With food prices on the rise, it’s easy for your grocery bill to spiral out of control.

However, Finance Expert Serina Bird believes she’s cracked the code to keeping your supermarket spending down without too much compromise.

She’s challenging four-person families to cut their grocery bill from an average of $250 a week down to just $100 per week—that’s hundreds of dollars saved just in time for Christmas, which is just 14 weeks away. This means you could save up for a holiday or extra special Christmas presents for your loved ones.

Finance expert Serina Bird says she has tips on helping families save more money. Image source: Shutterstock.

'It is absolutely possible,' Ms Bird said.

'What if you could save $100 dollars a week, or even $150 a week? That could mean a holiday for your family, that could mean a very special day, that could mean a lot of special presents.'

The secret to Serina’s method is to use cash in order to set up a separate supermarket fund instead of paying using your card at the checkout. This helps you see how much you actually have to spend on groceries, and it helps you stay within your budget.

'Psychologically, it helps you spend less,' she said.

Serina suggests using the first two weeks to use up what’s in your fridge, pantry and freezer—so you can get your funds into a surplus early.

'If you come in under $100 a week, that money carries forward,' Ms Bird added.

You can then use this surplus to buy more items in bulk, which helps you save on essential items like flour, canned foods and even minced meat.

But the most important element of this challenge is planning. Serina recommended making a grocery list with meals and snacks for the week so you can stay organised and only buy what you actually need.

With careful planning and budgeting, Serina said she managed to save $3200 over four months, which she spent on their family’s cruising holiday.

To add, experts at Finder said we should be cutting down on the amount of meat we purchase, with one expert believing it's actually a lot easier than many think.

'If you think of meat as the protein component of a meal—which is essentially what it is—you can definitely do that much, much cheaper with the right mix of vegetables,' Mr Kidman said.

'You're talking a savings of 10 times or more in the price of some of those things. So having that flexible attitude does help a lot to save money.'

While for some, these diets may seem restrictive and incompatible with their lifestyle, it's important to note that right now, fruit and vegetables are actually cheap.

The expert also encouraged people to research vegetarian meal options before grocery shopping to see which items on the list could be swapped out.

You can read more about these tips here.

Key Takeaways

• Finance expert Serina Bird is challenging families to cut their weekly grocery bill to just $100 to save money.
• Bird suggests using cash for groceries to psychologically spend less and making a conscious effort to use up existing food supplies to build a surplus.
• Bird emphasises planning meals, creating shopping lists, sticking to them, and shopping in bulk for staple items.
• According to Ms Bird, by adhering to this challenge, she saved $3,200 over four months, which she used for her family's holiday.

Do you have other tips on how to save on your weekly grocery shop? Share them with us in the comments below!

 

[mylittletibbies]

I think I'm very frugal in my shopping habits, but $100 a week seems a bit of a stretch.
There are only two of us and I make soups, stews and casseroles which can work out quite cheap. Also mince meals and chicken. I make one roast chicken do 3 different meals, plus a bit for sandwiches.
But we have a Rottweiler, two Tibetan spaniels and a cat and they cost about $40/ week to feed. and that is cheap already as I don't believe in feeding my pets crap products, but still look for the best prices.
You still need to buy toilet paper, soap, shampoo and conditioner, other cleaning products and things like gladwrap, alfoil, etc.
Even buying all these things in Aldi, which I do, I think it is virtually impossible to make $100 stretch that far.
Even without the pets, I'd be pushing it, and there's only two of us. Perhaps you could do it for a few weeks, but 14, I don't think so.
Would live to hear what others think.

 

[darrellh]

I think the most important point for everyone is to make sure as much as they can is to not throw any food away. No wastage is crucial. And I do agree to cutting down on portion size of meat can save a lot. We love our meat and eat the decent cuts of everything but have cut down the portion size so we still can and up the vegetables on our plate with plenty of variety and eat well. We don't throw anything out and shop regularly so fruit and vegetables are bought in small amounts to stay fresh. We live so close to all the supermarkets it is easy to do so.

 

[mylittletibbies]

I think the most important point for everyone is to make sure as much as they can is to not throw any food away. No wastage is crucial. And I do agree to cutting down on portion size of meat can save a lot. We love our meat and eat the decent cuts of everything but have cut down the portion size so we still can and up the vegetables on our plate with plenty of variety and eat well. We don't throw anything out and shop regularly so fruit and vegetables are bought in small amounts to stay fresh. We live so close to all the supermarkets it is easy to do so.

