Your food budget is the most flexible area of your student budget. Grocery savings will free up a significant amount of money if you need to balance the budget, or watch your spending.
Here are the Student Free Stuff Blog tips for saving money on your groceries:
Minimise the use of convenience foods. - You can make it yourself for a fraction of the cost, try it! Many of us are so accustomed to convenience foods that we forget we can make it ourselves. A quick google and you can find substitute recipes for everything from cake mixes to salad dressing. Alternatively borrow some cook books from the library. All it takes is a little extra time. Even if you had to pay yourself for doing the cooking you would come out ahead.

Do your homework! - Know what’s on special offer and plan your menu around these offers. Investing a little extra time in planning will help maximise grocery savings and reduce your food budget!

Eat meatless meals at least twice a week. - Beans and rice are a good example. Egg dishes are a nice change in routine for dinner. Try a vegetable stir-fry or casserole.
Don’t use packaged mixes. - Cake, breads, muffins, pastry, pizza dough, pancake, and waffles all come in a variety of pre-packaged mixes. Make your own for not much more effort and a lot less money!

Build your coupon and voucher stash! - It seems coupons are available everywhere now. Newspapers and magazines are a great starting point. Pay careful attention when looking through magazines. These are easy to miss. I often find coupons in home, ladies, or cooking magazines.

Check out your local markets - Get into the habit of buying fruit and veg at a local market instead of the supermarket. Not only is it cheaper, it’s also likely to be grown locally and have significantly less “food miles.”

Eat seasonal food - Get to know what fruit and vegetables are in season (and therefore will be cheaper).