5 Ways to Cut your Grocery Bill in Half Australia!

Groceries in Australia are expensive! Ask anyone! Trying to save money on groceries seems next to impossible at times. If you're struggling to save on your grocery bill, but don't seem to be getting far, try out these 5 tips and you might just be able to cut your grocery in HALF! that's right, you can actually halve your grocery bill with these tips!

1. Plan Ahead: Do you find yourself running to the grocery store 2 or 3 times a week every time you run out of something? Do you walk into the store intending to buy milk, end up spending $100 on your bill and realise you forgot to buy milk? A little bit of planning can save you tons! Before heading to the grocery store, check your pantry, make a list of what you need or are running out of, check the what weekly specials and then head to the store (don't forget to take your list with you!) and try to stick to buying only what is on your list. Mindful shopping is not just about saving, it's also makes shopping a lot less stressful.

2. Buy Bulk on Specials:  My husband and I, buy almost all our groceries only when they are half price or on special. We literally never buy things at full price at Coles and Woolworths (except for flour, milk and eggs.) Seems impossible? Here's how we do it. Coles and Woolworths run weekly specials with things going half price all the time. All we do is buy enough to last us until the next time it goes half price. For example, since we eat a lot of rice, we buy a 2 bags of 5 kilos rice... enough to last us until the next time rice goes half price. The best part is that because Coles and Woolworths run their specials at different times, if you miss it at one store, you can get it at the other soon enough. A good idea is to check how long something lasts you, like toothpaste, shampoo, cereal or tea and coffee then you can figure out how much you need to buy before the next time it goes on special. What else do we buy at half price? Chocolates, drinks, sauces and condiments, pasta, frozen food, all our toiletries, snacks, biscuits, dairy products,  detergents... pretty much most things we need. A word of caution, don't bulk buy things that have a short shelf life or what you really don't use much just because it's on special.

3. Check the fine print on price labels: Did you know that the same product packaged in a different quantity or form can cost different? To make sure you are getting your value for money (and saving) check the per/100 gm or per unit cost at the bottom of the price label. You'll be surprised how much extra you end up saving just by buying a different size or packaging.

Take these mushrooms for example, a 500g pack of mushrooms costs 9.98 per kg as compared to a 200g pack of the exact same mushrooms which cost 14.95 per kg. That's almost a $5 difference for the same thing.

4. Aim to shop once a fortnight: It's simple, the more often you shop, the more you'll end up spending... supermarkets are designed to lure us in and make us buy things we didn't intend to. Do one big shop for all your essentials (remember the list) this will keep you going comfortably for a couple of weeks sometimes even more. Stock up on enough meat, veggies, bread, milk and eggs to last you a couple of weeks. If you find yourself running out, innovate with what you have at home to make it stretch a few more days, and buy more on your next trip. A lot of veggies like cabbage, carrots, cauliflower and even tomatoes stay fresh for a couple of weeks if stored correctly. I use up the veggies that have a shorter shelf life first and then move to the longer lasting ones.

5.Don't shop for everything at one place: It may seem counterproductive to shop at multiple stores, but some things are cheaper and better in different stores. Price check your favourite products at different stores and buy them at the place where it is the cheapest. For example, I buy canned foods, yoghurt and nappies at Aldi, but Aldi doesn't stock everything I need or like. So if we shop at Coles one fortnight, we shop at Aldi the next time around. We buy some of our meat on specials at a local butcher and all our veggies from the local farmers market. This way we not only get the cheapest, but also the best produce.

I hope you find these tips helpful. Let me know what money saving tips you use to save on groceries.