Navigating rising grocery costs for families
By Melanie Wegener @the.savvy.mamma
I was about to call to let them know that they left half of my order on the truck when it hit me. This is just what $300 of groceries looks like now. It barely looks like anything.
Although there is no magic trick to avoid rising grocery costs, there are some steps we can take to save money. Here are some ideas.
Shop with intention
We save money when we shop with a plan. Before shopping, spend a few minutes on a fridge and freezer audit. What do you need to use up? What didn’t get eaten that you could skip this week? Check your pantry to see what you are running low on. Write a list and stick to it as closely as you can.
Pay in cash
Studies have shown that we save money by paying in cash. The simple reason? We have a physical connection to parting with your hard-earned money. When we pay in cash, it hurts more than paying with the tap of a card. Consider withdrawing money next pay to spend on groceries and see if it changes your spending habits.
Involve your children
Set aside a small amount of time each week to meal plan together. Each person could pick a meal of their choice to give them ownership. Depending on their age and your schedule, children can help to cook and serve up the meal. You can increase their responsibility as they get older.
Avoid top-up shops
Top-up shops can add up quickly. Avoid racing out to the shops by keeping a stocked pantry with plenty of long-life milk and canned items. Buying extra when items are on special can help. Keep extra bread in the freezer. Having a few dozen eggs in the fridge can create a quick dinner.
Source healthy food
When you have time, heading to the market can be a great way to source healthy food for your family. Give each child some money to spend on ingredients for a meal or to add to soup. Even if you can’t go regularly, making it a special outing can be a fun learning experience.
Have routines
Implementing routines can make family life run smoothly. Use ideas like:
- Make your own Mondays (hamburgers, cold rolls, nachos)
- Taco Tuesdays
- Pasta Wednesdays
- Fish and Chip Thursdays
- Fakeaway Fridays
- Leftover Saturdays
- Pizza Sundays
Meat free
One way to keep grocery prices down is to reduce the amount of meat we consume. Going meat-free once or twice a week is good for our budget and good for our health, too.
Keep it simple
When I worked as an au pair in England, the family had some good routines. They had pasta pesto every Wednesday night before Scouts. It was simple and cheap, using a home-brand jar of pesto. They had grated cheese and a basic salad on the table. Everyone ate it. It was a winner.
Prep days
If you’re anything like me, you prefer to spend time outside the kitchen. Set aside one morning, afternoon or evening each week to prepare some meals. Work hard to prep food in advance to save you time on other days.
Leftovers
Cook once, eat twice. Leftovers can save us both time and money. Plan one or two nights a week for leftovers. If you’d rather not eat it again the next evening, take it for lunch the next day.
Breakfast for dinner
The simplest meals are often a novelty for children. Consider serving up:
- pancakes with various toppings
- toast
- cereal
- scrambled eggs
- boiled eggs with soldiers
- omelettes
- French toast
- Poached eggs and bacon
Lunchboxes
Packing lunchboxes for our children comes with pressure and a big cost. Perhaps it’s time to get back to basics. You can keep it nutritious and delicious without going overboard. Ask children to choose some shop-bought items or cook together. Let them pack their own lunchbox.
Fakeaways
After a busy week, we need an easy option by Friday night. Fakeaway (aka fake takeaway) saves money. It could look like oven pizza, chicken nuggets, spring rolls, garlic bread, hash browns or oven chips. These can be bought pre-made or made ahead of time and frozen.
Grow herbs and veggies
Growing your own food helps to save money on groceries and teaches children about where food comes from. If planting a veggie patch is too much right now, start with some herbs. Choose a few that you use regularly, for example, sweet basil in spaghetti, coriander for butter chicken and parsley as an all-rounder.
Last thoughts
Managing food for a family is no small feat. Be encouraged that you are doing the best you can.
- Don’t aim for perfection
- Build in routines to make life easier
- Find shortcuts so it’s not all on you
- Find one way to save money
- Be kind to yourself – it’s a big job!
Follow Melanie Wegener @the.savvy.mamma
