How to save money on food: four main tips

Most often, people who want to save money tend to reduce their spending on entertainment, on furniture or on appliances. But what if the solution actually lies somewhere else? Most of the money we spend is on the essentials, for example, food. This is my post today.

Every person who has ever calculated how much money they spend in different areas of their life, noticed one strange pattern, which is that they spend the most money on food.

An average European (according to the World Bank) spends at least 400 euros per month on food from the supermarket. If this person also visits cafes and restaurants, this amount tends to increase by another several hundred euros, leading to huge amounts being spent on food per month. So how can you reduce this expenditure without harming your health?

First you need to evaluate your spending. Write down one week’s worth of shopping – what you buy and how much it costs. And then re-read your list at the end of the week and notice that maybe you buy something very often. For example, a lot of ice cream or crisps or chocolate. Think about which products from this list can be replaced with cheaper ones (keeping the quality), and also consider which products you would like to keep, for example, your favorite coffee or chocolate brand.

The first tip concerns cafes and restaurants – stop going there. According to statistics, only in the third or fourth restaurant a person really likes what’s being cooked. So, you are essentially overpaying for something that you still don’t even like. Unless, of course, you have been a customer of one particular restaurant for many years … But this factor can work positively. Learning the recipes of your favorite dishes from your favorite chef by heart, and trying to cook them yourself, following the recipe can save you a lot of money.

In addition, stop buying ready-made, fast food (convenience foods) in supermarkets. These types of foods contain many types of preservatives inside one package meaning you are paying just for the packaging and all the unhealthy substances inside this packaging, (only added to make the dish more convenient and faster to prepare), depriving the food of the most important thing – it’s nutrients and vitamins.

The only way out is to strive to cook your own food. Buy unprocessed foods (vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, bread) and cook at home. If you do not have time for this, cook for several days at once and store the food in the freezer.

Tip two – go to the supermarket with a list of the products you need to buy. In general, ideally, make a menu for the week, and see what products you need to cook it all and go to the store with this list.

The third piece of advice is to buy seasonal products. For example, in summer all vegetables and fruit, as well as berries, become cheaper. And in the winter, bananas will be very expensive, but oranges and persimmon will not.

Tip four – make more traditional recipes. There are many dishes that can be made from plain flour, water and salt.

Do not think that this means that you will eat poorly and tastelessly – look for new spices, try new recipes and explore how cheap dishes can be much tastier than the stores.

Enjoy your meal!