After rent the next big chunk of your budget will be dedicated to your food shopping. Food is an essential part of your budget but it is also likely to be the most flexible part of it. Trying to have a balanced diet while saving money is not easy, but it is possible to eat well as a student without having to rely solely on ready-made meals and junk food. Always use a basket even when you need a big shop, it will make you question what you do and don’t need.
You can live on much more than toasties and beans when with some careful planning – although the ToastaBag^ does allow you to cook many different weird food combinations in the toaster.
Saving on Essential Items
Towards the end of each day, big supermarkets offer big reductions on products which are about to expire. Most goods are simply coming up for their "sell by" date but will not simply 'go-off' because they are marked down. The vast majority will be completely fine to eat. If you want to make even more savings try approvedfoods a website selling only sell-by date bargains.
Consider buying supermarkets own brand goods. Supermarkets make their own brands as uninviting as possible, so that their customers pay more for the nicer looking alternatives. There can be a huge difference in price between branded and unbranded goods, even though the products are generally the same (compare ingredients to double check). In simple terms, consumers choose the best-looking products on the assumption that what looks the best also tastes the best. Supermarkets own brands can also be better for you in terms of the salt and sugar which they contain. For example, The Co-op's own branded food contains no hydrogenated fats, are never tested on animals, and are often locally sourced and fair trade.
There are many foreign supermarkets in Britain, such as Aldi’s, Lidl and Netto. Sometimes the branded goods offered in these stores are identical to the British version but are simply packaged to suit a European market instead. Consider using specialist supermarkets, such as Asian supermarkets, for staples such as rice and noodles – the savings can be massive.
Be aware that the supermarket brands are often made by their well known brand comparators. For example Marks and Spencer’s own brand soup is alledgedly made by Baxter’s. In the discount supermarkets you may encounter well-known brands at a vastly reduced price – this may because they are packaged for foreign market or the instructions have not been translated, hence they are sold off at a reduced price.
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Brain Food
There has always been a belief that what you eat can impact health, but modern research has indicated that your mental health can also be affected. This is due to the essential fats, vitamins and minerals, which so-called ‘brain food’ contain. Good brain food as recommended by nutritionists includes:
- avocadoes
- vegetables (especially leafy vegetables)
- fruits
- wholegrain
- wheat germ
- peanut butter
- eggs
- fish
In 2003 the BBC reported that there was an increase in the sale of ‘brain food’ at numerous large university towns during the exam period. Nutritionists recommend resisting the temptation to go for a quick fix from a vending machine and instead snacking on good snacks which are loaded with vitamin C.
Other foods which may help you when studying are functional foods i.e: foods which have added beneficial ingredients aimed at boosting your health and brain power. These are often specifically advertised with health claims, although it is questionable how much research has been conducted into these claims.
However, it’s not all bad news for fussy-eating students as researchers at the University of Florida claimed that students who had high calorie, low nutritional fast food meals performed better, comparatively, than their counterparts after eating. Researchers believe that the high carbohydrate content refuelled the brain providing students with an excess of energy. Researchers also examined the brain power of beer and found that half a pint of beer improves brain power by 20%, with moderate drinking reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s.
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Cheap Alcoholic Drinks
Drinks in the student union will often be the cheapest way to drink in a traditional pub environment, but there are other ways to ensure you can enjoy alcoholic drinks at the lowest price.
- The supermarkets always have offers on alcohol with frequent bulk-buying discounts on wine and beer. They are usually much cheaper than the off-licences or local shops and you can also take advantage of the supermarket loyalty schemes.
- Have a look to see if they offer boxed containers of wine – usually they are in 3 litre quantities and will last for ages compared to a bottle of wine. If you have bought a wine which you don’t like make spritzers by adding lemonade or fizzy water and lime to make it more pleasant and 'drinkable'.
- Costco and Makro are two alternative stores for bulk-buying but you need a store card. The discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl also sell alcohol.
- Make use of fixtureferrets.co.uk to find out about any special promotions in the supermarkets.
- The large graduate employers often host presentation evenings around about September time. Often in return for sitting listening to their pitch they will have free alcohol or a redeemable voucher for their brand of alcohol.
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Money Saving Tips
There are numerous ways you can save money when buying food. The following list from Luvurmoney outlines various money saving tips you can follow next time you are at the supermarket
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Things to be Wary of in a Supermarket
Supermarkets are filled with psychological and marketing tricks to entice you to buy more than required. Think of the way that the smell of bread is wafted around the supermarket, the way that milk and bread, two everyday purchases, are never placed near each other, the way chocolate is arranged at the till – these are all techniques used to con and allure the average shopper. By being aware of the most common techniques you can avoid the most enticing and save yourself money:
- The brands on the shelf which are placed at eye level are the most profitable to the supermarket and attract you because they are literally ‘staring’ right at you. Look above and below to find the best value.
- The music and lighting are all tailored to entice you to buy more. If the music is slow you are more likely to spend time examining products and buy more. The same thing applies to the flooring – carpet slows you down, linoleum speeds you up.
- Don’t succumb to signage. Just because the adverts show “reduction” or “special offer” does not mean a huge saving exists – often it can be just be a difference of a few pence from the normal, everyday price.
- The first fifteen feet when you enter a store is where consumers are most likely to buy. Special offers and promotions are placed at the door to entice consumers and trigger reminders in their brain.
- Consider shopping backwards and starting at the back of the store and working forwards towards the entrance. Experts claim that you will spend less as you will see more offers and specials on your way to the front.
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Stopping Thieves Stealing your Food
Living in halls or shared accommodation will most likely result in your food being 'borrowed'. There is nothing you can do about this if you don’t know who it is, but there are some ways to make the temptation less enticing:
- Bagging all your products in supermarket carrier bags prior to placing them in the fridge – increasing the time it takes to open your food. Hopefully this will reduce the likelihood of thieves opening your goodies again.
- If you repeatedly find that your milk is ‘stolen’ fellow victims have recommended dropping a few drops of blue or green food colouring into your milk – deterring theft at no loss to you.
- Even if you are in catered halls you can still keep some snacks in your room. There are even a few snacks you can make with just a kettle – for example, couscous, pasta, noodles and rice.
- If this doesn’t stop them consider buying a small fridge for your bedroom, to keep some of your food in. Electrical123 have a fridge for £74. Use moneysupermarket.com for the latest cheap deals.
At the same time don’t enter university with an attitude of “all my flatmates are going to steal my food”. Be open-minded, only take action if you are a victim of 'theft'.
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Recipes
It will definitely be worth investing in a student cookbook or using a cooking website while you are at university. If you can get into university and pass all your school exams, you can learn to cook and follow a recipe. There are many recipe websites out there; here are just a few of the easier to use ones:
BBC Food - celebrity chefs + recipes from the bbc tv shows
StudentRecipies.com - very basic instructions – quick and easy to use
StudentCook.co.uk – ideas for all the different meals, as well as meals for a £1 and party ideas
OutOfTheFryingPan.com - loads of ideas
Video Jug - step-by-step video guides
StudentCooking.tv - step by step video guides
Cookthink.com - enables users to create meals out of the foods they are craving –you simply enter what you are craving and the site will pull up some ideas.
The Vegetarian Society - recipes for vegetarians, basic instructions
Vegan Yum.Yum – recipe ideas for vegans
Cooking by Numbers - user selects what ingredients they have, and the site brings up suggestions as to what they can make
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