Wish I could say the same, too far away from shops.
We do however try to grow a lot of our own vegies, have great lemon and orange tree,.grow rock melon and watermelon, but I still don't think it is possible to manage on $100/week for 14 weeks.

 

[IAN3005]

With food prices on the rise, it’s easy for your grocery bill to spiral out of control.

However, Finance Expert Serina Bird believes she’s cracked the code to keeping your supermarket spending down without too much compromise.

She’s challenging four-person families to cut their grocery bill from an average of $250 a week down to just $100 per week—that’s hundreds of dollars saved just in time for Christmas, which is just 14 weeks away. This means you could save up for a holiday or extra special Christmas presents for your loved ones.

View attachment 30260

Finance expert Serina Bird says she has tips on helping families save more money. Image source: Shutterstock.

'It is absolutely possible,' Ms Bird said.

'What if you could save $100 dollars a week, or even $150 a week? That could mean a holiday for your family, that could mean a very special day, that could mean a lot of special presents.'

The secret to Serina’s method is to use cash in order to set up a separate supermarket fund instead of paying using your card at the checkout. This helps you see how much you actually have to spend on groceries, and it helps you stay within your budget.

'Psychologically, it helps you spend less,' she said.

Serina suggests using the first two weeks to use up what’s in your fridge, pantry and freezer—so you can get your funds into a surplus early.

'If you come in under $100 a week, that money carries forward,' Ms Bird added.

You can then use this surplus to buy more items in bulk, which helps you save on essential items like flour, canned foods and even minced meat.

But the most important element of this challenge is planning. Serina recommended making a grocery list with meals and snacks for the week so you can stay organised and only buy what you actually need.

With careful planning and budgeting, Serina said she managed to save $3200 over four months, which she spent on their family’s cruising holiday.

To add, experts at Finder said we should be cutting down on the amount of meat we purchase, with one expert believing it's actually a lot easier than many think.

'If you think of meat as the protein component of a meal—which is essentially what it is—you can definitely do that much, much cheaper with the right mix of vegetables,' Mr Kidman said.

'You're talking a savings of 10 times or more in the price of some of those things. So having that flexible attitude does help a lot to save money.'

While for some, these diets may seem restrictive and incompatible with their lifestyle, it's important to note that right now, fruit and vegetables are actually cheap.

The expert also encouraged people to research vegetarian meal options before grocery shopping to see which items on the list could be swapped out.

You can read more about these tips here.

Key Takeaways

• Finance expert Serina Bird is challenging families to cut their weekly grocery bill to just $100 to save money.
• Bird suggests using cash for groceries to psychologically spend less and making a conscious effort to use up existing food supplies to build a surplus.
• Bird emphasises planning meals, creating shopping lists, sticking to them, and shopping in bulk for staple items.
• According to Ms Bird, by adhering to this challenge, she saved $3,200 over four months, which she used for her family's holiday.

Do you have other tips on how to save on your weekly grocery shop? Share them with us in the comments below!

 

[Terry2422]

With food prices on the rise, it’s easy for your grocery bill to spiral out of control.

However, Finance Expert Serina Bird believes she’s cracked the code to keeping your supermarket spending down without too much compromise.

She’s challenging four-person families to cut their grocery bill from an average of $250 a week down to just $100 per week—that’s hundreds of dollars saved just in time for Christmas, which is just 14 weeks away. This means you could save up for a holiday or extra special Christmas presents for your loved ones.

View attachment 30260

Finance expert Serina Bird says she has tips on helping families save more money. Image source: Shutterstock.

'It is absolutely possible,' Ms Bird said.

'What if you could save $100 dollars a week, or even $150 a week? That could mean a holiday for your family, that could mean a very special day, that could mean a lot of special presents.'

The secret to Serina’s method is to use cash in order to set up a separate supermarket fund instead of paying using your card at the checkout. This helps you see how much you actually have to spend on groceries, and it helps you stay within your budget.

'Psychologically, it helps you spend less,' she said.

Serina suggests using the first two weeks to use up what’s in your fridge, pantry and freezer—so you can get your funds into a surplus early.

'If you come in under $100 a week, that money carries forward,' Ms Bird added.

You can then use this surplus to buy more items in bulk, which helps you save on essential items like flour, canned foods and even minced meat.

