1 – Keep a piece of paper taped to a cupboard door (or inside), and when you run out of something or think of something you need, jot it down on the paper – instant shopping list!

2 – Always make and take that shopping list. It does no good being left on the cupboard door if you are in the store trying to remember what you ran out of 2 days ago.

3 – Shopping online can be good as it helps you track your spending so you can stick to a budget more easily but the downside is you will miss out on the daily reduced items. These can be hit or miss but on occasion you can get a great deal – I once got a chinese meal for two for 10p!

4 – Use containers to organise your fridge – you can buy some or use old tubs like ice cream tubs which is what I do. Then I keep my salad veg like spring onion, peppers etc in one box and roots like carrots in a separate box. I don’t put the lids on them though so when I open my drawer at the bottom of the fridge I can easily see what is there, needing used up or needing replaced.

5 – Make ‘end of the week soup’ – throw in whatever veg you have left over in the fridge at the end of the week – add stock, loads of herbs, cook and blitz to make it smooth. No waste!

6 – We all have cookbooks but only 3 recipes, on average, are ever cooked from the books we have. May I suggest, sit and have a coffee, look through one of those books, pick a few recipes and make them! Try something new and aim to pick recipes that use similar ingredients to keep costs down.

7 – Batch cook whenever possible. Things like spagetti bolognaise, curry and other sauces are great for batch cooking but always think about making extra – it can save you a small fortune and means you have something to fall back on in an emergency.

8 – Experiment – have you every looked in your cupboards, fridge or freezer and thought ‘there’s nothing to eat’? Get experimenting! Got beans, rice, tinned tomatoes, canned fish? You got a great meal. Start thinking about what might be nice together and take a stroll out of your comfort zone. We’re not talking sardine and cornflakes – a bit of common sense and a little know-how goes a long way.

9 – Learn how to make a couple of sauces such as: white, parsley, tomato, curry. With these (batch cooked and frozen!), you will never run out of meal options again.

10 – Learn at least one good bread recipe, then use this to advance to bread rolls, pizza, etc. Far better than shop bought and a great skill to have.