So by now you’ve taken down the last Christmas decoration, gone up a notch on your belt and after a sideways glance at your bank statement gone into a state or mild panic, or is that just me? Anyhow January is the perfect time to reign in the spending after the expense of Christmas so if you’ve never joined in the Credit Crunch Munch linky (which I run with Helen of Fuss Free Flavours) or are a regular contributor now is the perfect time to join in and share your thrifty dishes. I’d love to see some leaner dishes this month as I think I may have eaten a year’s worth of chocolate over the festive period and really need to get back to some healthy eating.
In recent month’s I have become a bit of a bargain shopping expert sharing my spoils over on Instagram and Facebook with the hastags #CreditCrunchMunch and #FabFoodBargains. If you like to share your bargain finds with me then do tag me – @fabfood4all – I’d love to see them! I’m often asked for my shopping tips so I thought I’d share a few with you today!
10 Money Saving Shopping Tips
- Most serious bargains appear on the shelves after 4pm and in many cases around 7pm. Get to know your local supermarket’s reduction habits as they all vary. On a Sunday 2pm onwards is a good time.
- Don’t buy more than you can eat over the next few days or freeze. It’s not a bargain if you end up throwing it away!
- Always check the world food aisle before buying any spices, tinned beans/tomatoes or grains or any sort plus more exotic ingredients like sriracha or tahini paste, they are always cheaper here!
- Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry.
- Don’t take your kids shopping with you, nine times out of ten they will want to try some new yogurt/cereal/drink that after one mouthful they will tell you they dislike intensely!
- Have a shopping list for your basics but be flexible, have an idea of what you’d like to cook over the following days but if you see cheap fresh ingredients then adapt your menu! If you don’t know how to cook something or it’s new to you then Google is your friend and you may discover a new ingredient that you love!
- Try to stick to the healthy raw ingredients that are on offer or discounted, bringing home all the cheap donuts and cream cakes is tempting but stay focused!
- Watch out for 3 for £10 type offers as you’ll often still get the discount at the till even on reduced items (but not always so check your receipt). This way you end up with mega bargains.
- Get to know your fellow bargain hunters, be generous with them and they will return the favour. No one likes a hoarder! I like nothing better than letting other shoppers know where there’s a fabulous bargain to be had!
- Finally don’t ignore the “Value” brands in your supermarket, staples like basmati rice, pasta and flour are far cheaper with no tangible difference in quality.
So back to this month’s Credit Crunch Munch, things you might like to consider could be:
Dishes using cheaper ingredients – cheap cuts of meat or vegetarian
Meals using leftovers
Meals using up the ends of packets
Substitutions of cheaper ingredients
Packed lunches
Meals that use less energy to cook
Pressure cooking
Slow cooking
Faster cooking – less oven time for example
Batch cooking for the freezer
Sustainable foods
Food you have grown yourself
Meals from reduced food in the supermarket
CREDIT CRUNCH MUNCH
To take part, simply blog about any money saving idea or recipe that is vaguely food related. We do a full round up so I will be mentioning all the recipes that are submitted.There are a few rules
Please link to this post, and the Credit Crunch Munch page on Fuss Free Flavours
Please use the Credit Crunch Munch Badge
Tweet using #CreditCrunchMunch and tag @FabFood4All & @FussFreeHelen
Closing date – last day of the month – 31st January 2016
You are welcome to link up one or two old posts, but please republish them
By entering you are agreeing to let us use an image from your entry on this site, and to pin to Pinterest
If blogging a recipe from elsewhere on the internet or a book please be mindful of copyright
But feel free to send to as many other events as you like, let’s help everyone save money!
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We look forward to seeing your entries!
Katie Bryson
Such a great list of tips Camilla, you’re a total bargain queen! I use my freezer a lot which helps me save money, I also shop at Lidl for most of my groceries which saves me a FORTUNE!
Camilla
I am so in love with Lidl after a trip into Kingston at Christmas but it’s too far away to do a weekly shop otherwise I’d be in there all the time! I do have an Aldi in neighbouring town but again not very convenient so only go about once a month to stock up on things like muesli which are far cheaper in there.
StressedMum
I am yet to work out the time my supermarket reduces their items for more than 10p. There are some great tips here
Camilla
Thanks Samantha, you could just ask them. My local one puts out the final reductions at around 7pm every night.
Claire Jessiman
I absolutely love a yellow sticky bargain – so do our Guinea Pigs!!! The timings of reductions seem to be sporadic in our local store so its hit or miss if you get anything.
Camilla
Yes the time can vary according to how much they have to reduce so the later it is the more they’ve had to reduce usually!
Elizabeth
There are some fantastic tips here! Although I don’t live near a supermarket and I can’t check daily for deals like these, I do work part time in our local village shop, shutting up shop three days a week which means I can get all the deals at the end of the day – things going out of date that day are ending up in my freezer, or cooked for dinner that night! After a £2600 car bill on Christmas Eve I’m definitely pinching the pennies for this year!!
Camilla
Thanks Elizabeth, yes working in a shop is a huge advantage when it comes to bargains and you get to know which foods will go way beyond their use by date:-) Sorry about your car bill, always a nuisance when they pack up in such a major way:-(
Heather Haigh
You are really good at this. I’m learning slowly. Thanks for all the tips – really good!
Camilla
Thanks Heather, happy bargain hunting:-)
Sarah
Glad to see you are sharing (some) of your secrets! It was quite late on a Saturday when I got my bargain rhubarb, so definitely after 4pm works. 🙂
Camilla
I like the way you say some LOL, no secrets just a matter of being in the right place at the right time half the time and going back if things haven’t been put out yet! You get to know each supermarkets methods:-)
William Gould
We go shopping early on Thursdays to our local ASDA where they have a lot of meat and chilled products on offer. We always do a weekly menu with a little flexibility to make use of offers and 2 for 1’s etc. We have Monday as a “eat what’s left” day (on the rare occasion there’s nothing left we have soup or beans or something) as my wife goes to a small market town on Tuesdays to shop for fresh stuff for Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s meals!
This works very well and we rarely waste anything!
Camilla
Thanks for sharing William, you and your wife sound very organised:-)
Margot
Those are such a great tips Camilla! I hardly ever see things on sale in the supermarkets but this is probably because I’m visiting in wrong hours… I need to investigate my local supermarket’s habits some more 🙂
Camilla
Thanks Margot, yes it’s all in the timing:-)
Janice
Some great tips Camilla. Sadly our supermarkets probably don’t have as much competition as yours and the discounts are not anything like what you get, even in the evenings. World Food aisle is a winner with me and store own brands with some value brands making the grade.
Camilla
We’ve had 2 major and 1 minor supermarket open within a ten minute drive and it has just reached saturation point around here, so yes there are lots of bargains because the population hasn’t grown in order to need all this extra capacity!
rebecca beesley
that point about not taking the kids shopping is so important – mine love to fill the basket with all sorts of things – often popcorn, kinder eggs, biscuits etc.
Camilla
Yes, Rebecca and I often find at the till I can be so distracted that I don’t notice if I’ve been over charged or even end up leaving my credit card behind!