Need ways to save on groceries

Lex224

Hi all.

So I'm having a slight challenge with money atm and this means I'm gunna have to be super careful for the foreseeable future.

I'm a student, and don't know exactly how best to go about saving money when I go to buy my weekly shop. I don't live close to any big supermarkets and don't have transport to get to one. I live near a Tesco Metro, and have also ordered food online from various supermarkets in the past (which seems to save me money as I'm not tempted by delicious offers in-store).

I'd really like to get involved in a way to lower the cost of the things I do need each week. I've seen people who exploit the 'price difference guarantee' alongside vouchers to get shopping for next to nothing, but I have no idea how to go about this.

Are there other more obvious ways to save money, other then ofc only buying things I NEED?

Many thanks in advance.

lushlifesaver

A few more details might help us give you more ideas; what kind of accommodation are you in - how much storage space do you have for groceries etc?

In my first year at uni I lived in some private halls so had one fridge shelf, one freezer draw and two cupboards (one low one wall mounted) and a small drawer to keep all my food/kitchen bits in so; food in the fridge/freezer as appropriate and a few tins/jars/cartons in one of the cupboards (low) I kept cutlery/utensils in the draw, pans on top of my wall cupboard, I kept cups/glasses/squash/tea/ herbs in my high cupboard.

Anything I didn't want acquiring by the other residents (fizzy drinks/alcohol/snacks/pricey treats etc) I kept in my room. After 2 months I bought one of the plastic drawer sets (3 low wide drawers) from Argos and kept the majority of my stuff in there as the three lads in the flat were quick to use our stuff and not replace it/say they hadn't. It was cheap and fit under my desk in dead space. This meant I could take advantage of multibuys/price cuts etc when I did an online shop every 8weeks or so.

I also did online shops with my friend to take as much advantage of offers as possible and we then split the costs (i ordered then she paid me when it arrived - like a little cooperative shop haha).

If possible I would say bulk buy stuff that won't go off (toilet rolls/cleaning supplies/toiletries/pasta/tins) once or twice a term - I did this to coincide with loan payments. Then just top up with fresh stuff. I bought meat on 3 for £10 style offers, split in to portions and froze some then cooked some in to meals (soup/stew/cottage pie/spag bol etc) and froze in portions for days I couldn't be bothered

surfsister

Lex224 wrote: »

Hi all.

So I'm having a slight challenge with money atm and this means I'm gunna have to be super careful for the foreseeable future.

I'm a student, and don't know exactly how best to go about saving money when I go to buy my weekly shop. I don't live close to any big supermarkets and don't have transport to get to one. I live near a Tesco Metro, and have also ordered food online from various supermarkets in the past (which seems to save me money as I'm not tempted by delicious offers in-store).

I'd really like to get involved in a way to lower the cost of the things I do need each week. I've seen people who exploit the 'price difference guarantee' alongside vouchers to get shopping for next to nothing, but I have no idea how to go about this.

Are there other more obvious ways to save money, other then ofc only buying things I NEED?

Many thanks in advance.

if you can only shop online try to have cheapest delivery - some stores deliver for £2 if you have odd times. also Iceland deliver free over £25 of stuff, but you have to get their first!

try to use any bogofs and weekly special offers and see if a fellow student will split delivery costs. also sometimes tesco money off codes on here and elsewhere. try googling.

good luck and if my student daughter runs out of cash she lives on 11p noodles!!!

Edwardia

Ocado does free slots very early morning or late night with minimum order £40. Ocado claims to be cheaper than Tesco now on lots of products and if your order isn't they'll give you a voucher you can use online.

Waitrose does free delivery at any time, minimum order £50. You can use mysupermarket.co.uk to compare prices.

Sainsbury's does free delivery on orders over £100 mid week which could help if you all made up a big order with room mates but then there might be squabbling over the Nectar points.

If you have Co-op or Best One locally you can get loyalty points. It;s always worth noting which local shops you have eg Costcutter, Spar and One Stop as the websites show special offers.

Any markets locally ? Farmers markets ? 99p Stores ? Poundland ? Poundstretcher ?