Buying your groceries may have started to feel like a depressing, anxiety-inducing exercise lately, as food prices are through the roof, making it harder to feed our families and keep the cupboards stocked.
Food and drink inflation surged to the highest on record again last month, with Britons witnessing mammoth increases on everyday items.
Prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks rocketed 16.2% in October.
So, many of us are taking to TikTok to find great ways to save, and luckily there are plenty of brilliant creators trying to help. Here are a few of their best tips.
1. Process your groceries and pop them in the freezer
Gina Zakaria has become a huge name on MoneyTok (the money-saving community within TikTok) and she helpfully shows her audience some incredible food-related hacks.
One of her best tips is about processing your own food. With things like cheese going up in cost, buying it pre-prepared is just not feasible. But, we equally may forget about things that we prep and leave in the fridge. So, Gina suggests grating and slicing cheese, and then freezing it for future use. Fewer additives, less money, less waste. Win, win, win!
2. Semi-freeze and then freeze discounted food
You see something on offer in the supermarket, it goes off tomorrow, but is so well priced. What do you do? Well, The Gleason Co have the answer to this particular dilemma. They advise taking say, chicken drumsticks, laying them out on a covered tray, part freezing them (for an hour), then taking them out, bagging them up and freezing them fully. Because they are par-frozen, they won’t all stick together, making it easier to take out and use exactly what you need.
3. Cut out food waste
Wasted food is wasted money for creator TheFreebieLady, who wants to help families save on groceries. She managed to reduce the cost of her groceries by using up food that’s going off. Take things like stale bread and make croutons, or use browning fruit to make snacks (try drying it in the oven or airfryer) and desserts (baked fruits with custard, anyone?). Spend less on groceries, but make the most out of them.
4. Know what you actually have in the house
Ever opened the fridge and found something you totally forgot was in there? Got a cupboard full of duplicates because you kept buying pasta thinking you’d run out? You’re not alone. Creating a handy inventory that you can build shopping lists with will save on waste and cash. That way, you can meal plan and look for recipes based on what you already have, not what you will spend.
5. Meal plan
Yes, it may be a hassle, but it really is the best way to save money. You are far less likely to order takeaway or stop by the shop on the way home if you plan your meals. A bit of effort now will save future you time and effort. Alex, or mac.larena, makes helpful videos on meal prep, saving as a parent, and shopping deals.
6. Get to know unit prices
So, the price on the label may not be the price you should be considering when you shop, and lots of creators are pointing this out. Rachel Coons is one of those, and she explains you should “make sure you aren’t just looking at the overall price on items… check out the price per ounce to get the most bang for your buck.” So, if you have two packs of sausages costing the same, but one contains six and the other pack has eight, go for the one with more in!
Look at the price per gram, how much is actually in the container, and decide which product will give you the most for the least amount of money.
7. Change the way you snack
If you spend a lot on pre-packaged snacks and lunchbox fillers that come with a lot of plastic waste and a higher price tag, this is a big area where you can save money (and the planet). Whip up a dip from a can of chickpeas and serve with veggies, make cheap and healthy muffins, or spread peanut butter on to apple slices. And limit snacks to two a day, in between meals, so kids (and parents) come to the dinner table ready to eat, and food isn’t wasted.
