The weekly food shop is one of those expenses we can't avoid, but that doesn't mean we can't reduce how much we spend on it.

Food prices have risen considerably over the years, and when you're feeding a family, even a few unnecessary purchases each week can soon add up. The good news is there are lots of simple ways to shop smarter, waste less food and bring your grocery bill down without feeling like you're constantly going without.

Here are some of the things I find most useful for keeping our food spending under control.

Plan your meals in advance

Meal planning is one of the simplest ways to save money on food because it gives you a reason for everything you put in your trolley.

Before doing your weekly shop, decide what meals you're going to make for the next few days. If you're shopping for a family, get everyone involved so there are meals that everyone actually wants to eat.

It doesn't need to be a rigid seven-day menu either. I usually find it's enough to have a general idea of the meals we're going to make and make sure we have the ingredients for them.

Remember to include breakfasts, lunches, snacks and treats too. It's easy to plan your evening meals and then spend another £20 or £30 because you've forgotten everything else!

Meal planning can save money, reduce those last-minute trips to the supermarket and help prevent food from being forgotten about and eventually thrown away.

Make a shopping list and stick to it

Once you've planned your meals, turn your plan into a shopping list.

Check the fridge, freezer and cupboards first. There's no point buying another bag of rice, tin of tomatoes or packet of pasta if you've already got several hiding at the back of the cupboard.

A list also makes it much easier to avoid buying things simply because they're on special offer.

Supermarket offers can look like a bargain, but you're not saving money if you wouldn't have bought the product in the first place. A multibuy can be useful if it's something you regularly use, but don't let a bright yellow discount sticker persuade you to spend more than you intended.

Compare prices properly

Don't automatically assume that the biggest packet, special offer or supermarket own brand is the cheapest option.

Look at the price per 100g, kilogram or litre where possible. This makes it much easier to compare different packet sizes and brands properly.

And don't be afraid to shop around. You don't necessarily need to do your entire food shop at one supermarket every week. I regularly compare prices and buy different things from different places depending on what's best value.

Try supermarket own brands

There are plenty of foods where the cheaper supermarket version is perfectly good.

You don't have to swap everything at once. Try replacing one or two branded products with an own-brand alternative each week. If you like them, keep buying the cheaper version. If you don't, switch back.

Saving 20p, 50p or £1 on individual products might not sound exciting, but across an entire weekly shop and then over a full year, those small savings can really add up.

Don't shop when you're hungry

This is such a simple one, but it really can make a difference.

Shopping when you're hungry makes everything look appealing, particularly snacks and convenience foods you hadn't planned to buy.

Have something to eat before you go and take your shopping list with you. It's much easier to make sensible buying decisions when you're not thinking about what you can eat the second you get home!

Make good use of your freezer

Your freezer can save you a surprising amount of money.

Frozen fruit and vegetables are useful staples because they last much longer than fresh produce, and you can simply take out the amount you need. This is particularly handy for foods you regularly find yourself throwing away.

You can freeze plenty of fresh foods too. If something isn't going to be eaten before it goes off, check whether it can be frozen rather than automatically putting it in the bin.

The same goes for leftovers. If you've made enough food for another meal, freeze it for another day. You're essentially creating your own ready meals, which can save both money and time when you don't feel like cooking.

Let everyone serve themselves

This is something we've found useful as a family.

Rather than putting a full portion onto everyone's plate, put the food in the middle of the table and let everyone take what they actually want to eat.

If there's food left in the serving dishes, it's easy to refrigerate it for lunch the next day or freeze it. Once uneaten food has been sitting on someone's plate, you're much more likely to throw it away.

It also lets children choose a portion that suits their appetite rather than automatically giving them an adult-sized serving.

Use up what you already have

Before buying more food, regularly have a look through your fridge, freezer and cupboards.

Sometimes you can make an entire meal from ingredients you already have. We occasionally have a "use it up" meal where the aim is simply to use whatever needs eating first.

It's particularly useful before your next big food shop because you might discover you need much less than you thought.

Keep an eye on foods with shorter dates too. Moving these to the front of the fridge or cupboard makes them much harder to forget about.

Be careful with supermarket offers

I love saving money on something I was already going to buy, but there's a big difference between getting a bargain and spending money because something appears to be a bargain.

Before picking up a discounted product, ask yourself whether you'd buy it at full price.

If the answer is no, there's a good chance the offer is making you spend rather than save.

Multibuys are most useful for foods you regularly eat, particularly cupboard and freezer staples with a long shelf life. They're much less useful if half of what you buy ends up in the bin.

Reduce food waste

Food waste is literally money in the bin.

Try to use leftovers for another meal, freeze anything you won't eat in time and plan meals around fresh ingredients that need using first.

Even vegetable scraps can sometimes be put to use, depending on what they are. And anything that genuinely can't be eaten should go into your food waste collection or home compost rather than general household rubbish where appropriate.

We compost suitable food scraps at home, which also gives us useful compost for growing our own fruit and vegetables and saves us buying as much for the garden.

And don't forget the dog!

If you're looking at ways to save money on the household food shop, don't forget how much you're spending on your pets too. Dog food can add a surprising amount to your monthly expenses, particularly if you're buying smaller bags or tins as and when you need them.

It's worth comparing the cost of different options, looking at the price per meal rather than just the price of the pack, and making sure you're not regularly buying more than your dog actually needs.

There are also specialist brands such as Bella & Duke  that create meals based on your pet's needs, with options for both dogs and cats. Whatever type of pet food you choose, comparing the ingredients, portion sizes and overall cost can help you work out what's actually good value rather than simply choosing the cheapest-looking option.

Set yourself a food budget

If you don't know how much you're spending on food, it's difficult to know whether you're actually saving anything.

Look back at what you've spent over the last few weeks and choose a realistic weekly or monthly grocery budget.

You don't necessarily need to hit exactly the same figure every week. Some shops will naturally cost more because you're stocking up on cupboard staples, toiletries or household products. It's the overall spending that matters.

Keeping track also makes it much easier to spot when your food bill starts creeping upwards.

Final thoughts

Saving money on food doesn't have to mean buying the cheapest possible food or cutting out everything you enjoy.

For me, shopping smarter is much more about being intentional: planning what we're going to eat, checking what we already have, comparing prices, avoiding unnecessary impulse buys and making sure we're actually eating the food we spend money on.

Even saving £10 or £20 from your usual weekly shop can add up to hundreds of pounds over a year. And if you're wasting less food at the same time, that's even better.