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Making the most of your money and extending how far it goes is important to the vast majority of us. No matter your individual circumstance, we have faced an incredibly unprecedented time in recent years, in more ways than one. Tightening the belts on our finances is one such way; there is no surprise more and more households are searching for ways to make their weekly food shop go as far as possible. Making these decisions is not easy and is likely causing a great deal of turmoil for people up and down the country.

While that might be the case, there are things that can be done relating to this type of thing, which we will cover in this piece. No matter how many mouths you have to feed or how much money you earn each month, go forth with the understanding that you will be making things go that little bit further and easing the strain on your purse strings. Read on for more!

Plan Ahead

We have all been in the situation where you are wandering around the grocery store, having not eaten for a few hours. When hungry, you are more likely to buy foods and snacks that you do not need in a spur of the moment purchase. Once you get home, you might regret making these purchases but feel awkward returning them. This is entirely normal, and while this is something we feel confident most people reading this have experienced, it is something that you should avoid doing when looking to make your weekly food shop go further.

Planning ahead for the week and making meal plans for each day gives you an idea of what exactly you should be buying in your food shop and keeps you on track. Meal planning doesn’t have to be boring either, for there are a whole host of accounts on social media dedicated to recipe inspiration and more. Thinking about what you plan to cook gives you something to look forward to and can easily be implemented into your weekly routine.

Batch Cook Recipes

This goes hand-in-hand with the previous section and is something many people swear by. Particularly if you lead a busy lifestyle, you might find that you either do not have the time or motivation to cook a meal following a day at work. Batch cooking eliminates this effort; instead, you spend one day a week cooking your meals for the coming days or weeks and freeze the portions for later.

However, with this in mind, some food groups out there cause some confusion in regards to whether they can be safely frozen and reheated at a later date. Doing research into this type of thing and asking questions is the best way to navigate a process like this, and ensures you are safely preparing meals for yourself and others in your household. Fresh foods, fruit, and vegetables tend to confuse people, with some asking the question, ‘can you freeze potatoes?’ Checking out useful resources breaking down the answers to questions like these will give you a better idea of what to do moving forward.

Check Out Offers, Deals, and Discounts

While watching what you spend and how much food you are consuming are undoubtedly ways to make your weekly shop go further, they are not the be-all and end-all when it comes to this type of thing. You can take other measures to extend how far your weekly shop goes, including being a bit more money savvy in your efforts. Most grocery stores and supermarkets will have daily discounts on their products, and these tend to ‘go live’ at certain times of the day. Establishing what time of day this happens and planning your weekly shop to coincide with these discounts means you will be able to find foods that are cheaper in price.

Should you find that these timings do not line up with the rest of your routine, you can consider other options too. Most stores will provide special deals and offers on certain food offers all year round. Checking out the most beneficial ones and stocking up on these food items when on sale is also recommended; you will be getting more bang for your buck, as they say!

At the same time, some stores offer loyalty discounts with store cards. Saving up points and then cashing them in when you most need them will further ensure that you are getting more items for your money while also saving you some dollars in the meantime.

While we recognize these are only a handful of ways to make your weekly shop go further, we hope it has shed some light on what you could consider moving forward. No matter the reasons why you are looking to make your food shop last longer, go forth with the confidence that you know how to make this happen. 

Photo by Los Muertos Crew: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-in-printed-dress-smiling-while-holding-a-fruit-8446844/