How to spend less on food. How to save on food. Compare prices in different stores

Want to reduce the amount on your grocery store receipt? Then you should check out these strategies to help you preserve food longer, avoid supermarket tricks, use discounts correctly, and more.

Choose store aisles you don't use.

Each store has an aisle or two where there are no temptations for you (pet food, stationery, children's things, cosmetics, etc.). Therefore, when you need to go from one department to another, use these passages. Why tempt yourself with sweets once again?

Buy whole chicken

Never buy chicken parts (breasts, wings) if you can buy the whole chicken and save a lot on it. At home, you can cut it into pieces yourself using sharp kitchen scissors.

Cut your gourmet coffee costs

Even home-brewed coffee can be expensive if you use high-end varieties. Try saving a little money by mixing one part of your favorite gourmet coffee with the same amount of a less expensive store brand.

To store, turn the package of cottage cheese upside down.

This way it will last twice as long as if you put it with the label facing up.

Visit food markets at the end of the day

Sellers don't want to bring unsold food back home, so they often sell their inventory at discounted prices before the market closes. You can get discounts of up to 80%.

No matter how much spiel flows from TV screens (they say that the government controls the prices of goods from the food basket), statistics are a stubborn thing. The cost of conventional food products is rising again The cost of a conditional (minimum) set of food products. If in October 2017 it was 3,715 rubles, then in May 2018 it was already at the level of 3,970 rubles.

Growth by 255 rubles in six months

According to experts, prices will continue to rise. This means it’s time to learn to save. We'll show you how to spend the least amount of money on food.

In the shop

1. Make a shopping list and strictly follow it

To do this, develop a menu for the week: breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Inspect your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and add to your shopping list the ingredients you need to prepare your intended meals. Nothing extra!

Mobile applications will help you keep a shopping list.

2. Compare prices in different stores

Buying everything in one supermarket is convenient. But sometimes, if you walk to the bakery around the corner, you can buy tastier and cheaper bread.

If you don’t have time for monitoring, try to shop once a week. “Today I’ll buy cottage cheese, and tomorrow I’ll go and buy more eggs” - an approach that leads to unplanned expenses.

Well, use special applications.

3. Attend agricultural fairs

They usually take place in autumn and spring, and there you can very profitably buy farm products: potatoes, eggs and others.

4. Avoid impulse purchases

Don’t buy products not on the list just because they are cheap or because you suddenly feel like, “Oh! Discount on Chinese cabbage! You have to take it, it’s usually 10 rubles more expensive” (are you sure you’ll eat it?), “Mmm, cake! Want! Want!" (what about diet?).

Don’t take children to the store: their “wants” are harder to resist. Willpower alone will not save you.

5. Use discount cards

You may have to pay to purchase it, but this is a one-time expense, and discounts can be used every time you visit this store.

6. Buy in bulk

Flour, sugar, salt, pasta and spices are always needed. Plus they have a long shelf life. This means you can borrow for future use. Moreover, prices in wholesale retail outlets, as a rule, lower.

“Where do I need so much? I have nowhere to store it,” are typical objections of housewives to the advice to buy food in large quantities. The solution is simple: chip in with friends. By purchasing a package of rice and dividing it among yourselves, you will quickly experience the benefits of this approach.

According to merchandising rules, the most expensive products are placed on shelves at eye level of the buyer, and the cheapest ones are placed on the lower shelves. Don't be lazy to lean over and study the assortment below.

Also, don't look in departments you don't need (separate the products on the list into groups: meat, vegetables, etc.). And don’t forget that you should visit the store well-fed.

8. Turn off autopilot

We often wander around the store, thinking about our own things and automatically putting products in the basket. Remember how disappointing it is when you find at home that the apples are broken and the cookies in the package are broken. Choose your products carefully.

9. Don't overpay for a name

Famous brand products are more expensive. But this is not always a guarantee of quality and taste. Take a closer look at less famous but cheaper analogues. For example, brands chain stores. Typically, taste characteristics popular goods(vegetable oil, groceries, etc.) are no different from branded ones.

