As a mum of 5 boys, especially when they were teenagers, it was always a challenge to keep healthy, nutritional food in the house – on a budget. I remember them coming home from school and filling up on bottomless bowls of wheat-bix! Endless 2 minute noodles, loaves of bread, massive cans of Milo and gallons of milk. They were bottomless pits that could never be filled. I swear our food budget was probably enough to finance a small country!
There are endless demands on the family budget and at the end of the day food is pretty much one of the only areas that you can cut back on. Rent/mortgage, electricity, petrol and car expenses are pretty much constant. So, being wise, shopping carefully, and planning in advance are important steps in saving where you can.
Here are 6 tips that I hope you find helpful:
- 1. Buying in Bulk
There are some substantial savings to be made on the price per gram, by shopping in bulk. Staples products like rice, pasta and cereals will definitely see a good reduction in price through buying the larger bags.Even laundry detergent, clean products and toilet paper will see the dollar stretched through bulk buying. Large bags of snack foods can be divided into zip lock bags to help out with school lunches.
- 2. Only Buy What You Need
Writing a shopping list and sticking to it is an important step in penny pinching. Emotional buying and unplanned shopping are definitely enemy to saving. It is easy to grab extras that you don’t really need just because it looked good at the time. A list helps you remember the details for recipes and avoids you dropping into the corner store for a last minute forgotten item. Shopping when you are really hungry can certainly be detrimental too.
- 3. Look for the Sales
Supermarkets all have their weekly specials – if you have the time shopping around can certainly benefit the wallet.
- 4. Clearances, Clearances, Clearances
I remember shopping with our boys on a Tuesday night at 8:30pm. It was the time the local supermarket marked down the prices of their meat and we would stock up and load the freezer – it was totally helpful. Always check out the clearance shelf – you’ll never know – the items you need might be there. Purchasing mark-downs from grocery, fruit and vegetable, bakery and meat departments is definitely beneficial.
- 5. Shop At The Markets
There are certain great savings to be made at the fruit and vegetable markets by buying carton lots of apples, oranges and bananas. Sacks of potatoes and carrots will be greatly discounted.At Lighthouse Care we shop at the markets so we can provide quality fruit and vegetables at discounted prices for the time poor.
- 6. Shop at Lighthouse Care
We are very proud of our famous $25 trolley. It contains around $160 – $200 of food for our bargain price. It is the very best value we can provide for families on a tight budget. We are always super excited to offer our range of 1000 grocery items at 50 to 70 percent off the recommended retail price. I believe this is the greatest way a family can save on their grocery bill.
It was these challenging years that gave us empathy as a family, to want to make a difference for other families facing tough times. We continue to see beautiful families facing insurmountable hardship, through job loss, sickness, relationship breakup and the genuine struggle of everyday survival.
That is why we have given our lives over the past 15 years to provide very practical, tangible, hope and support to families hoping to stretch the budget.Lighthouse Care has been birthed out of our sincere and passionate dedication, to make our world a better place.
