17 Ways To Save Money on Groceries

Want to save hundreds on food? Here are 17 practical tips for cutting your food shop, and still allow room for treats in your budget.

In this video:
00:15 - Eliminate black holes in your kitchen
00:44 - Shop your kitchen first
02:11 - Meal plan effectively
03:48 - Set a budget
04:58 - Avoid convenience food
05:33 - Go for cheap easy wins
06:00 - Look beyond the brand
07:11 - Cook once and eat twice
07:30 - Buy cheaper cuts
08:11 - Bulk out meals with cheaper foods
08:28 - Eat before you shop
08:45 - Don't shop with your kids
09:15 - Freeze foods
09:41 - Use everything
10:06 - You don't have to shop at Aldi
11:00 - Always look for offers
12:08 - Find a balance

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I’m not a licensed financial adviser. These videos are intended for educational purposes only. No official financial advice is being given. Please always check with a licensed professional before making any investments or financial decisions. Your investments are your sole responsibility, and in these videos, I merely share my own opinions with no guarantee of gain or losses.

[kenyonbissett]

2 tips -
1. use parts of produce you usually trash. Cantaloupe seeds can be eaten raw or roasted, added to smoothies. The white part of the watermelon rind can be added to pickle juice and then wait a week and eat for pickled rinds (very tasty).
2. Most people/families tend to eat a lot of the same meals. When you have a few minutes, price them out, just like Chefs in restaurants do. Try to eat more of the lower cost meals you like and apply the saving to an expensive meal you love. Prawns 🍤 are expensive where I live $5.99lb vs chicken $0.99lb, once every 3-4 months it’s $0.59lb. So it might be lemon chicken(M), taco chicken(W), curry chicken (F) to eat prawns 🍤 on Saturday. Right now eggs at $1.53dz and winter at $3.99dz, so lots of different egg dishes and I might freeze some for baking before the price goes up.

[Tootcee]

Meal planning has completely changed the way I food shop.With the current cost of living crisis my food budget was having to go up month after month but since meal planning I actually have money left in my bills and food account at the end of the month.

[daniellecomeau]

The upper freezer in my kitchen is affectionately called the produce graveyard. Bags and containers of things being saved before they pass over to the other side or those items being reincarnated.

[georgiawise]

Extend meals add lentils to meatballs....potatoes to eggs n bacon. ...make your cold flavored coffee at home etc etc

[gretelwhite]

Meatless meals are economical. Single person in the UK, £100/month budget for all general household stuff, including food, cleaning and laundry producte, loo rolls and the like.

[lemonteapot]

Great video Vicky 🥰. My biggest tip is to ignore or at least take Best Before dates with a pinch of salt. Unless it’s meat or poultry I generally use the sniff test.

But this is particularly relevant for dried stuff. I’d never serve it up to guests, but for myself and my partner we’ve eaten dried unopened stuff that’s 2 years old and it was fine and we were NOT sick afterwards. So use your judgment 😊

[staceywarner]

I love batch cooking something that i can have in multiple ways throughout out the week. Eg. Chilli. Can be standard with rice, jacket potato filling, loaded nachos or sweet potato wedges, tex mex shepherds pie.. so flexible

[LauraN-doof]

1. Cook mostly from scratch and buy whole produce
2. Eat leftovers and meal prep
3. Only buy fresh perishables for specific meals or recipes. Otherwise stick to canned or frozen to limit waste
4. Keep a well stocked pantry with staples (rice, flour, pasta, sugar, etc)
5. Bake from scratch (bread, muffins, pizza crust)
6. Use up what you already have at home. Or do pantry cooking challenges once a month.
I live alone and my food budget is 200 - 300$. I don’t eat out more than once a month if at all.

[harmonyln]

I love what you said about shopping the kitchen. This last couple of weeks or so I've been looking for recipes in my books I've got at home, specifically to see what uses up the ingredients I already have, so I've only needed to buy the odd couple of tins of this or that, or a new soya milk that I was probably going to buy anyway. I'm struggling to find recipes to use up these 3 tins of cannaleni beans. I like planning meals geneally, because then I have an idea what I'm cooking when. I think shopping in different places if you have the time is also useful, because I unexpectedly found that green beans wer sometimes cheaper and better quality in Morrisons than in Aldi.

[jacquelinemcgowan]

Hi there
I buy veg that is in season and use them in caseroles and cut down on the meat, i chop sausages up and so we all get some meat, it just helps has most of the times the pack size ie 6 or 8 do not look much but cut up with all the lovely veg makes it a practical dish.

[jeremisaiahdeguzman]

Thank you for the tips! I am always watching your videos! More power to you, Vicky! From Philippines here! 🥰

[mae]

In the US it makes a huge difference where you live. We are a family of 4 and live in Connecticut (ca-ching, ca-ching). Our goal right now is $175 a week. Ideally $150. We've started using Azure Standard (a bulk food company) for a few staples (rice, beans, some canned goods). I know we could go cheaper, but for us what we put in our bodies is really important, so we're ok having this be a larger line item and skimping in other ways. But meal planning is an absolute must and our leftovers go with my husband to work for lunch.

[stewarthoi]

Buy fruits and vegetables that are seasonal (cheaper and fresher). Eat more chicken as it tends to be the cheapest protein source (followed by canned tuna and pork).

[shehnazahmad]

Hi

I am watching from
Johannesburg
South Africa 🇿🇦

Just the day after my 48 birthday.

I am new sub.

[deborahbain]

You can bulk out mince with rolled oats

[hello-vsme]

Aldi and Albertson's has the best sales and mark downs

[GGio]

We spend about $125 for 3 people (1 teenager) weekly in Georgia, US.

[kimrodgers]

Our tips:

1. Eat plant based. Beans, lentils and tofu are cheaper and have a longer shelf life than meat. Easier to prepare also.
2. Cook and eat mostly at home. (We get two takeout pizzas from a local shop once a week. It’s about $35 and lasts all week).
3. Limit alcohol to special occasions or not at all.

[Ehtizan-Editor-]

Hey Vicky Smith, I just watched your video and I must say that it was really informative and well-made.

I was wondering if I could help you edit your videos and repurpose your long videos into highly engaging shorts? I can also make high CTR thumbnails for your channel

[zo_]

I challenge you to also be liberal with best before dates in meat. It doesn’t automatically go bad on the date in the package.