I’m currently trying to save up some money so I don’t have to rush into anything after University. Hopefully if I save up a bit of money I can take a little bit of time deciding what I want to do, rather than panic and rush into something.
\nI think watching what you’re eating is a great way to save a bit of money, as it’s so easy to overspend. So here are a few tips for keeping your food shopping spend down:<\/p>\n
1.<\/strong> Buy and cook in bulk.<\/strong> It is a lot cheaper in the long run to buy certain things in bulk, especially stuff like rice and pasta. Cooking in large quantities can also save a bit of money, and it’s a great way of saving time too. Make a massive pot of chili and freeze portions for later on in the week.<\/p>\n 2.<\/strong> Bulk up your meals with grains and pulses<\/strong>. Adding cheap and filling ingredients to a dish is a great way to keep you full for a lot less money. My go to cheap-but-filling meal is spicy sausage and beans with rice (tinned tomatoes, onions, kidney beans, butter beans, peppers, sausage, some spices, and a load of rice).<\/p>\n 3. Choose a dish or style, and get good at it.<\/strong> I think this is fantastic advice. If you’ve just left home and you’re not great at cooking yet, attempting to perfect a specific kind of food is a great way to improve your skills. It’s also a lot cheaper to buy all of the essentials for one type of food, rather than buying a couple of basics for each style.<\/p>\n 4. Cook with your friends!<\/strong> Depending on what you’re making, it can be a bit cheaper to split the cost. It’s also fun!<\/p>\n 5. Keep your eyes peeled for deals,<\/strong> and make sure you rummage through the reduced sections. You really can find some fantastically cheap items sometimes.<\/p>\n 6. Cutting out meat can also make your meals so much cheaper!<\/strong> Personally I find that you can buy a lot more food, for the same amount of money, if you don’t buy any meat.<\/p>\n 7. Use every bit of what you buy<\/strong>. If you’re buying a chicken for example, make stock from the bones. You can make a soup from the stock, or boil rice in the stock instead of water and it’ll be much tastier!<\/p>\n 8. Avoid shopping without a plan.<\/strong> It’s really easy to grab things you don’t need if you just nip into the shop on the way home.<\/p>\n 9. Avoid shopping at pricey supermarkets.<\/strong> Do a bit of research and figure out which supermarket is the cheapest (depending on what you’re gonna buy). It might be cheaper to have your shopping delivered if you don’t live near any of the cheaper supermarkets!<\/p>\n