Wednesday 22 August 2018

Drinks - The Added Cost

Have you ever wondered why your grocery bill doesn't decrease to the amount you want ?  I have countless people tell me that it's impossible to feed a family for under $300 a month. YES, people really do tell me that yet my monthly food budget has been $300 since October 2010. In February 2014 due to financial circumstances our food budget was reduced to $270 a month. By November 2015 I'd lost most of my cleaning work so the food budget was slashed again to $200 a month.  Since February this year I've been feeding Darren,  myself,  Jessica part time and Megan when she pops in for just over $100 a month.


Soft drinks, cordials, juices and bottled water can add unnecessary costs to the food budget. When you think about it, none of these are necessary to keep our bodies functioning. Soft drinks are high in sugar or artificial sugars, flavourings and colorings. Even lite cordials contain too much sugar. Juice is loaded with sugar and some contain preservatives. Bottled water is so unnecessary in most parts of Australia. We have some of the best drinking water in the world and yet so much bottled water is sold at a high price.

Have a think about it. Do you really need these drinks in your fridge ? There is nothing wrong with having them as treats for special occasions. To keep your body hydrated and your skin and kidneys healthy, water needs to be consumed by the glassful and no, tea and coffee doesn't count towards your water intake.

Milk is a great source of calcium no matter what your age is. But all in moderation. I've seen families go through 6 - 8 litres a day and wonder why their children won't eat their meals or drink a glass of water ( which is free ). A glass or two a day of milk combined with cheese, yoghurt and fruit and vegetables will give you a great dose of much needed calcium.

Next time you write your shopping list have a think about the drinks you need. Will water and milk be enough ?



14 comments:

  1. Goodmorning Wendy,
    Such a great post, I too am a big believer in drinking just plain water. My darling Mum had a kidney transplant when I was young and it was always drilled into us to flush your kidneys with lots of water. Ironically I found out only a few years ago that I only have one kidney, that made me even more aware of what I drink. I also loath the use of bottled water, there is absolutely no reason to buy bottled water in Australia, it’s just plain bonkers.
    Fi

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    1. I'm with you on this. I've had a kidney stone and know the benefits of drinking water. The only time I buy bottled water is when I forget to take a bottle with me which is rare. The price puts me off.

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  2. This is an excellent post. I've recently decided to give up all but the occasional soda, and I'm no longer purchasing those little squirt-in-your-water flavorings. It's not good for me, and the plastic containers they're in are not good for the environment. I'm sticking to water and almond milk and I'm sure my body will be all the happier for it.

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    1. It sure will Stephanie. I have a sip or two of vanilla coke once or twice a year and that's enough for me. I'd much rather save my sugar intake for something yummy like chocolate.

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  3. I prided myself on not buying soda very often at the grocery, but then I started counting up how often we would just pull into a drive through fast food place or mini-mart just to buy that $1 soda or slushee!
    When I started going through our bank statements online, I realized that this was a “little” leak in our budget that was actually totally a hefty amount per month as those little $1 purchases added up!
    A side benefit of this is that we’ve lost some excess weight and hubby’s blood sugar numbers are in the normal range!

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  4. Hi Wendy and that is a wonderfully low grocery budget for a month and you should be proud of yourself :). Like you I find it is possible by buying carefully when you find things on clearance or half price specials in the shops.

    I agree that bottled water is a huge expense along with buying cordials and juices that would add a huge amount to the grocery budget if purchased regularly.

    We tend to make all our our own cordials from fresh orange and lemon juice (when we are gifted them or find them on a good special) that way we know what is in them instead of buying the ones that are usually laden with preservatives and artificial colouring from the supermarkets.

    Mostly we drink water here but in summer when it is really hot and we are working in the garden here we do like a glass of our homemade cordial. It tastes so much better than what you can buy in the supermarkets. If we do buy soft drink it is a special treat around here and we also do as a special treat buy sparkling apple juice sometimes.

    Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).

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    1. We buy sparkling apple juice for special occasions too.

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  5. That's awesome keeping the budget so low. We are in NZ and I'd be dreaming if I thought I could match it but I think we do blooming well on $150/week. This includes 4 adults and a large dog plus currently an extra adult. Once the veges garden is back up and running in spring I'll aim for about $100/week and the remaining money goes towards a beast for the freezer. Might try and squeeze a bit more from the grocery budget to put towards our next family holiday.

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  6. So true; I recently bought a new filter for my refrigerator and I'm loving all the 'free' water I'm drinking. Not to mention, cutting down on plastic water bottles. Hubby still drinks soda... I'm still working on him.

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  7. Hi Wendy, when we were growing up my mum gave us two choices water or milk. Water was almost always preferred. Milk was given with dinner. No cordial unless it was a party and certainly no soft drinks !! Even now as a adult people think I'm mad I drink over 2/litres a day. My Dr told me that's how much you need and pardon me but you can tell if you go to the bathroom if its dark you're not drinking enough water ! I do filter mine though because for some reason in my area of Sydney it tastes so chemical like. I dont want that in my body ! It makes me so mad when I see parents giving their toddler flavoured milks and soft drinks like coke ! I used to work as a dental hygenist and saw children as young as 2 come in because their teeth were rotten away ! Or worse parents put honey on a dummy to quieten their child. Sugar is an acquired taste. I'm on the mission to lose weight so I've stopped eating it. Its in everything from bread to pasta sauce, and especially yoghurt which people think is healthy. Most have at least 10g sugar per 100g ans who eats that little ? 10g is more than 5 teaspoons ! Now when I consume anything like that even can soup its so sweet ! Much better home made. Everyday I hear "I dont have the time" well my grandmother made time. She had 13 kids and a dairy farm to run ! We have a lot to learn from our elders. Love sonia

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  8. $100 that is brilliant , does this include breakfast lunch dinner and snacks Wendy ? Could you do a post on what you purchase for a month and what you eat in a day . Does this also include toiletries etc . Thanks so much Wendy always feel inspired by your posts .

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    1. It includes all meals, snacks and basic toiletries and cleaning products ( the few I buy ). I'll try to post my list shortly.

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  9. We only have water or milk here. We don't drink tea or coffee (it's weird, I know!!) and occasionally have hot chocolates. While it saves money, it is also healthier. Juice is loaded with sugar (and minus the fibre of whole fruit) and softdrink is just sugar and water plus some added colours and flavours too. There is nothing remotely healthy about it and a great deal of concern about the cheap high fructose corn syrup (sugar). I think not buying softdrink saves money but there is little doubt that not putting it in your trolley saves your health too (which saves money in the long run). Meg☺

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