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Save Money On A Student Food Shop

One of the less fun tasks of being somewhat of an adult is doing your weekly food shopping. You’re at a stage of your life where your parents wont do it for you, so you have to do it yourself.

In this article, I’m going to share with you 14 tips on how to save money on your food bills and general tips on how to do your food shops on a student budget.

Create A Uni Food Shopping List

The first step is to plan ahead.

If you randomly go to a supermarket and you don’t know what you need, you most likely will end up repurchasing products that you already have.

Not knowing what you have or don’t have can often lead you to purchase food you don’t need and a lot of food wastage.

So before you go to the shops, make a list of what you actually need, go through your cupboards, fridge and freezer and see what you still have, see what’s running out with close expiry dates and see what meals you can make with that.

Here is what a typical uni student food shopping list looks like.

Create a Weekly Food Meal Plan

You want to spend as little as 30 minutes per week creating a meal plan for the following week. Ideally, do this before the shop so you can buy all the ingredients you will need without having to make another trip back to the supermarket.

Spare a few minutes before you go to shops, have your list to hand, it will drastically help you save your money. It will prevent all those spontaneous buys.

Looking For Food Discounts As A Unit Student

You might want to look at what’s on offer as well and then try and work from there.

Don’t fool yourself because sometimes shops try and mislead you with the pricing of things, so make sure you get your calculator out on your phone to do the maths (or take a look at the ticket label on the shelf, does the offer actually make it cheaper per a pack or 100 grams?).

How Often Should A Uni Student Go Food Shopping

University students should complete their food shop once a week.

If you do little shops every single day or if you go to a convenience  store on campus, you’ll end up spending so much more money.

So only do a big shop once a week and also try and go to a supermarket and don’t order online because ordering online adds extra delivery costs.

Split the Food Shop Costs With Your Uni Friends

If you’re flat or house sharing in university then trying to see if you can organise the shop with your fellow students to food shop together (You don’t need 5-6 bottles of milk in the fridge!).

For example, if you buy together, you can prepare and eat dinners together. Just think of the great social aspect, cooking together, laughing together and making life long friendships through the kitchen. But, most importantly,  you’ll save yourself some money in the long run and reduce your waste.

Where To Food Shop As A Uni Student On A Budget

Aldi and Lidl are  where products are generally cheapest.

If you compare them to Marks and Spencer’s where they only sell premium products, your food bill is going to be a lot cheaper.

So try research your area and supermarkets available to find out where’s the cheapest.

Explore Your Local Food Shops

During freshers week, have a little walk around your area and see how many local and smaller food stores around and you’ll be surprised at how much cheaper these places can be. You may even find a local greengrocers and butchers who tend to sell high quality products at reasonable prices.

Food Quantities

Keep an eye on the amount of kilograms or litres you get for a certain price rather than the final price. Sometimes something might seem a bit more expensive, but then when you look at how much is in the product and the weight you receive, it can work out cheaper.

So definitely look at those little price tags we often overlook on our food shops.

Usually, they have on show how much is per a kilo or per 500 grams.

Lessen The Temptation As a Uni Student To Spend

I think this might be quite well known, but, eat before you go grocery shopping or bring snacks out with you because if you’re hungry, you’re most likely going to suffer from “eyes are bigger than belly” syndrome.

If you’re hungry before you go out, you’re going to be much more tempted to buy everything because everything will look good and supermarkets will trick you with bright colourful packaging, fresh smelling baked goods and buy one get one free offers. But these are little tactics to increase your shopping bill.

Remember: Supermarkets are not our friends. They are a business, and they are after your money, so they will do everything in their power to up your bill… Including playing with your sense of smell to make you hungry.

Here is a blog by savethestudent.org talking about the tactics supermarkets do to get you to spend more.

Buy A Little More

Buy a bit more than you actually need.

It might sound weird after my previous comments, but what I mean is if you buy, for example, chicken, it’s usually better to buy them in bulk and then just freeze them separately in little freezer bags because if you buy much more in one go, or if you buy them when they’re on sale and you freeze them, they last you a long time, and you save a bit of money in the long run.

Also, it’s just convenient to have a little stash of food in case you run out and have to improvise.

Why Uni Students Should Cut Down On Meat

Another thing that might save you some money is to cut down on meat because meat is very, very expensive.

Try some vegetarian dishes, you will be surprised at how yum some of these dishes can be.

Another thing that will save you some money is to buy individual spices and make your own mixes rather than buy the mix spices in a little box.

I know it might seem quite intimidating if you don’t know how to make burritos or fajitas, but don’t buy those done for you packs which cost nearly £4. A little paprika, cajun and black pepper is all you need for a quarter of the price!

Branded Food vs Value Food

And last but not least, trying to look beyond your eye level because a lot of grounds pay the shop to have them put branded food in front of your eyes because then you’re more likely to buy it.

But if you look a bit further and look at the process and maybe go for value brands, you might save a bit of money as well.

They might not be as easy to find, but if you just take your time the first time you go shopping, you’ll note for the next time, and it won’t take you that long.

That way, you will save when you as well.

How To Cook As A Uni Student

Learn how to cook as a uni student should be your top priority.

When I went to university, I was the only person in my halls and degree course who knew how to cook (I took a food and nutrition course), shocking.

I never thought about this, until I started teaching and realised how many pre-university students are unprepared for whats ahead – cooking food at university.

This is why I now offer prepare for university cooking classes for uni students.

It’s so important for not just uni students but individuals to know how to cook because understanding how to cook if at its most basic form can:

• save a ton of money on a food shop
• helps keep obesity at bay
• stops you from getting takeaways
• gives you the life skills and confidence to keep a healthy lifestyle

My cooking classes for university students teach students on how to cook, budget and eat properly when they are at university.

The old saying “You are what you eat” really does apply and when you’re in education reading and studying, having a clear mind is massively important which you won’t have if you’re living off takeaways.

For more information on my cooking classes for uni students please click here.