Changing your finances, steering clear of debt, and trying as hard as possible not to go out, they’re all obvious ways to save money during the coming year. However, there’s also a way to slice outgoings massively if you just shop well for your groceries. You could save a couple of thousand pounds a year if you shop more conscientiously in 2008, so here are a few ways how.

Create weekly menus

Incredibly, around one third of food purchased in the UK is thrown away each year, at an estimated collective cost of some £8 billion. The reason for this is people not considering their food for the coming week when they make their shop, and then buying things that are surplus to requirements. Bearing these facts in mind, you should carefully consider your requirements for the coming week – you’re sure to reduce waste, food and fiscal, if you do this.

Pick your own

When you head to the supermarket don’t buy packaged vegetables. There’s usually no difference in the quality of produce if it’s in a packet or just in a pallet for you to pick out. It takes a little extra effort to go around selecting each vegetable and putting it in a bag, but it’s certainly cheaper. The same can be said of buying meats from the butcher’s counter or buying them in a packet. At the butcher’s you can specify as much or as little as you want, so it also reduces the risk of food waste.

Become a vegetarian

This one isn’t so easy if you’re an avid carnivore, but it certainly is a way to save money. Some people simply can’t go a meal without meat, but there are both health and financial benefits from weaning yourself off it. Meat is usually more expensive than other proteins, while red meat has a high fat content. Try and have a few evening meals a week without the meat, such as a pasta dish or vegetarian stir fry, and you’ll probably see your wallet get fatter and your waste get thinner.

Don’t always go organic

‘Organic’ produce in supermarkets has soared in popularity over the last few years. It is often a way of shopping with a conscience, but it almost always works out as more expensive. There’s also often no difference to the production of produce you find in crates in the supermarket and within an organic packet – both broccoli’s are grown in a field and then picked – and they will more than likely taste the same! For meats you might want to be more conscientious, and there are definitely benefits of buying organically raised birds and eggs.

Avoid the easy options

If you’re concerned about your wallet and your health, then steer clear of takeaways and ready meals and cook from scratch. Unless you find a particularly good offer, ready meals normally cost over £2.50 per person, which is quite expensive compared to a meal made from scratch. Meanwhile, you won’t find a curry house that gives a decent portion for under £5 per head in a hurry. You don’t always know what’s in a takeaway meal either.

If you’re looking to save this year then it might also be time to reconsider your finances. Alliance and Leicester offers a number of great rates for savings options, with savings accounts having as much as 12 per cent APR if you also open one of their Premier current accounts.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 8:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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