A Guide to Your First Food Shop as a Student

This post is part of our "Next Stop: Uni" series which guides you through each week of the summer between finishing school and Freshers so you can start uni prepared and excited.

Next Stop: Uni by UniHomes

There’s way more to your first food shop than meets the eye. Getting your groceries is only cost effective and wallet friendly if you’re mindful of how you shop, but with budgeting, meal planning, and memberships to consider, savvy shopping can seem almost impossible – especially if you’re a student who’s new to the world of adulting. To help make your first food shop as a Fresher that much easier, we’ve gathered our best tips and tricks so that you can have all the supermarket wisdom you need to make your student loan go further.

Bring your budget 💰

Being money mindful when it comes to your student food shop just isn’t feasible without a budget. By taking into account all your other outgoings, you can set yourself a realistic amount of money to spend on groceries each week so that you can shop without breaking the bank.

New to the world of budgeting? Our post on student budgeting tips is a great place to start.

Make a meal plan 🍽️

What’s a budget without a meal plan? It’s hard to set yourself a spending limit when you don’t know how much your meals are going to cost you, which is where meal planning comes in. Sitting down every week to work out what you want to eat saves you from buying unnecessary bits and pieces when you go food shopping, and ultimately prevents you from wasting both food and money.

If you start feeling stuck in a rut with meal planning, click here for some easy, student-friendly recipe inspo.

Shop savvy 🛍️

Nearest = dearest. Literally. If you’ve got a small local shop located around the corner from you, try to refrain from popping in too much; you usually end up paying a heftier price tag for the convenience that little shops offer, which costs you more money in the long run.

Likewise, don’t be afraid to mix and match which big supermarkets you go to. If milk is cheaper in one store but bread costs less in another, consider going to both so that you can get the best bang for your buck. That’s provided that your big shops are relatively close to one another, of course – you don’t want to be trekking around with heavy shopping bags.

Race to the reduced section 🏃

You’ll often find that, in the early evening, supermarkets reduce the prices on perishable goods about to go past their sell-by date. With goodies ranging from basics like bread to cakes and pastries, shopping the discounted section is a great way to save yourself a couple of quid as a student (provided that what you buy is on your meal plan, of course).

Lean on leftovers 🥐

If you don’t fancy rushing around in store to grab yourself some bargains, you might be more interested in food waste apps. These apps connect with local cafés, restaurants, and supermarkets to sell their surplus food at a discounted rate, allowing you to browse and buy goods like donuts, cakes, and pizzas for prices that your bank account is much more likely to appreciate. It’s like yellow sticker shopping, but from the comfort of your own home – what’s not to love?

Make some membership moves 💁

Loads of supermarkets nowadays have their own free membership schemes that give you exclusive access to member-only pricing, as well as free rewards and points systems. If you’ve got a favourite shop that you go to more than others, consider looking into whether or not they have a membership app or card you can apply for. You might as well be rewarded for your big shop, right? Just make sure you read through any terms and conditions carefully.