How to Save on Food: 26 Tips to Follow

One of the biggest surprises when you start to regularly follow your monthly budget?

See how much money we spend on food and drink every month. This is also one of the categories where we tend to over-spend the most.

There are two main reasons for this. First of all, eating & drinking are quite social activities (having a meal with friends, going for a drink or a coffee after work ...). Also, we often tend to be fooled by fatigue and laziness to cook ... and to turn to the nearest fast food.

This is what makes it one of the types of expenses we waste the most money on. And the problem is, they contribute very little to our long-term happiness, but are rather impulsive and linked to a lack of preparation.

You just have to see the difference between shopping on an empty stomach or a full stomach. It's all a matter of perception.

In this article, discover the best ways to save money on food and drinks, without having to deprive yourself!

At the supermarket
1 - Always do your shopping with a list ... and a full stomach. One of the best ways to waste money in the supermarket? Go there without knowing exactly what you need and want to buy. Before you go, browse your fridge and cupboards to find out what to buy. And above all, eat just before to avoid falling for all the delicacies that will cross your path.

2 - Look in advance for coupons to use. There are dozens of websites with special offers and coupons that you can print or present on your phone when you checkout. Take a look before you go to the supermarket. But your time is precious: spending 45 minutes scouring the sites to save $ 1 on your packet of Honey Pops is rarely worth it.

3 - Replace branded products with private labels. Branded products are often (much) more expensive, but there is actually very little difference to their private label counterparts (ie "supermarket" brands). And sometimes they're even exactly the same ... Try replacing some brands you are used to buying with their low-cost counterparts - once you've passed the psychological barrier, you might be surprised.

4 - Compare the price of the products before buying. Comparing prices only takes seconds, but can save you huge amounts of money in the long run. Take a good look at the price per kilo, which can sometimes be higher even when the products are said to be "on promotion".

5 - Order on the Drive or use the scanners. If you have a car, ordering on the Drive isn't just a time-saver. It's also a good way to save money on a daily basis . It's much easier to avoid impulse buying when you're not wandering the shelves, and you can also track your cart amount to avoid surprises when you checkout. Ditto for the system of "scanners / zapettes" more and more offered in supermarkets.

6 - Always take a look at the radius of short dates. The "short dates" department is now my first destination when I arrive in store. It includes all the products whose expiry date is approaching and which can no longer be offered for "classic" sale. Take a look to see if there are any products on your list that are missing, or if you could replace a few with these short-lived specials.

7 - Don't be fooled by supermarket techniques to make you spend more. The heads of gondolas that make people believe in promotions, the most expensive products placed at eye level, offer "promotions" where the products are in reality more expensive per kilo, provide you with huge baskets ... there are plenty of techniques that supermarkets use to encourage you to buy more. Try to keep a cool head and stick to your list so you don't get ripped off.

8 - Take advantage of cashback systems. Certain websites or applications such allow you to benefit from a partial refund on food shopping. Cumulative over time, the savings can be significant.

9 - Avoiding waste starts in the supermarket - not in your fridge! Why buy a whole bunch of 6-7 bananas when you only need 3? Even when the price is low, paying attention to the quantity will make a huge difference in food waste and help you save a lot in the long run.

In the kitchen & at home
10 - Plan your meals in advance thanks to a "meal plan". This is something that we now do every week at home. When writing the shopping list, we prepare a calendar where we define in advance all our meals in the morning, noon and evening for the week. In addition to no longer having to wonder " what do we eat " every night, it is a way to make life easier and save money.

11 - Adopt "batch cooking" / "meal prep". Cooking meals ahead of time can seem overwhelming and complicated. But quite the contrary. The meal plan is the assurance of simplifying your life, in addition to saving money! Rather than spending 20-30 minutes a day cooking your evening and lunch meals (or going out and buying it ... and wasting even more money), set aside 2 hours on Sunday to cook ahead all. your meals for the week, and store them in tupperware. This is one of the most important things you can do when looking for ways to save on food.

