Most families these days are looking at creative ways to reduce their monthly spend and one of the things that often gets cut is the food budget. But is this a false economy in the long run and does it really save money?

Here are five top tips on how to help reduce your food bill each month.

1. Shop online – Supermarkets love to put on promotions and entice you into the store but this can be costly especially if you lack willpower and are tempted by the offers! That is why ordering food directly online these days can save you money because you can easily see how much you are racking up in terms of dollars. It is so much easier to pop stuff in and out of your cart without much difficulty when you shop online. This way we can have more control and flexibility with your decisions.
2. Kit meal services – Semi-prepared meals and kit bags such as My Food Bag, Woop and Food Box have been adopted by many families and are seen to be quick, easy and convenient. Not only do they provide you with all the ingredients for set meals they also provide you with new ideas and recipes. As they are a set cost per meal you know how much you are spending so you can budget for the rest of your groceries each week. 
3. Empty the freezer – Most kiwi families will have a chest freezer and a fridge freezer – but how many of us actually know what is in our freezer and how many of us just take from the top instead of using up the oldest product first. A good thing to do every 3 months is to set yourself a challenge and live out of your freezer using up as much as you can. This is a great way to save money and reduce food waste.  
4. Plan your meals for 2 weeks – We are all busy people and often with both parents working a full time job it can be hard to maintain a household and feed a family! Making a plan for the meals that you are going to be eating is a great way to reduce food wastage and it also means that you only buy the ingredients that you need for the given timeframe. 
5. Cash only – We live in cashless society and because of this it makes it more difficult to realise what we are spending and to stick to a budget. By removing credit cards from your wallet and shopping with a specific weekly budget really makes you take notice of the prices of each item and stops you buying things that you don’t need or can’t afford. Give it a go!!

As with all things we need to be realistic and monitor our budgets according to our lifestyle and our family. So why not give one of these tips ago, even if you don’t need to watch your wallet you maybe surprised how much you save!!