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23 Apr
Reducing the grocery bill
I’m searching for inventive and interesting ways to reduce our grocery bills. Not particularly the “101 ways to cook beans” type, but something that will keep me and the hungry hoards inspired.
I’ve re-subscribed to Simple Savings which is helping. I saved the subscription fee in the first week (yay me!). There are so many hints in their “Savings Vault” - some new and some that I just needed to be reminded of - and lots of saving tools, too.
So what is my goal? For our family of five, I was spending around $230 - $250 per week. That includes everything: meat, fruit and veg, groceries item and household items (like cleaning products). On top of that, we have takeaway every Friday night ($20) and at least one meal from the bakery on the weekend ($25+). I’m trying to get it all for no more than $150, but I can see I’m going to struggle.
Last week I spent $170 and didn’t buy any meat (just used what was in the freezer). This week I have already spent $180. Hopefully I won’t run out of anything!
I’m doing a menu plan each week (on Macgourmet) and keeping a running shopping list on the pantry, so I can get everything in one go (in theory). The oven has also been getting a work out with homebaked goodies making a return to the kitchen. So I am making some inroads, but I want more.
Do you shop for fruit and veg at a market? We save a huge amount by going to a Saturday Market. The apples for example are only $2.50 a kg are a great small size for kids and come from the local area. I would be paying $4.99 per kg at the supermarket.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:46 pmCheers,
PlanningQueen
Thanks for the tip PlanningQueen. We don’t have a regular market here (a small Farmer’s Market once a month). I guess I could do a trip into Melbourne…but it might be a bit hard to do every week. You’ve planted a seed though. I’m thinking perhaps even if I only did it every now and then, we’d still save. At the moment I do the F&V at our local green grocer, which is either on a par or a bit cheaper than the supermarket and soooo much better quality.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:36 pmYou’re doing well cutting back so far. It’s tough sometimes but fine tuning your grocery shopping will pay off big time. Good luck with it.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:47 pmHaving a market close by is definitely a major help, but if there isn’t one there that takes away that option. I’m lucky to have a fantastic wholesaler within walking distance.
I only have to myself and my 18 month old to feed and I do it comfortably for $100 a fortnight. With a larger family that would be much harder but leaving out the packaged and junk foods is a great place to start. it sounds like you are on the right track. Good luck with it.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:51 am