Money Smart

After our rents or mortgages, groceries are usually our biggest spend on our weekly budgets. Somehow we always end up spending more than we budgeted for, right. I usually spend $100 max fortnightly and most of the times its actually less. Here are some tips:

1. Make a Meal Planner

Take a piece of paper or better a whiteboard from a $2 shop and make the following table:

Monday Breakfast Porridge   Lunch Chicken stirfry and rice   Dinner Chicken curry on rice   Snacks Yogurt Mixed nuts Protein drink

In stock oats       chicken breast     Chicken legs Curry powder

Shopping Milk       Mixed veges Rice

Now go in your pantry and see what ingredients you already have, fill in the stock section and then using those ingredients try to make a weekly or fortnightly meal plan. If there are any ingredients missing than put them in the shopping section. Try to use all the tinned and dried ingredients before buying any new ones for instance one week could be Indian week and you can use up all your curry powder, than next week could be Chinese week which means buying soy sauce, etc.

2. Buy in bulk

I love my meat but they are expensive so I buy in bulk whenever I could. Pak n save, Countdown, New World and Mad Butcher is usually where I do my shopping so whenever they have specials on meat I buy in bulk and freeze it. Also keep an eye out for mid-week specials when the meat is supposed to expire in a few days and price is slashed to get rid of. Rice, flour, dried and tinned beans, milk powder, cleaning products and sugar are just a few things that could also be bought in bulk and stored safely when on special.

3. Home/budget brands

I have found no difference in cooking or taste with Home brands or budget brand products. They are usually cheaper because extra money has not been spent on advertising and packaging.

4. Substitution

Can also substitute ingredients for instance when I sometimes make a lamb curry I put less lamb and more chickpeas in it. Its fills me up for less meat used but I still get all my nutrients.

5. Frozen/Tinned

Instead of buying fresh vegetables, buy frozen. They stay for longer, are already cut up, have been frozen when they were at their best so more nutrients possibly and does work out cheaper. For instance if today I went shopping at Countdown, McCain Stirfry supreme 1Kg will cost me $4 and will last me around 3-4days so for a fortnight I will buy 3 packets costing me $12. Now if we buy the same fresh ingredients at Countdown:

Beans 500g/$5, carrots 2k/$5, broccoli 4 for $6, cauliflower 3 for $9, baby corn tinned $8 for 4, pineapple 2 for $7, capsicum 6 for $15 which will equal to $55 but most of these products are on special and in season and I did get some leftovers. I did frozen for one fortnight and fresh the following fortnight so try yourself and see how it goes.

Tinned beans and lentils are great in price $1 a tin and less when on specials. They are already tender and cuts cooking time by half but still has all the nutrients. Chopped tinned tomatoes are especially great, just pour in the soups and curries.

6. Save the excess money

Every fortnight when I get my pay, I takeout $100 cash on my day off. First I sit down and make a planner as above, than I look online for specials or on the mailers, usually takes me about 30 mins max. If meat is on special, I plan on buying the small items first and buy meat for maybe 1-2months depending on cash available. Any cash leftover, I put in a tin marked groceries. So if I say last fortnight bought meat lamb 4kg at $10/kg and chicken 2kg chicken legs at $5/kg and breast 2kg at $10/kg and the rest on tinned goods and frozen vegetables which should last me a month at least. This fortnight I will buy 5kg rice $8, Flour 5kg $6, washing powder $12 for 5kg (the warehouse lasts me for nearly 6 months), Tinned stuff and some cosmetics which should last me a few months. That means I will be able to save most of my grocery budget in my 3^rd fortnight onwards as most of the basics have been bought for months except meat and vegetables.

This way one day when Easter or Christmas rolls up, you will look in the grocery money box and find all those extra dollars have amounted to enough to buy the extra groceries for a holiday dinner with family and friends.

 I have managed to slash my grocery to an average of $60 fortnightly over the last 3 months and have around $250 sitting in my grocery tin which I will use for a small dinner party for my coming birthday and of course Christmas. Maybe have enough for a few presents even. So take the challenge and tell me how much you have slashed your budget over the coming months.