July 21, 2020

How To Reduce the Cost of Your Weekly Shop

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If you’re looking to reduce the cost of your weekly shop then this is the post for you. While recent world events have seen the price of some increase and many supermarkets reduce their offers, there are still plenty of things you can do to save money.

How To Reduce the Cost of Your Weekly Shop

First up here are the things I always do before I head to the grocery store. Planning is essential when trying to save money. There are several things I do at home each week before heading out to do my weekly shop.

1. Start Meal Planning

Always make a meal plan starting with the ingredients you already have. Make a list of the ingredients you need to add to complete each meal.

Starting with what you already have in should help to reduce the cost of your shop overall and it also helps with rotating what you have in to make sure everything gets used up before it goes out of date.

I know some people aren’t huge fans of doing a meal plan – there can definitely be an element of ‘oh I don’t fancy that today’ something which I often experience myself!

Even the most basic meal plan can alleviate the mental fatigue of wondering what to cook each night.

Even choosing the main ingredient for each day can help – then on decide what to make with it depending on what you fancy and what store cupboard essential you have.

For example, mince can be made into bolognese, Chilli con Carne or even teriyaki with a change of one or two ingredients.

See here for my full post on meal planning

2. Check Cashback Apps

I am a big fan of cashback apps such as Checkoutsmart and Shopmium for offers and free items – you can filter these by the supermarket you’re use then add anything you would like to buy to your shopping list.

Don’t forget to photograph your receipt and upload it to the apps when you get home to get your cash back!

For a full list of apps you can use at various supermarkets, see this post: The Best Free Food Apps

You might also be eligible for cashback via your bank – I use Monzo and often get cashback offers for the main supermarkets, but I do have to opt in.

3. Use Supermarket Apps To See What’s On Offer

I do my main weekly shop at Lidl and always check their Lidl Plus App to see what’s on offer each weekend.

If there is a good offer, for example, half-price pork chops, I’ll add it to my meal plan to make a meal out of it.

While recent world events have seen the price of some food increase there are still plenty of things you can do to reduce the cost of your weekly shop.

4 Use Vouchers & Coupons To Reduce The Cost Of Your Weekly Shop

Take any vouchers or coupons you can find for money off your shop – if you have a Nectar card vouchers often come in the post.

Another example is the Farmfoods flyers posted through your door – these often have discount vouchers on them or you can find the same vouchers online.

Before using a voucher, remember to check the T&Cs as there may be a minimum spend, exemptions, or an expiry date that you will need to be aware of.

5. Buy Yellow Sticker Food

I love buying yellow sticker food to reduce the cost of my weekly shopping.

It saves money and prevents food from going to landfill.

It’s win-win! Some of my best bargains have included fresh raspberries reduced to 10p and a whole gammon joint for 49p.

You might have some concerns about yellow sticker food not lasting or being unsafe which I completely understand.

I have listed some posts below that can help answer any questions you might have.

Will Reduced Food Go Off Quicker?

The Difference Between Best Before and Use By

Can I Eat Out of Date Food?

Sweetcorn, potatoes, rocket salad, canneloni and salmon fillets all still packaged with yellow price redution stickers

Below are my tips for getting the best yellow sticker bargains.

Look in the reduced section no matter what time of day you shop – while the best bargains are usually in the evening, reductions are made all day. I’ve had raspberries for 10p in Morrisons at 12 pm before now!
Get to know what time your local supermarket makes reductions – for a general idea see the guide to supermarket reduction times.
Smaller stores often have yellow stickers too – I have a small Co-op at the end of my road and I often pop in at the end of the day for reduced bread, meat and vegetables.
Yellow stickers aren’t always in one place – they are often left in with the full price items so keep your eyes peeled.
Supermarkets will often reduce non-perishables too if they are short-dated, end of line, or have been rebranded.
Know what can be Frozen. For a example, whole blocks of cheese, whole iced birthday cakes, donuts, and ready meals can be frozen. Just make sure you have plenty of room in your freezer!

6. Buy Wonky Fruit And Vegetables

Many of the supermarkets now have a range of wonky fruit and vegetables.

These may have slight imperfections or may be smaller or not as uniform as were used to, but they are also much cheaper.

Plus, buying these prevents food from going to waste, so they are great for the environment too.

How To Spend Less On Groceries

Lidl has recently introduced a £1.50 wonky veg box.

These are first come first serve with a limited number available each day.

The content can vary greatly – sometimes it might just be one or two vegetables, and other times there can be a huge selection.

Either way, it still provides excellent value for money.

These are usually placed the other side of the tills – this is to prevent people from picking up a box and then adding more loose fruit and vegetables to it.

So grab one as you’re paying for the rest of your Lidl shop and ask the cashier to add it to your bill.

7. Buy Own Brand Basics

There are lots of items I buy the own brand basics version of – including pasta, passata, stock cubes, tortilla chips, orange juice, biscuits, peas, Yorkshire puddings and frozen chicken.

While I know that not all basic products are the best quality, I always think it’s worth giving them a try once.

If you like the product and can’t tell the difference then great – keep buying and make savings.

If you don’t like the product then that’s okay too – try the own brand range or go back to what you would usually buy.

At least you’ve tried and as basics are usually so cheap you won’t have lost out.

Across an entire weekly shop, there are bound to be a few things you’re happy to swap so will make savings in the long run.

8. Get To Know The Best Deals

Sometimes it can be hard to know whether an offer is a good deal or not.

However, some supermarkets run regular offers which are always a good deal. An example of this would be the M&S £12 meal deal which often has close to £20 worth of food and drink, depending on which items you pick.

The Co-op has a regular frozen meal deal which has 5-6 items for £6 (or £5 with a co-op card or student discount) perfect for filling up the freezer.

9. Loyalty Points

While I never recommend shopping anywhere just for loyalty points, always remember to scan your loyalty card if you are shopping anywhere.

If you have a Nectar card it’s worth taking a look at the Nectar app as there are lots of bonus point offers on there but you need to opt in each week.

While it can be tempting to use any Nectar or Tesco points of the cost of your weekly shop, this isn’t always the best value for money.

For example, in the run-up to Christmas Nectar often run a double-up event which means your points are worth double in certain areas such as home, clothing and gifts.

Typically I’ll save my Nectar points throughout the year to use during this event.

10. Pick Up A Leaflet Or Free Magazine

As I’m leaving Lidl with my weekly shop, I usually grab one of the leaflets that have all the offers for the following week in it.

If you shop at Tesco or Asda it’s worth picking up one of their free magazines as they usually have decent recipe ideas as well as other interesting content and sometimes even money off coupons.

Lidl magazine showing reduced price offer on fruit and vegetables

How To Reduce the Cost of Your Weekly Shop – Final Tips

The money-saving doesn’t stop as soon as you leave the supermarket – there are a few things you can do as soon as you get home that will help save you money

Put your shopping away as soon as you get in – I find it can be easy to get distracted but cold and frozen goods need to put away immediately to stop them spoiling.
Rotate your food as you put it away – first in last out!
If you’ve purchased anything via a cashback app don’t forget to upload your receipt!

Supermarket Savings & Grocery Shopping

The cost of groceries continues to skyrocket, with items seemingly increasing in price week on week. These guides cover lots of tips for reducing costs.

Saving money is what I do best! You’ll find all of my favourite tips, tricks and money-saving hacks in my Money Saving Hub.

Fiona Hawkes