After living the student lifestyle myself I know the rumours of living on next to nothing and making odd combinations is true, however there are ways in which you can save money on your food shops, as well as make cooking less of a chore and feel better about what your munching on.
Student money saving tips:
1/ Cook together - If you live with others in halls or shared accommodation cook together..it may seem like a big challenge getting everyone in the right place at the right time as well as getting people to put the money up or do the shopping but if 2 or 3 of you do a shop online and get it delivered there is less hassle and you will be able to make dishes alot cheaper.
2/ Split costs on 2 for 1 deals - If you do your shop in dribs and drabs from the nearest store this may not work for you but if you organise yourselfs and order your food shop online or go to the supermarket you can hunt for buy one get one free deals or special offers that you can bulk up on which will last a while.
3/ Sell by dates - As most universities are based in bigger towns and cities you should have shops near by and so you can purchase products for the day you need them and don’t be scared to try fruit and veg stalls as you can buy individiual produce saving on waste.
4/ Cooking competitions / Cook alongs - If you are lucky enough to have a big living area and large kitchen with access to the tv you could try cook along programmes such as Gordon Ramsey’s cook along live, there are many videos / sites / on demand programmes you could use. You could also have a come dine with me type cook off competition - This has been tried and tested and if your group can be on the competitive side this is ideal! - Pick a budget, a rota (at random) as well as a scoring system and get on with it. You will get a weeks worth of food and only cook once. Don’t panic if there are people who can’t cook as they will learn quickly when thrown in at the deep end and a little bit of help with preparation can be allowed.
5/ Take away money savings - When ordering take away order a mix of things to share and bulk up by providing your own extras which are alot cheaper. You could also make more of a particular dish (stew, lasagne, or spag bol) for when you come in after a heavy night on the town.
Other sources of information:
> Compare supermarket prices - Get the best prices on supermarket food
> Channel 4 - 4OD
> BBC Iplayer - Cooking programmes
