Money savvy Jo Threlfall reveals her supermarket spending tips – and it can save you a LOT of cash.
The 27 year old managed to get a range of food purchased from a variety of high street stores which enabled her to create healthy meals to have breakfast, lunch or dinner, all for less than £20 a week.
The meals contain a balance of protein, carbs and vitamins needed for Jo’s training and have helped her save some extra cash for eating out with friends and family.
” Over the years, I’ve learned how to save cash on my food shop. In the past I used to buy too much food and waste a lot of meat and vegetables as I ended up eating out with friends and the food had to be thrown away. Rather than getting 4 to 5 weeks’ worth of food I shop only every fortnight and make sure I eat everything in the fridge!”
For only £20 Jo manages a healthy, weekly food shop
Jo tells us there are many ways in which she saves money as she gives us her money saving tips:
Making a list: “I always make sure to check the cupboards and make a list to find out what you need for your meals. Do you need meat, fish, salad, salad, vegetables or healthy snacks? This narrows your food buy down and stops the urge to impulse buy. Its important to stick to the list!”
Food prep on a weekend: “Food preparation is key to my money saving. I tend to cook my lunch time meals on a Sunday evening as it allows me to make sure I use the food before the sell by date. Food prepping is key when it comes to making the most of the food you’ve bought.
I tend to plan what I’m going to make at the weekend and make sure that I eat these meals for breakfast, lunch or dinner. For example, with 500g of 5% beef meat I’m able to make 4 portions of chilli which will last me for one week.I also label the tubs, so I know what I’m having Monday to Friday.
The meals overall add up to around £2.00-£3.00 each which is less than the average meal deal!”
Shop around for deals: “I found that going to a range of supermarkets has helped me find the best bargains.
The supermarket that stands out for value is of course Aldi as you can get yourself some great quality meat. I recently bought a lovely steak for less than £3.”
Avoid pre prepared vegetables: “I used to buy chopped up veggies to save myself time in the kitchen. However, I noticed that it would increase my food bill up to £6 a week as I didn’t want to chop up an onion, spiralise a courgette or cut up a floret of broccoli.
So I simply buy them whole and do the chopping in my kitchen.”
Don’t fall for every offer: “You’ll see a lot of special offers in supermarkets but it’s important not to impulse buy as it will make your food shop go up. Always stick to your food list as mentioned above, and resist the temptation to grab another item, even if it seems a good price.
You’ll probably end up not even eating it.”
Go to wholefood shops when you can: “For my drinks and snacks I tend to visit the local wholefood shops.
I purchased my herbal teas and protein bars from Holland Barrett as they’re normally on offer and is much cheaper than in most supermarkets.”
Budget every month on what you’re willing to spend on food: ” I put aside £100 a month to spend on my food shop and eating out.
Normally I tend to have around £30-40 left over which means I can use this for going out for coffee £3, Brunch £12-15 or evening meals £15″
Look out for special eating out offers: “Don’t be afraid to use Groupon or other coupon offers – I found that when you’re using Groupon you can track down some unique restaurant offers in your local area that can save you extra cash.
The most recent code I used was in pizza express and I got a starter, main and for £12″
Jo spends an average of only £2.50 per lunchtime meal
The changes Jo has made has seen her save on her monthly food shop, resulting in more cash to spend on other things.
“I knew that I needed to make a change when it came to my spending habits.
So, I found that restricting the price I was able to spend on fresh meat, fish and vegetables helped me bring down my food bill costs and allowed me to have some extra cash to spend a month to eat out with friends or putting into my savings.”
Homemade steak and bbq beans and salad – £3:50 per meal
