I’ve spent a lot of time over the past year looking at where and how we can save our money and one of our ‘big’ money wasters was groceries. I’m ashamed to say that at one point we were spending $250+ a week at the supermarket for just two adults and two toddlers – crazy! It’s been a process of trial and error, but by implementing a few different strategies, I’ve been able to reduce our grocery bill enormously and we now spend between $100 – $150 a week on average, so today I’m sharing 9 ways to save money on groceries that have worked for our family. While there is probably nothing here that you haven’t heard before, by implementing just a few of these ideas you will hopefully save some money at the supermarket so you can buy other important things like shoes!
Start by Shopping from the Pantry/Fridge/Freezer
Before I sit down to write our meal plan and shopping list, I firstly go through what we’ve already got in our pantry, fridge and freezer to try and use up any leftovers and items which are close to their use by date. I’m normally able to get a couple of meals and/or lunches for us by doing this, whether it’s simply ham and cheese toasties, pasta made with garlic, crushed tomatoes, bacon, onion and cheese or fried rice made with leftover veggies, it’s a great way to reduce our food waste and keep costs down.
Meal Plan – Including Snacks
The reason why meal planning works for us is that I’m flexible (and realistic) when it comes to what we will actually eat, and how far a meal can actually last us. When I first tried the idea of meal planning a few years ago, I was making something new every night, as the idea of writing ‘leftovers’ on our plan didn’t seem right – yep silly I know. This led to us ending up with waaay too much food and wasting money. Now when putting together a meal plan, I think about just how much and also how far I can stretch our main meals so that we have both full tummies and minimal waste. I also write out what a rough guide as to what we will need for breakfast, lunch (because let’s face it, toddlers and small children will ALWAYS change their minds about what they will eat!) and also snacks to ensure we have everything we need to avoid having to make visits to the supermarket during the week.
Shop Around
Yes it can be a little more time consuming, however we are saving around $40 a week simply by buying all of our fruit and veggies each week from our local fruit market instead of the supermarket – for example I recently bought bananas for just 68 cents a kilo and pink lady apples for 98 cents a kilo! We also have our milk delivered each week from Aussie Farmers Direct (this saves trips to the supermarket and impulse buys) and I shop at both Aldi and the major supermarkets depending on what I need and what’s on special that week.
Do ONE Big Shop
I think I can safely say that it’s pretty much impossible for me to pop into the supermarket for just one thing. I’m a marketers dream and always find myself impulse buying something that’s advertised in one of those big displays at the front or on special. By doing one BIG shop each fortnight/week (even if it is at multiple places) while the amount we spend is higher, we save money overall by not making multiple trips to the supermarket for a bottle of milk and ending up walking out with $30 of groceries – please tell me I’m not the only one who does that!
Homemade
Another one of our biggest savings has come from no longer buying biscuits, muesli bars and other snacks for both the kids and my husband and I. I will spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon (or Monday morning if the weekend has been too busy) and make snacks for our family for the week ahead including things like muesli bars/slice, biscuits, popcorn, bliss balls, banana bread etc. Another bonus of doing this is not only are we saving money (especially when my kids are obsessed with muesli bars and my husband will easily eat 3 or 4 when out bike riding) but I also know exactly what is in them and can avoid any nasties.
Buy Online
This is also another way we save money on our groceries as I find the amount I pay for home delivery (around $9 – $11) is substantially less than the extras I will inevitably find myself putting into the trolley if I go to the supermarket – especially if the kids and my husband come with me. I’m also loving the convenience of having our groceries delivered right to my kitchen bench since our baby boy arrived, the idea of wrangling all three boys at the supermarket is just way too scary for me to consider at the moment!
Make the Most of Discounted Groceries
Although I’ve said shopping online, meal planning and writing a list has helped us to save money, so too has making the occasional trip to the supermarket to check out their discounted groceries. I’ve come to learn that our local supermarket reduces their meat/dairy/deli items on a Wednesday morning, so I make it a habit to stop by after the kindy drop off each week to check out what’s on special and pick up some bargains. This is also where being flexible with our meal planning comes in and I either substitute what I’ve bought for meals on the plan, or freeze it to use the week after.
Stock up on Specials
One of my guilty pleasures is reading the catalogues that arrive in our letterbox this week (yep, I really do have an exciting life!) and checking out what items we regularly use that are on special. When I spot items like laundry/dishwashing powder, toilet paper, baby wipes/nappies etc I will always buy in bulk (we have SEVEN boxes of laundry powder currently in the cupboard) as I know they will definitely get used and you can guarantee they will be full price when I run out.
Bulk up Meals
We’ve spent the past seven weeks living off meals that I made in the lead up to our little man’s arrival, and when I’ve pulled a small container out of the freezer for us, my husband has given me a few strange looks and commented that there is no way that will be enough food for us all, especially when we’ve also had guests. I haven’t been stingy with portion sizes by any means, instead I’ve been bulking up our meals with extra veggies, legumes, rice and pasta to help it stretch further. For example one takeaway container of butter chicken fed three adults and two kids for dinner, as well as lunch for two adults again the next day by serving it with rice, steamed broccoli, beans and pumpkin.
So there you have it, a few of the things we have been doing to help save money on groceries.
I’d love to hear your tips!
Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid says
Such fab tips! I’m a big fan of online shopping – we buy a delivery saver so delivery is actually free! I always check out the special offers while I’m online too and stock up accordingly.
