People have been urged to take action if needed
Nationwide, the world’s largest building society with over 16 million members, has shared an important message, and with the summer holidays on the horizon, it’s crucial to take action if needed.
Talking about food shopping on its website, the financial experts stress: “Enough food for you and your family is critical, and food shopping is often one of the biggest costs to budget for.” Reminding people to seek support if needed, Nationwide urges people to visit the StepChange website.
The experts can help “maximise your food budget.” This may be especially important if you have children. With schools finishing for the summer, kids will be at home for longer, and they’ll likely want more snacks during the day. This means you may need to stock up on more food than you would during the school term.
How to get food shopping for less
Directing people to the StepChange website, the debt charity has suggested tips for shopping for less. It urges people to:
- Plan ahead and batch cook
- Audit what you have in
- Use loyalty points
- Shop around
Whilst it may sound obvious, using up what you have can make a big difference. Think:
- Tinned foods
- Dried foods such as rice, noodles and pasta
- Sauces
- Frozen foods
- Fresh food that will go off soon
Sticking to a strict shopping list and batch-cooking are also great options. StepChange explains: “This means cooking enough to make multiple meals. It only really works if you have a freezer. You freeze your meals so they are there when you need them.”
It can help you by:
- Saving time during the week
- Saving money on energy bills – as you cook in one go
- Using up food before it goes off
- Making the most of multi-buy offers
Urging people not to “be tempted by special offers”, it suggests downloading a “free app on your phone to make a list” as “some apps have alerts to remind you when you need to restock an item.” This way, you are buying the items you need, rather than guessing and potentially doubling up.
Don’t forget to use any coupons or loyalty points and nip over to the reduced section. Remember that there may be more than one place with ‘yellow sticker’ food, so check the fresh, chilled and store cupboard areas.
Admitting it’s not always easy and it can be “a lot harder for some than for others”, StepChange urges people to read its guide on emergency help with money for food. If you are running out of ways to pay your bills and heat your home, it stresses: “Don’t wait to get free and impartial debt help.”
Nationwide said people should take a deeper look into what they’re spending, which will help them find out how much:
- They need to pay their bills
- Makes up their basic living costs
- They have left for what else is important
It adds: “When you’re clear on what your essential costs are, you can identify where you would like to reduce your spending. Creating a budget can help you work out what you’re paying for, and how much you spend.”
