If you’re looking to save money then avoid these wasteful food items.
Food is a major expense for many of us. Alongside paying for a roof over our heads, putting food on the table tends to be one of our biggest monthly costs. We’re also incredibly wasteful when it comes to food, both in terms of what we throw away and how much we spend. If you’re keen to reduce your food spend, without necessarily affecting the quality of what you cook with and eat, then these are some of the food items to look out for.
These tips have been suggested to us by the personal finance experts at Solution Loans who know all about eating well on a small budget.
Pre-sliced anything
From onions and carrots through to cheese, there are many different types of food items that are available today ready prepared. In cost terms you will usually pay more for something that has been prepared and packaged up for your convenience and it’s usually a waste of money. Most of us do have the time to chop an onion or slice some cheese so paying more for pre-sliced or chopped food is super wasteful. It can also have an impact on the quality and freshness of what you eat too – food that is sliced and then packaged can dry out and lose taste pretty quickly.
Ready meals
When you break down the cost of cooking your own spaghetti Bolognese or vegetable curry, compared to buying it as a ready meal, you will always pay less if you do this yourself. Ready meals are quick but they are also expensive and often a waste of money. Plus, they tend to be loaded with sugar and fat and many are completely tasteless when compared to a home cooked version. Ready meals are convenience food and appeal to those with not much time to cook. However, there are ways to avoid them – for example, why not batch cook at the weekend and then freeze meals that you can eat during the week?
Bottled water
Not “food” as such but a consumable that we waste a lot of money on every year. Bottled water is rarely better quality than tap water and if you’re worried about the contents of your own water supply you can always buy a filter jug – a much cheaper investment. Buying bottled water is not only wasteful in terms of your own monthly budget but is bad for the environment too, as it creates huge volumes of plastic bottles that end up in landfill.
Anything from a garage/service station/airport etc
When you’re on the move or travelling you are a captive audience, which is why food retailers in certain locations will always boost their prices. So, if you’re buying a sandwich at a service station you’ll pay a lot more for it than in a regular shop. Rather than wasting money on travel food, it’s a much better idea to simply take your own with you when you go. Home made sandwiches, pies and quiches all travel well and multipack snacks, such as chocolate or crisps will help you to save a lot of cash when you’re on the move.
