I tried Hello Fresh for a month to save money - see how much

I often wonder if they really could change my life, which seems to be the case for the happy families cooking up a storm in the kitchen through my TV.

From having quick meals basically prepared for you to being delivered right to your doorstep, it seems like a dream situation.

I’ll also admit that cooking isn’t really my thing, as I’m definitely a baker at heart, so I will try anything to make dinners easier for myself (on the rare occasion my partner refuses to cook - very rude).

@uktoday_

I tried Hello Fresh for a whole month and I was surprised I saved THIS much… Cook a delicious creamy pasta with me 🍝

♬ Cooking Time - Lux-Inspira

Lately, we have both been feeling uninspired when it comes to thinking of what recipes to try as the weeks go by and have found ourselves wasting so much money on takeaways for something different.

So after seeing countless campaigns for Hello Fresh on social media with a discount I couldn’t stop thinking about, I decided to give it a go.

This is how much money I saved using Hello Fresh for a month

I gave myself an imaginary 4-week trial for Hello Fresh to see if this could become a permanent routine.

This chilli con carne was absolutely spot on (Image: Newsquest)

When I first went onto the website, I noticed if I signed up, I could get 60% off my first box and 25% off boxes for the next two months (discounted food becomes instantly more delicious).

I chose to order four meals each week for two people, with a delivery arriving every Saturday ready for the week ahead.

My first box came to £13.80 (can you believe it) and then £30.86 after that, as long as I stuck to the basic recipes and didn’t choose from categories such as street food.

It’s pretty simple when it comes to picking out the recipes you want to try as you just scroll and tap the ones you want in the next box.

I found there was a huge choice, specifically for those who are vegetarian or eat meat.

For example, one week I ordered Teriyaki Lemongrass Beef, Pork Meatballs in Cream Chive Sauce, Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese and Ginger Sesame Veg Noodles.

The recipes on Hello Fresh change every week (Image: Newsquest)

Alongside this, I still did weekly shops at the supermarket to buy snacks, breakfast and lunch bits and other essentials, including toiletries.

I saved a little more in the first week using Hello Fresh due to the huge savings for box one but each week I saved around £30 (£120 in total over a month) which was way more than I expected - I was really shocked.

I think this was because it really made me think about what food I needed and what I already had in, making sure I wasn’t overbuying anything.

What did I like about Hello Fresh the most?

Personally, there were way more positives to buying Hello Fresh than negatives, such as:

• the satisfaction of having everything you need for one meal packaged in one bag, matched with a numbered recipe card
• the variety of meals to try
• Hello Fresh made me try a lot of new ingredients such as tarragon
• there wasn’t one recipe that disappointed me in terms of flavour
• everything is sent in portions so there won’t be any waste
• you can tailor your boxes to exactly how you want, for example ‘meals within 20 minutes’ or add-ons

The only negative comment I have is that if you don’t remember to choose your meals by the cut-off date, you will be sent recipes you might not like (this may or may not have happened to me).

From a quick maths sum in my head, I also don’t think I would save money once the discount runs out, but every little helps.