How to save money on groceries as a student?

Target or Walmart, once you are in these stores, there is no going back! You might end up spending hundreds of dollars, and it might be on things you don’t even need!  But, on the other hand, groceries are the one thing without which any person cannot survive! As a student, you must learn how to spend less on groceries. 

7 Tips for buying groceries on a budget

And now, on to the part you have been dearly waiting for! 7 tips on how to buy groceries on a budget. Read the following points, and we’re sure you’ll find more than one thing to implement daily!

1. Keep an eye on vouchers and discounts

There are discounts and coupons available online for almost any retailer you can imagine. Look in the student offers section to discover what you are eligible to do before you go shopping.

However, resist the urge to use every single one of the available vouchers. Make good judgments. It's not a saving if tuna tins are less than half off, but you don't like fish.

2. Plan your meals 

Planning your meals is one of the best ways to save money on groceries and lessen food waste, at the risk of sounding like Joe Wicks! Go through the recipes and list the ingredients you'll need. Figure out what you might want to eat each week, considering hangovers. It eliminates any stress associated with figuring out what to do for dinner every night, puts an end to those convenience stores, and enables you to do a substantial grocery shop in one sitting. Gain, gain, gain.

3. Shop the World food aisle

You may get pantry essentials like rice, spices, and sauces in the international food aisle. One of the best methods to reduce food shopping costs is this. Products might be up to 75% less expensive than domestic alternatives. The quality isn't any inferior (in fact, it's frequently more genuine!). The brands' lack of popularity or recognition is the only factor contributing to the price discrepancy.

4. Grow your food

Grow some of your food to lessen your reliance on shops. Cress and potatoes can be grown without even having a great garden. You might use an upcycled container, window box, or indoor plant. You'd be surprised at how simple it is. Growing your fruit, vegetables, and herbs makes you feel proud and also does not hurt your bank account!

5. Do not waste food 

Although it should go without saying, it's astonishing how many students—or people in general—let food in their refrigerators go bad. If you're not in the mood for that chicken salad for the third night, there are other possibilities. Try experimenting by adding something new to it or by removing the chicken bits and using them to make a pasta sauce rather than tossing it away.

6. Never go grocery shopping when you are hungry

We've all been there, haven't we? When you haven't had lunch, you rummage through the grocery store floor and emerge as the proud proprietor of aisle 4. This does not mean that the food you enjoy is off-bounds, but more that you shouldn't be stuffing the basket with whatever catches your eye. Make a list of your purchases and follow it to spend less on groceries. 

7. Buy food in bulk 

Purchasing supplies and cooking in bulk not only makes it simple to keep a well-stocked freezer, but it also ends up being less expensive. You can also save money on future meal expenses by purchasing and preparing larger quantities of lasagnas, casseroles, and curries and freezing the extra for another day. Additionally, foods in tins can be consumed after their indicated sell-by date because of their long shelf lives.

How to shop for food on a budget?

To live, you gotta eat, and to eat, you gotta shop grocery! One of the most basic student requirements is grocery shopping, especially if you are living abroad. So, let’s find out how to do it in your student budget and save some bucks. 

1. Never go shopping hungry! 

One of the biggest rules of effective grocery shopping is never to buy them when hungry. Buying your groceries when you are hungry can lead you to buy a lot of snacks and junk food rather than buying your basics. While you need snacks too, your essential groceries like rice, lentils, spices and vegetables can last longer while you can cook healthy and fulfilling meals with them. 

2. Go at the Start of Your Store's "Sales Week"

There is a wealth of information on the best day of the week to go food shopping on the Internet. Because most shops begin their seven-day sales on Wednesdays and some still honour last week's sales, most people will tell you it is Wednesday. Your results may vary, though. For instance, many shops in my neighbourhood start their sales on either Sunday or Monday, and they never have a day when both the sales from the previous week and those from the future week are strong.

3. Go When Bins Are Freshly Stocked

Mid-morning to early afternoon is the optimum time to shop to ensure your store has everything in stock. During this period, many stores stock their fresh food (non-perishables are usually stocked in the evenings when people are not walking through the aisles). 

Finding the freshest food at this time is quite beneficial (and in my case, sometimes the only time to find coveted items like organic strawberries, which always disappear fast in my town). The same idea also applies to the fresh meat and seafood sections; you also tend to save money on groceries as you won’t be looking around to spend extra due to fewer people. 

4. Weekend Mornings Are a Better Time

Try to schedule your trips for the morning if, like most of us, your only opportunity to shop for groceries is on the weekends. Get up early on a Saturday or Sunday when everyone else is still in pyjamas. Fresh vegetables, filled shelves, and a calm store are all present. You'll exit the store more quickly, with fewer impulsive purchases, and spend less on groceries. 

Living on a student budget means grabbing every opportunity to save money. We hope that our guide on how to buy groceries on a budget was helpful to you and that you might as well use these tricks to save yourself some bucks and maybe buy something by the end of the year from all the savings you have collected!