Top 5 Essential Student Budget Shopping Tips

We all know that being a student can sometimes be very financially straining: Wrapping up in blankets and layers of woolly jumpers to save money on heating bills, buying Sainsbury's value vodka because branded alcohol is too expensive - you will soon become accustomed to these student ways of life and realise how easy you had it when living at home. One aspect of student life that requires a seriously strict budget regime is the food shop. Here are five top tips on how to do a student budget food shop, because you're going to need it!

1. Shop at cheap supermarkets

The first step is to buy your food from cheaper supermarket chains. That means considering a change from Waitrose or Marks & Spencer and perhaps instead get your weekly food shop from slightly cheaper shops like Sainsbury's, Tesco or Asda. The food will be a lot cheaper and can save you an enormous amount of money in the long run.

2. Local markets

Buying vegetables from local markets is definitely cheaper than buying from the shops. Find your nearest market and buy your weekly stash of fruit and veg from there. You will save a lot of money, and as a bonus, the market produce tends to be a lot better quality!

3. Shopping online

It's very easy to end up buying more than you should when shopping at the supermarket. Wandering through the different food aisles to see what takes your fancy can blow that 'budget shopping trip' out the water. Instead, do your food shop online. You won't get tempted to buy food that you don't need and you won't need to lug your shopping bags home. Sometimes if you spend over a certain amount, you can get an extra £15 to shop with, so get your housemates together to do a large food order, split the delivery cost between you and notice how much money you will save!

4. Choosing when to shop

Under no circumstances should you do a food shop when you're hungry. You will end up spending more than you should have done on food that's unnecessary. Stick to following a shopping list and don't get distracted by buying a load of self-indulgent treats. Well not all the time anyway...

5. Discounts

Every supermarket will have discounts and special offers on certain products every now and again, so keep your eyes peeled for those promotions to prevent you splurging all your money unnecessarily. There's nothing worse than realising you could have bought your items of food for half the price you paid...Do you have any more thrifty tips for us? We would love you to share them!