Where can I buy discount food?
With inflation levels that haven't been seen for decades, we are experiencing a cost of living crisis that hasn't been seen for a generation. COVID-19, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, problematic supply chains and poor harvests are all adding to the increasing inflationary environment.
Why are food prices increasing?
The panic from COVID-19 is over and the Russia's invasion of Ukraine is overseas, why are we experiencing a cost of living crisis in the UK?
The simple answer is energy prices. Energy prices are intertwined with pretty much all retail prices. Heating, refrigeration, petrol for moving products, production costs all require energy and each constitutes part of the cost of the product.
Gas prices alone have increased by around 3 fold since the beginning of 2022 and this has been passed down to the consumer in increased product pricing and increased energy bills. This means that the grocery shop has becoming increasing expensive in a time where wages aren't keeping pace with inflation. This reflects a real wage decrease and subsequently we have less disposable income to afford necessities.
Consumers will therefore rationalise purchases avoiding non-necessities and focus on staple products. As well as shopping for cheaper food, consumers will also seek cheaper household products as well as things like cheap beauty products.
This naturally means that we have to eat on a budget in order to live to our means.
How to shop for discounted food
1. Eat simpler
Despite food prices increasing as a whole, processed food has seen a greater increase due to the number of touch points that it touches before it reaches the supermarket shelf. Purchasing more fruit, veg, grains etc will enable you to create cheap wholesome meals that will cost less than £1 per head.
Buying wonky fruit and veg is another great way to reduce your supermarket bill whilst reducing food waste.
2. Shop smarter
Changing the time that you shop for food can have an major impact on your food bill. Many products will get reduced towards the end of the day when they are reaching their use by dates. Knowing when your local store reduces food prices and where they are in the store will give you a great opportunity to buy cheap food on a regular basis.
Freezing products on the day of purchase is a great way of extending the shelf life of yellow sticker items. Make the use of all your freezer space.
3. Shop discount food online
There are some great online stores selling discount food that's either surplus food or past it's best before date but perfectly good. Stores like liquidation.store, Approved Food, Motatoes and Food Circle Supermarket all sell discounted food. To ensure that you get access to the best deals, you should follow on social media and subscribe to newsletters. Emails are usually the way that such stores announce limited time/stock flash sale food deals so subscribing ensures that you don't miss out on these food deals.
4. Supermarket Reward Apps
These little known apps are great for the consumer enabling them to shop big brands for less. Such apps as Checkout Smart and Shopmium enables you to get money back for qualifying offers and even free food. They feature big brands in most major supermarkets so the food and drink deals are easy to find.
How it works
1. You log into these supermarket cashback app to find offers that are available at supermarkets.
2. You buy the items at full price.
3. You use the app to upload your receipt with the qualifying items.
4. The app pays you back via the paypal.
Offers range from small savings all the way to getting items for free.
This way the brand encourages you to purchase/sample their new items in the hope that you return and buy at full price. For you, you get shop for free food. Win Win.
How to get free food...
You can download a reward app above (Checkout Smart or Shopnium) and find free offers.
In for want to be even cheekier, you can wait for the refund to hit your account and then take the item back to the store and get a refund. This way it's literally free money.
So in conclusion, there are some great ways to shop for discounted food. The real skill is being a savvy shopper, knowing where and when to shop and taking advantage of food offers when they become available.
If you liked the tips in this blog, why not read our other blogs:
Where to buy cheap Nespresso pods
How to get cheap food and drink products
