Next to rent/home loans, groceries are our most expensive outgoing each week. I mean, it's a necessity to feed us, our pets, to clean our home, everything! And although I can't promise you my tips and plan will make it as cheap as Grandma's shops when she was 20, I can promise you, it will get you thinking, take the stress out and get you into a routine. and to save money every shop.
The first thing you need to remember is not every house hold is the same, everyone has different needs, allergies, numbers, pets, house sizes etc. Everyone also has different budgets on how much we can splurge or treat ourselves. Everyone also has different tastes and different business levels.
The first thing I've done to make it easier and cheaper is knowing our life and uses and costs.
What are your biggest costs in grocery shopping, with your non perishables that are non negotiable. For us? Dishwasher Tablets, Laundry Washing, Coffee, Nappies, Wipes, Cleaning Products, Kitty Litter., Dry Dog Food, Toiletries. Now some of these are quite cheap, however they're costs you don't incur every week, and when you do need to it adds that extra expense to your total spend. What I did was go through my house working out every non-perishable that isn't food (minus Coffee, Sugar, Tea). And added it to me spreadsheet, then I've started doing my research. How much does my laundry liquid cost at Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Costco. Also on this spreadsheet is an extra column for inventory, I never want to buy these things when I've run out and need it, because then they're full price. I will only buy these things on special, so when I'm getting low I can see this on my sheet and look out for specials. The thing to keep in mind with this though is not to buy when on special just because it's on special unless you're getting low. I currently have 6 laundry softeners, my fav ones because my mum bought heaps but didn't like them so gave me them. These will last us a year so even if they're on special there's no point spending the money because we REALLY don't need them and when I do get low they will go on special alot between now and then.
Learn your reward systems. Out of Woolworths Rewards and Flybys I do personally prefer Flybys as I find I earn money quicker, get better perks/offers and the Flybys app is so good. But then Woolworths Rewards keeps your 4 cents a litre off on the actual card which is super easy. With Woolworths Rewards and Flybys every $1 is 1 point, and every 2000 points gives you a $10 discount. Occasionally you'll get special deals where if you buy this item that week it will times your points by 2 or 5 or even 10 for that item. Or if you spend a minimum of so and so amount across so and so weeks they'll give you a lump sum of points. Always keep an eye on your reward emails you get and your account for these offers to make the most of it.
Learn not to be a brand snob. I get some things you can be picky on - Coffee, Shampoo, but when it comes to snacks, cereal, biscuits, chips, drinks try the home brands. Even things link tinfoil, glad wrap, zip lock bags, go home brands. the only difference between these things and the big name brands? The packaging and the brand names. Still the same tastes and ingredients.
Woolworths, Coles and Aldi aren't your only options. Know you area, for me in western Sydney we have some amazing farms and produce places own and ran by families. For us we go to a place in Wilberforce, their fruit and veg is far fresher, far nicer, and far cheaper. They have massive mixed fruit boxes for just $12.00 which lasts us 2 weeks and is still just as fresh on day 14 as day 1. I definitely recommend finding a place like this. First round of savings check.
Find a Butcher you love, we're lucky to have one 3 streets away and their meat is faaar better tasting than the meat we used to buy at the grocery store. But one reason we switched to the was because you get the weight you pay for. The pre packaged packs at woolworths or coles you see, have you even noticed the 'e' next to the weight? This is because it's an estimated weight so you could be paying more then you should, also because they're pre-packaged you may need to over buy because 1 pack isn't enough but 2 is too much. However, the main reason we switched was because of their freezer meat packs. At our butcher they have 4 options, we go with the biggest one, $200.00 for nearly 20 kilos of meat, (sausages, lamb, schnitzel, steak, ribs etc), so it works out ALOT cheaper and lasts us roughly 1 to 1.5 months.
No more physically shopping in the grocery store. Online Shopping is your best friend, and we're going to do a click and collect so you aren't walking around the grocery shop and doing more then 1 trip. It also means you won't go over your budget which I'll explain further down. I allocate a few hours in 1 day or an hour every day for a few days to do this part. But unlike most people who start with the meal planning first, I start by going through the Woolworths and Coles catalogues. Why? Because if a honey soy sauce is on special I'll add stir fry to my meal plan, is a taco box on special this week? Great we'll have tacos. I'm not adding other things to my cart yet, infact I'm not adding anything at all I'm just investigating first. THEN I start writing a list of things I need and meal planning. Things I know I'll need every week, bread, milk, ham etc, things I'm running out of, out weekly snacks, and things I need to match my meals I've planned.
Meal Plan! When I plan meals for the week at the beginning I find it easier to cook dinners every night versus getting to the afternoon and going "Argh what are we going to have", and then giving up and ordering take away. It also means you'll have all the ingredients and won't have to duck to the shops at all on the day. Click here to view my meal planning blog with my FREE Meal Planner template to download. In saying this make sure you meal plan using as much as possible fo stuff you have in the house, if I had pasta in the house I wouldn't go and by a carbonara sauce if I have mince and bolognese sauce in the house.
It's time to shop and save! Have 2 tabs open, one woolworths and one coles. We're doing two shops, to make the most and save the most. I start by looking at the catalogues again, to look at whats on special again that I wasn't looking for before, things like ice blocks, chips, drinks, deli meat etc. We don't buy the same "snacks" each week, one because you'd get bored of the same snacks and two because the same things aren't on special every week. When I find something on special at coles I do two things, I search that item and see if I can get cheaper with an already lower price option, and then I go to woolworths and check what their prices are on special. Never forget, just because an items on special e.g. bacon doesn't mean they don't have another bacon option that starts at a lower price then the special price already, and that's the item you want.
Don't be sucked in on cheapest price. Make sure you're not looking at the cheapest price only make sure you look at the price per unit, yes this items going to be cheaper because its 250 grams versus another item that's only $1 more but is 750 grams. Yes it's $1 more but in the long run it will last you longer so you will technically be spending less.
Limit Pre-Prepared and Packaged Food. Remember you pay for convenience, pre cut celery, salad bags roast veggie mix, are all going to be WAY more expensive than buying them yourself and cutting, or mixing yourself. But use common sense, of course a jar of pasta sauce or coles brand spaghetti is going to be cheaper then buying the products and making your own.
Now it's time to cull. Sometimes specials pull you in to buy something you really really don't need. So once your carts are finished it's time to go through your carts and and realise that all those $2-$5 items add up quick and you really don't need those 5 boxes of ice cream you just got excited, and you're really not going to go through a kilo of ham because it was on special and then that's how we get food wastage.
Shop weekly! Not Fortnightly, not monthly. I'm going to go against everyone else for a minute. DON'T shop fortnightly or monthly, shop weekly. Why? Well, moved fresh stuff lasts only a week; Ham, Milk, Bread, Juice etc. So you will still need to shop every week, so this nonsense of shop fortnightly or monthly with little fresh food top ups in between doesn't work, why? Because no matter how much planning you do, you won't make it to the end of the month with your extra's you buy so you'll blow your monthly budget. Secondly, when you do this and then do the little top ups in between you'll end up spending more, because you're just ducking in for bread and milk you're amount you're spending will be low so you'll automatically without thinking start adding other items to the cart that excite you meaning you'll end up spending $50.00 which will end up meaning you'll spend more if you break down the amounts by 4. It doesn't work.
Shop on a full stomach after a yummy meal! Studies show when you're hungry or craving yummy food you'll splurge more, and buy more junk. I always do my online groceries after dinner, that way I'm full and satisfied and won't go crazy on food shopping. When you're hungry you're brain will want food and you'll end up buying more then necessary.
ความคิดเห็น