Good Afternoon friends! I hope this finds you all well.
Last week on Facebook there were a few discussions about budgeting and meal planning. Many COTC friends contact me needing tips on HOW to save money when grocery shopping without buying crap! Here are my tips that I hope help you…..
I budget for $200 per week for my family of 2 adults and 4 children (Miss 11, Miss 9 and my almost 3 year old twins). This has gone up slightly with another adult in our house (Bekah – hubbys cousin from Texas USA staying with us for a few months).
My dearest part of groceries at the moment is the fact that I have been on a RAW diet for many months and I am now allowed cooked fish 3 times a week so I have been splurging on Salmon each time! I can often spend another $50 on this seafood a week – especially if I treat the entire family to the Salmon 2 nights a week…but I am ok with that! We probably only eat out twice a year at restaurants and almost never buy take-away so I don’t mind spending a little extra for things like Seafood.
I spend approx $100 per week on fresh fruit and veg. I use ‘Enjo’ for cleaning or I make my own cleaning products. I buy “bulk’ meat. I LOVE Organic but it is not in my budget to bee 100% Organic so I do the best I can with what I have.
My tips for saving money when buying groceries…..
* Try to buy in bulk – you will spend more money on the day but save $$$ in the long run
* Write a meal plan for the week first and ONLY buy what you need
* Don’t shop when you are hungry
* Home-made biscuits and cakes are far cheaper than packets – packet anything in general is going to be more expensive – air popped popcorn for example is 1/4 of the price to make your own rather than buy one large pre-made packet or the individual packets
* Farmers markets for fruit and veg I have found is cheaper, fresher and lasts longer
* Growing fresh herbs saves me a lot! $3 for a ‘sleeve’ of coriander is crazy to me ….. so I have some pots around growing my fresh herbs…. the kids enjoy helping me pick them also!
* Avoid going shopping for food more than you have to – I go once a week and that’s all….how many times do you hear people ducking into the supermarket for milk and ending up spending $50 on things they don’t need!?
* I buy a large yoghurt and put it into a serving bowl or reusable food sachets rather than the individual and more expensive ones – I do this also with tin fruit – check out the “Sinchies” on my website store here!
“Sinchies” reuseable food pouches
What a pretty bunch of flowers!!!!! My home grown Kale and Flat Leaf Parsley !!!!!!!
Home-made Banana Ice-cream – SIMPLY FROZEN BANANAS PROCESSED UP!!!!!! (served in this picture with additive free 100′s and 1000′s also available on my website) SO much better for you AND cheaper than bought ice-cream!
A cheap dinner and a great way to use up bits ‘n’ pieces of vegetables you have left! Fried rice! Boil up “Basmati Rice” the stir fry it with vegetables. This rice has fresh corn, zucchini, sugar snap peas, egg, cabbage and spring onions in it. All the bits I had left before grocery shopping the next day!
I hope this helps! Why not add your tips here for “how you save money when grocery shopping” to help others also!
Have a GREAT week!
Take Care of You,
Collette x
I simply had to share this photo with you…my Miss 9 and my Miss 2 1/2 having a running race! This is their pose when I sat “ready…set…go” …….SO CUTE!!!!!!
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