With the cost of living crisis biting us, now is the perfect time to be looking at ways of making our money stretch further. In some households food can often be the second largest outgoing after Rent or Mortgage payments, which I can believe. Taking a few steps and being better prepared can make a big difference. This can allow you to stick to a budget and still eat nice nutritious meals you like. I am sharing with you my tips for meal planning on a budget.
Set your budget
Start by setting a realistic budget that you have each week for food. This should be based on how many family members you have to feed. It is suggested that the average food budget for each family member is £44, this is for weekly food shopping and eating out. You do not need to allocate this amount. You should set a budget based on what you can comfortably afford.
Plan your meals for the week
Planning your meals for the week ahead can really help you to break down the foods you are going to need. Make sure you plan for all the meals you will need. Some people might have breakfast at home, dinner out and then tea at home. Others might take their own dinner to work with them, so that will need to be factored in. Planning ahead and knowing exactly what you will need will prevent you from buying more than necessary.
Dietary requirements are also something to take into consideration when meal planning. Try to also plan to make your meals as healthy and nutritional as possible.
If you are feeding children, as we are and they do not all eat the same, try and plan for them to have nice healthy meals. Where possible try to encourage them to try what you are eating. If you can get them all eating the same meals that will also cut costs.
Chose food items that cover several meals
Trying to chose meals that consist of similar food might also cut down the costs. If you plan a roast dinner that requires potatoes and vegetables you could also plan another meal that requires potatoes and vegetables such as pie or sausages.
Rice is another staple food that can be used for multiple dishes such as curry and chilli. Buying food that can be used in multiple recipes is a great way to make both your money and ingredients stretch further.
Check cupboards and fridges
Whilst meal planning and before shopping have a good old rummage in your cupboards and fridge. If you have food items in there that need using up plan your meals around those food items. This will help to use up foods that need using and save on waste.
If you have food in your cupboards you could also try and meal plan around these foods to save you money.
Avoid recipes with expensive ingredients
Avoid cooking recipes that contain expensive ingredients. Random expensive ingredients can really boost the cost of your shopping bill. If you really like the recipe you could always try and find a cheaper substitute for those more expensive ingredients.
Plan to use any let overs
Re-using or freezing left overs is a great way to make your food go that little bit further. Where possible it might be cost effective to cook slightly more than you need so you can freeze some for another day. Eating leftovers for dinner the following day is a great way of making your meals stretch further too.
On line shopping
I find that on line shopping can really help save money when you are on a budget. By shopping on line, not only can you shop from the comfort of your own home, you don’t have to rush either. This will allow you the time to look at the prices and compare the prices of different brands as well. Buying supermarkets own brands can be a big saving compared to buying some of the big brand label foods. Shopping on line gives you the option to seek out cheaper alternatives whilst still providing you with healthy nutritional meals.
Also comparing prices across different supermarkets can also save you money. Prices might only vary by a few pence but these can still add up and make quite a substantial difference to your shopping budget.
Items on special offers or deals
Looking out for foods that are on special offer can also help stretch your food budget. Supermarkets run special offers all the time so bear this in mind when you are meal planing. One supermarket might have an offer on frozen items whilst another supermarket might have offers on cooking sauces. It might be possible for you to plan some of your meals around the items that are on special offer, saving you a bit more money. Shopping about and checking out the different offers available at different super markets can also save you money. This also offers a variety of different foods at a cheaper price.
Use Supermarket reward schemes
Asda now does Asda rewards where you can earn money into your cash pot when you shop. As you walk around the store or shop online you will see the star items. These are the items that will earn you the money. On the app you will also see mission milestones. By completing the milestones set your cash pot gets boosted with a few pounds, which also helps. Once you have collected cash into your cash pot you can convert the money you have earned into vouchers that you can spend to buy your shopping. This is a great way of earning money especially when you are buying the items anyway.
Tesco have the club card scheme where you collect 1 point for every £1 you spend. Once you have 150 points you are then able to convert the points into cash vouchers to spend in store or on line.
My Morrisons is the app that you can use when shopping in Morrisons. Scanning your card at the checkout will unlock discounts, treats and exclusive offers that might also save you money on your shopping.
I hope my tips will help you budget, meal plan and ultimately save money on your shopping.Even in tough times we still want to enjoy the food we are cooking. If you have any tips please feel free to share them. I love hearing how other people budget and meal plan.
A copy of the meal plan I designed can be found be opening the link below in a new tab. You will then be able to print and meal plan.
