How to save on food

No matter how much oil poured from TV screens (they say, the government controls the prices of goods from the food basket), statistics are stubborn things. The cost of conventional food is growing again. If in October 2017 it was 3,715 rubles, then in May 2018 it is already at the level of 3,970 rubles.

According to experts, prices will continue to rise. So, it's time to learn how to save. We will show you how to spend a minimum of money on food.

In the shop

1. Make a shopping list and strictly follow it

To do this, develop a menu for the week: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Inspect kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and list ingredients that are missing to prepare your intended meals. Nothing extra!

Mobile applications will help you to maintain a shopping list.

2. Compare prices in different stores

If there is no time for monitoring, try to shop once a week. “Today I’ll buy cottage cheese, and tomorrow I’ll come in and buy more eggs” is an approach that leads to unplanned expenses.

Well, use special applications.

3. Attend agricultural fairs

They usually take place in autumn and spring, and there you can very profitably buy farm products: potatoes, eggs and others.

4. Avoid impulse purchases

Do not buy products not from the list just because they are cheap or suddenly you want to: “Oh! Discount on Chinese cabbage! You have to take it, usually it is 10 rubles more expensive "(are you sure you will eat it?)," Mmm, cake! Want! Want!" (but what about the diet?).

Do not take children to the store: their "want" is more difficult to resist. Willpower alone won't save you.

How to correctly refuse a child a purchase →

5. Use discount cards

You may have to pay for its purchase, but this is a one-time expenditure, and discounts can be used every time you visit this store.

6. Shop in bulk

Flour, sugar, salt, pasta and spices are always needed. Plus they have a long shelf life. So, you can take it for future use. Moreover, prices in wholesale outlets are usually lower.

“Where do I go to? I have nowhere to store it,”- typical objections of housewives to the advice to buy food in large quantities. The solution is simple: team up with your friends. By purchasing a package of rice and dividing it among yourself, you will quickly feel the benefits of this approach.

7. Look down

According to the rules of merchandising, the most expensive goods are placed on the shelves at the level of the buyer's eyes, and the cheapest ones are placed on the lower racks. Do not be lazy to bend over and study the downstream assortment.

Also, don't go to the sections you don't need (divide the foods on the list by groups: meat, vegetables, and so on). And don't forget that you should visit the store well-fed.

8. Disable "autopilot"

We often wander around the store, thinking about our own and automatically putting food in the basket. Remember how sad it is when you find out at home that the apples are broken and the cookies in the pack are broken. Choose your foods carefully.

9. Don't overpay for a name

Famous brand products are more expensive. But this is not always a guarantee of quality and taste. Take a closer look at less famous, but cheaper counterparts. For example, brands of chain stores. As a rule, the taste characteristics of popular goods (vegetable oil, groceries, etc.) do not differ from branded ones.

10. Do not overpay for packaging

Milk in a nondescript package can be tastier and cheaper than a drink in a bottle, and bulk products by weight are more profitable than those packed in colorful boxes.

How supermarkets trick us: 10 tricks you should know about →

11. Pay attention to weight and volume

Often the same product is on the shelves, but one is cheaper than the other, for example, by 5 rubles. Do not rush to grab what is cheaper. Compare the difference in weight or volume of these foods. It is more profitable to take a "full" kilogram than 940 grams.

12. Don't buy semi-finished products

They are a priori more expensive than self-cooked (from "A" to "Z") dishes. Don't let yourself be lazy: prepare dumplings, cabbage rolls and cutlets yourself and store them in the freezer.

Homemade semi-finished products: cook, freeze, reheat →

And further. Sliced bread and sausage are always more expensive. Can't you chop the loaf yourself?

13. Do not be afraid of delays

The discount policy of chain grocery stores is a subject for a separate discussion. But when an item expires, salespeople are willing to be truly generous. As a rule, “timer” products are fine. The main thing is to use them as soon as possible.

The exception is fermented milk products. It is easy to get food poisoning with them, so it is better to buy only fresh.

14. Don't waste on bottled water

It is more profitable to buy a filter for cleaning once.

15. Store receipts

They will help manage the family budget.

On the kitchen

1. Adjust your diet

For example, include poultry meat in the menu instead of fresh fish that has risen in price. Replace ingredients with cheaper ones whenever possible (pink salmon instead of trout, Adyghe cheeses instead of mozzarella).

2. Take a closer look at the offal

Nothing beats a juicy tenderloin steak, but the liver, heart, and other organ meats can be cooked deliciously. Buy them from time to time instead of meat - you will save money and pump your culinary skill.

How to cook a liver to surprise yourself and your family →
How To Cook Chicken Liver: 8 Dishes You Will Want To Try →

3. Don't cook too much

There are housewives from whom "the hand does not take a little." If you cook borscht, then in a large saucepan, if you fry cutlets, then a full frying pan. Such waste, as a rule, ends with half of the cooked flying into the trash can. Learn to cook as much as you eat.

Alternatively, do not cook until you have eaten the cooked one.

4. Follow culinary sites

Budget recipes often appear there. Save them to yourself. They will help you put together your weekly menu and shopping list.

How to cook lunch for 100 rubles: 10 budget recipes →
How to cook lunch for 50 rubles: 10 budget recipes →

5. Use seasonal vegetables and fruits

A salad of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers in winter can cost a pretty penny. Cabbage and carrots are much cheaper at this time of the year. Make a salad from them - it will come out just as tasty and healthy.

6. Cook yourself

It's about what you can do at home. For example, kvass. In the store, a one and a half liter bottle of this drink costs an average of 50 rubles. Three liters of homemade kvass will cost you only 20 rubles.

You can save even more on cheese and yogurt.

7. Make blanks

It's not about three-liter jars of pickles. With the modern pace of life and urbanization, this is an amateur activity. But everyone can freeze greens and berries.

Finely chop parsley, dill and other favorite herbs, place in a container and send to the freezer. A fragrant seasoning is always at hand.

How to properly freeze vegetables and herbs for the winter →

8. Eat perishable foods first

We bought yogurt, put it in the refrigerator, and five days later, when they remembered about it and wanted to eat it, it turned out that it was expired. As a result, several tens of rubles are sent to the trash can. Sound familiar?

In order not to get into such situations anymore, stick bright stickers on perishable foods: “eat until Thursday,” “use until the end of the week,” and so on.

9. Store food properly

Compliance with storage conditions prevents premature spoilage of food. The more frugal you are with food, the less often you will need to replenish food supplies.

By the way, about thrift. Many products can be given a "second life". Is the bread starting to dry up? Make crackers and add to salads.

As you can see, you don't have to be a pedant to save on food. Everyone can follow these recommendations. But most importantly, don't be fanatical. Sometimes you can and should indulge in something tasty or favorite.