Personal Finance Expert shares how you can stick with Veganuary if you’re on a budget

Paul Wilson, Personal Finance Expert at CashLady.com, shares his new ideas on how to keep going with Veganuary if you’re on a budget.

Veganuary is a great time to try starting some new habits and making a change to your lifestyle. If you’re not used to a plant-based diet, you might be starting to find it tricky to stay on track. We know more about money than making delicious meals, but with a few weeks left of January, here’s some tips on how you can keep up with Veganuary without it costing the earth. 

1.                Yellow labels 

Fresh produce is by far the most likely to be reduced in the supermarket. Different supermarkets generally reduce their stock at different times; ask in store when they start marking down prices and make sure you get there when they do. You can pick up lots of reduced fruit and vegetables to whip up stews and curries with.

2.                Bulk buy 

If you’ve found a few recipes you know you like and have gotten the hang of cooking plant based meals, then stock up on the things you know you’ll use. You can make savings by buying multipacks rather than individual items every time you need them 

3.                 Save your leftovers 

Don’t throw away what you don’t eat. Save it and use it for lunch the next day. Saving money by not buying yet another meal deal could help see you through until the end of January.

4.                 Shop online 

Type ‘meat free’ or vegan into your shopping app and it will bring up all the relevant options. You can then see which are on offer or are cheaper and choose those instead of more expensive options. Rather than planning what you are eating and then buying those ingredients, do it the other way round and buy the items on offer then make a meal from them. 

5.                 Offers everywhere 

If you’ve had enough of cooking and fancy a Friday night off, January couldn’t be a better time. There are a huge number of restaurants trying to tempt us back in with 50% offers. Be sure to search for offers in your area before you book anywhere to make sure you’re getting a good deal alongside a good meal. 

6.                 Eat more veg 

Meat or dairy substitutes can be costly. Eating meals that are vegetable based means you aren’t forking out for big name brands or packaging. Cooking from scratch can really help you keep a handle on what you spend and also be much more exciting than a pre-packed burger. 

7.                 Visit the greengrocer 

If you have the time, get down to the greengrocers. Just as with the yellow labels, you can ask if they have any produce that is near it’s best before and ask for a discount. You can also buy in singles rather than pre-packed bundles, and find items that might not be in the supermarket to give your diet variety and inspire you to keep going.  

8.                 Meal boxes 

If you’re really struggling to come up with new dinner ideas in Veganuary, then you could try signing up to a meal subscription service. They always offer introductory discounts, like 50% off your first box, and you can cancel any time. You can select only vegan meals and they send you recipe cards with step-by-step instructions. Keep the recipe cards, and once you’ve got the hang of it, cancel the subscription and start buying and making the recipes yourself. 

9.              Pin It 

There are so many resources on the internet to find new vegan recipes, but it’s easy to forget where you saw them. Create a board on Pinterest and save all your favourite meals on there. That way, you won’t run out of ideas and end up spending too much on takeaways or meals out.
 

Paul Wilson is a Consumer Finance Expert at Financial Conduct Authority authorised and regulated credit broker CashLady.com