Tips to lower your food and utility bills and improve the health of your family at the same time.
Start walking wherever possible, this is a double saving as you can cancel your gym membership and save on the cost of fuel. If it's too far to walk consider a weekly travel ticket, these offer good value for money especially with the cost of petrol being so high. Look for car pools in your local newspaper.
Start cooking! Pre packed/prepared meals cost a fortune so invest in raw ingredients and get creative. Shop around for food bargains, Tesco is offering 5 different fruit and veg at a low price every week.
Consider how your grandparents would have fed their families. We live in a disposable society and research shows that much of the food that we buy every week ends up in the bin. A Sunday roast can be turned into Mondays curry and the stock from the roasting pan made into soup getting three meals for the price of one.
Start your shopping trip in the pound stores and pick up as much as you can in there. This is particularly good for health and beauty products although you do need to be careful, as these products can sometimes be cheaper in the supermarket. Keep your receipts and compare the prices.
Be very cautious of buy one get one free, two for deals. Often if you work out the price on these offers you are paying more than if you bought the brand that you normally choose. Remember it's only a bargain if you need it.
Never ever, ever go shopping on an empty stomach. This is fatal and you will end up with a trolley full of junk.
Try to plan your families meals for the next week and make up a shopping list then stick to it.
Avoid using the tumble drier at all costs, make the most of the good weather and get your washing outside. Invest in a drying rack, I put mine in the gazebo when it is raining and have not used my drier in about 3 months. As I have a child with special needs and my washing count is high, this has saved me a fortune in electricity bills.
Bulk cooking. Make up pasta/rice salads on the day that you do your shopping then store in the fridge. Bulk cooking saves on electricity and also offers kids healthy snacks to graze on. I notice a big saving when I do this as I do not have to buy crisps, biscuits etc. It makes meal times easy as the bulk of the food is already prepared and it is just a case of serving it with whatever is on special offer that week.
Regularly check that you are getting the best deal on your utility bills using a website such as USwitch, and change your supplier if you need to. This is an easy process that can lead to big savings.
