Aussie's grocery hack to save $50 a week

Melbourne student Lulu Breen has been looking for new ways to save money on her groceries, after noticing her bill was going up.

“Lots of individual items such as chips have gone up by $2 in the past couple of years. Food and home supplies especially, such as toilet paper, washing detergent, I’ve found that these have increased a lot,” Lulu told Yahoo Finance.

To save money, the 19-year-old has started looking beyond traditional supermarkets to find cheaper deals elsewhere.

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“I live in Melbourne and try to buy my produce at the Queen Victoria Market, often opting for the discounted fruit and vegetables,” Lulu said.

“I also shop at Cheaper Buy Miles which sells packaged food that may be approaching or is past its best before date and, therefore, is discounted.”

For example, Lulu said she has picked up oat milk for between $1 and $2, compared to the supermarket price of $4 to $6.

By doing this, along with meal prepping, she estimates she is saving at least $50 a week on her groceries.

‘Best before’ vs ‘use by’ dates

Cheaper Buy Miles only has stores in Melbourne but there are other stores, like Beyond Best Before in Sydney, that also sell items that have reached their “best before” date.

A “best before” date means the food may have lost some of its quality, but the NSW food authority says it is still safe to eat as long as it is not damaged, deteriorated or perished and can be legally sold.

This is different to a “use by” date, which means the food must be eaten or thrown away by that date or it may be unsafe to eat.

Grocery savings

Lulu is one of many Aussies looking for ways to save on groceries as the cost of living soars. New research by ING found Aussie households were now spending $162 per week on groceries, on average. While those with children under 18 were spending $205 per week.

To save money, 44 per cent of people are shopping in the reduced section when products are on sale, 37 per cent are opting for ‘homebrand’ products, and 32 per cent have started shopping at a cheaper supermarket.

But there are some items Aussies are still keen to splurge on, including meat and fish (30 per cent), tea and coffee (29 per cent), fruit and veg (25 per cent), bread (19 per cent) and pet food (16 per cent).

Lulu said she still liked to occasionally treat herself to a now-$7 packet of chips or a fresh hummus dip from the markets.

“​​I think it’s important to still enjoy what you eat, despite the cost of living,” she said.

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