Food prices are going up and this in turn is making our supermarket shopping bills higher than ever. According to some reports, the average family is having to shell out £15 a week more than they did at this time last year – that’s an added £780 a year on groceries.

With the credit crunch starting to bite, the team at MoneyTowers.com have put together 10 ways to help keep your grocery spend down.

1. Make a list
Make a list of what you need before you go shopping. Many people will impulse buy when in the supermarket – if you have a list of things you need to buy, there should be less temptation to pick up little luxuries and added extras, and all these little things count towards increasing your grocery bill each week.

Some estimates show that households throw away up to 25% of food that they have bought – by making a list, you will hopefully cut down on buying excess produce and therefore also reduce your shopping bill.

2. Bargain Hunting
Some supermarkets have specific times of day when food gets reduced in price. You will often find meat, bread and other fresh produce reduced in price when they are just before their sell-by date. If you have a large enough freezer, it is worth picking up some fresh items for use later – but make sure you are only buying things that you need and you are not just buying them because of their cheap price!

If you see any offers such as a two-for-one, or a special offer price, take advantage, but make sure they are on products that you will use before they go off, or are not perishable items. Providing you have got storage space, things like toilet rolls, washing-up liquid and shampoo are all examples which often have special offer deals associated with them on a regular basis.

3. Try Different Brands
Try out cheaper brands of your normal food to see if you can see a different – things like pasta are often much cheaper if you buy a supermarket’s own brand and you will often not be able to taste the difference. It is worth testing out cheaper basic items such as flour and rice to see if you can make a positive difference to your shopping bill without scrimping on taste.

4. Essential Items Only
The next time you go shopping, have a look through your trolley and see if there are any luxuries that you can cut down on, or cut out altogether. Examples include things like chocolate and alcohol which are not essential to your everyday diet.

5. Alternatives
It is worth having a look around your local area to see if there are any alternatives to the supermarkets – many areas have farmers markets which can often sell food cheaper and fresher than the supermarkets can.

6. Less Meat, More Veg
Meat tends to be one of the more expensive items on your shopping bill. If you can, try cutting out meat for one or two meals a week and have a vegetarian meal instead.

7. Cook from Scratch
Cooking from scratch tends to be cheaper than buying the equivalent ready-meal. Although you will need more time to prepare the meal, cooking your meals yourself may save you quite a bit of money. Don’t forget that you can always cook in bulk and freeze the left-overs for a quick and easy meal in the future.

8. Eat Seasonally
Foods that are in season will be cheaper than those which are not. Try to eat foods which are in season as you may find it positively affects your shopping bill.

9. Grow your own vegetables
If there are particular vegetables that you like, it may be worth attempting to grow you own vegetables if you have a large enough garden or an allotment plot. Even if you don’t have a garden, you can grow things like herbs and dwarf vegetables in pots on your windowsills.

10. Reward Cards
Although some people are not too keen on supermarket reward cards as they dislike their purchasing habits being recorded, they can save you some money so if you don’t object to them, make sure you are signed up to the scheme and that you use your card every time you make a purchase.

Don’t forget that you can also get cashback credit cards too, so if you are prudent with your finances, this is another way to ‘earn’ money while you spend on everyday goods.

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