How to save money on groceries: 6 innovative budget tips

Food shopping on a budget isn't easy.

The cost-of-living is on the rise. Produce and pantry staples are becoming more expensive. And getting those grocery bills down can feel like an impossible feat.

Thankfully, Chelsea Goodwin is here to help. You might know her as the creator of the $10 Meals Australia Facebook community, or the author of the budget-focused cookbooks, $10 Meals with Chelsea and Money-Saving Meal Plans With Chelsea.

Since she first started her Facebook page, Chelsea's mission has been to help home cooks save money on food. And with the ever-increasing cost of groceries, her guidance is more needed than ever.

Chelsea’s new book, Money-Saving Meal Plans with Chelsea, is full of great advice that will cut down the cost of your weekly shop. With her meal plans equating to an average of just $3 per serve, the savings are significant.

Clearly, she’s an expert. And to share some of her tricks, we've rounded up 6 hacks from the book.

These simple tips will teach you how to save on groceries, which means extra money in your pocket at the end of the week – and who doesn’t love that?

6 tips for grocery shopping on a budget

1. Follow a meal plan

Meal planning is perhaps the biggest trick to getting the most bang for your buck when grocery shopping.

Meal planning prevents you from making impulse purchases and cuts costs by stretching ingredients across multiple meals.

When you use common ingredients across meals, you can buy bigger packs of food – which means paying less per unit. It might feel like more money up-front, but it equates to overall lower spending across the week.

For example, Chelsea uses a 200g block of feta multiple ways within the same week: to fill savoury pastries, stirred into a stew, and as a salad topper.  

2. Make the most of leftovers

One of the best ways to save money on groceries is to make sure you’re using everything you buy to its fullest. That means making the most of leftovers – whether they’re leftover ingredients or extra servings of whatever meal you’ve recently cooked.

Chelsea recommends getting creative when it comes to using up spare ingredients. Whether that means adding leftover sauces to a salad dressing, or freezing that extra bit of coconut milk for future use, there are plenty of ways to stretch the lifespan of the food items you’re already purchasing.

Complete dishes and leftover servings of your meals can typically be kept in the fridge for up to a few days. Many meals can also be frozen and enjoyed later – also helpful for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking.

3. Minimise food waste

This ties into the previous point but bears repeating: minimise food waste wherever possible.

Reducing how much food you throw out not only saves food from heading straight to landfill – but it saves you from buying more food later.

A few ways to minimise food waste include:

• Ensure you store ingredients properly: Most sauces, grains etc. will having storing instructions on the packaging.
• Repurpose ingredients: Make sure you’re using your ingredients to their fullest. For example, extra veggie bits can be turned into stock, spare spices can be tossed into stir fries and extra risoni can be added to soups or served as a side.
• Pack leftovers for lunch: Made too much for dinner? The easiest way to make sure it gets eaten is to pack that extra dinner for tomorrow’s lunch. If you don’t have quite enough for a full meal, you can sometimes stretch it with other pantry staples or leftover ingredients you have on hand.
• Freeze extras: The freezer isn’t just for ice cream! Individual ingredients and full meals alike can often be frozen to extend their longevity.

‘The financial cost really adds up, but there’s also the environmental and ethical issues attached to food waste,’ says Chelsea. ‘If we all do our bit, the collective impact is huge. And if you need a strong incentive to make a change, just think about all that extra money in your pocket!’

4. Bulk buy

Buying in bulk is a great way to reduce your overall grocery spending. Ingredients that Chelsea recommends buying in bulk include:

• Mince: Buy the larger pack and freeze the rest for another meal. Generally, mince can be frozen for up to three months.
• Frequently used ingredients: Chelsea recommends buying these in larger bottles to take advantage of lower unit prices.
  • Oil
  • Cumin
  • Paprika
  • Soy sauce
• Chicken: Look for bulk packs of chicken thighs and chicken breast.
• Rice paper sheets/ vermicelli noodles: These can often be found in bulk at local Asian grocers.

5. Slowly build up pantry items

Sometimes, you need to spend money to save money. Such is the case when it comes to pantry staples.

By building up a stockpile of common pantry items, you can save long-term. Buying in bulk (as mentioned above) can help you stock your pantry full of staples over time – making it easier and cheaper for your future self to cook.

Having a well-stocked pantry is also a great way to quell the temptation of logging onto your favourite delivery app. When you know that you have food on-hand, you’re far less likely to spend a big chunk of change on meal delivery or takeaway.

6. Compare prices online

If you’re able to shop at multiple grocery shops, comparing prices online is a great way to hack more savings. Before you shop, compare which stores are offering deals on some of the more expensive items you plan on purchasing for the week ahead.

In Money-Saving Meal Plans With Chelsea, Chelsea gives the example of Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: ‘I always compare prices online, as the supermarkets often discount this product.’  

Other ways to save

Explore these ideas for even more savings on food shopping.

• Loyalty programs: If your go-to grocery store has a loyalty program, you might want to consider joining. If there are no hidden fees, loyalty programs can be a great way to get extra discounts.
• Shop by seasons: Buying seasonal produce is a great way to save. Fruit and vegetables are typically at their cheapest (and most delicious) when they’re in-season, so it’s worth taking this into account when shopping.
• Try meat-free: Vegetarian meals are often cheaper, as the expense of meat and fish can add up quickly. If you need some inspiration, Money-Saving Meal Plans With Chelsea has an entire week of meals dedicated to vegetarian cooking.
• Shop online: ABC reports that cost-of-living is a reason why Australian shoppers turn towards online grocery shopping – and it can indeed lead to higher savings, if done right. While you’ll have to account for delivery fees, shopping online allows you to price-compare more readily and makes it easy to shop across multiple supermarkets. 
• Gift cards: Ever heard of the gift card hack? Essentially, you buy a discounted gift card, then use it to its full value. For example, certain rewards programs sell a $100 gift card for $96, equating to $4 saved.   

Want more? Try this Okonomiyaki recipe from Money-Saving Meal Plans with Chelsea.