10. Don’t overpay for packaging

Milk in a nondescript package can be tastier and cheaper than a drink in a bottle, and loose bulk products are more profitable than those packaged in colorful boxes.

11. Pay attention to weight and volume

Often the same product is on the shelves, but one is cheaper than the other, for example, by 5 rubles. Don't rush to grab what's cheaper. Compare the difference in weight or volume of these products. It is more profitable to take a “full” kilogram than 940 grams.

12. Don't buy processed foods

They are a priori more expensive than self-prepared (from “A” to “Z”) dishes. Don't allow yourself to be lazy: cook them yourself and store them in the freezer.

And further. Sliced ​​bread and sausage are always more expensive. Can't you cut your own loaf?

13. Don’t be afraid of delays

The discount policy of chain grocery stores is a subject for a separate discussion. But when a product expires, sellers are willing to get really generous. As a rule, products “with a timer” are quite suitable. The main thing is to use them as soon as possible.

The exception is fermented milk products. It is easy to get food poisoning with them, so it is better to buy only fresh ones.

14. Don't waste money on bottled water

It is more profitable to buy a filter for cleaning once.

15. Keep receipts

In the kitchen

1. Adjust your diet

For example, include poultry in your menu instead of fresh fish, which has become noticeably more expensive. Replace ingredients with cheaper ones whenever possible (pink salmon instead of trout, Adyghe cheeses instead of mozzarella).

Nothing beats a juicy sirloin steak, but liver, heart and other organ meats can be cooked deliciously. Buy them from time to time instead of meat - you will save money and improve your culinary skills.

3. Don't cook too much

There are housewives whose “hands don’t take much.” If you cook borscht, then in a large saucepan, if you fry cutlets, then use a full frying pan. Such wastefulness, as a rule, ends with half of the prepared food going into the trash bin. Learn to cook only as much as you eat.

Alternatively, don't cook until you've eaten what you've cooked.

4. Follow cooking sites

Budget recipes often appear there. Keep them for yourself. They will help you create your weekly menu and shopping list.

5. Use seasonal vegetables and fruits

A salad of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers can cost a pretty penny in winter. Cabbage and carrots are much cheaper at this time of year. Make a salad from them - it will turn out just as tasty and healthy.

6. Cook your own

It's about what you can do at home. For example, kvass. In the store, a one and a half liter bottle of this drink costs an average of 50 rubles. Three liters of homemade kvass will cost you only 20 rubles.

You can save even more on and.

7. Make preparations

We're not talking about three-liter jars of pickles. With the modern pace of life and urbanization, this is not an amateur activity. But anyone can freeze greens and berries.

Finely chop parsley, dill and other favorite herbs, place in a container and put in the freezer. Aromatic seasoning is always at hand.

8. Eat perishable foods first.

We bought yogurt, put it in the refrigerator, and five days later, when we remembered it and wanted to eat it, it turned out that it had expired. As a result, several tens of rubles go into the trash. Sound familiar?

To avoid getting into such situations again, stick it on perishable food bright stickers: “eat before Thursday”, “use before the end of the week” and so on.

9. Store food correctly

Compliance with storage conditions prevents premature spoilage of products. The more thrifty you are with food, the less often you will have to replenish your food supplies.

By the way, about frugality. Many products can be given a “second life”. Has the bread started to dry out? Make crackers and add to salads.

As you can see, you don’t have to be a pedant to save on food. Anyone can follow these recommendations. But the main thing is don’t be fanatical. Sometimes you can and should allow yourself something tasty or your favorite.

According to statistics, 61% of Russians spend up to two-thirds of their family budget on food, and 9% spend their entire budget on food. Some, quite a large part of the population, believes that they know how to spend less money, so they buy products at the market, in addition, they are of better quality there, but they are mistaken - it is fresher and cheaper on the market only in the regions, and quality needs to be discussed separately and not In this article.

