10 gluten free people share their money saving secrets

Whether you’ve been gluten free for 10 minutes or 10 years, I think we can all agree that things can get pretty expensive, pretty fast. That’s why I’ve crowdsourced some of the best tips from… you guys! So read on as 10 gluten free people share their money saving secrets.

Well, when I say 10 gluten free people share their money saving secrets, I actually mean 100 gluten free people. When I asked you guys to share your money saving tips on Instagram, I actually had over 100 responses, so thank you to everyone who contributed. But uncannily enough, they all boiled down to the same 10 tips in one way or another… how crazy is that?

Clearly we’re all in agreeance that these tips are awesome, so I absolutely had to share them. I ended up picking out 10 people whose tips summed up everyone’s opinion in a sentence or so. So here they are!

1. Look for gluten free products in the ‘reduced to clear’ section.

“Always look in the chuck out section for gluten free bread, I often find it in there and it doesn’t matter it goes out of date the next day as it goes straight in the freezer” @emilyjgodwin

You just can’t beat that yellow ticket feeling can you? Especially when it’s gluten free and usually costs an arm, a leg and a year’s wage.

This is definitely something that I could improve upon when it comes to saving money. It’s not that I never look in the clearance section, it’s just that I never have much luck in finding anything bargainous when I do.

Don’t forget that there’s often a chilled clearance section AND a bread clearance section too. I’ve found a lot of gf bread in the clearance section, so defo check there at the very least!

But if you were nodding along to that part about never finding anything decent in the clearance section, then the next tip will definitely help you out too…

2. Preferably visit the clearance sections between 6-10pm.

“I find the best bargains between 8 and 10pm in supermarkets xx” @sorayanotsoraya

Soooo many of you not only recommended checking the clearance sections, but also gave a very specific time-frame – so that’s where I’ve been going wrong!

The times given ranged between 6-10pm but actually, the most common answers were between 8-10pm. But don’t forget that Sundays between 2-4pm are great in my experience too.

You’ll have to fight me for the yellow tickets now!

3. Freeze as much as possible.

“Buy bits when they are on offer and freeze them!” @sophielouisesmart

Aaaand this is such a smart thing to do when you do find those elusive yellow tickets.

After all, how else are you supposed to eat 10 loaves of 5p Genius bread in the next 24 hours?

(the correct answer is to freeze them, not start an eating competition)

Plus, don’t waste any of your precious leftovers either. Today’s leftovers can so easily be tomorrow’s lunch or dinner.

I always think of leftovers as eating for free!

4. Cook from scratch as much as possible.

“Defo make your own everything from scratch lol , chicken Kiev’s , pancakes…. lasagna all the things that I know are easier just to buy and bung in the oven but actually not only is it more cost effective they’re actually way nicer and you can cook in mass and freeze for other days , winning !! xx” @nicnac0205

Yes, yes and yes.

I mean, I may moan a lot about cooking from scratch when I’m super busy, but it’s soooo much cheaper than buying pre-prepared or convenience food.

(especially gluten free pre-prepared food, which is never great value)

There’s more and more gluten free convenience food these days too (like ready made sandwiches etc.) but even in a decent meal deal, it’ll always work out better to just make your own if you have the time.

And if you’re worried that cooking from scratch takes up too much of your time then don’t forget to…

5. Bulk cook.

“Make twice as much food so you can have it for lunch the next day at work.” @glutenfreeamelia

I totally agree that bulk cooking is not only a great way to save money, but it can also save lots of your time too!

I mean, imagine this – every time you make dinner, you make twice as much and freeze it. After 7 days of cooking dinner, you’ve basically got an entire week’s worth of food where you don’t have to properly cook.

Having those meals ready to go can definitely stop you opting for expensive convenience food when you’re knackered after a long day.

6. Plan your meals for the week.

“My biggest tip is to make sure you really plan your meals for the week. It helps you to see what you can use that’s naturally gluten free and also helps to stop any last minute dash to the shops where you buy something quick and usually expensive” @freefromnat

Yep, it’s just so true.

Having all your meals planned and buying all of your ingredients ahead of time can defo stop you from a mad trolley dash at the supermarket in a hangry rage.

(they do say that you should never go supermarket shopping on an empty stomach and it’s just so true!)

But also, if you’re lucky enough to have some sort of gluten-free-friendly takeaway local to you (my local chippy does gf fish and chips) then it’ll also reduce the likelihood you opt for that too.

