‘Queen of supermarket savings’ reveals how you can cut your grocery bill down to $70 per week
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It’s no secret that the economy is going down the drain and grocery prices are shooting up like never before. These days, you’d be forgiven for feeling like saving money is a hopeless task…But don’t lose faith just yet, folks!
A mum-of-two has proven that getting all your weekly grocery staples with a tight budget of $70 is still very much attainable.
Even though Jody Allen deems herself as the ‘queen of making savings at the supermarket’, she admits that saving money is only getting harder.
"The $50 weekly shop is no longer possible, even for me, I've tried it," Ms Allen confessed, referencing her well-known shopping guide, ‘The $50 Weekly Shop’.
The frugal mum published the book after struggling with her own budget.
Ms Allen had been made redundant from her job, had two babies and found that after paying her family's bills, she was left with only $50 a week to spend on groceries.
However, her weekly shopping plan needed to be revised after the grocery prices skyrocketed and COVID-19 caused several supply chain crises.
The queen of supermarket savings. Image Credit: A Current Affair
The determined shopper said that $70 has dethroned the former $50 when it comes to a week’s worth of groceries.
Equipped with her thoughtfully curated shopping list, Ms Allen unveiled what she can buy for $70 in her region.
On the list were: bread, milk, eggs, oats, spaghetti, rice, apples, potatoes, onions, tinned tomatoes and apricots, chicken, mince, and bacon.
She made a stop at Drakes Supermarkets, Aldi, Coles, and Woolworths, purchasing similar baskets of food staples.
After shopping at Drakes, the grocery bill set her back $69.36. At Coles, it totalled $68.27 - with the help of numerous items on special.
At Woolworths, a similar shop amounted to $71.29, while at Aldi it came to $51.02.
$70 is the new $50. Image Credit: A Current Affair
However, two of the items from Ms Allen's grocery list weren't available at Aldi, which she explained would have translated to a total of $55.02 if the missing items were included in the computation.
There were also some variations in the size and cut of meat across all the supermarkets. Ms Allen advised that in order to save as much money as you can, always look for sales, especially when buying pricier items such as protein.
"Chicken on the bone is always a really good option because it's probably the cheapest protein, meat-wise, that you can buy," she detailed.
Brushing up on your money-saving skills is one of the best ways you can cope with the endless price hikes. The hard pill to swallow is that the prices could continue to stay at an all-time high… And things may get even worse.
Consumer expert Gary Mortimer said: "I think we're going to see [the prices] spike across the next six months,"
Ms Allen got similar baskets from four supermarkets. Image Credit: A Current Affair
"I guess the positive is, while we're seeing these inflated food prices currently – as we start to open up borders and international backpackers return to Australia and fruit pickers start to take on that labour – we'll see fruit prices decrease,”
"Meat prices will start to fall."
Ms Allen said that to make the budget work, there's always going to be a trade-off.
Cheaper groceries mean more time in the kitchen cooking, but she said it's an easy way to cut down your spending.
"Chicken roasts, lots of casseroles, stir-fries, muffins for school," Ms Allen said. "There is a lot of cooking involved but that's the pay-off."
How do you save on groceries? Share your money-saving tips with us in the comments!
Learn more about Jody Allen’s grocery tips by watching the video below:
Video Credit: A Current Affair
A mum-of-two has proven that getting all your weekly grocery staples with a tight budget of $70 is still very much attainable.
Even though Jody Allen deems herself as the ‘queen of making savings at the supermarket’, she admits that saving money is only getting harder.
"The $50 weekly shop is no longer possible, even for me, I've tried it," Ms Allen confessed, referencing her well-known shopping guide, ‘The $50 Weekly Shop’.
The frugal mum published the book after struggling with her own budget.
Ms Allen had been made redundant from her job, had two babies and found that after paying her family's bills, she was left with only $50 a week to spend on groceries.
However, her weekly shopping plan needed to be revised after the grocery prices skyrocketed and COVID-19 caused several supply chain crises.
The queen of supermarket savings. Image Credit: A Current Affair
The determined shopper said that $70 has dethroned the former $50 when it comes to a week’s worth of groceries.
Equipped with her thoughtfully curated shopping list, Ms Allen unveiled what she can buy for $70 in her region.
On the list were: bread, milk, eggs, oats, spaghetti, rice, apples, potatoes, onions, tinned tomatoes and apricots, chicken, mince, and bacon.
She made a stop at Drakes Supermarkets, Aldi, Coles, and Woolworths, purchasing similar baskets of food staples.
After shopping at Drakes, the grocery bill set her back $69.36. At Coles, it totalled $68.27 - with the help of numerous items on special.
At Woolworths, a similar shop amounted to $71.29, while at Aldi it came to $51.02.
$70 is the new $50. Image Credit: A Current Affair
However, two of the items from Ms Allen's grocery list weren't available at Aldi, which she explained would have translated to a total of $55.02 if the missing items were included in the computation.
There were also some variations in the size and cut of meat across all the supermarkets. Ms Allen advised that in order to save as much money as you can, always look for sales, especially when buying pricier items such as protein.
"Chicken on the bone is always a really good option because it's probably the cheapest protein, meat-wise, that you can buy," she detailed.
Brushing up on your money-saving skills is one of the best ways you can cope with the endless price hikes. The hard pill to swallow is that the prices could continue to stay at an all-time high… And things may get even worse.
Consumer expert Gary Mortimer said: "I think we're going to see [the prices] spike across the next six months,"
Ms Allen got similar baskets from four supermarkets. Image Credit: A Current Affair
"I guess the positive is, while we're seeing these inflated food prices currently – as we start to open up borders and international backpackers return to Australia and fruit pickers start to take on that labour – we'll see fruit prices decrease,”
"Meat prices will start to fall."
Ms Allen said that to make the budget work, there's always going to be a trade-off.
Cheaper groceries mean more time in the kitchen cooking, but she said it's an easy way to cut down your spending.
"Chicken roasts, lots of casseroles, stir-fries, muffins for school," Ms Allen said. "There is a lot of cooking involved but that's the pay-off."
How do you save on groceries? Share your money-saving tips with us in the comments!
Learn more about Jody Allen’s grocery tips by watching the video below:
Video Credit: A Current Affair
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