Although I wrote
a book called The
$50 Weekly Shop, the
$50 is really only a
guide. Every family is
different, and it may be
that your goal will be
to spend less than that,
or more, depending on
your circumstances.
When I first did this,
my sons were toddlers,
with smaller appetites
and different tastes to
the ones they have
now. Your family will
have individual needs,
too, so don’t beat
yourself up if you can’t
get your food bill down
to $50 – the idea is to
save money, and how
easily you do that will
depend on the number
of children in your
care, their ages, their
activity levels, whether
you are a sole parent or
have a partner, where
you live, whether you
have vegetarians in
your family, etc.
I live in a rural area
and it is a fairly cheap
place to live. I have
access to local markets
and can buy produce
direct from farmers. If
you live in the city you
may have to drive a bit
further to get good
deals on produce, but
you also have the great
advantage of home
delivery – so do your
research to find the
best deals. And check
locally to see if there is
a veggie co-op you can
join, where you buy
bulk produce and share
the costs of delivery.
HOW MUCH ARE
YOU SPENDING?The first thing you need to do is work
out how much you are spending on
groceries. Grab your receipts for the
past couple of weeks, sit down and
add up all the food items you’ve paid
for, including takeaway lunches,
dinners, snacks and drinks, and work
out what you spend on average. If you
don’t have any receipts, then
just do your normal grocery
shopping for the first week
and keep receipts for every
food item you buy (including
takeaway). Don’t try to save
money or do anything out
of the ordinary – just shop
as you usually would.
Before I began living
frugally, I would just ‘throw’
things in the trolley with a
vague plan about what I
might do with them; I didn’t
bother looking at the price.
When you look closely at
the receipts and actually see how
much particular items cost, it can
sometimes give you that extra jolt
you need to keep track of where your
hard-earned money is going.
But again, pleasedon’t despair or feel like the world’s
biggest tool – everything is fixable.
So, how much are you spending?
Is this an average week for you?
Now work out what you would
ideally like to spend on your weekly
grocery bill, given other financial
commitments and whatever you are
saving money for. If that figure looks
scary, don’t panic! I didn’t do it
overnight, and I don’t expect you to
either. You just need to break it down
step by step. That’s what
will get you there. That’s
how you get anywhere!
If you are spending
$200-plus just on food per
week, aim to spend 10-15
per cent less for the next
shop. How you do this is
really up to you, but some
simple and effective ways
I can suggest to reduce
your spending include
giving up takeaway food,
avoiding readymade
meals, buying generic-
brand staples and
avoiding fancy value foods.
Once you’ve followed those basic
principles for a couple of weeks, you’ll
have the confidence to bring out the
big guns – planning your meals,
shopping for the best deals, reusing
leftovers, making your own staples
and growing your own food – all of
which will help you reduce your
spending until you reach your goal.diabetic living MARCH/APRIL 2019 79Before I
began living
frugally
I would
just 'throw'
things in the
trolley
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