Six simple HACKS to save thousands a year on groceries

#1. Visit to Your Kitchen First “Shopping in your pantry”

Tips:

• Make a visit to your kitchen 2 days before you go on a grocery shopping trip.
• Take note of what food you have currently, and what needs to be eaten immediately.
• Create a pantry or food list you need to finish off before the next purchase. For example, repurposing leftovers creatively like making great stew, pasta, simple home-made sandwiches, pie-fillings, or, simply rotate leftover meals such as dinner for lunch or vice versa.
• Lastly, snap a photo of your fridge and pantry in case you need to check while you’re shopping.

#2. Set your Yourself a Budget & Limit for Grocery Shopping

Tips:

• Track what you actually spend for a month or how much did you spend last month?
• Plan per week so that you can test different weekly budgets to find out what’s realistic.
• Stick to a monetary value for your priorities. For example, Groceries: AUD$60/week | AUD$240/mo.

#3. Make A Shopping List

Tips: There are different ways to create a list.

• Some prefer conventional pen and paper style so you can use a magnetic notepad to tick off items as you buy them.
• For others, you can store your grocery list on your phone and keep it open and ‘stick to it’ as you shop.

#4. Make A Meal Plan

Tips:

• Limit grocery shopping to once a week.
• Write up a meal plan before shopping.
• Google two to three recipes you can make from combining the leftovers in your kitchen.
• Even if you have forgotten to buy an ingredient, substitute with something you already have at home.

Note: If you can, avoid recipes that require special ingredients.

#5. Buy from Wholesale/Local Market Over Retail Stores

Tips: Go to wholesale or food market:

• At closing time, traders drop their prices considerably to clear stock, so try and get there in the last hour or so before closing.
• Buy in bulk if the food you eat has a longer shelf life or are non-perishables. For example, white rice, beans, grains, flour, oats, cereal, pasta, frozen veggies and so much more that you could stock up for long periods of time.

#6. Go Vegetarian Once a Week or Try Healthy Dieting Plans

Tips:

• Go on a meat-free diet at least once or twice per week.
• If not, you can try Keto diet plans which include meat and poultry but in a balanced proportion to your weight and health requirements.

Other Useful Tips To Consider

• Avoid eating outside/takeouts/processed food.
• Download grocery apps to shop online, enjoy great discounts and free delivery benefits.
• Don't shop while you are hungry.
• Try to shop alone.
• Consider using a rewards credit card with a loyalty program partnered with your supermarket such as Coles and Woolworths. Or, shop at Aldi.
• Always cook more so that you can freeze the leftovers for the next day.
• Look out for clearances