I have had a few people ask me (from my 1st blog
post)how I keep my grocery bill so low. So today I’m writing about a few of the
tips that help me.
Firstly, something that you need remember when looking at
your shopping budget, is that every family is different. I have often read
articles on how little a family spends on their shopping and think, why can’t I
get mine down that low. Families come in all different shapes & sizes. Some
are large families, some are small. Some families eat a lot, some don’t. Some
families have foods that they need to avoid, others don’t. Whatever your
situation, don’t compare yourself to other families; instead consider where you
could cut down in your budget. At the
moment, we have a shopping budget of $5200 a year ($100 a week). This is very achievable
for our family. When our 3rd bubba starts eating, that budget might
raise a little. For my sister, she has a bigger family, with some food
allergies, which means they have to avoid some foods. Not to mention the fact
that they also have 2 in nappies. With all of this, they still manage to stick
to a budget of $150 a week. Although she
spends more $$, I think that shows that she is actually doing a lot better than
me at getting the most out of her shopping budget.
So here are some tips as to how I keep our shopping budget
down low.
1) I make a meal plan – I create a fortnightly meal plan and
then repeat it for the 2nd fortnight in the month. I will often try
to plan foods that have overlapping ingredients. By doing this I minimise waste
(and yes trust me, I can still manage to waste food even on a small budget).
2) I shop monthly – I try to do the majority of my shopping
monthly and then keep some money in the budget to get top ups of fresh food
during each week.
3) I don’t stick to a $100 a week! – Although my budget
allocates $100 a week, I do my budget over the month. That way I can buy in
bulk or if I find an extra great sale, I have money to stock up on it.
4) I shop at Aldi – I do most of my shopping at Aldi and
only go to Woolworths if I need to buy a particular brand name item. I know Aldi is more work and you have to pack
your own bags, but the savings far outweigh the work. I love Aldi and am very
thankful to be able to save so much money by shopping there.
5) I shop at my local fresh fruit market for fruit & vegies
– We have this fantastic fruit market close by that does fruit & veggie
boxes. You tell them how much you want to spend and they get a box, walk you
around filling it up and tell you when you get close to your budget. They don’t
weigh anything which means you get a great bargain, great fresh food and a
chance to support local even on a limited budget. Not to mention the fact that
they even walk it to your car for you....fantastic service!
6) I have stopped buying soft drink and limit our junk food
– When you are addicted to something, it’s easy to spend money without thinking
anything of it. I now drink mainly water which is much better for my health and
have limited the processed junk food that I buy. This of course doesn't mean we
don’t eat junk (you will know this if you saw my post on the 100+ cookies recipe) but I found that our family struggles with temptation and we are trying
to loose weight, so not having much processed junk in our house is the best option for us and heaps cheaper.
7) I’m trying not to buy take out – It is easy to forget
that take out still falls into your budget when you don’t buy it at the
supermarket. I once read an article where a lady said that they don’t buy
takeout because if she is going to spend money on it then she would rather take
her family out for a lovely dinner outing and not have to do the dishes after woods.
This makes so much sense!!! So with this in mind I have decided to make freezer
meals that we can grab out and eat when we are exhausted or having a really lazy
night. This is something that I haven’t done yet, but is my plan for this
month.
So there you have it, my top tips to keep my grocery budget
down. I hope that you find them helpful.
I'm off to bed now. Remember to turn back your clocks and enjoy your extra hour sleep!:)
Kylie
