Top Tips for Grocery Shopping Saving

lynoleum

The toilet rolls that B&M Bargains' sell are fantastic - 9 for £1.99. They are really luxurious and have either little flowers or swirl patterns. I think they are better than any well known brand.

lmp0507

Oh also to add, My local pound shops (Poundland and poundworld I do believe!) often have a lot of savings to be had, Tampax and towels, Nivea shower gel, Big branded cleaning products (mr muscle, detol) Kitchen rolls etc, It's worth having a good look!

Edwardia

Nikki1210 wrote: »

This is a great thread! I'll definitely be using some of these.

My problem is that, as a student, I don't have much freezer space. I already stick to a shopping list, check my prices carefully online, buy items in bulk and slow cook cheaper cuts of meat and lots of vegetables (esp. frozen!) as much as I can. Can anyone suggest any alternatives to freezing food or any other tips for someone with not much space?

Thanks everybody!!!

It sounds to me like you're doing great.

Even if you could pick up a book on bottling food, you'd need Kilner/Le Parfait jars and a preserving pan so I doubt that it would be cost effective and you'd need shelves/cupboard in cool place to store it. Same goes for making jam, chutney and jellies you'd need to make a lot to break even.

Ethnic shops can be good for herbs and spices and exotic fruit/veg can be cheaper. If you mooch around markets as they're winding down you can sometimes pick up bargains on veg for soup for example.

Discount stores such as 99p Stores, Poundland, Poundstretcher etc are good for cheap stuff but do check prices as mainstream stores' special offers can be as good.

Other stuff..

NUS card for discounts on all sorts.

Uni ID will get you a 15% discount instore at Jack Wills - and they are recruiting Seasonnaires see website www.jackwills.com

Young Person's Railcard and I think there's one for coaches too. When I was a student I got student airfares with an international student card via NUS.

Er OK I think that's abt all I can think of !

diluvsdiscounts

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Do you have a morrisons near to you because they sell Jonagold apples at £1 per kg.The other day we were in the queue and the couple in front of us had 4 apples I whispered to DD to have a look on the till when the cashier weighed them £2.28 and we had 9 apples(Jonagold) £1.89 and they taste nice aswell.

EllaDen

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I try to avoid cooking from scratch as much as possible because the smell hangs around the house for days. I much prefer cooking in bulk once in a while and freezing - have an excellent stockpot for that purpose.

I always try to cook for myself instead of going out, because on one hand,it can save some money, on the orther hand, I think it is cleaner and more healthy for ourselves, although the smell hangs around the house for days.
How do you think?

EllaDen

Nikki1210 wrote: »

This is a great thread! I'll definitely be using some of these.

My problem is that, as a student, I don't have much freezer space. I already stick to a shopping list, check my prices carefully online, buy items in bulk and slow cook cheaper cuts of meat and lots of vegetables (esp. frozen!) as much as I can. Can anyone suggest any alternatives to freezing food or any other tips for someone with not much space?

Thanks everybody!!!

I always cook for myself in order to save money.I often take out the freezing food ahead of time before I go out, or sometimes I use the microwave oven or some hot water.
I don't whether it is helpful for you.

Sulevia

Nikki1210 wrote: »

This is a great thread! I'll definitely be using some of these.

My problem is that, as a student, I don't have much freezer space. I already stick to a shopping list, check my prices carefully online, buy items in bulk and slow cook cheaper cuts of meat and lots of vegetables (esp. frozen!) as much as I can. Can anyone suggest any alternatives to freezing food or any other tips for someone with not much space?

Thanks everybody!!!

I live on a boat and don't have fridge let alone a freezer (generating that much battery power is just too expensive and troublesome). I just find the coolest place (under the sink usually for me) and shove stuff there for a day or two. Vegs usually survive at least a week, over a fortnight if I have bought them with low food miles i.e. farmers market or similar. Meat I buy each time I want to eat meat (not every day) and cooked food is still ok 24 hours later, sometimes 48 hours later in cold weather. Hard cheese lasts a week, easy, soft cheese a bit less.

In really hot weather I get a bag of ice and put the chilled food in a bucket.

This works for me as (a) I'm buying less meat so spending less, and (b) I can pick up bargains most days by shopping at 5.15 when the reduced price meats go out. And (c) I rarely buy ice cream which I consider is only worth getting as a great treat.