Looking to make the weekly food budget go a little further? We’ve got some tips to help you out.
Family meal ideas on a budget
Are you looking for some top tips on how you can feed your family on a budget and really make the most of your weekly shop? Read on to find out our budget family meal tips.
Bulk buy
While you’ll have to front the initial cost to buy a larger-sized packet or multiple items, you could save yourself money in the long term by bulk buying. Some items you can easily buy in bulk include cupboard foods such as rice, pasta, and canned food such as tomatoes, tuna and beans. You could also bulk buy meats such as chicken and beef to freeze and use at a later date.
The other benefit of bulk buying is it can help reduce the overall amount of supermarket shopping visits. Therefore, reducing the urge to make impulse purchases too!
Batch cooking
Batch cooking could be the answer if you’re looking for the best family meal planner on a budget.
Instead of cooking a meal each night, why not make enough meals to last you throughout the whole week. This way, you won’t have to worry about picking up the variety of ingredients needed if you were to cook a different meal each night of the week.
Not only can batch cooking save you money, but it can also save you time spent in the kitchen! After the initial day or night spent cooking, the rest of your week will be freed up to simply reheat the leftover meals. Plus, you can also freeze any leftovers to be used at a later date.
Freeze food before it goes out of date
Reduce any potential food wastage by freezing it before it reaches its use by or best before date. Food items such as bread and both raw or cooked meat can be frozen to use at a later date.
Opt for meals with high nutritional value
Plan your meals using ingredients that have a high nutritional value, to keep you and your family feeling fuller for longer, as opposed to buying cheap snack foods which will leave you still feeling hungry soon after eating.
Items to look out for which have high nutritional value include fish, such as tuna and salmon, beans, oats, frozen vegetables, spinach, tomatoes, eggs, and brown rice.
Make a meal from scratch
Takeaways are infinitely more expensive than cooking a meal from scratch. Why not take inspiration from your popular takeaway meals and try to recreate a homemade version in your own kitchen?
Similarly, cooking from scratch is cheaper than buying ready meals or oven food. Plus, the ingredients will be fresher.
Shop around to get the best price
It might be easier to do all of your shopping at your local supermarket, but you could be missing out on some cost-saving deals or paying more for the same product elsewhere.
There are several websites that allow you to compare the price of common household and food products at a click. Use these to help you stick to your family budget.
What to learn how to budget money and stick to it? Read our blog.
Shop in the reduced section
You could find yourself some bargains by only buying yellow sticker items. Every supermarket has a reduction section featuring items which are reaching their use by or best before date. Bag yourself a bargain and save money!
Tip: Know the difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’. Use by dates refers to when a product may not be safe to eat after. It isn’t recommended that you eat a product past its use-by date. A best before date simply refers to a product’s quality being past its best, as opposed to whether it will be safe to eat.
Purchase ingredients from the supermarket range
Did you know all supermarkets have their own line of products? Rather than opting for the well-known brand name associated with a product, why not swap to the supermarket’s own branded version to save you money.
Get cashback whilst you shop
How does up to 13% cashback when you shop sound? Well, with a Vox Money Card, you’ll benefit from 3% cashback at Asda and Sainsburys, 5% cashback at Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge, 8% cashback at Pizza Express and 10% cashback at Yo! Sushi.
Interested in using our budgeting tools to help you stick to your family meal budgets? Sign up for a Vox Money account today and get access to budgeting, account wallets, a secure app and cashback when you spend.
