Save Money Grocery Shopping

Grocery prices in Australia in 2022 are rising rapidly due to cost of living pressures and weather events. But you can still save money on groceries with some simple shopping tips.

There are many ways to minimise your grocery bill if you are open to the idea. Think about what you are buying and become a shopping ‘ninja’ searching for the best buys.

For fruit and vegetables, try to buy seasonal produce grown nearby. We have become so used to purchasing what we want whenever we want it that we hardly think about the berries from Chile, the oranges from Florida or the frozen fruits from China. Not only will you pay more for these items, but think of the transportation costs in terms of emissions.

The other thing to consider is that local food laws are pretty rigid in keeping us safe in Australia. Not all countries have the same rules around food safety. This is often the case when products need to be recalled after being found to contain harmful bacteria.

If you can, purchase the ‘less perfect’ fruits and vegetables if they are offered in your store. Tonnes of food goes to waste because supermarket buyers think we will reject anything less than perfect. They are starting to stock the less perfect items for lower prices, so search out a supermarket that offers these items near you.

Support your local farmers and work with what is available and plentiful.

The same goes for meats and small goods. Try to stick with local. If there is no local, go with regional, then country. The region first to minimise the carbon footprint. You might be better off buying a freezer, going to a local butcher or farmer, and buying in bulk. This is an excellent option for getting a better price on your protein.

With canned and processed goods, we are fast losing our manufacturing companies due to large companies dumping their products on the Australian market. It makes it hard for our own companies to compete. But again, for all the reasons mentioned above, buy local or regional, even if it is a few cents more. You will reap the savings in other areas of your budget and save local industries simultaneously. Read labels and buy products grown and processed in Australia. More information at the Facebook group Aussie Grown Groceries.

There is also the problem of brand snobbery. We become wed to particular brands because we have always used them, or we like their advertising or that’s what mum bought, but there are many no-name products on the shelf that are as good for less money. Where do you think these products come from? When Coles decides they want to bake biscuits and package them, do you imagine they build a factory? No! They go to the existing factory (if there is one) and ask them to make a slightly modified version of their best-selling biscuit as the no-name brand or in-house brand. Coles gets a good product, and the factory earns more, compensating them for any potential loss in sales of their branded biscuits. Not all no-name products are as good as their branded counterparts, but many of them are. And in many cases, the no-name brand has a quality that is fine for the application—using canned tomatoes? Passata sauce? Jam? Pasta? Cheese? There is slight variation in the products between branded and unbranded, so consider that when purchasing your grocery list. In some cases, the no-name brand may come from overseas. Be on the lookout for that and try to buy local where possible.

Let’s move to the cleaning aisle because this is where you can make significant savings in your shopping list. In terms of cleaning, there is very little that cannot be achieved by having just five very inexpensive items in your home: vinegar, baking soda, borax, Castille soap (in pharmacy) and lemons. I have a book at home called “Home Made”, and it’s fantastic for these cleaning recipes, but they are easily found on the internet.

There are some terrific resources. For local information, I use Electrodry. They are a carpet cleaning business, but if you check out their BLOG, it’s beneficial for home remedies. There are many more. You can continue this with homemade recipes for shampoos, laundry soap, floor cleaners, facial masks, beauty creams, and on and on. No chemicals, all things natural and very inexpensive if you take the time to put it together yourself.

In terms of cleaning cloths, if you have old cotton sheets or t-shirts, cut them up. They will make better cloths than anything you can buy, and they can be washed and reused or thrown if too messed up. At least you were able to extend their life before discarding them.

Reuse your cleaning containers after washing them well. Please don’t buy new ones! Make sure you label them well with your new cleaning products and what they are used for.

Some products cannot be swapped out. I use a particular brand of soap capsule in my dishwasher that I believe extends the life of the dishwasher. I wait until I can buy this specific product in bulk at a discount before I top up my container. Significant savings can be made this way.

There are also many places you can buy items in bulk using your own containers. This is only useful if you use the stuff. There is no point in buying all kinds of stuff that will go to waste or be stored well past its use-by date.

Laundry soap is a good one. Let’s visit the laundry…

Most dry laundry soaps contain microplastics and dud filler. If you put a spoonful of most laundry soaps into a cup of water, a percentage of it will never dissolve. This is the crap that is going out into our waterways and making an environmental mess of things. So I have an automatic bias against dry soap powders from the start. A liquid soap powder seems a noticeable improvement in this situation, but few list their ingredients for your examination. Read the label. Use a soap that is safe for grey water and septic tanks. That will make it safer for the environment. Purchase a soap with no phosphates. Instead of using a softener in your rinse cycle, use half a cup of white vinegar. That will cut the soap in the rinse cycle and leave your clothes bright and clean. There will be no vinegar smell.

These are just a few suggestions for saving dollars in your weekly grocery shop. The single most important thing is to plan a menu and buy just what is on your list. Don't get sucked into the impulse buying they want you to do along the way.

This should bring things down considerably.