Planning Ahead Can Help You Save Money!

OK, so you might find you have run out of say... flour, and you have to go to the shop. Off you go, and on your way you see so many tasty temptations, and then you compromise by only buying half of all these things, and you come back home with a shopping bag's worth. Ooops, and best of all? You forgot to buy the flour!
It's easy to end up spending a lot of extra money if you buy things as you go along, and I have found that doing a weekly shop not only saves me money, but also time and I don't have to stress about what to have for dinner, ebcause I have already the menus (somewhat set-up).

Pick a day of the week that suits you best.
- I find that Sunday mornings are good for it. With a new week ahead of me, and plenty of work, I will need to stock up like a right good hamster, preparing myself for the days to come (and a potential zombie apocalypse, you just never know...).

- Write a shopping list: Think roughly what you are wanting to have for breakfasts and lunches, and buy a handful of staple ingredients or foods that you know you always have on a regular basis (certain fruits, vegetables, yogurt, eggs, etc.). Jot down recipes or name of dishes you want to make for the coming 3-4 days, this will allow you to keep things fresh, and whatever needs frozen for future use or the end of the week, well - that's easy enough.

Shopping list, and a sort of keyword list of the recipes I can make, as well as the shopping receipt.

This also got my laundry washing things, hence why it was a little more pricey.

I tend to plan dinners from Sunday and through to Wednesday, and at the end of the week, I will either make do with what I have and cook up some student-tastic meals, or find recipes where I only need a few more ingredients including what I have left in the fridge, freezer and cupboards - trying as best I can to avoid all the great offers and tasty stuff in the aisles, but aaaalways at least buying one or two (or five..) things that I had no intention of getting in the first place. The amount of times I have grabbed a punnet of strawberries, yogurts, and hummous is ridiculous. Make your own hummous girl, we're trying to save money here!

Anyway, I thought I would include some pictures of my simple little process, as well as the total amounts. Now, keep in mind that this shopping also got my laundry liquid, and I didn't intend to "save" money as such, other than simply planning ahead. You can easily spend less than this if you plan a little more carefully, and get creative. There are plenty of recipes packed full of flavours that doesn't cost much to make, and the best of all? You get delicious, fresh food that you made!

What I actually made (PS. I actually did get around to making the chocolate biscottis as well, but I made them this week and not last week).

Do you do weekly shopping trips, or plan meals ahead? And do you have more tips on how to save money when it comes to food shopping and making?

Today, I have just come back from camping in Falkland, a beautiful little town in Scotland. It was amazing to get back out into the nature again. My friend and I went strawberry picking on a fruit farm before hand, and had a barbecue to celebrate Solstice/St. Hans (and the fact that we were camping), we went on a tiny pub crawl, aaaaand today we climbed one of the East Lomond Hills, the view from the top was absolutely stunning! Just waking up to the sound of birdsong, and horses neighing in the distance was something else, mmmm... I hope you have had an amazing weekend, and I wish you all the best for the new week ahead!

- Jules