But the most important element of this challenge is planning. Serina recommended making a grocery list with meals and snacks for the week so you can stay organised and only buy what you actually need.

With careful planning and budgeting, Serina said she managed to save $3200 over four months, which she spent on their family’s cruising holiday.

To add, experts at Finder said we should be cutting down on the amount of meat we purchase, with one expert believing it's actually a lot easier than many think.

'If you think of meat as the protein component of a meal—which is essentially what it is—you can definitely do that much, much cheaper with the right mix of vegetables,' Mr Kidman said.

'You're talking a savings of 10 times or more in the price of some of those things. So having that flexible attitude does help a lot to save money.'

While for some, these diets may seem restrictive and incompatible with their lifestyle, it's important to note that right now, fruit and vegetables are actually cheap.

The expert also encouraged people to research vegetarian meal options before grocery shopping to see which items on the list could be swapped out.

You can read more about these tips here.

Key Takeaways

• Finance expert Serina Bird is challenging families to cut their weekly grocery bill to just $100 to save money.
• Bird suggests using cash for groceries to psychologically spend less and making a conscious effort to use up existing food supplies to build a surplus.
• Bird emphasises planning meals, creating shopping lists, sticking to them, and shopping in bulk for staple items.
• According to Ms Bird, by adhering to this challenge, she saved $3,200 over four months, which she used for her family's holiday.

Do you have other tips on how to save on your weekly grocery shop? Share them with us in the comments below!

That's an interesting idea. We're just a couple with one dog and spend $500+ a month on groceries. Its amazing how used I've got to using a debit card for everything so using cash would easily make me realise how much I'm spending and hopefully cut it down a bit.

 

[Trudi]

$100 per week for two people is not difficul at all.

 

[AlanQ]

$100 a week, not too sure I could survive on just pasta or boiled rice. A pack of clothes detergent is $25 (not a weekly purchase, but) How the hell could a family of 4 that's $25 per person, I want to see the printout of the checkout slip. I think it's impossible.

 

[Jennylolo]

I can't manage on $100 just for me. I have food intolerances (wheat, gluten which includes more than just wheat, dairy and its not lactose that is the issue but casein protein, also soy) and that bumps a lot of my costs for staples especially. And means little in processed foods can be bought. Wheat/soy are in so many products.I check unit price and compare product size that way. I buy in bulk on discount and I am very very frugal. I grow veg in spring and summer mainly and long while back reduced meat portions- mainly mince and chicken. I'm also not a big eater by any means - can't eat out a restaurant as the meal is too big, and certainly can't do more than one course.

 

[Stevo114]

The whole idea is upended by the caveat of using cash.....Coles has already started the move away from cash terminals.

 

[IAN3005]

That's an interesting idea. We're just a couple with one dog and spend $500+ a month on groceries. Its amazing how used I've got to using a debit card for everything so using cash would easily make me realise how much I'm spending and hopefully cut it down a bit.

Only use cash..... when that runs out it's into until the next month... you become more creative in the kitchen....

 

[Isis]

With food prices on the rise, it’s easy for your grocery bill to spiral out of control.

However, Finance Expert Serina Bird believes she’s cracked the code to keeping your supermarket spending down without too much compromise.

She’s challenging four-person families to cut their grocery bill from an average of $250 a week down to just $100 per week—that’s hundreds of dollars saved just in time for Christmas, which is just 14 weeks away. This means you could save up for a holiday or extra special Christmas presents for your loved ones.

View attachment 30260

Finance expert Serina Bird says she has tips on helping families save more money. Image source: Shutterstock.

'It is absolutely possible,' Ms Bird said.

'What if you could save $100 dollars a week, or even $150 a week? That could mean a holiday for your family, that could mean a very special day, that could mean a lot of special presents.'

The secret to Serina’s method is to use cash in order to set up a separate supermarket fund instead of paying using your card at the checkout. This helps you see how much you actually have to spend on groceries, and it helps you stay within your budget.

'Psychologically, it helps you spend less,' she said.

Serina suggests using the first two weeks to use up what’s in your fridge, pantry and freezer—so you can get your funds into a surplus early.

'If you come in under $100 a week, that money carries forward,' Ms Bird added.

You can then use this surplus to buy more items in bulk, which helps you save on essential items like flour, canned foods and even minced meat.

But the most important element of this challenge is planning. Serina recommended making a grocery list with meals and snacks for the week so you can stay organised and only buy what you actually need.

