Due to this I've increased the grocery budget to $150 per month. Sept / Oct is the first grocery shop with the new budget. We'll see how I go. Lots of readers have asked for my shopping list to see what I'm buying. I don't mind sharing but typing out all the items and prices would be time consuming. So here are the photos and receipts of the purchases so far -
ALDI SHOP
FRUIT AND VEG SHOP
COLES SHOP
HINDUSTAN IMPORTS ( HERBS AND SPICES )
TOATL AMOUNT SPENT SO FAR $ 100.15
If you are wondering where the rest of the food is, please remember I have a very good stockpile of pretty much everything. I have enough toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deod, shampoo, conditioner and makeup for the next year or two. I make my own soap instead of using shower gel and Darren uses it instead of shampoo.
Generally once or twice a year I stock up on herbs, spices, dried fruit and nuts from Hindustan Imports. Occasionally I pop in for a couple of items that are running low.
I have enough roast beef and silverside in the freezer for the next few months at least. I still have enough chicken drumsticks for four meals and one whole chicken. We ran out of chicken fillets a couple of months ago but because the prices are too dear at the moment, we are doing without. I have two legs of lamb in the freezer waiting for a special occasion. Each leg does about 3 - 4 meals. The mince I bought this month is to make hamburger patties. I still have about 3 kilos of mince in the freezer to use for other dishes.
When I did this shop I still had half a cauliflower, one kilo of carrots, half a pumpkin, eight potatoes and a few frozen veggies on hand. Soon we'll be picking our own silverbeet on a very regular basis. The mushrooms and tomatoes in the photo were for homemade pizza on Monday night.
We are not big fruit eaters in the cooler weather but I still had mandarins in the fridge and was gifted apples from a friend.
Over the next few weeks I'll be popping into the shops to top up on milk, fruit and veg as needed.
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteYou sure have it down to a fine art. A lot of groceries you think you need you can really do without and this post just proves it. Good on you! It makes me try harder. Also I noticed or couldn't find it your Goals for 2018. Ifound 2016 and 2017 but not 2018.
We had a really busy start to the year so I didn't post any goals.
DeleteHi Wendy and just wanted to pop in and say what a great job you are doing keeping your grocery bill so low for 3 people :).
ReplyDeleteWith inflation unfortunately like us here here, there is a time where you have to say and give in that the original grocery budget is too low and raise it. Even the financial experts are saying that essentials are rising in price at a much faster pace than what the official inflation rate is showing.
You did really well with getting the meat at discount prices too and every reduced price item we can pick up in our grocery shops all helps to keep our grocery spend lower :).
Our next grocery shop will be in mid November as we shop 3 monthly here.
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna)
It's not very often I see meat specials so when I do I grab them
DeleteI always thought your food prices were higher than ours. We have £140 pm all in for food, toiletries etc which equates to $254.07 Australian dollars pm. That is considered a small spend over here so well done on your spending.
ReplyDeleteThankyou
DeleteYou have done so well. That you for motivating me. Our grocery spend has been horrendous. Today I went to the store to buy milk, cucumbers, blueberries and lettuce. For once I managed to convince mum to stick to the plan. I am also making an effort to reduce our waste and use everything.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow is always a new day. A menu plan with cheaper meals does help too.
DeleteYou are like me when it comes to groceries. I feed the two/3 of us on a little less than 150.00 a month. But I am queen of the stock pile.
ReplyDeleteGotta love a stockpile. I try not to pay full price for anything unless it never comes on sale.
DeleteGoodness your stockpile must be amazing. Your ability to keep grocery costs so low is really a valuable skill. Home made soap is much lovelier then cheaply made soap from the supermarket too.
ReplyDeletexx
When you don't buy rubbish food it's easy to find room to stockpile real food. I don't like being low on anything.
DeleteHi Wendy, your grocery shopping looks similar to mine, just that I buy for 2 adults and 4 kids. Like you, I buy ingredients rather than ready made products, and I purchase my fruit and vegetables from Victoria Market saving us lots of money each week.
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy.
Kind regards
Andrea
Have you found the Vic Market to be cheap Andrea ? A couple of times a year I do to the Dandenong Market but found their prices almost the same as my local fruit and veg shop.
DeleteWell, to give you an idea in the last 3 weeks at Vic market I've bought good bananas (not spotty or brown) that last me the whole week for either 50 cents or $1 a kilo, and I never pay that at my local green grocer. I find there is a significant price difference on most things.
DeleteKind regards
Andrea
Thanks for showing us and explaining a bit more, Wendy. My atickpile is growing and I have gotten better at snapping up specials as they come up. Yesterdasy, I got our favourite pasta sauce on special for half price. I bought a dozen. Meg
ReplyDeleteDid you clear the shelf Meg ?
DeleteYes, there were no more left on the shelf after I swooped! Meg;)
Delete