Amy (HandbagMafia) says
I’m a big fan of Mark downs at the supermarket as well! Saves us a fortune 🙂
jess says
Definitely a fan of the meal plan and the one big shop. Its amazing how much money you can waste with daily grocery shops!
Melinda says
I’ve also been guilty of outrageous weekly shopping bills and started to do most of the things here and the difference is frightening (good, but frightening!) … The only thing I haven’t been doing is the online shopping. I can’t seem to get myself organised! Thanks- great reminders!
Ingrid @ Fabulous and Fun Life says
Our family’s weekly grocery shopping bill is absolutely massive! I’ll be making a concerted effort to implement these great tips. Thanks for this timely post!
Nicole @ The Builder's Wife says
I have zero tips and am embarrassed to say we currently spend $500-600 per week on groceries for the 7 of us. We do eat really well with grass fed beef and organic chicken and some produce, and I also make just about everything from scratch, but when following strict diets for our children we have found it is really expensive. I have to admit, I wouldn’t change it for the world, the outcomes for our kids have been totally worth my time. Your tips are excellent, and we use all of them too. xx
Emily says
Love this list. Yes to all of it. I also check out the specials then meal plan around them. I also use a lot of mince. Pies, pasta sauce, meatballs. I make big batches and we have leftovers nights so I can get some work done in the evening. #teamIBOT
Bec says
Awesome tips! A few I need to implement. I’m fairly new to the online shopping, have been doing click and collect at a drive through pick up as it ensures I get out of the house (also mum of 3, one is newborn!) and can also swing by the drive through coffee! 🙂 Online shopping has saved us lots of money (I’m a marketer’s dream also) and forces me to meal plan which is great. I also have a massive chest freezer which has saved us heaps of money. I do a big bread order at Baker’s Delight and stock up on a heap of their loaves and mini scrolls and it’s also now home to many leftovers for family meals and individual meals for my husband and I for lunch.
Rachel says
Our shopping bills hurt some weeks! And only two adults and two toddlers here too. But I’ve recently starting getting a box of fruit and veg delivered fortnightly which is saving a lot, and have just gone back to online grocery shopping to avoid the impulse purchases!
Renee Wilson says
Awesome tips, Lauren. We are in that $250 category some weeks, others we are below $200. When I did the groceries online I definitely found I spent less. I think shopping around for the fruit and veg is a great idea.
Vicki @ Knocked Up & Abroad says
Yep, some really sensible tips here. We are shocking. We can spend up to $350 a week if I’m not careful! The problem is I’ve recently started buying organic so that really up’s the $$$’s. With the said I have sourced a local farmer who brings a huge box of fruit and veg each week and I am all about using what’s in our pantry to make the museli bars and snacks and combining left overs. I still could work on my meal planning though. I just can’t forward think right now. Not enough sleep to do that I think!
Toni @ Finding Myself Young says
I do almost all of these, I just wish we had a bigger freezer so I could make more of my own stuff and freeze it. If I make a batch of anything at the moment half of it gets thrown away because we don’t eat it in time and can’t store it in the freezer. We used to have a deep freeze and I miss it so badly. I also need to switch to shopping without the toddler or partner because I swear between them they add about $50 worth of groceries to the trolley because they see them and want them.
JF Gibson says
Great tips. We buy from our local green grocer and I try to meal plan each week. Try being the operative word! I also make the snacks each week, which saves heaps and is healthier too.
Jo @ CountryLifeExperiment says
We shop every 4-6 weeks. Mainly because of the hassle of driving to town, but it certainly saves money over all (though it is a big chunk of money each time we shop). In between, we get a box of fruit delivered to my work once a week. We also grow a lot of our fruit and nearly all our vegetables, eggs, and meat. Clearly it’s not for everyone, but I currently have 90kg of pork and lamb in my freezer, which cost me next to nothing because we grew the animals, slaughtered and butchered it our selves. The trade off for all of this is the amount of time you need to grow and process your food.
Karin @ Calm to Conniption says
I do the bulk shop and then I “click and collect” which saves again on delivery costs and my time waiting around for the delivery man. Great tips!
Bec Senyard says
We have been spending more on groceries too. I find I’m doing multiple trips during the week too!
Kimba Likes says
We meal plan. I say we, I mean him.
Some times we have three separate meals for the three of us, all involving the same ish ingredients.
I tend to stock up on soap, laundry liquids, dish liquid but not on food.
Lauren says
Having three separate meals would be hard at times, you’ve certainly got a great man there to meal plan!
Holly says
Great tips! I do most of these already and it really saves money. I always buy meat at 50% reduced and keep it in the freezer and if I can’t get any at the time, I will just have pasta or an omelette filled with veggies. Super filling!! Can’t be fussy when budgeting.
I usually wash and cut up most veggies and herbs and pop them in the freezer, so not only do they stay fresh, they’re all ready to throw into a dish.
Use cup-a-soups to season food. Stock up when they are $1 a pack. Very cheap and lots of flavour.
I hate wastage, it’s just not necessary.
Eva says
I agree with your Aussie Farmers Direct milk being delivered to save a trip to the supermarket. We get our bread, cheese and deli meat delivered by Aussie Farmers each fortnight in bulk so we don’t have to make extra trips to the supermarket:)