With little sign that food price rises will abate any time soon, use these unexpected tips to save on groceries
Most British shoppers have already cut back on their food spending, but with prices pegged to rise by another 4.3 per cent over 2025, we could all benefit from finding new ways to cut back.
These innovative tips should shave money off your shop without feeling punitive.
1. SKIP A SHOP People often moan that doing the food shop is a drag. Why not give yourself a break and go less often? I love fresh food but the more times you go into a shop, obviously the more you’ll spend. Instead aim to do a big shop every fortnight instead of each week, with a small top-up for fruit, veg and milk in between. But be smart about where you buy your top-up.
2. EMPTY YOUR CUPBOARDS Get all those tins and packets you’ve been meaning to use up and put them out on a shelf or the counter in the kitchen. If they are visible you are much more likely to use them up, or not double up on your shop.
Take a photo of what is in your cupboard before you go shopping so you can reference it in the supermarket. No one needs seven bags of penne or another jar of pesto. Resist the urge to stockpile by reminding yourself that you can go to the shop any time - and it will be fresher if you store it there rather than your cupboard.
3. BE IMAGINATIVE Food writer Amy Sheppard suggests approaching ingredients for a recipe with an open mind. “When you’re shopping for dinner, decide whether all the ingredients are needed,” suggests Sheppard, whose upcoming book Easy 10 (Quadrille, £22, out 24 April) takes 10 popular supermarket ingredients and turns them into delicious dinners, all with budget in mind.
“Is the fresh parsley essential?
Could you swap pak choi for the spinach you’ve already got in the fridge? Be imaginative and don’t be afraid to ditch an ingredient you’ll only use once and that isn’t pulling its weight.”
4. PLAN YOUR SHOP AROUND THE MOST EXPENSIVE ITEMS Think about the pricier items you’re going to buy, whether meat, olive oil, coffee or laundry items and do a price comparison on these items before you decide where to shop that week. Saving a few pounds here and there is a much better use of your efforts than counting every penny.
5. OUTSMART THE SHELVES Don’t forget that supermarket shelves are organised to entice you to spend more money. “Look above and below eye level - or ‘grab level’ - when shopping in supermarkets,” says gluten-free queen Becky Excell. “Simply by browsing above and below average eye level, you might quickly find more affordable alternatives to staple cooking ingredients,” says Excell, author of Budget Gluten Free (Quadrille, £20).
“The products that earn supermarkets the most money will usually be right in your eyeline, or at a level where they’re easy to spot and lazily grab.”
The best-value products are often right on the bottom shelf, perhaps almost on the floor.
6. KEEP A RECORD OF YOUR SPENDING “It’s easy to lose track of your supermarket spending,” says Sheppard. “I find it harder when I’m doing lots of little shops. Try to stick to twice-weekly shops and check your banking app breakdowns to find out your actual spend. This way you’ll be able to set a realistic shopping budget.”
Try putting all your food shops into a spreadsheet - more fun than it sounds! - to easily see where your money is going.
7. SHARE YOUR STEAK Rethink your attitude to meat, which is usually the most expensive thing in your basket. You don’t need a big slab of meat per person to serve up an indulgent centrepiece.
With a big chop or steak, for example, try arranging thick slices on a platter, with a sauce and surrounded by your greens or beans. It will go much further and be a more enjoyable communal dining experience too.
8. PRACTISE ‘FREE’ MEALS We know there’s no such thing as a free lunch. But you can free yourself from dashing to the corner shop by scheduling evenings to use what you have in the fridge, cupboard or freezer.
9. READ THE SMALL PRINT If the price of all supermarket products was displayed purely by their cost per weight, the nation’s shopping habits would be very different says Becky Excell.
“Supermarkets know that we often buy the cheapest product on the shelf, so some products are strategically portioned and priced to make you feel like you’re getting good value, when in reality, the pricing actually favours their own pockets.”
If you look closely, most shelf labels will reveal the price per weight as well as the overall price, so get into the habit of looking at that, rather than just the overall cost. For example, a 25g packet of cashew nuts for 60p might seem cheaper than a 300g packet for £3 but these prices make the 25g packet a whopping £24 per kg, whereas the £3 packet is £10 per kg. That means the smaller packet is actually 2.4 times more expensive.
“Don’t be surprised to find that you’re often paying more for the pleasure of receiving less.” And, once you’ve spotted that, decide to shop differently.
10. DON’T ASSUME SUPERMARKETS ARE CHEAPER Their incredible buying power means that supermarkets most often have cheaper products than independent shops. But not always. Salmon is £19/kg at my local fishmonger at the moment. Though Aldi and Sainsbury’s have a price match on for £16.21, this isn’t the same quality of fish, while most other retailers are charging from £22/kg to far more.
What’s more, if you go to the supermarket, you’ll inevitably buy more while you’re there. Ask the fishmonger to cut portions for you.
11. GET A DELIVERY You might think it’s expensive to have food delivered, especially as most supermarkets offer free parking. But if you do have to pay for parking, or get the bus, deliveries can work out cheaper - and they’re also a way to control impulse buys.