The weekly shop glow-up
Lesson 1 of 12 in our free Food & Everyday Spending guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.
Reading is cool. Playing is cooler.
This lesson is a 5-minute game. Free, no sign-up needed.
The story so far
Mo: POV: you went in for milk and came out with £34 of snacks, a candle and zero milk.
Nana: Did you have a list, love?
Mo: I had a vibe.
Nana: A vibe is not a list. Never shop hungry, never shop listless.
Chip: Plan meals → check the cupboards → write the list → stick to it. Cheeks full, wallet full!
Questions you'll answer
What's the best FIRST step before a weekly shop?
Check your fridge and cupboards, then plan meals around what's there. Yes! Using up what you've got first means less waste and a shorter list.
Mo throws away about £6 of food a week that went off before he ate it. How much is that over a year (52 weeks)?
£6 × 52 = £312 a year — literally binned. Planning meals around what you've got is free money.
Quick facts
- Writing a list and sticking to it → Green flag. The list is your bodyguard against impulse buys.
- Grabbing a basket 'just for a few bits' and filling a trolley's worth → Red flag. A basket is a budget with handles. Overfilling it = the ick.
- Planning 2–3 meals that share ingredients → Green flag. One bag of spinach, three meals. Less waste, less spend.
- Shopping hungry at 7pm → Red flag. Your stomach is not a financial planner.
- Checking the 'use by' dates on fresh stuff at home before you shop → Green flag. Use up the food that's about to go first — that's money you've already spent.