Since inexorable statistics say that the majority of the population spends most of their money on groceries, let’s start figuring out how to spend less money on groceries, and the first rule will be: the cheapest groceries can only be found in discount supermarkets, second place goes to chain hypermarkets, and the most expensive are convenience stores. So it’s worth buying only perishable food around the house.

But even if you adhere to this first rule, you must be careful when spending:

Another source of savings is mobile communications:

We save on clothes and shoes:

• be careful the sale may be a marketing ploy. There is no guarantee that prices will be lower than usual;
• symbols new collection in the window - things of the same season. Buy basic things: skirts, classic trousers, jeans, blouses, turtlenecks;
• traditional, contrary to the assertion that it is cheaper on the Internet, often cheaper than online stores or showrooms, compare the price.

How much money do you spend on food? Do you buy a lot of products? How varied is your diet? What dietary guidelines does your family follow? Irina Sokovykh, author of the book “Minimalism. Life without trash,” adheres to minimalism in nutrition too. For her, this means spending less money on food, but at the same time eating tasty, varied and simple.

My desire to eat simply arose long before minimalism. One day I realized that I no longer wanted to eat cutlets with added onions, white bread, and seasonings, but just wanted to eat boiled meat. I don't want to eat mayonnaise salads, but I want to bite into a whole tomato. I don't want anything canned or fried anymore. large quantities butter or difficult to prepare. I want simple, fresh and healthy food.

So I chose for myself several basic methods of processing food: boiling, steaming, baking and stewing. I process foods that cannot (or are not tasty) eaten raw. I do not process anything that can be eaten in its natural raw form. These are vegetables, fruits, dairy products, greens. Sometimes, however, I prepare vegetable sauces, for example for spaghetti, but mostly I prefer vegetables in their pure form.

If you are now bored, then I can say that I personally get bored at the sight of sausage, cutlets, Olivier salad or stuffed fish. I honestly don’t understand why you spend so much time on what is essentially a mishmash of different food products.

No, I can eat any food, but my regular diet excludes complex dishes. I think this is correct, because the fewer stages of processing food goes through, the healthier and tastier it is. Here is an example of our family menu for the week.

Now I’ll tell you about 10 products that we always have in our house and with which you can feed the whole family.

Sour cream. This is the number 1 product because it replaces mayonnaise in salads and harmful fillers in desserts. I actively use sour cream for stewing, and also serve it with pancakes and fresh berries.

Bird. In the case of our family, it’s mostly turkey, but we also buy chicken and sometimes duck. Dietary turkey meat is suitable for baking, stewing, boiling, and steaming. And what delicious broths come out of turkey! If you are still a fan of cutlets, then the poultry makes them juicy and tender. And for breakfast, you can add pieces of turkey or chicken to scrambled eggs. Poultry can be used to replace meat, sausage and other semi-finished meat products.

Buckwheat. I use it as a side dish for meat dishes, and also serve it with tomato sauce, with vegetables, and in the morning it is very tasty to eat buckwheat porridge with milk.

Rice. Healthy, tasty. You can choose the type of rice you like best, including unprocessed wild, black and brown rice. You can make anything from rice - porridge, pilaf, serve as a side dish for stewed fish or meat. Rice is also added to meatballs, stuffed vegetables, casseroles and some types of salads.

Pumpkin. It can be baked, added to porridge and made incredibly delicious desserts.

Lemons. Lemonades are made from them, added to coffee, tea, desserts, and also used in the preparation of meat, fish and seafood.

Eggs. Also an integral element of our family’s nutrition. I add eggs to baked goods, sauces for meat, and serve them for breakfast. In addition, boiled eggs can be used as snacks, and eggs are a required ingredient in many salad recipes.

Apples and any fruits in season. You can safely forget about exotic fruits, which in our stores are exorbitantly expensive, but bring as much benefit as your native and favorite apples. In general, I try not to buy fruits that are out of season and some completely overseas varieties. You can simply nibble on apples, or you can add them to desserts, fruit salads, baked goods, and bake them. Apples also make delicious juices.