12 - Replace the sodas with sparkling water. Yes, I admit: I love soda. This is probably one of the expenses I have the most difficulty controlling myself over. Despite everything, I managed to limit my consumption (a lot) by replacing the soda with sparkling water, and by forcing myself to only buy a maximum bottle per week. In addition to a positive effect on health, your budget will also thank you.

13 - Define your food budget in advance - and stick to it. You should plan each month in your budget for an amount specially dedicated to your food shopping (not counting meals outside), then stick to it, even if it means having to make some sacrifices. How can you "spend less" while shopping if you don't even know how much you are spending at the base?

14 - Forget the ready meals - cook! In addition to being unhealthy, processed products and ready meals usually cost a lot more than if you cooked them yourself. Knowing that many of the meals on the go are pasta dishes or salads, they are particularly easy to reproduce.

15 - Remember to freeze. When it comes to how to save money on food, the freezer is your best friend. If you find any specials or short dates at the supermarket that you don't plan to eat right away, freeze them. Ditto for leftovers you're unsure of eating: rather than waiting until it's too late and having to throw them out, just put them in the freezer.

16 - Organize a "leftover party". You don't realize it, but throwing away the leftovers is also throwing away money. Once a week, plan a dinner where you'll finish up the week's leftovers. To make the idea a little more fun, you can even revisit them: cook a new sauce to finish the pasta, create your mixed salad.

Eat outside
17 - Store dishes in the fridge & freezer for "emergencies". Do you eat out too often? One of the best ways to limit yourself is to prepare for food emergencies. Especially to avoid the " oh, I'm too lazy to cook ... what if we order something?". Your special "lazy" dish should be a recipe that you particularly like: cheeseburgers, frozen pizzas, couscous or paella ... And if the prepared dishes are certainly not good for your health, remember that this solution is not meant to be occasional. And anyway, the fast food probably wouldn't have been much better.

18 - Stop eating out every lunchtime. One of the best ways to waste money is buying your lunch outside every lunchtime. Really: you are wasting hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month by eating out rather than bringing your tupperware. Instead of dining out with your favorite coworkers, meet them at the park or cafeteria to eat together. You even risk making more than one jealous.

19 - Recreate the menu of your favorite fast food ... at home . Are you on the verge of falling for a Mc Do so you have an irrepressible desire for Mc Chicken? How about cooking it yourself? Today, you can find almost any restaurant and fast food recipe online, at a much lower price.

20 - Don't take the menu. If you order a take-out meal, take only your dish or sandwich, off the menu. Baking a few fries in the oven and pouring yourself a glass of soda will only take a few minutes - and cost you a lot less.

21 - Take your coffee instead of buying it. One of the best ways to save money without having to give up your daily coffee is to brew your own cup at home and then take it to work (in a thermos or whatever). Taking the average price of a simple coffee, buying your coffee every day rather than making it yourself costs you around € 568 per year.

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22 - If you want to buy a take out meal, go through an app like Too Good To Go. Too Good To Go allows you to collect unsold items from shops around your home at the end of the day, and therefore to enjoy yourself at a low price! These are only the meals of the day that have not been sold, so no problem of freshness - but a very reduced price!

23 - If you have to eat out, take advantage of the discounts. Before going to a restaurant, browse promotional sites like TheFork (formerly TheFork) to enjoy local restaurants at low prices. In addition to discounted bookings, you will often find offers on their website or via the mobile application.

24 - Plan outings with friends other than the restaurant. If you tend to overeat outside on weekends or weekday evenings with friends, why not invite them over to your home by offering everyone to bring back their favorite dish? Or organize a party after dinner time? There are plenty of activities just as cool, and at a much lower cost.

25 - Opt for non-alcoholic drinks. Drinking alcohol is often more of a social gesture than anything else. Alcohol is really just a pretext: opting for a non-alcoholic drink during your outings will allow you to have an equally good time, but also to please your wallet and your health. Of course, there's no question of banning yourself from drinking altogether, but making the effort even every now and then will already put you on the right track.

26 - Delete the delivery applications from your phone. Out of sight out of mind. Online food orders are now (too) easy with mobile apps and automatic card registration. Remove them systematically so that you are no longer tempted.

See also 100 Tips to Save Money Every Day and 25 Tips to Save on Groceries