Christmas is slowly creeping closer and we're all realising that we need to tighten our belts if we want to have a good time over the festive season.

Cutting back on nights out and fancy dinners is a pretty obvious step but it's the main bills that often hurt your bank balance so this week, we've decided to look at the most basic one of all: your shopping bill.

Now, you may think that you have this down to the bare bones but there's almost always room for improvements.

Here are our top tips!

1) Make a shopping list

This is the most obvious and yet, a large amount of people still turn up at the supermarket with their hands swinging and not a clue what they're going to buy. Plan ahead, make a list and stick to it.

2) Plan your meals 

Most households throw out a huge amount of food every week due to bad choices while making their shopping. Take fifteen minutes, sit down and decide what you want to eat for each meal, each day. This way, you'll notice which ones are more expensive and choose some more affordable. It will also enable you to shop smarter, such as buying a whole chicken and using for lunches and dinners, instead of buying chicken fillets and cold meats seperately, which works out much dearer.

3) ALWAYS check the sell-by date

There's nothing worse than arriving home with your healthy shop, only to find that it all has to be eaten within the next two days. Similarly, your plans to eat more fruit and veg will fall by the wayside if your mandarins are decaying by the time Wednesday rolls around. Always, always read the label.

4) Buy only what you need

We impulsively grab the pre-packaged, preprepared fruit and vegetables but often end up with a bag of carrots for €1.50 instead of the one we could need and could buy seperately for 39c. Get down to basics and seriously look at everything in your basket... chances are, you'll find a few bits you can put back.

5) Shop online

It may cost an extra €5 but shopping online is actually a great way to cut down on impulse buying and make more informed choices so you'd be surprised by how much you save. Better still, it's delivered to your door so no more lugging heavy bags!

6) Get the loyalty card... and use it!

It takes about two seconds and could save you so much money. Sign up, scan with your shopping and you'll get a ton of great vouchers in the post. This one's a no-brainer.

7) Never shop on an empty stomach

Trust us, this one isn't an old wives tale. The only time to enter a supermarket is post-meal. Otherwise, you'll end up with a ton of stuff that you don't need because you're craving everything.

8) Ditch the bad stuff

Leave out the ready meals, the crisps and the fizzy drinks and you'll probably easily cut €20 off your bill...as well as a few pounds of your waistline and very possibly, added a few years to your life.

9) Shop around

One of the most common mistakes people made is putting all their eggs in one basket, or doing all their shopping in the one supermarket. Getting your meat from a local butcher and sharing your trade between the different supermarkets can result in getting better produce at better prices. It might sound very time consuming but give yourself an hour or two on a Sunday morning and it could be a nice weekly tradition.

10) Do your homework

In-season produce is almost always cheaper and also tastes better. Consult Google before you do your shopping list and you're ready to go!