Carrots and vegetables in season. Just like fruits and vegetables, I take them strictly in season. Carrots go into any type of main course, into soups, into salads; you can simply give them to children and adults to chew on.

For fish lovers - coho salmon or any red fish. It can be baked, boiled, pickled, fried, cooked in the oven and steamed.

Baking in the oven is also minimalism

If you haven't used your oven yet, start now. You can’t even imagine how much it saves the housewife’s time and energy. You can do your favorite things while dinner is cooking without worrying about something burning or undercooking.

In addition, you can place two baking sheets with similar dishes in the oven at the same time, so you will save time significantly. This is very convenient when you are hosting guests.

And the best part is that you can cook in the oven in ceramic pots. I bet that every housewife has such pots gathering dust on the top shelf of her kitchen unit and gets them out 1-2 times a year, but in vain! You can cook anything in pots, from porridges to full-fledged main courses.

At the same time, you immediately get portions for each family member, which is very convenient. And eating from pots is fun and interesting, and most importantly, the process of preparing dinner comes down to 15–20 minutes, you just need to put the necessary ingredients in the pots and set the desired temperature.

8 snacks on the road or at work

Now let's talk about snacking, because between meals you still want to munch on something, and many of my friends choose store-bought cookies, crackers, chips or candy. Let me give you a list of what is usually used for snacks in my family, and you can decide whether this option is right for you or not.

1. Bananas and other fruits in season. In my opinion, bananas are an ideal way to satisfy hunger. One banana can be a good snack between meals, and if you cut a banana into cottage cheese or yogurt, you can definitely survive without food for several more hours.
2. Kozinaki, nuts or dried fruits. They can also be used as a snack between meals, and their undoubted advantage is that they fit in a bag and are therefore always at hand.
3. Vegetable salads with sour cream or butter. This option is for those who work from home. Salads fill you up quickly, and they are also healthy, so freelancers, take note!
4. Bread. You can choose the ones you like. I prefer rye ones. But be careful, bread rolls - they are like seeds, you may not notice how you eat the whole pack!
5. Sandwiches with red fish. Also a good snack option that you can take with you to work. Place a leaf of lettuce, a slice of tomato and pieces of red fish on the bread. Tasty, healthy and fast!
6. Chocolate. I snack on them extremely rarely, but when there is nothing at hand at all, then chocolate comes in handy. I choose chocolate with a high cocoa content and a minimal set of ingredients.
7. Kefir, fermented baked milk. This is also one of the most simple options snack. Between kefir and fermented baked milk, I choose the latter, but this is purely a matter of taste.
8. Whole grain bread with raisins. This is delicious. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it! And if you put a piece of butter on top, the snack will turn into a pleasure.

Why don't we buy sweets for tea?

One of the frequently asked questions goes something like this: “Ira, why don’t you buy any goodies for tea or for the child?”

My answer is simple - all our food is delicious, and I don’t see the point in buying separately any confectionery products that are not made of what it is clear and do not provide any benefit. In our family, treats mean fruits, dried fruits and baked goods, which my daughter and I prepare ourselves.

I actively involve my daughter in the cooking process while she is interested in it due to her age, because I consider the cooking skill to be one of the most valuable for a future housewife. So, together with her, we buy puff pastry in the store (after carefully studying the composition), cut it into pieces, sprinkle with sugar, and after 7 minutes the delicious “tongues” are ready! Why not "yummy"?

We also love to bake small muffins and cupcakes. This doesn’t take much time, but it compensates for the child’s lack of communication, because mom and dad are often busy, including at work, and here there is a triple benefit - you spend time with the child, teach him how to cook, and get delicious pastries “for tea.” .

We very rarely buy store-bought sweets, but we still take waffles and chocolate eggs with surprises (maybe this is how my husband and I are nostalgic for our childhood times?).

