Ways to Save Money & Eat Healthy on a Tight Budget
Take advantage of supermarket loyalty schemes. Supermarket loyalty schemes can offer good deals and help you save money at the checkout. You could earn points each time you spend money in-store or online. Points can then be used to make purchases at that supermarket or other retailers that the store has teamed up with.
Bring your own bags (BYOB). We have all been there! We get to the checkout and realise “Oh wait, I have forgotten the bags” that are either stuffed in the car or left at home.
Pick items from the back of the shelf This can be a great tip to look out for the items that have a longer shelf life to prevent wasting food.
Look for special offers on long shelf-life products like dried pasta, rice and noodles, dried or tinned beans and pulses, tinned tomatoes, passata, tomato concentrate and cereals. These can be used to bulk up your meals and make them go further. It is worth checking if there are any food co-ops in your area; these are run on a not-for-profit basis and may have cheap store cupboard ingredients.
Reduced doesn’t always mean bad a great way to save money on fruit, for example is to look out for cheap reduced deals and then freeze to preserve for a later date.
Canned oily fish such as sardines and salmon can be cheaper than buying fresh fish. They are high in omega-3 fats which can help to keep the heart healthy, plus they are easy to prepare and have a long shelf-life. Frozen fish is often very good value and can be added to a range of dishes. If there are special offers on fresh fish, you could also take advantage of these and freeze any that you are not going to use straight away. See our tips in the cooking ideas section.
Check the frozen and canned fruit and vegetables section for cheaper items. Frozen vegetables tend to be cheaper than fresh varieties, they count towards your 5 a day and freezing preserves nutrients so that some frozen vegetables provide more of certain nutrients than fresh versions. You can use them when you want without them going off, which cuts down on waste.
For more tips and recipes have a look at our Cooking at Home page.