Supermarkets can bang on all they like about ‘dropped and locked’ and various savings but anyone with eyes can tell that while they drop some prices, others are shooting up all over the shop.
Anyway, today’s column is devoted to how you can save with just a few tweaks to your weekly shop.
Read all about it
Check out those catalogues. If you have the luxury of being close to more than one supermarket, check out the online catalogues and buy up on all those half-price specials.
And if you miss out on a special at Coles because it is not in stock, you can do a rain check. Speak to someone at the service centre and they will organise the details. The shop will contact you when the item is back in and you can buy it at the special price. Not available on online orders.
Timing is everything
Learn when the store discounts its stock. At our local, they discount the meat on a Sunday afternoon, fresh fruit and veg about 6pm daily and in the suburb over, the Coles bakery wheels out a trolley full of discounted products about 10am every day.
Take advantage of these one-off specials to save every week.
Aldi is cheaper
I know Aldi isn’t for everyone, or isn’t even available for everyone, but it is cheaper, not just because they say it is, but because independent reports say so.
If you can’t bring yourself to do a full shop there, at the very least, buy their cleaning products. They are as good, if not better, than the other chains and the savings are quite astounding.
Just don’t go and undo all those savings by spending up on stuff you don’t need in the central aisle, something I fail at miserably.
Members only
Woolworths has a $7-a-month subscription service that gives you heaps of extras. These include 10 per cent off one shop a month at Woolworths and Big W, three times the Everyday Rewards points and subscriber-only perks and freebies.
Costco is a bit more at $60 a year but if you need to buy in bulk, want a discount on electronic goods or use a lot of petrol, you will easily make that back.
Planning is king
One of the biggest problems with spending too much is we waste too much.
Meal planning is a tiresome chore, but it can save you hundreds a year.
It’s also good to have a few recipes up your sleeve that use up leftovers.
At our house, leftover risotto becomes risotto cakes, roast lamb becomes lamb ragu, roast chicken carcasses are made into stock, stale bread gets the garlic bread treatment or made into breadcrumbs.
And check your pantry.
You may already have enough ingredients to build a meal. About once a year I make a pledge to only use stuff out of the pantry and freezer for a week. It clears out sad and lonely ingredients and it’s a good challenge to make up a meal out of only what’s available.
Cold comfort
Don’t discount frozen vegetables.
If you are a smaller household, frozen vegetables can be a real game changer. They are quick, convenient and often cheaper than fresh as well as containing a great deal of nutritional value.
This week’s best specials
IGA
Sensible: Imperial mandarins, $3.99/kg. Someone once described mandarins to me as ‘nature’s lollies’ and I have never heard a better description. Only buy imperial, all others are pale imitations.
Indulgence: Passage to India, simmer sauce varieties, $4.95, save $1.30. Sure you can hand grind all your spice and make a curry from scratch, but sometimes you just want a meal in less than three hours and these simmer sauces can be a godsend. Keep a few in the pantry.
See the catalogue here:
Coles
Sensible: Coles boneless lamb leg roast, $18/kg. Great to roast, but because there is no bone, also good to cut up for curries and casseroles.
Indulgence: Vittoria instant coffee varieties, half price, $16. Buy this, just because this small Australian company is taking on Dutch-American behemoth JDE Peet’s, which owns Moccona, in a brand dispute over jars. Yes, that’s right, jars. Let’s support the Aussies.
See the catalogue here.
Aldi
Sensible: McVities range, from $1.59. Lovers of English biscuits rejoice, Aldi has a good range of McVities this week. From digestive choc tops to the English pretender to the Tim Tam, the Penguin biscuit. Just in time for the coronation.
Indulgence: Streets Viennetta Birthday Cake, $5.99. Streets have taken the naffness of Viennetta up a notch by bringing out a ‘birthday’ variety. As far as I can tell, this just means adding some hundreds and thousands over the top. I love the audacity.
See the catalogue here.
Woolworths
Sensible: Sunrice Jasmine rice, $12 half price. Excellent pantry staple at an excellent price.
Indulgence: Vege Deli Crisps, half price $3.25. I like to pretend that these chips are healthier because they are vegetables. They are not.
See the catalogue here.
Have you noticed your grocery bill going up? What’s your best supermarket saving tip? Why not share your opinion in the comments section below?
Also read: The problem with meat and dairy substitutes
