Sascha Farley is a busy mother of four from Sydney, and like most of us, she is experiencing the effects of the increased cost of living first hand. She shares with us her fool-proof budget hacks to help you save money while feeding your family healthy meals and snacks.
Get serious about implementing foolproof budget hacks
With a large family, Sascha has always focused on getting a big prize, but like most of us, she has to get serious about finding ‘creative’ ways to save more money, and that starts with the weekly grocery shop.
“I’ve always been good at budgeting, but now with the cost of everything going up around us, I really need to brush up on all the budgeting hacks and tips I’ve learned to save more!!” said Sascha.
Here’s how you can save $50 a week! That’s $200 a month and $4,470 a year!!
Make a plan – it doesn’t take long.
First, you need to plan. Sascha likes to plan and is very dedicated to sticking to it! Her most valuable hack is kicking off her grocery shopping with a scan of what’s left in her pantry and fridge to see what she has on hand, then checking the supermarket catalog to find out what’s on special. She then plans her family meals using The Healthy Mummy app and uses the convenient shopping list it generates based on her weekly meal plan.
Commit to the plan and save time and $$
With a plan and the ‘commitment to the plan’, these simple hacks will help you save at least $50 a week (for a family of six).
- Check the pantry and fridge every week to know what you have so you don’t double up or waste food.
- Check the catalog before you visit the stores to plan your meals and confirm what you need.
- Exchange product types and brands; go for good quality home brands, use frozen fruits and vegetables, and buy in bulk to freeze.
- Eat less meat with 2 or 3 vegetarian options each week.
- Swap fresh herbs for dry herbs.
- Stock up on pantry staples when they’re on special – rice, pasta, cans of tomatoes.
- Avoid food waste by freezing overripe bananas, and save your bread crusts to turn into breadcrumbs.
- Meal plan in The Healthy Mummy app.
- Do regular meal prep throughout the week to create double batches for the freezer, saving you $ but also time.
More useful tips to help you save in the family budget
- Don’t shop when you’re hungry.
- Avoid grabbing the first brand; check out all the options.
- Look at the price per 100 grams for the best value (as indicated on the shelf price tags in large supermarkets).
- Double recipes and use the same protein for multiple recipes.
- Shop at a supermarket you are familiar with.
- Buy online or Direct to Boot to avoid grabbing anything NOT on your list.
Look at this 5 no-cook chicken recipes which is good for the family budget.
What Sascha cooked to feed her family
Sascha chose ground chicken as a great value protein that was on Special and made several dishes that her family loved using the ground chicken in different ways. She is aware that chicken is cheaper at the moment ie it is 40% cheaper than lean ground beef!
“I love getting my kids to try new things, but to be honest, I tend to stick with what they like so I know they’re eating nutritious food and mealtimes aren’t a struggle.”
Save money by avoiding food waste with this tips on how to properly store your fruit and vegetables.
Protein swap! Substitute ground beef for ground chicken
Check out these delicious and healthy recipes where you can use ground chicken to save money:
Easy Fried Rice – 6 serves
Get the recipe here.
Snacks
Sascha applied all the tricks and tips she’s picked up over the years to spend less than $200 grocery shopping to prepare 42 nutritious meals and 64 healthy snacks from The Healthy Mummy app.
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