1. Set a budget for your weekly shopping (sounds basic but a lot of people don’t)
2. Make dinner and lunch daily- time to get organised
3. Eat before you go shopping- shopping on an empty stomach makes you buy buy buy!
4. Have dinner dates at home not out at restaurants- each bring a plate of tucker as everyone can cook (some better than others)
5. Plan, plan, plan- sit down on a Sunday and plan out your weekly meals and stick to your shopping list
6. Cook in bulk (and freeze food)
7. Try not to take your kids with you when you go shopping as this will allow you to have more time to compare prices and you won’t fall into the trap of buying them goodies
8. Order groceries online (they often give you additional meat due to packaged amount not being exactly what you ordered- win!)
9. Start a vegie patch and keep it alive
10. Buy meat on special and freeze it- chicken works a treat!
11. Buy generic branded products (not recommending home brands for tooth paste or coffee though…)
12. Get to know the difference between “Used by” and “Best before” dates- best before means it can still be eatable by used by is in the no- go zone
13. Look at the shelves up high and down low for products as the grocery store are smart and place expensive highly advertised products at eye level
14. Shop at your local markets for fruit/ Veg and meat as this can be cheaper and as a hot tip going just before they close up in the afternoon for the specials
15. Read your junk mail for specials (yawn) but you can grab the bargins!
16. Try delivery services like; Hellofresh and Marley spoon as they can be large means and split into multiple dinners or lunches (and you can get great offers like $50 off or 1 week free to give it a try)
17. Use supermarket rewards programs as it is possible to get money off you shop but they will know your shopping history
18. Have at least 1 vegetarian meal a week, as meat is where the $$ are at
19. Shop for seasonal fruit and veg as they will be cheaper
20. Get a job that provides you food then you will be sorted
Saving money on your food is easier said then done, but if you can implement 5-10 of the above consistently then you will see a reduction in your spending! Good luck!
SMH Article: The Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney households spend an average of $163 a week on groceries
