The sharp rise in food prices in recent years has eroded consumers’ buying power. From having to pay almost $6 for a loaf of bread or even more for a litre of yoghurt, shopping has become a painful exercise, even before you hit the fresh meat or seafood section, where lamb, the once scorned red meat, routinely sells for more than $20/kilo, while fresh fish often sells for $25/kilo or more.
So what can you do to avoid the sharp jump in prices? Below are helpful hints aimed at keeping your grocery bill down.
1. Shop with the seasons. Adjust your eating habits to take advantage of fruits and vegetables that are in season. You’ll save money and buy the freshest produce available rather than something that has been sitting in a store’s refrigerator for weeks. Whether it’s a summer mango or winter broccoli, the food will taste better and your wallet will be better off.
As for the meat section, you won’t have to run away. Spring lamb will sell for less than $10/kilo and it will be more tender than summer cuts as it’s really lamb that you’re eating.
2. Cut waste. Before you head to the checkout, ask yourself if you’re really likely to eat all the food in your trolley. If in doubt, put it back. Australian households throw out a third of all food they buy, according to some studies. So if you cut down on what you buy and restrict your shopping to what you need, you’ll help avoid waste and cut down on food costs.
3. Create a grocery list and stick to it. Before you go shopping, plan what you need. Put down all the items that you really need on a shopping list and stick to it. If you steer away from the list, you risk buying food that will simply sit at the back of your fridge until it goes off or get lost in your pantry. Planning meals will enable you to work out what you need and help you be more rational in filling your trolley.
4. Eat in. Cutting out on takeaway and restaurant meals gives you plenty of scope to save. Instead of going out, why not stay at home and make dinner? Raid the cupboards, your fridge and use your imagination to come up with a meal that’s tasty and healthy. If you normally spend $40 on takeaway each week, you’ll save around $160 a month. And if you regularly eat out at restaurants, you’ll save much more than that.
5. Take your lunch. Instead of spending $10 a day on weekday lunches, start brown-bagging it. Make a sandwhich and pack some fruit. Or take leftovers to work. Your monthly savings could approach $200 if you prepare your own food, which is likely to be healthier, tastier and often better for your waistline.
6. Buy goods that cost the least per unit. Stores now display the price per unit of products or you can work it out yourself if you need to (e.g. by calculating the price per 100grams or 100mL). For raw products like sugar, flour, butter, milk, pasta or salt, generic brands can provide great savings. With such foods, you don’t necessarily lose in quality but can gain substantially in savings. Otherwise, buy foods on sale – as long as you would eat them anyway.
7. Shop at a market, late in the day if possible. Fruit and vegetable prices at produce markets are often much less than those charged by supermarket chains – and food is often fresher. The best time to shop is just before the market closes when prices are being slashed by vendors who are keen to get rid of their goods. At such times, it really is possible to buy up bargains.
You can also take advantage of supermarket market-downs or specials. If meat about to go past its use-by date is being marked down, take advantage of the cheaper prices. This meat is perfectly safe and can be frozen for later use. The same is true of bakery items such as bread, which are often marked down just before or just after their use buy date. Freeze now, and avoid shopping later. The same is true of buying food on special. If you need it, buy up now and save over time.
8. Eat fresh foods and avoid processed products. Remember that while processed foods may seem easier to get on the table, they can be a lot more expensive and a lot less healthy. Focus on buying cheap foods like beans, lentils, pasta, etc. Lentil soup in winter or pasta with a tomato and basil in summer make for great eating. And plant-based protein foods such as lentils and beans can be a lot healthier and cheaper than meat-based proteins.
9. Buy in bulk. Items bought in bulk or larger quantities tend to cost less if you buy larger quantities. Buy durable goods that you’ll always need and you can save over time.
10. Shop where its cheap. If you can, get out of the inner city and less affluent areas and you’ll be amazed by just how much cheaper groceries get out in the suburbs. Whether its local fruit and vegetable shops or local butchers, you’ll likely find much cheaper prices than those charged by Coles or Woolworths or grocery stores in the inner-city. Areas where lots of migrants locate are often very good areas to shop because goods are often cheaper, and possibly fresher because of high turnover.
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