What happens if the S**T hits the fan and suddenly you have a very limited income. This was the worst case - won't really happen so don't think about it reality that is now looming on the horizon for lots of people thanks to COVID-19. With the UK stopping furlough in October (or in the case of my employer the end of next week (gulp)) what kind of mindset will help with the food budgeting at least.
1) Start preparing as soon as you can, any money that you can save now will help form a buffer ready for any gap in employment. If this means reviewing any debts such as overdrafts and credit cards then get rid of as much as you can now by paying off what you can and move any debts you can't pay to a lower interest option if possible.
2)Not all supermarkets/shops are equal - again obvious, shopping somewhere like Aldi or Lidl can save you money on what you normally buy; but not on everything as the lower cost comes with lower choice. Remember to include the cost of travel to the shops as well, if it costs you more in bus fares than it is going to save I don't need to tell you it is a false economy.
A price book where you list the things that you commonly buy and compare prices will help you work out what to buy from where. Working like this I alternate shopping at Tesco/Morrisons/Lidl and buy slightly different things from each shop with enough to last me until the next time I am in the supermarket where it is cheapest if it is something I use every week. I update the price book if I see the overall total of my shop at that supermarket rise sharply or if a new brand is introduced which may be cheaper.
If you are lucky to have a local market or ethnic supermarket use those where possible to get the cheapest fruits and veggies and herbs and spices. I also pop into my local Poundland, B and M, Iceland and Farmfoods if I am passing as they have random food items which may be cheaper than the normal supermarket - only if I am passing, not worth the travel expense of a specific journey and I have a separate budget for those kind of unexpected bargains. Needless to say this will be different depending on where you live.
3)Buy cheaper/generic brands where possible. Try the generic/budget brands and if you can't tell the difference or like them better you are onto a winner. Don't assume that higher cost=better quality or taste. One example of this is for our house is baked beans. Heinz for when it is on toast or as a side dish for the kids, generic when I want to do something like throw them in a sausage casserole or chilli, savings can be up to 50p a tin.
4) Learn to cook. Whilst ready meals are convenient they are also more expensive and filled with junk like high fat/salt and additives. Cooking is a skill and it has never been easier to learn skills than it is now thanks to the internet.
5) Shop your own cupboards 6) Meal Plan and 7) Use a shopping list. These go together although I have to confess that 6 is hard for me to stick to. Using up what you already have will reduce the food thrown away in the case of fresh food or other perishables. Making a meal plan and resultant shopping list will reduce the amount of impulse buys you do. It will also encourage you to use up all those jars of herbs and spices which you have only used a pinch of and then shoved back in the cupboard; gram for gram those little jars are the most expensive items in your shopping trolley so use them.
8) Research - one of the things that is hardest is that extreme food budgeting can lead to eating the same day in and out. I know I have been there and it can be soul destroying. If you have access to the internet you have a wealth of free ideas from Facebook groups (Feed Your Family for £20 for example), forums (e.g. moneysavingexpert.com - the Old Style board has a monthly grocery thread and recipe archives), and websites (Jack Monroe's Cooking on a Bootstrap is a good starting point)- not to mention You Tube. A couple of caveats. First just because a recipe is cheap to make in the US (and it is more often than not that these kind of sites are in the US) does not mean that it is cheap to make where ever you live in the world, double check, with a calculator (BTW in the UK prices can vary according to geography even within the same supermarket chain)...Second, just because a recipe is claimed to cost so many pounds and/or pence per serving does not mean that all you have to do is multiply the cost by the number of people you are serving and you can buy all the ingredients for that amount of money. When recipes are costed it is per gram of the ingredients used, so yes that bean enchiladas recipe may be only £1.02 per serving but that is because they have assumed you are only using 5p of taco seasoning for the whole recipe - if you have to buy a new jar it doesn't only cost 5p does it! To repeat point 5 above shop your own cupboards first.
9) Don't fall for the sales patter. Only buy the special offers if it is something that you will use, can use up before it expires, does not take the money from elsewhere in the food budget and/or is not a swap for something cheaper. Knowing the special offers in that shop in advance is a useful thing - most shops have a website which will list the latest offers - you can then take these into account when you write your list.
10) Bigger is usually better value but not always. If you are faced with the same product but in different sized packets work out the cost per 100 g to compare (calculator on my smart phone- always there...)Sometimes it is cheaper to buy the bigger family pack sometimes not (especially if there is a multibuy on a particular size of pack), bear in mind things like Best Before Dates as well - will you use the whole pack before it expires. If you can get together with someone else to share buying things in bulk packs - when you divvy the cost between you it will be cheaper than the smaller packs but you won't have to live on it everyday for the next month.
11) Stocking up fund. For things with a long shelf life like tins and household cleaning stuff consider having a separate fund for stocking up as and when you see the bargains (I posted about this way back). This safeguards the food budget but will allow you to take advantage of those multibuys when you can.
12) Use the equipment/space available. If you have a freezer use it - batch cooking or splitting bulk packs and freezing will save you money overall (big outlay now, savings tomorrow); however it will take a while to recoup the cost of a new one so do not go out and buy one unless this was something you were already planning. The same goes for grow-your-own if you have a garden or somewhere to stick a pot the initial cost of plants/seeds/compost and other equipment is immediate- you will have a wait to get the return in savings but if you are successful then it can be a way to help supplement your food budget. If you have a blender/food processor then cheap meals like homemade soup are a good standby, but only if you do not need to recoup the cost in the first place. If you have a pressure cooker or slow cooker, now is the time to use it to cut the cost of fuel. If you are using the oven fill it - it costs the same fuel to cook one pie as it does to cook one for now one for the freezer. Make extra buffer money by selling any kitchenalia that you do not use, we all have some!
13)Already mentioned in passing above but BUDGET. Yes it is boring, and takes time, and, and, and, but if you know how much you have to spend each week you never get to the end of the month and find you only have 23p to feed all of you for the remainder of the week. That is far more stressful and soul destroying than spending the time in the first place. Don't forget to include drinks and snacks in any food budget and meal plan that you do - this can cost more than you think even just for orange juice and tea.
14)Remember that this is only temporary for most people and it will get better. Cliched but a good mental attitude will make it all go smoother so look on this like a challenge you can win, not a burden you have to endure.
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