With the cost of living biting hard, the supermarket checkout might be one of the places where you feel the most pain. Of course, groceries are a necessity, so you can’t exactly stop shopping to save money. However, there are ways to help shrink your grocery bill.
Here are eight money-saving swaps to consider next time you hit the supermarket.
Note: all prices are accurate at the time of writing.
Swap 1: Packaged for loose
While that bag of pre-shredded lettuce or box of sliced mushrooms might make dinner prep a bit easier, that convenience comes at a cost. You might even find that simply grabbing pre-packaged, uncut produce can cost more than buying the loose product.
Here are a few examples:
- Shredded iceberg lettuce at Woolworths costs $2.20 per 200g pack ($11 per kilogram) or you can buy iceberg lettuce for $3 each (roughly 500g or $6 per kilo).
- At the same supermarket, a 200-gram punnet of sliced mushrooms will set you back $4 ($20 per kilo). Buy them loose and cut them yourself and you’ll only pay $12.50 per kilo.
Swap 2: Shredded or sliced cheese for blocks
Cheese is another grocery product where convenience can be costly. Buying your cheese sliced or shredded will generally cost you more than a block so it’s worth taking a closer look.
- A 700g bag of Hillview shredded tasty cheese costs $8.50 ($12.14 per kilo) at Woolworths, while the 1 kilogram block version will cost you $9.30.
Swap 3: Perfect for imperfect
If you don’t mind a few marks or dimples on your produce, you can buy imperfect fruit and veg at a discounted price. Coles sells this produce under its ‘I’m Perfect’ label, while Woolworths has ‘The Odd Bunch’.
You can also buy imperfect produce from specialty providers in your area or from your local weekend markets.
Swap 4: Fresh for frozen
Making the switch from fresh fruit and veg to frozen can be a great way to get more bang for your buck. Canstar research shows that, on average, frozen produce is 53% cheaper than fresh. You’ll likely find that some produce is practical to buy fresh, so even swapping half of your produce budget can save households $13 per week, which adds up to over $675 a year.
Here are a few examples:
- You can buy a 170g punnet of fresh blueberries at Coles for $3.90 ($22.94 per kilo) but if you opt for the frozen version you can get 500 grams for $7 ($14 per kilo).
- A 280-gram bag of spinach costs $5 ($17.86 per kilo) but you can get 250 grams of frozen chopped spinach for a quarter of the price – $1.25 ($5 per kilo).
Swap 5: Brand name for generic
When you’re shopping for groceries it’s easy to buy the brands you’re used to but it can pay to move out of your comfort zone and give generic brands a try. You might be surprised at the result – and your wallet may thank you for it.
Canstar has crunched the numbers and found that a family of four who switch half their groceries to supermarket-owned brands could save up to $2,424 a year.
If you’re hesitant, start with staples such as flour and rice before you move on to other products.
Swap 6: Individual portions for bigger packets
Buying snacks in individual portions can make packing lunch boxes and portion control easier, but this is another costly convenience. Consider buying bigger packets and then portioning them yourself into smaller containers.
Let’s look at Smith’s Cheese Twisties, for example. At Woolworths, a box of eight single-serve packs costs $6 ($3.95 per 100g) but you can buy a 270g party bag for $4.25 ($1.57 per 100g).
Swap 7: New for refills
From hand wash and shampoo to fabric softener and cleaning products, buying refills can be a great way to save money and help reduce plastic waste.
To give you an idea of the potential savings, a 250ml bottle of Palmolive foaming lime & mint hand wash costs $4 ($1.60 per 100ml) at Coles. The 1-litre refill bottle is $7.50 ($0.75 per 100ml). So instead of buying a brand-new bottle of hand wash when yours runs out, you can buy the refill version and top up the original container.
Swap 8: Shop by unit price
When products come in different shapes, sizes and brands it’s not always obvious which one will give you the best value. Unit pricing makes it easier to compare prices because it uses a standard unit of measurement. You can find the unit price on the shelf label in stores or close to the product image if you’re shopping online.
You might also find that overall unit prices are cheaper at supermarkets like Aldi and Costco, compared to Woolworths and Coles. The surefire way to save is to compare prices between supermarkets each week and shop where the biggest savings are for your household.
