Being a big family means that you have to account for the additional costs that come with feeding more mouths — costs that can get very expensive, especially nowadays with prices climbing.

But rest assured, there are always ways to reduce your weekly costs for groceries.

Just ask Jeni Bonell, a 52-year-old mum of 16 children who scored almost $600 worth of groceries without spending a cent!

In a video posted on YouTube, Jeni proudly displayed her haul of items from her local Woolies — and it is a lot — including various canned goods, cookies, pasta packets, two pork leg roasts, two roast chooks (yum), 18 litres of milk in total, bananas, a five-kilogram bag of rice, toiletries, tissue boxes, and 24 toilet paper rolls.

The total cost of the two trolleys’ worth of goods was $579.55.

Now, as we said, Jeni scored this massive haul for free. How?

By taking advantage of Australia’s Container Deposit Scheme that most states and territories have implemented!

Jeni and her 16 kids will have a lot to munch on in the coming days with their massive free grocery haul. Screengrab Credit: YouTube/The Bonell Family

Recyclable bottles can be refunded for 10 cents each at a container refund point and redeemed for cash or retail vouchers which is exactly what Jeni did.

'I saved up all of our 10-cent bottles — and I picked up other people's bottles — took them to the recyclers and got our redeemable vouchers,' Jeni said.

'I took them to the grocery store, and I redeemed them for cash and that paid for my groceries.'

They then showed a rather long receipt with many entries marked ‘Container Redemption’ with various amounts indicated.

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Each recyclable item they gave to their recycling centre had them earning 10c in return, so you can only imagine the amount they had to accrue and save!

‘The groceries cost $579.55 which means free groceries and a handful of change at the end of the day,' she added.

'I am really super pleased with that, had a lot of fun doing that today, it was awesome to watch all those (vouchers) going through.'

With a score like that, we bet, Jeni!

Tip

If you’re interested in finding out more about container deposit schemes like Jeni used, you can check here!

Earlier, Jeni also shared some shopping tips to make your money stretch further.

These include bulking up foods like seasoned rice with plain rice when making a meal, buying snacks when they’re on special, looking for reduced stickers, and planning meals around what’s on sale and in season.

She also said to stock up while things are on sale and store them in your pantry and/or freezer and attempt to have no food wastage.

The Queensland-based Bonell family is said to be one of Australia’s largest with nine boys and seven girls between Jeni and her husband Ray.

Jeni even had some change from the voucher redemptions she made at her store. Screengrab Credit: YouTube/The Bonell Family

In a 2019 interview, Jeni, who in her younger days admitted she did not want any children, said raising so many children is fraught with challenges, but that ‘the joys far outweigh those things’.

‘It takes a very open heart, a strong will, a thick skin and a bucket load of tolerance to handle so many children. But you also need to have patience, kindness, the ability to deal with a range of personalities, authority and yet still have a soft touch to manage such a large group of people,’ she said.

‘If you are blessed with a lot of babies, you can rest assured that deep down inside yourself, you will have the skills necessary to have a successful and amazing family.’

If you have time, you may want to check out how other Woolies shoppers were able to pay just $60 out of $600 and $15 on a $2,000 grocery haul. Who knows, you might be able to pull off these massive deals too!

So, what is your reaction to Jeni’s crafty way of turning (recyclable) trash into treasure? Do you recycle the same way she does?

Share your thoughts and experiences below!

Source: YouTube/The Bonell Family​

 

[Suzanne rose]

I actually know Jeni. We met through a forum for large families, she has 16 kids I have 13.

She is an amazing lady who works her magic with her budget , she is a stay at home mum and her hubby Ray is also amazing

They have 9 boys and 7 girls, I have 8 girls and 5 boys .

We also collect our bottles. Soft drink, water and even other bottles and amazing how it adds up.

Jeni is a cancer survivor getting over cancer twice . The last time was in 2020 she had major surgery and fortunately they got it all .

She recovered quicker than expected.
I'm looking forward to the day she either comes to Sydney or I go to QLD so we can catch up. It would be wonderful to be able to bring our two familes together but due to being in 2 different states it would be very hard.
She is on YouTube as well as Instagram under the name The bonellfamily.

Very special lady

 

[Penny4]

This family is often in the news about saving money. Nicely done to her & her husband.

 

[Ricci]

I too collect cans and bottles. When I have 4 rubbish sacks full I take them to the recyclers and receive between $20 and $25 a time. I usually go 3 or 4 times a year. I thought I was doing well but nowhere near the scale she must be doing it. I usually have the money paid directly into my bank account so it gets used up who knows where!!

 

[Suzanne rose]

I too collect cans and bottles. When I have 4 rubbish sacks full I take them to the recyclers and receive between $20 and $25 a time. I usually go 3 or 4 times a year. I thought I was doing well but nowhere near the scale she must be doing it. I usually have the money paid directly into my bank account so it gets used up who knows where!!

Imagine how much we make with all the bottled water my kids drink and Pepsi Max bottles . I think hubby collects around $40 amonth