With a small shopping basket, Brisbane mum-of-two Cassidy Parer picked up a carton of milk, a punnet of strawberries, a loaf of bread and a few pre-packaged snacks.
As she bagged her groceries at the self service bay at her local store, she was shocked at the $70 bill.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Cassidy, 26, tells 7Life of this one example of the cost-of-living crisis.
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“It wasn’t even a full bag of shopping.”
So the mum changed up her old buying habits, and is counting the money she has saved.
“I now exclusively shop at ALDI. It’s been 12 months and I can’t even tell you how much I have saved,” she says.
With a household of six — four adults and two children under five — Cassidy says her average weekly grocery shop now tallies $150.
The cost covers five dinners, along with all lunches and breakfast, which works out to be about $1.66 per serve.
After ditching her usual Coles shop for ALDI, and topping up on fresh produce at her local fruit and veg store, the mum says she has saved hundreds.
It’s not just by switching stores that she has saved money — Cassidy has completely changed how she shops.
“I write a list and am in and out of the store in 20 minutes,” she says.
Every Monday, with the children at school, the mum spends half an hour meal planning for the week ahead.
“I can’t take my kids,” she laughs.
“They are too distracting and ask for chocolate biscuits or a lollipop when I know we need to stick to the list.”
Turning to social media for inspiration, she searches for the latest recipes to feed large families on a budget.
“There are so many people sharing easy recipes now,” she says, adding that her favourite search is for meals under $10 a serve.
When she can’t find inspiration online, the mum turns to the never-fail recipes she knows her family loves.
On constant rotation is spaghetti bolognese, butter chicken and homemade pizzas.
Once Cassidy has her meal ideas in place, she handwrites out an ingredients list, adding any staples the family may need and items for the kids lunchboxes.
She then adds items to the list which she knows will stretch the meals further.
“Take spaghetti for example. You see people adding the pasta, meat and sauce and that’s it,” Cassidy says.
“You can add one carrot, a zucchini, tin tomatoes and kidney beans.
“You have all of those extra nutrients for a few dollars more, and it triples the amount of food, which is where we have leftovers.”
The mum says spending 30 minutes planning out the week helps avoid a mid-week top-up shop, which can easily add $50 to your grocery bill.
When the list is complete, Cassidy then rewrites it — in order of the aisles of her local ALDI.
This prevents her from forgetting any item, and reduces the temptation of browsing or making any potential last-minute buys.
“I know the layout of my ALDI very well now,” she says.
“I know the fruit and veg is first and then the meat etc.”
She makes her way down the aisles, skipping each one that doesn’t have an item on the list.
When it comes to selecting brands, she says she never looks at the specials ticket and always looks at the fine print.
“I buy the cheapest of everything,” she says.
“I look at the price tag and the dollar amount per 100 grams, per kilogram or per litre.
“Just because something is on special, doesn’t make it cheaper than another full-priced item.”
Cassidy adds that although she tries to make a few snacks for her kids lunchboxes, such as muffins, as a busy mum she doesn’t always have time, so she reaches for the pre-packaged ones.
“Like yoghurt. You can buy the individual pouches for a dollar on special, or a huge tub for $4,” she says, explaining one of many cost-cutting corners.
“You get so many more serves out of the tub.”
A cheap and popular food her five-year-old is always reaching for is hummus and rice crackers, which costs the family $5 for a week of snacks.
Stick to the list
When it comes to avoiding impulse buys, Cassidy says always stick to your list and avoid the ALDI “Special Buy” section.
“There is no browsing, no up and down (the aisles),” she says.
“I am in and out in 20 minutes with a full trolley.”
As the cashier scans her final item, it is rare the total tips over more than $150, with Cassidy saying her routine shop is normally around $130.
“Honestly, I wish I converted to ALDI a long time ago,” she says, adding she has noticed significant savings.
“Sometimes I do have to pop in to Coles or Woolworths to buy an item ALDI doesn’t have but it’s not often.”
While the mum tends to buy most of her produce from the German multi-national, she claims her local fruit and veg shop is a lot cheaper.
Finding the time to get there can be difficult but, when she can make the time, she finds it again slashes her weekly food bill.
Cassidy’s top saving tips
- Take the time to plan meals for a week ahead
- Stick to your list
- Don’t browse every aisle
- Bulk out meals by adding tinned items or vegetables
- Check the cost per kilogram or litre on each item
Cassidy shares her budget saving tips on TikTok and Instagram.
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