The following are general rules to follow when food shopping.

1. Never shop hungry, you will get cravings which will convince you to buy more.

2. If possible, shop alone. (couples can take turns). This decreases the time spent in the supermarket because you don't have to discuss what to buy which reduces the possibility of 'impulse purchases'. Also, you will never end up saying "okay, let's just get both" like you might if you found yourself arguing with another person over what flavour or brand to get.

3. Write a list, make sure it covers every meal and snack over the week or fortnight.

4. Read information on packaging about 'servings per pack' etc. To ensure you buy what you need and not too little or too much.

5. Avoid doing 'small grocery shopping'. How many times do you plan on going to a store for bread and milk only, yet come out with several bags full of groceries. If you wrote your shopping list properly you shouldn't need anything else. Even perishables like milk have a 10 day shelf life these days, (which leads on to the following rule)

6. Check use by or best before dates. Look for the farthest away date on perishables. The newest stock should be found at/rotated to the back of the shelf, provided that the supermarket staff are doing their job properly. The general rule for supermarket shelf filling is F.I.F.O (First In First Out).

7. Buy the stores own brand. AKA, corporate brands, house brands, home brands, budget brands. These are often the cheapest products in the store yet they are all made under contract by some of the big brands/market leaders.

Also, try to bring your lunch to work to prevent you from going to the nearby cafe and paying a colossal amount of money for something that you could have made 20 of for the same price if you bought the ingredients yourself.