5 Simple Frugal Living Hacks that Save me Money

Until I became a homeowner, I didn’t think much about the simple frugal living hacks that save me money whenever I go food shopping. Whenever money was tight or not, I practised the same hacks time and again and noticed that I saved money on my food shop every single week. Like many people, I am a planner and budgeter and always implore hacks that save me money with every shop. This year has been tough on everyone and it makes sense for me to share the simple frugal living hacks that save me money every single time.

When I was young, I used to always hear people talk about shopping on an empty stomach is a bad idea. I couldn’t understand the concept, why would shopping when I am hungry be a bad idea, I need food so I should go and buy it when I am hungry but I obviously missed the point. I remember during my university days going food shopping when we were hungry resulted in us buying everything edible and nothing that would last more than a couple days. I then understood why its a bad idea to shop when you are hungry.

The simple ideas I am sharing in this post are those that I implore every single time I go food shopping and they always save me money and they can save you money too.

5 Simple Frugal living Hacks that save money with every Shop

Whether money is tight or you just want to save for a specific reason, these tips are so easy to implement and can save you lots of money. Some of these tips I learned from my mother and others I learned from friends and family whilst others were a no-brainer. Shopping for food has to be one of the funniest shopping trips ever, I love sitting down at home and writing down everything I need in my kitchen. Even though I am mostly frugal, it doesn’t mean I don’t add treats to my shopping list, I believe in rewarding effort.

This year has been tough for many especially with job losses and uncertain futures, everyone is tightening their belts and looking for simple ways to implore that will save them money. I personally have been fortunate in so many ways especially because even though I can spend money spontaneously, I am often frugal and careful about where I spend the money and on what. I hope the tips I share in this post will be helpful to those looking to save a few bucks here and there.

1. I collect store points (nectar, co-op, BP, Boots)

I am a loyal customer and I love shops that reward their loyal customers with discounts that I can use in their store and elsewhere if required. For as long as I can remember I have collected nectar points so that come Christmas I can spend them on my Christmas food shop. For most of local supermarkets that I shop at, you collect points that you can convert into money and throughout the year they offer discounts on products that you frequently buy.

Before I go food shopping I always look at the kind of discounts I have from all the stores that I frequent and plan my food shops around them. If its discounts on items that I would have bought anyway then I think it’s worth a little hassle to scan my discount codes for all my favourite shops and plan the trip accordingly. And sometimes the stars align and I can get discounts in all the shops that I frequent without much hassle.

2. Bulk buy meats and freeze 

Buying foods in bulk is something I learned from my mother when I was young, we would go to the butchers and fish market and she would buy so much food, you would think she was planning on selling it but that wasn’t the case. My mum taught me how to bulk buy from a young age and I do that every quarter when I do my big monthly/quarterly shop. I find that buying meats in bulk and freezing them saves me money big time. I consume a lot of fish which can be costly for buying it every month.

You don’t have to only buy meats in bulk but there are a lot of products that you can buy at the wholesalers and keeps for a long time. I do the same thing with long-life milk although I also make sure I check the dates and use the ones expiring earliest first. As much I love fresh milk, I buy less of that and buy more long-life milk but even with fresh milk, you can freeze it for a number of months. The point is to make sure you buy foods that can keep or can be frozen in bulk and save money.

3. Batch cook and meal prep

What goes well with buying in bulk is batch cooking and also meal prep, most people who meal prep do it on Sunday and cook for the whole week. I often cook several of my favourite meals that lasts me a month or so which means I just defrost when I need a meal and don’t have to cook or go food shopping to make my favourite dish. I know batch cooking is not for everyone but this is one of the major ways I am able to save money every single month.

Meal prep can become a drag pretty quickly especially if your dishes are not appetising enough or easy to make. I love chilli so I make a big batch and change up the sides and also I rota how often I have chilli in a week. I cook big batches of at least 4 of my favourite dishes and rotate them weekly so I don’t get bored with what I am eating. And every so often, I make sure I cook a fresh dish on the day just to spice things up.

4. Shop off season

Shopping off season is something I learned from friends, I always seemed to buy a lot of fruits that were off season which meant they were more expensive. It took time but now before every shop I check which vegetables and fruits are in season and I buy a lot of those and for those not in season, I buy from the frozen section. I do this not only with food but clothing as well, I often buy my summer clothes during winter and winter clothes during summer since most shops went to flog items that didn’t sell well during its season.

If you don’t have time to research which fruits and veg you should be buying in what season. I would just take a moment when you are in the supermarket and see which are in abundance and of those that you buy regularly which have increased in price. I love eating watermelons year round but I know that during winter they are most expensive than during summer. But, as I said, I am not just frugal, I believe in rewarding good habits and I reward myself as well especially when I stick to my frugal hacks and save money.

5. Buy generic and the sale section

I think many people need to be reminded that buying generic brands is not a bad thing. More often than not when you buy branded items, you are paying for fancy packaging than the quality of the product. It took me a long time to learn this, I was so brand obsessed when it came to food that I wasted money on things that weren’t so different from the generic brands. Often generic brands aka the store’s own version tastes just as good as branded items but their bland packaging make them seem otherwise.

Another section I check often is the sale section, they’re often items in there that can last more than a day. Most sale items in terms of food are those that will expiry within a day or so and they are often reduced to pennies and I am here for it. I love a good sale whether that is food-related or clothing, I spend my time searching through until I find what I like. Again, this might not be for everyone but please remember for some its a difference between food on the table and going hungry.

I hope you find these tips useful and hope you can share some of your own tips on how you save money when food shopping or just general frugal lifestyle hacks that I can implement. So which of these simple frugal living hacks that save me money are you already implementing.