With careful planning and budgeting, Serina said she managed to save $3200 over four months, which she spent on their family’s cruising holiday.

To add, experts at Finder said we should be cutting down on the amount of meat we purchase, with one expert believing it's actually a lot easier than many think.

'If you think of meat as the protein component of a meal—which is essentially what it is—you can definitely do that much, much cheaper with the right mix of vegetables,' Mr Kidman said.

'You're talking a savings of 10 times or more in the price of some of those things. So having that flexible attitude does help a lot to save money.'

While for some, these diets may seem restrictive and incompatible with their lifestyle, it's important to note that right now, fruit and vegetables are actually cheap.

The expert also encouraged people to research vegetarian meal options before grocery shopping to see which items on the list could be swapped out.

You can read more about these tips here.

Key Takeaways

• Finance expert Serina Bird is challenging families to cut their weekly grocery bill to just $100 to save money.
• Bird suggests using cash for groceries to psychologically spend less and making a conscious effort to use up existing food supplies to build a surplus.
• Bird emphasises planning meals, creating shopping lists, sticking to them, and shopping in bulk for staple items.
• According to Ms Bird, by adhering to this challenge, she saved $3,200 over four months, which she used for her family's holiday.

Do you have other tips on how to save on your weekly grocery shop? Share them with us in the comments below!

Since I was married I extended my grocery day one extra day. After a while you have saved a weeks grocery money.

 

[lindarderrick@[email protected]]

Regarding $100 pw for a family of 4. Children, working adults, & seniors all need a balanced diet. Removing red meat will deplete iron levels which is vital for oxygenation of major organs. Be very careful not to damage your families health cut back on luxuries, treats other high costs first not your body's fuel. A car won't run on empty. By all means don't be wasteful & overpurchase but $100 is not enough for a family of 4 in today's supermarkets. If you can buy all foods/ cleaning products in bulk you may get it down.

 

[IAN3005]

Since I was married I extended my grocery day one extra day. After a while you have saved a weeks grocery money.

Regarding $100 pw for a family of 4. Children, working adults, & seniors all need a balanced diet. Removing red meat will deplete iron levels which is vital for oxygenation of major organs. Be very careful not to damage your families health cut back on luxuries, treats other high costs first not your body's fuel. A car won't run on empty. By all means don't be wasteful & overpurchase but $100 is not enough for a family of 4 in today's supermarkets. If you can buy all foods/ cleaning products in bulk you may get it down.

Haven't eaten red meat since I don't know when... who can afford it.

 

[mylittletibbies]

$100 per week for two people is not difficul at all.

But she didn't say two people, she said four. You would need at least a loaf of bread a day, so a cheap loaf at $2 is $14.00, at least $20 for milk, $5 for a dozen cheap eggs, $5 for butter, there's half the budget and you too snack, a piece of fruit and a drink.
Then you need something for lunch for the adults.
Staples, tea, coffee, sugar, salt and pepper, sauces cooking oil, spreads such as jam, honey, Vegemite, peanut butter, rice, pasta, flour, split peas, soup mix,If you're going to make biscuits, cakes etc you need such things as sultanas, raisins, walnuts, coconut,etc. etc.
We haven't even got around to meat and veggies for 4 people yet, the dearest part.
Obviously, you don't need to buy the Staples every week, but they all add up and need to be replaced regularly.

Then there's all the things like toilet paper, tissues, soap, shampoo, conditioner, gladwrap, alfoil, dishwashing liquid, washing powder.cleaning products , etc etc.
If you can do that for $100/ week , without having to feed your family on poor quality produce then you deserve a medal.

 

[mylittletibbies]

I do believe I could make meals for $100/week, but it takes more than meals to run a home.

 

[magpie1]

INFLATION.......$100 does not go as far as it used to.

 

[IAN3005]

I do believe I could make meals for $100/week, but it takes more than meals to run a home.

Can be done.... costs me about $3 - $6 a week. Used to cost me $2.50 a day

 

[mylittletibbies]

Can be done.... costs me about $3 - $6 a week. Used to cost me $2.50 a day

What on earth do you eat, half a can of baked beans a day,??.?

 

[IAN3005]

What on earth do you eat, half a can of baked beans a day,??.?

only eat once per day and then everything is weighed to the gram. I keep a record on my computer of every cent I spend. As the cost of living rises I forgo some things that do not keep body and soul together.