This brilliant grocery tip saved a mum $1,300 a year
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It’s no secret that grocery costs in Australia—and all over the world—keep climbing.
During these tough times when growing expenses are just downright scary, it turns out you could potentially save thousands on your grocery shopping with just a simple switch!
Karthika Vijaykumar, a mum of two from Melbourne, has discovered that a clever grocery hack can make your dollar stretch a whole lot further.
In a wise move, Karthika started purchasing 'ugly' fruit and vegetable boxes during the pandemic.
A year later, she revealed that this simple switch had saved her around $50 every fortnight—amounting to an impressive yearly savings of $1,300!
Estimated figures suggest that 20-40 per cent of fruits and vegetables do not make it to the supermarket shelves due to their inability to meet the industry's strict cosmetic standards.
However, the imperfect produce still tastes just as good.
'I like the idea that you are not throwing away produce that is being rejected by the supermarkets. Instead, you’re repurposing it,' Karthika said.
Karthika shared she had noticed the cost of her regular grocery shop had increased significantly in the past year—eggs, milk, and bread prices in particular.
'It’s gone through the roof. We used to spend $150 a fortnight for our groceries. Our family has grown as well, but now we are spending anywhere between $250 and $300 per fortnight for pretty much the same thing.'
She now saves cash by purchasing a $68 box of slightly irregular fruit and vegetables from Farmers Pick and then bases her meal prep on the produce she receives.
While she used to spend between $75 and $100 weekly on her greengrocery from Woolworths, her new approach offers significant savings.
That said, Karthika readily admits that the money she saves is almost immediately redirected to tackle the other challenges of modern living, like mounting mortgage interest rates and childcare expenses.
'It’s just insane at the moment. Mortgage interest rates have gone through the roof. It hasn’t spared us either, to the point where I’ve had to return to work slightly earlier as well with the second baby because otherwise it’s not sustainable,' she said.
'But it’s a vicious cycle because then you spend all that money on child care. So it’s a constant battle.'
New research by Farmers Pick showed that the average family shells out $68 each week on fruit and vegetables.
Switching to imperfect fruit and vegetables could save families $37 each week or $1,924 annually!
All major supermarkets now have their range of discounted 'imperfect' fruits and vegetables.
Woolworths offers The Odd Bunch line (offers up to 20 per cent off usual prices), Coles has the I'm Perfect range (a bag of imperfect carrots currently sells for 30 per cent less per kilo), and ALDI pushes its Market Buy products (Royal Gala apples are priced 27 per cent less).
Harris Farm also offers Imperfect Picks up to 70 per cent less than their perfect counterparts.
If you want to hop onto the bandwagon of shopping outside of the supermarkets, delivery-box options such as Farmers Pick, Good & Fugly, Funky Food, and The Odd Prod are also available and ready to deliver you the savings!
Members, have you tried buying imperfect fruits? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments below!
During these tough times when growing expenses are just downright scary, it turns out you could potentially save thousands on your grocery shopping with just a simple switch!
Karthika Vijaykumar, a mum of two from Melbourne, has discovered that a clever grocery hack can make your dollar stretch a whole lot further.
In a wise move, Karthika started purchasing 'ugly' fruit and vegetable boxes during the pandemic.
A year later, she revealed that this simple switch had saved her around $50 every fortnight—amounting to an impressive yearly savings of $1,300!
A savvy mum has saved $1300 shopping for ‘ugly’ produce. Image source: Karthika Vijaykumar (left), Harris Farms (right).
Estimated figures suggest that 20-40 per cent of fruits and vegetables do not make it to the supermarket shelves due to their inability to meet the industry's strict cosmetic standards.
However, the imperfect produce still tastes just as good.
'I like the idea that you are not throwing away produce that is being rejected by the supermarkets. Instead, you’re repurposing it,' Karthika said.
Karthika shared she had noticed the cost of her regular grocery shop had increased significantly in the past year—eggs, milk, and bread prices in particular.
'It’s gone through the roof. We used to spend $150 a fortnight for our groceries. Our family has grown as well, but now we are spending anywhere between $250 and $300 per fortnight for pretty much the same thing.'
She now saves cash by purchasing a $68 box of slightly irregular fruit and vegetables from Farmers Pick and then bases her meal prep on the produce she receives.
Examples of slightly irregular fruit and vegetables. Source: Facebook/Farmers Pick.
While she used to spend between $75 and $100 weekly on her greengrocery from Woolworths, her new approach offers significant savings.
That said, Karthika readily admits that the money she saves is almost immediately redirected to tackle the other challenges of modern living, like mounting mortgage interest rates and childcare expenses.
'It’s just insane at the moment. Mortgage interest rates have gone through the roof. It hasn’t spared us either, to the point where I’ve had to return to work slightly earlier as well with the second baby because otherwise it’s not sustainable,' she said.
'But it’s a vicious cycle because then you spend all that money on child care. So it’s a constant battle.'
New research by Farmers Pick showed that the average family shells out $68 each week on fruit and vegetables.
Switching to imperfect fruit and vegetables could save families $37 each week or $1,924 annually!
All major supermarkets now have their range of discounted 'imperfect' fruits and vegetables.
Woolworths offers The Odd Bunch line (offers up to 20 per cent off usual prices), Coles has the I'm Perfect range (a bag of imperfect carrots currently sells for 30 per cent less per kilo), and ALDI pushes its Market Buy products (Royal Gala apples are priced 27 per cent less).
Harris Farm also offers Imperfect Picks up to 70 per cent less than their perfect counterparts.
If you want to hop onto the bandwagon of shopping outside of the supermarkets, delivery-box options such as Farmers Pick, Good & Fugly, Funky Food, and The Odd Prod are also available and ready to deliver you the savings!
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