Way to Save Money on Groceries

Food — one of my favourite things in this world. When grocery shopping, it’s so easy to spend more money than you had budgeted for. You load your trolley up with all your goodies and then proceed to the checkout only to be shocked by the final total on the screen. In our mind, we can easily excuse most of the food we put into our trolleys as “necessities”, however, is all our food spending really a necessity? Don’t worry, we aren’t here to make you feel guilty about your food shop — we want to give you some friendly tips to help you save money on your next food bill.

Create a food budget (including bought lunches and takeaway meals). See if you can cut $20 or $40 dollars off your budget. If you save $40 dollars a week that adds up to $2,080 a year and that’s not even including compound interest.

Make your own lunches. This is such a great way to save money, and know exactly what you’re putting in your mouth. It’s quite shocking to learn the amount of sugars, salts and flavourings that go into out takeaway lunches. You can still treat yourself to buying lunch one day a week and the money you save, you could put it away into an investment.

Look around for deals. Often the fruit and veggie store or the butcher are cheaper than your local supermarket. If there is a special on meat, buy in bulk — put the extra meat in the freezer to use another day.

Create a shopping list. If you’re using a shopping list, then you are less likely to buy things that you don’t need. Not only that, you won’t forget to buy toilet paper or another necessity!

Winter can make it hard to stick to the budget. Food is more expensive, and we start looking around for more comfort food. Why not see this an opportunity to be creative with recipes. Soups and curries do not cost much to make and they are so filling and good for you. Below you will find a recipe for a Thai curry and coconut butternut squash soup — perfect for those cold winter nights.

Do you have any money saving tips? We would love to hear them. Comment them in the section below;

Thai Curry and Coconut Butternut Squash Soup:
1 large butternut squash, about 2.5 pounds
1 tbsp oil
1/2 an onion, chopped up very small
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
4 cloves garlic
2–3 tsp Thai Red Curry paste
4 cups chicken broth
1 13–14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Fancy optional things:
Some toasted coconut for garnish
A few kaffir lime leaves, chopped up a bit

Cut the squash in half, take out the seeds, brush it with oil, and bake it for an hour at 400°F. Then scoop out the soft squash with a spoon when it’s done.

Fry the onion, ginger and garlic in some oil for a few minutes. Add the curry paste and cook for a few more minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, coconut milk, salt, squash and shredded lime leaves. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice.

Finally, blend up the contents of the pan in a blender or a bowl with a hand mixer. Serve in colourful bowls with the garnishes.

Set yourself up for a brighter future — Haven Financial Advisers