Food Shopping

Food shopping is one of the most expensive items in your budget (next to mortgage payments!). These days you seem to buy less and it costs way more. There are several things that you can do to get save money in this area.



As with anything saving money requires thought and often time. The best way (and I have said this in a previous blog) is to do a menu for the week/fortnight. This way you only buy what you need and the waste is cut down. Also use the junk mail to find the specials.



Supermarkets often have a shelf of food that is near its date. These food stuffs are all still fine and have been reduced to clear. If you are planning to use them straight away, great or otherwise freeze them. $ saved!



Food markets/fruit markets are another great saving. If you are good at remembering prices then these places are great. You often need to be quite early in the mornings to get the best quality and sometimes you need to barter. Remember, it is only a bargain if you needed it in the first place.



Don't go shopping when you are tired or depressed. I used to work shift-work and if after a week of shift I went grocery shopping suddenly the trolley seemed full of junk and chocolate. Be alert, these things seem to jump in. Also, don't let the kids whine and con you into things you don't need. It is always difficult, especially when queued for the check-out - with all those sweets etc. just sitting there. Be strong!



My neighbour and her daughter have a great arrangement going. They buy up in bulk on the specials of the things that they know they are going to use. Because my neighbour has a spare bedroom with a large built-in cupboard she stores the food. (We are talking non-perishable food here). They write on the outside of the food packet the price and store them away. When her daughter wants some of the food, she puts the money in the tin and takes some. This is working well and they are telling me that they have saved hundreds of dollars. For those with storage this is great. I buy up things that I see on sale and store them in my large pantry. You do have to be careful not to 'lose' things and then not get to eat them before their due date.


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