“A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. 

Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, 

something Brussels sprouts never do.”

J. O'Rourke 

Whether it’s fruit, with the looks, veggies with the nutrients, delectable wine or a basket full of things that taste fabulous but are inevitably bad for us, food is one of most people's biggest expenses.

When I asked my “squeeze the Juice” savers what category of discretionary spend was consuming the biggest chunk of their income, they said it was quite literally being consumed by this thing called food. 

The great news is that food and groceries is also one of the easiest spend categories to really get a grip on and save loads of juicy money that can then be directed elsewhere. 

This video gives you five powerful tips on how to save on your food bill. Watch it now.

FOOD SAVING TIP #1 - MEAL PLANNING!

If you want to save loads of money (and save loads of food waste going into landfill) do meal planning. 

Keep it simple and rotate two weekly menus.

"Oh, God, Ann, that sounds so restrictive." you might be thinking. In truth, most of us actually eat a certain set of meals over and over again. 

So, if you're consciously choose to do that so you can plan your meal preparation and shopping, you end up saving both time and money!

When I’m not travelling, I have a meal plan that covers Monday, through to Thursday. If I don’t go out on Friday I make up something from the leftovers from the week (because there always are), and Saturday and Sunday I have as “free meal” days where I cook up whatever I feel or go and eat out. I also always have staples in my pantry like tinned tuna, and sardines and some frozen meals in my freezer, available if I don’t feel like cooking or eating out. 

This might sound really, really boring but for me it has been hugely liberating. 

It's another freedom framework. 

I have been doing meal planning for about 15 years now and started when I had a full-time career. Not only did this make shopping simpler, quicker and saved loads, it also made cooking and food preparation so much easier because I didn’t have to think and use any brain space. I already knew what I’d eat because it was Monday night! 

FOOD SAVING TIP #2 - HAVE A SHOPPING LIST - and stick to it!

Once you've got your meal plan done, you can plan your shopping. It’s list making time!

Planning your shopping, preparing a shopping list and sticking to it has been proven to have the biggest impact on reducing emotional spending and impulse buying. A huge amount of food waste happens because of ad hoc buying and throwing things in the trolley just because. 

If you go to the shops hoping for inspiration, with no idea what you’re going to cook, you’re setting yourself up for significant food and money wastage. It's been shown that people who go shopping without a list tend to buy over 27% more than those that do. 

Not only is it devastating for your wallet, it's also devastating for our planet. 

If you’re not concerned by the damage to your finances of unplanned food shopping and the subsequent food waste, hopefully the impact of food waste on our planet will be motivation enough for you to plan your shopping better to reduce waste. If you need a little motivation on this front, watch the movie “WASTED! The Story of Food Waste” 

The Rockefeller Foundation, which last year made a $130 million commitment to cut food waste in half by 2030, supported Zero Point Zero Films and Anthony Bourdain to create WASTED! The Story of Food Waste, feature-length documentary that will change how people buy, cook and eat food.

Through the eyes of chef-heroes like Bourdain, Dan Barber, Mario Batali, Massimo Bottura, and Danny Bowien, audiences will see how the world's most influential chefs make the most of every kind of food, transforming what most people consider scraps and rejects into incredible dishes that feed more people and create a more sustainable food system.

The film also features several food waste reduction stories all over the world including waste-fed pigs in Japan, a disposal program that has reduced household food waste by 30% in South Korea, and a garden education curriculum New Orleans. WASTED!

The Story of Food Waste showcases forward-thinking leaders who show how each of us can make small changes - all of them delicious - to solve one of the greatest problems of the 21st Century AND save loads of money too.

FOOD SAVING TIP #3 - NEVER SHOP ON AN EMPTY TUMMY!

I get bad bouts of hangry! If I don’t eat properly and let my blood sugar level drop or have a crash after a sugar binge, I’m best avoided. 

This is also the worst time for me to go food shopping. Firstly I’ll throw all the high sugar crap into the trolley, (avoiding anything green as though it will poison me), whilst stuffing a box of donuts into my mouth before I even get to the check-out. I will also over fill my trolley buying enough for a small army because now my scarcity monster is driving the trolley and it viewing every aisle through the lens of “I’ll never be hungry again”. 

It seems like hangry shopping isn’t just bad for me, and anyone around me, it’s bad for us all. 

Anecdotally I heard that if you go shopping without a list AND with your tummy growling, you’re likely to spend over 50% more and buy more stuff that you're going to waste, than you would've if you'd had a list and a little snack beforehand. 

FOOD SAVING TIP #4 - BUY YOUR GROCERIES ONLINE!

For the save most and no waste warriors - this is the ultimate saving hack, buy your groceries online.

Armed with your meal plan, set up your shopping list online (you can do this just once and save it), and voila - one click happiness, no temptations, and it’s done.

Once you've got your meal plan list set up online you can also pre-schedule your shops and deliveries, and you can set up weekly lists  for the fresher stuff that you need to buy more frequently and monthly lists which will include the things you need to buy less frequently like the mega pack of toilet rolls and your cleaning materials and non-perishables from your meal plan that you can buy in bulk.

FOOD SAVING TIP #5 - BATCH COOKING IN BULK!

Oh baby…

BULK BATCH COOKING IS THE 

ANSWER TO WORLD TENSION!  

Another huge benefit of meal planning is bulk batch cooking. This means you cook up a whole bunch of meals in one big marathon cook along, and you freeze the meals in ready measured portions, that can be whipped out of the freezer when you need them.

There are so many benefits to bulk batch cooking. 

• Firstly you can buy the ingredients in bulk, saving money. 
• Secondly, you save time by cooking multiple meals at once.
• Thirdly, you ensure you have quality “ready made meals” available when you don’t feel like cooking.
• Finally, it’s loads of fun doing a big cook up and hugely satisfying seeing all your effort getting loaded into the freezer. 

I do a big cooking batch day every 6 to 8 weeks, usually on a weekend. I cook four or five different dishes on my meal plan all in bulk - mostly stews and casseroles and soups. I make enough for at least 4 servings per dish which means I end up with at least 20 prepared meals. I make it loads of fun by cranking up the volume on a cool spotify playlist and revelling in the fact I’m saving money and precious time  - both of which always brings me joy. 

Give these 5 saving tips a go and enjoy the impact on your bank balance, your time and your heart knowing you’re helping our glorious planet too.

So what tips do you have?

Drop me a mail on [email protected], I’d love you to share what your top tip is for saving money on your food bill? 

Please share your tips generously, so together we can save loads of money and save the planet by having less waste. 

Because, at the end of the day, real wealth is living in a way that is wealthy for you, wealthy for your community, and wealthy for this extraordinary planet and earth that we live on.

Conscious, congruent living is how we all come back to the truth that there is enough and we can all get to live our juiciest, most abundant lives.

Big love

Ann

P.S. You cannot have freedom if you don’t free up some of the money you earn to direct to building your assets, blitzing debt and saving. So to help you do exactly that, I’ve got a special gift for you. 

To help you seriously slash your expenses (in all areas) without reducing your quality of life, I’m giving you the opportunity to do “The 30 Day Squeeze The Juice Challenge” FOR FREE! 

Go here to and on the Squeeze the Juice  checkout use the coupon “SQUEEZE” to get the challenge FOR FREE!