How to save money on your weekly shop

Going shopping every week can be really expensive - so here's a short guide to help you save money on your weekly shop. Don't shop when you're hungry Going shopping when you're hungry can be a recipe for disaster. Just think about it, you're absolutely starving and you go into the shop. The smells of fresh bread, cooked meat and sweet cakes are all tempting you over to their respective counters. You end up buying a cake, some cooked chicken legs and a baguette - thinking you will be able to eat these later on. But the thing is, if you went into the store after you had eaten your dinner, for example, these smells - although they would have still been nice - wouldn't have appealed to you in the same way, and you would have saved money by not buying them. So, the moral of the story here is: don't go shopping when you're hungry - because you'll end up buying things you don't need! Create a shopping list To ensure you don't buy things you don't need when you're out shopping, you should take a shopping list with you. Before you hit the store, raid your fridge, freezer and cupboards to see what you are actually running short on. You should only note down the essentials - not things like chocolate bars and expensive coffee. Now plan your meals out for the next week and write down exactly what you need to buy for them - and nothing more! Head to the store with your shopping list in your hand, and only buy what is on the list - nothing else. You should find that you save yourself money and your bags should be lighter, because you haven't bought things you don't actually need. Buy value/budget/store-brand products Don't be afraid/embarrassed to buy value/budget or store-brand products. Ok, so the packaging doesn't look as nice as their branded equivalents, but believe it or not - the taste won't actually be that different. You could even head over to the 'damaged stock' aisle to see what's on offer. The stock will have damage to it (hence the name of the aisle), but this shouldn't affect the taste (if it does, they shouldn't be selling it). For example, some tins may be dented, or a box may have a hole in it - which is nothing more than a bit of superficial damage.