The Dreaded Food Shop

UUGGG...The job I hate the most. Food Shopping. You only have to turn around and do it again next week.

The key to good shopping is speed, organisation and knowing your local shopping choices well. Go spend a day looking at all the little butchers, fruit shops and even research if there are any nice little farm gate produce stalls around. I know I found one that is closer to my place than the fruit shop, but it is cheaper and fresher than the stores. WIN WIN. This initial day is a pain in the tushie but well worth it.

Here is when your new found fridge skills come into play. On my fridge I have a list of what I have in the pantry, what I have in the freezer, and my weekly menu. Now It is a simple case of standing at the fridge with my coffee, munching on my toast and writing my list... on the fridge. Not on a piece of paper that is guaranteed to end up left on the bench. Once I'm complete I simply take a pic of the list on my phone and off I go.

ALDI.......Yes Aldi. Please don't poohoo the idea. I LOVE Aldi. They are cheap, you don't get distracted by well placed adverts or shelf trickery to get you to spend more. When I do my grocery shop there for my family of 5 I spend no more than $130 per week. In alot of product testing shows like A Current Affair have done Aldi always comes out on top. Do just one shop there, I dare ya! Other than saving a small fortune on our food bill I can easily be in and out in under 20 minutes. Yay Me!!!

Next is my local butcher. I only go here once every 3 weeks. I get a $65 meat pack ( ask your butcher if they have a bulk order deal) and the meat is far better than any mainstream butchers shop. If there is something in the packs you don't like then swap it for something else you do like. I for one don't cook the whole chook that comes in my pack, so I swap it for more rissoles. These also make cost effective meatballs by dividing into 4.. yummy.

Next is my local fruit market. Yes I said to avoid it if needed but our local fruit market does Sunblest bread for 99c per loaf, everyday. It freezes well so I only go here once every 3 weeks as well as I buy 12 loaves at a time. This saves me running down the street for one loaf of bread everyday and saving me a fortune on fuel.

Next is my roadside fruit shop if I haven't already sent the kids on their bikes.

All up a big week shop that lasts me 3 weeks ( as the other 2 weeks is a top up shop costing me about $80 each week for those shops) costs me about $200.

Get onto facwbook as well. All town now have Buy,Swap and Sell groups and local mother groups. Ask around. Being on benefits is difficult, and when it is for something you have little chance of changing like in our case as I can never work due to my kids, you need to make the best of a bad situation.

For those of you on benefits, see cutting your weekly costs as a job. Each dollar you save is a wage. You work hard to run your house, to look after your children that the government would be paying alot more to care for in a facility if you were working.

Next week.... the websites I use to help me save ALOT!!!