What to feed your husband if your wife is a minimalist?

My husband is quite satisfied with a side dish in the form of salad if it is an evening meal. That is, for dinner we can eat meat or fish left over from lunch, plus a vegetable salad with olive oil, but often we limit ourselves to just salad.

But my man’s breakfast should be complete and voluminous. So, my husband can eat almost half a pan of oatmeal for breakfast. I’m lucky that he loves porridge, absolutely any kind, but he doesn’t accept sandwiches for breakfast, which I naturally support him in.

So, for breakfast we have a lot of porridge, and for dinner - vegetables and something meat; What does my husband eat for lunch? He is not against soups, and is quite full of one plate, but still, like most representatives of the stronger sex, he needs meat. And if on this day I prepare a not very filling side dish, then I simply leave more meat for its share.

In general, my husband eats the same way as my daughter and I, but his portions are much larger than ours, or some more filling side dish is added to his dish.

I don’t know how to adapt my food system for your family, but it seems to me that you can gradually add healthier foods to your diet and remove harmful ones, while monitoring the reaction of your family.

To be honest, I think that other family members do not need to know that anything will change in their diet. Most likely, they will not notice the absence of some products, but they will like the new ones. Therefore, do not focus on changes, but try to slowly change your diet for the better.

1. Keep records of expenses and income

The most common reason for unreasonable spending is lack of control. To determine where exactly the money is flowing, you need to keep daily records of expenses and income. Choose a convenient time, for example evening, write down expenses and receipts of money in a notebook or special mobile app.

It is better to divide the categories in which the most impressive amounts are obtained into smaller ones. For example, “Food” is divided into “Products”, “Cafes, restaurants”, “Lunch at work”. This will allow you to more accurately determine the source of increased expenses and optimize them. For example, instead of gathering with friends in a cafe, you can arrange a trip out of town for barbecue, which will cost less.

Daria Balaboshina, consultant-methodologist of the Russian Ministry of Finance project to increase financial literacy population

By the end of the first month, you will be able to learn a lot about yourself and your habits. And if necessary, adjust them.

2. Plan a budget

How much do you need to spend each month? An ideal budget is one in which income exceeds expenses by at least 10%.

Set a daily or weekly spending limit for each expense category and stick to it. To combat the temptation to spend more, you can set a daily spending limit of bank card(it can be set up in Internet banking).

Develop personal rules for your spending based on their significance. For example, food communal payments, loans, debts. This way you will set priorities, avoid penalties that appear when loan payments are delayed, and you will not spend funds to pay “in advance” where it is not necessary.

Natalya Fefilova, Development Director, 404 Group

3. Make your life difficult

There are several ways to get rid of impulsive spending. But for this you will have to complicate shopping trips.

• Go shopping with a list of items and stick to it strictly.
• Carry a limited amount of cash (or a card with a daily limit).
• Set a rule: if you really like “those green shoes,” don’t buy it right away, but the next day, unless you change your mind.
• Ban yourself from spending on convenient but unnecessary things, such as coffee to go, food delivery to your home, and so on.

4. Take inventory

Periodically (once a month or six months) sort out your wardrobe, bookshelves, and food supplies. Make lists of what you have. Perhaps you will find a vintage dress in your closet that is super relevant today. And in the kitchen you will find stocks of cereals that you forgot about.

Get rid of things you don't use: sell what you can, even for a small amount.

I did a wardrobe analysis with a stylist and described my style. I got rid of things I don’t wear and donated them to charity shops. Every season I start a Pinterest board, add things I like, then remove things that don't suit my style. As a result, I only buy clothes that suit me, match my wardrobe and don’t go out of style for several seasons. The amount I spend on things has decreased by three times.

Kira Zhestkova, Marketing Director of the Fins.money service

5. Learn to say no

You can earn income from conscious shopping. Every time you stop yourself from making an impulse purchase, put the cost into a savings account.

