Cost of Living
The question of how to spend less money has been Googled many times since the cost-of-living crisis began.
And with food, fuel and utility bills soaring, you might be looking for ways to reduce your spending and make the money you do spend, go further, especially after the expense of Christmas.
We will be publishing a series of cost-of-living hints and tips to help you manage your money and save on energy, fuel, shopping and more. Together, they should allow you to make some noticeable savings.
First of all:
- Check you’re getting all the benefits you may be entitled to – to find out more check out www.mygov.scot/benefit-calculators
and
- Track your spending – if you’re not doing so already, start tracking your income and outgoings. This is a good way to see if you can make any savings.
In this first article, we are concentrating on hints and tips to reduce your food bills.
Food Savings
- Don’t underestimate the humble shopping list, based on a meal plan for the week. This ensures you have everything you need and also helps you to avoid temptation in the supermarket.
- Avoid shopping when you’re hungry or unprepared and shop alone if possible — children can encourage you to spend more.
- Shopping less often can help you think more carefully about what you buy and save you money. You may find it easier to stick to your budget if you shop once a week.
- Shop later in the day as supermarkets mark down the price of fresh food that’s about to expire, which means you could pick up a bargain. Don’t worry if you won’t eat it that day, put it in the freezer!
- Shopping online is a good way to manage your budget, as you can monitor how much you’re spending with every item you add to your basket. Some of the local supermarkets offer a similar experience in store with self-scan.
- Cooking for yourself can be cheaper than buying takeaway or fast food. Making your own snacks and lunches can also be cheaper and is often healthier than buying ready-made sandwiches, salads or snack bars.
Try batch cooking, make more meals that you need and store the excess in the freezer for a later date.- Buying loose fruit and vegetables means you only buy as much as you need and there won’t be any waste.
- Raw whole vegetables cost less and last longer than pre-prepared ones.
- Supermarket own brands are cheaper and often taste just as good as the big names. The budget ranges can also bulk up your meals for less money.
- Beware of Multi Buys like ‘two for one’ or ‘buy one get one free’ as you could end up with food that you can’t eat before it goes off.
Cooked too much? Leftover bread? Don’t bin it, freeze it. Enjoy casseroles, soups and curries another day and use up bread as breadcrumbs, toast or chunky baked croutons in soup.- Want to make some coffee savings? You can join loyalty schemes, use your own cup or even make it at home and take it with you!
- Use the app Too Good To Go, an initiative for positive impact on the fight against food waste. For a small monetary amount, you can buy a ‘surprise bag’ from a local retailer which will contain food products. Local businesses that currently take part in the scheme are Costa, Starbucks, Greggs, Scotmid, Spar, Aldi, Premier, JG Ross Bakers & New Elgin Service Station.
Example Greggs bag contained a sausage roll, steak bake, ham & egg roll, a cake and 3 cookies, all for £2.95.
If you find yourself in an emergency situation and need the support of Moray Food Plus, please get in touch with them on 01343 208293 or request@morayfoodplus.org.uk
You can also find them at 203 High Street, Elgin, IV30 1DJ.
All enquiries are dealt with in the strictest confidence.