There’s no denying that budgeting isn’t every student’s strong point. After rent is paid for and the necessary amenity bills leave your bank account, it can often be quite daunting to even think about looking at your balance afterwards. Many students even forego proper food shopping to save money, but it doesn’t have to be this way at all.
When it comes to online food shopping as a student, there’s plenty you can do to bring down the costs and fill up your fridge at the same time.
Vouchers
One of the great things about buying food online is that so many supermarkets and chains are competing with each other, meaning they are always running promotions to match each other’s prices and offer bargains. Groupon and MyMoneySupermarket are just two of the websites that can point you in the right direction. They often have alerts on which online shop is running a promotion. But there are also dedicated websites out there filled with voucher codes that are as easy to use as entering a few numbers at the checkout, or even just clicking the deal to apply it when you visit the website. A good example are these amazon coupons which you could use to buy Amazon groceries. You simply just have to click the deal to load up the online store with the coupon already applied.
Store brand
If you’re a student and don’t know the virtues of supermarket brand noodles, there’s a good chance that you’re spending more money than you need to. Although they can’t quite match their more expensive counterparts for taste, they more than make up for it in value. If you’re trying to stockpile food, load up on some cheap store brand options instead of known names and it will pay off in the long run.
Do you really need delivery?
So, you’ve bought all of your food and you’re at the online checkout when you notice that the delivery cost is almost as high as some of the food you are buying. Kill two birds with one stone and break the stereotype of students being lazy by collecting your goods from your local store instead!
Survival boxes
If you’ve ever been in a tough spot and have relied on the parents to send you a hamper of food to get you through it, you will no doubt appreciate how helpful a “survival box” is. Bodnant Welsh Food’s offering comes filled to the brim with affordable hangover cures so you don’t have to compromise on taste.
Compare prices before clicking “buy”
As mentioned before, supermarkets are always trying to compete with each to bring the consumers the best prices. That’s why something like mysupermarket.co.uk is so popular with students and savvy buyers as it allows you to compare prices to find the best deal for you. If you’re trying to choose between Waitrose and Aldi, this will make the task at hand a lot easier for you and show you how much money you’re saving at the same time.
Beware the multibuy savings
One of the biggest things to be wary of when it comes to online food shopping deals is just how good a deal it actually is. Many supermarkets and outlets will claim that it’s cheaper to buy a product in bulk when it actually isn’t, they’ve just temporarily lowered the price to make it seem like it is. If you’re buying twenty packs of noodles for 5 and they only cost 19p individually, it might be a good idea to look elsewhere or to opt for a cheaper brand instead.