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    Create Bake Make / Tips / 9 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

    9 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

    Published: Aug 16, 2016 · Modified: Aug 15, 2016 by Lauren Matheson ·

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    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!

    9 ways to save money on groceries

    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!

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    Filed Under: Tips

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Eva

      October 17, 2017 at 9:16 pm

      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:)

      Reply
    2. Holly

      January 19, 2017 at 8:49 pm

      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.

      Reply
    3. Kimba Likes

      August 20, 2016 at 7:22 am

      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.

      Reply
      • Lauren

        August 22, 2016 at 5:22 pm

        Having three separate meals would be hard at times, you’ve certainly got a great man there to meal plan!

        Reply
    4. Bec Senyard

      August 17, 2016 at 5:03 pm

      We have been spending more on groceries too. I find I’m doing multiple trips during the week too!

      Reply
    5. Karin @ Calm to Conniption

      August 17, 2016 at 8:18 am

      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!

      Reply
    6. Jo @ CountryLifeExperiment

      August 16, 2016 at 11:21 pm

      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.

      Reply
    7. JF Gibson

      August 16, 2016 at 9:11 pm

      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.

      Reply
    8. Toni @ Finding Myself Young

      August 16, 2016 at 5:24 pm

      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.

      Reply
    9. Vicki @ Knocked Up & Abroad

      August 16, 2016 at 1:59 pm

      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!

      Reply
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