Every month I find at least 10 expenses that I will give up. These can be small things (for example, takeaway coffee) or more serious purchases: the tenth shirt, the next pair of shoes, some unnecessary interior elements, and so on. At the end of the month I calculate how much I managed to save.

Maxim Sundalov, head of the online school in English EnglishDom

6. Take advantage of privileges

Set a rule for yourself to wait for sales. In your favorite stores, you can accurately determine whether an item is really being sold at a discount or whether it is a dishonest marketing ploy.

Take advantage of the loyalty programs that almost everyone has now. Don’t forget your discount cards at home (or even better, add them to a special mobile application). Follow the news: many stores offer promotions that allow you to save big.

Don't forget about cashback. For example, there are cards with cashback miles in the amount of 4% of purchases made. You can only spend this money on travel. But this will be an additional piggy bank for a specific purpose.

Arthur Lyubarsky, independent financial advisor

7. Schedule purchases during business hours

A good incentive to start saving is to compare. At a minimum, this will allow you to think about the need for certain expenses.

Convert the price of purchases into opening hours. For example, you work from 9 to 18, five days a week, your salary is 40 thousand rubles. Your hour costs on average 250 rubles. We bought shoes for 4,000 rubles - that’s two full working days of yours.

Anastasia Tarasova, independent financial advisor, blogger

8. Find new ways to relieve stress

For many, shopping is effective way cheer yourself up. However this bad habit. Bouts of shopaholism lead to unnecessary spending, which can increase stress. You will kick yourself for spending money on unnecessary things. And you won’t be able to get out of the trap “No matter how much you earn, everything is spent.”

It's a vicious circle. You are stressed - you go to a cafe, shopping, to the spa, and so on. Spend money, the cost of maintaining your standard of living rises. The result is that you burden yourself with additional work and drive yourself into even greater stress. Income may increase, and the cost of living increases along with it, but not the enjoyment of it.

Galina Ievleva, founder of the “Workshop for Achieving Goals”

What to do? Find non-monetary ways to relieve stress: walks, pleasant communication, sports, music, and so on. Learn to say a firm “no” to “anti-stress” purchases.

How to save more

1. Set clear goals

Please formulate your request as specifically as possible. Not “I want a car”, but “I want a red car of a certain brand by summer next year" Calculate how much you need to save for this. When you visualize your dream, it will be easier to limit your spending.

To save money more efficiently, automate the process.

If you receive your salary on a card, set up a transfer of 10% of each income to your savings account. On it, interest will be accrued on your savings (sometimes they are higher than on standard bank deposits).

The advantage of a savings account is that the money on it is more reliably protected than on a bank card, including from yourself. You won’t be able to withdraw and spend them “in one move.”

2. Learn mindfulness

Spending and blowing everything away is a sign of an infantile attitude towards money. But the ability to manage finances is a skill. And it can and should be trained. Find your own way to do it.

Immediately after any cash receipts divide the amount into several parts. Set aside one part - 5–10% - as an emergency reserve. This is a safety net that you only use in case of force majeure. Invest the second part: entrust this matter to professionals or make a deposit in the bank yourself. It is important to realize that now money works for you, and not vice versa. Spend the third part on everyday needs, trying to avoid impulsive spending.

Rostislav Plechko, athlete, entrepreneur

3. Keep a jar for change

A kopek, as you know, protects the ruble. Have a box or jar at home where you will put the change that appears in your wallet. In one month you can collect several thousand rubles, which definitely won’t be superfluous.

4. Find new sources of income

Today it is very easy to find a part-time job. There are special Internet services that bring together customers and performers for any type of work. You can earn extra money constantly, in your free time from your main occupation, or take one-time orders when there is a desire and opportunity.

Part-time work can be not only tiring, but also enjoyable: walk the dog, deliver documents, find information on the Internet, and so on. Choose according to your taste.

The most important thing is not to spend, but to save all additional income, in addition to monthly deductions from your salary. If you follow all these rules, your financial situation will improve quite quickly.

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