But also, Nat mentioned something that’s especially vital in the war between being gluten free AND saving money…

7. Try and go for stuff that’s naturally gluten free.

“Just get stuff that’s naturally gluten free. I think someone else mentioned it but don’t replace stuff. When I first went gluten free I was buying gf pizzas, pasta, bread, waffles, cookies, etc and I have saved a lot of money by ditching that junk and just eating naturally gf stuff like proteins, veggies, fruits.” @gina.starr0

Yep, it’s sad, but replacing gluten-containing items like bread, pasta, pizza bases with gluten free equivalents is where things quickly start adding up.

(gluten free bread is 5 times more expensive than muggle bread on average FYI)

Though it’s a massive ask to never buy those items (I can’t live without a sandwich for lunch – boohoo!) sticking to naturally gf food where possible is defo going to save you a packet.

Check out the photo below – I made a naturally gluten free dinner from scratch for two people that only costs around £2. You don’t just have to have separate meat and veg all the time either – think chilli con carne, fish pie, shepherd’s pie etc. They’re all naturally gf if you make them yourself from scratch!

8. Shop around.

“I think some of my fave ways to save money when gluten free is to shop around as much as you can (sometimes there are deals in some supermarkets that are specifically in that shop!!)” @glutenfreepicks

Yep, loads of you guys mentioned how important that shopping around can be and you’re all so right.

Case in point: Nutribrex is might fave gluten free cereal of choice and it’s always £3.80 in Sainsburys. But in Tesco, it’s always £2.99. It’s not even on offer, it’s just 81p cheaper for no reason.

(how is that even allowed?)

Little things like that can really add up, so pay attention to prices when you do shop in the free from aisle.

Shops like Home Bargains can be really good for finding random gluten free products at reeeeally cheap prices too.

9. Use offers and vouchers.

“Looking out for coupons and stocking up during special offers!” @gluten_free_g

There’s a definite need to stock up when gluten free products on offer and that’s not just because they’re usually so expensive. It’s because they’re on offer so bloody infrequently! Like, basically never.

As we’ve already mentioned, stocking up and freezing stuff when they’re on offer/reduced is a great idea. Just make sure you don’t buy more than can fit in your freezer, or that might defeat the object of this tip!!

Vouchers can be rare but you can always message brands on social media and ask if they can send you some vouchers so you can try their products. I’m pretty sure most brands will hook you up!

10. Don’t just shop in the free from aisle.

“Stick to ‘accidentally’ gluten free meals and treats, rather than spending a million quid in the free from aisle…” @sussex_safari

This is probably my fave tip out of all 10.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but I like to think my Instagram is quite helpful for this sorta thing! I always do my best to hunt down those ‘accidentally’ gluten free products and share them with you guys.

What are ‘accidentally’ gluten free products? Well, they’re products that happen to have no gluten containing ingredients and no may contain gluten warning.

Take the photo below for example – it’s fresh gnocchi from Asda’s chilled pasta aisle. Yep, with all the muggle fresh pasta.

But guess what? It’s totally gluten free and it costs £1.50 – but you’d never really know unless someone told you so.

How about gnocchi that’s just around the corner in Asda’s free from aisle? It costs £3 and it doesn’t even taste as good.

So just remember this: if there’s no gluten containing ingredients and no ‘may contain gluten/wheat/barley etc.’ or similar statement, then it’s safe for those of us on a gf diet.

(trust me on that one, I asked Coeliac UK)

And of course, being the helpful human I am, I’ll always try and point out these ‘accidentally’ gluten free products on my Instagram. You just need to make sure you’re following me here first!

Thanks for reading through this post: 10 gluten free people share their money saving secrets! Thanks soooo much to everyone who contributed, hopefully your responses can help loads more gf folks too. What did you think? Which was your favourite tip? Any tips to add to the list?

But please do let me know by leaving a comment below or by following me Instagram and saying hello on one of my photos!

Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

10 gluten free people share their money saving secrets

Whether you’ve been gluten free for 10 minutes or 10 years, I think we can all agree that things can get pretty expensive, pretty fast. That’s why I’ve crowdsourced some of the best tips from… you guys! So read on as 10 gluten free people share their money saving secrets.

1. Look for gluten free products in the ‘reduced to clear’ section.