Woman reveals how she got her monthly food shop down to less than £70 a month
- Kayleigh Murray, 24, prepares meal plans and shopping lists to help people on a budget
- Kayleigh has got her monthly shop down to less than £70, when she used to spend £220
- Kayleigh has lots of great tips for reducing the price of your weekly shop
Food shopping is one of the most expensive parts of most people’s months, so we’re always looking for ways to cut down on our splurges at Aldi, Tesco or Morrisons.
One savvy shopper has revealed how she slashed her monthly food bill hugely so that it came to just £67.65.
Kayleigh Murray, 24, from Monmouthshire, decided to set herself and her partner Perry, 29, the challenge of completing a monthly food shop for under £100, and decided to create a series of meal plans and shopping lists to be more organised around shopping and cut out the temptation of impulse buying.
Kayleigh told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “My partner and I came up with the idea to set ourselves a challenge of getting our food shop for £50 a month. It just couldn't happen so we said as long as it was under £100 we were happy, as previously we were spending on average £220 a month.
“We want to save money as we are planning a wedding and I need money to be able to get a car as I'm learning to drive. We also wanted to help other people in the same or a similar situation.
"I wanted to make meal plans and shopping lists to cut down costs and food waste and to maintain a healthier lifestyle. I also wanted to help other people in the same situation as me on a tight budget.
"I have such a passion for cooking - I love it when we have a bit of everything left and I just throw loads of stuff together and hope for the best, but it always turns out delicious. I can remember when we literally had no money and all we had was pasta and sauces and chorizo and cheese but it was one of the nicest meals we've had. My partner always says to me that I can make a meal out of anything and always make it tasty!”
Kayleigh decided to create shopping lists and meal plans with her partner to try to eat healthier and save money.
"I just sat down and thought of different meal ideas with my partner,” she explains. "We were eating a lot of processed food last year and I didn't want to eat like that anymore. I wanted to eat a bit healthier. I have lost three stone from eating healthier and walking.
"We do our shopping online at Tesco and we find it much better than going into store as when we were going into the store we were picking up things we didn't actually need and wasting a lot of money.
"It's so easily done as you think 'look that's on offer’, but online we only look for the stuff we need and we also opted for cheaper alternatives because at the end of the day everything is practically the same.
"My tips to people would be to shop online and make a meal plan first. Check what you already have in your cupboards and freezer as you will be surprised how many meals you can make out of the stuff you already have in.
"If you'd rather go into store, then take a list and stick to your list. Portion control your meals as well and stop buying junk food as we don't actually need it.
"My monthly food shop is under now £70 a month but with toiletries, washing products, dog food and cat food we spend just under £100 a month whereas before we were spending about £220!"
Kayleigh now shares her recipes and meal plans on her own Facebook page called Cooking On A Low Budget (https://www.facebook.com/cookingonalowbudget/), hoping to inspire others to be able to cut down the price of their monthly shop and to cook healthier recipes.
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, says: “Being organised around food can feel tricky if you’re pressed for time, but as Kayleigh shows, making a few lists, recipes and meal plans can pay dividends when it comes to slashing the cost of your monthly shop. Before diving into the meal plans, look what food you already have in your freezer and cupboards, then plan away to avoid wasting money you don’t need to spend on food you might already have!"
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