One of the biggest shocks when you start shopping for your own food at uni is just how expensive it can be – especially cheese, right?
According to our yearly National Student Money Survey, students spend on average £92 a month on groceries alone – that’s more cash than they spend on anything else apart from rent!
When it comes to food shopping, students tend to fall into the same pitfalls over and over again. How many times have you bought a one-off meal from the Tesco Express round the corner instead of stocking up at a big-budget supermarket?
It’s time to break those old habits and have a look at this shiny array of top tips and hidden gems to save yourself some cash.
- Downshift to value brands – a lot of your basic foods can be bought from the value range, and you genuinely won’t be able to tell the difference. Use our guide on downgrading your supermarket brands to find out more
- Become a ‘Whoops Warrior’ – many supermarkets sell food that’s just about to hit its sell-by date at a cheaper price. This shopping ninja feeds her family exclusively on reduced grub for just £20 a week!
- Compare products across different supermarkets using mySupermarket – one of our favourite money-saving apps
- Shop at supermarkets like Morrisons and Co-op that offer a student discount
- Find out if you have a ‘pay as you feel’ supermarket or similar initiative near where you live