Top 20 Grocery Shopping Savings Tips

With the average Aussie household spending almost $200 a week on groceries and the cost of living continuing to rise, looking for little savings here and there has become more imperative than ever.
Even with Aussies becoming more thoughtful about what they spend their money on, the cost of groceries increases every year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that even though the rate of increase has gone down, it is still increasing, as can be seen below.

Lucky for you, in this article, we’ve listed our top 20 tips and tricks for saving money at the grocery store.

1. Meal plan

Something that seems so simple but could save you so much is planning meals for the week before you go grocery shopping. This is the easiest way to make sure you only buy what you need and reduce wastage.

We don’t mean you have to know precisely what you’re eating every single day, but having a plan of set meals to make or even freeze helps. Additionally, if you need an ingredient like sweet potato for one meal, consider other meals where you can use it as well.

2. Buy seasonal produce

The price of fresh produce is largely affected by its seasonality. Buying your fruit and veggies in season can help ensure they are at their peak in terms of taste. It’s the best time to eat and cook them, and it can also save you money.

If in season, it should last a bit longer in the fridge, which can help with meal planning. If you aren’t sure of the seasons for your favourite fruits and vegetables, you can check out lists online for a cheat sheet!

3. Use supermarket rewards programs

Most of the big supermarkets in Australia have some kind of loyalty program connected to their stores. Almost all have a free version, which most of us have signed up for at some point. But do you actually keep track of what’s included?

Each store has different rewards, so it’s important to do your research. If you’re going to be shopping there anyway, it’s good to know what extras you could get. From exclusive discounts to monetary rewards, these can enhance your overall shopping experience.

4. Shop online

Do you seem to have a military-grade shopping list before you leave the house, but get easily distracted while wandering the aisles? Switching to online grocery shops could not only save you lots of time (especially if you’re a weekend shopper), but it can also save you money as well.

ING research shows that Aussies who do their weekly shopping online save an average of $26. This is because they save on impulse purchases you make while walking down the aisle, which you may have told yourself you’re going to avoid (normally the lollies and choccies).

Also, if you spend certain amounts on your groceries, or you’re a premium Coles or Woolies rewards member, you can get discounts on delivery fees and Click & Collect fees, meaning even more savings!

5. Don't be too brand loyal

Is it really worth paying double the price just for a different version of the same thing? If you’re anything like me, there are some things (such as Impressed pulp-free oj or chocolate digestives) that you simply will not budge away from, and that’s ok! 

We’re talking about not getting swept up in the pretty packaging of more expensive brands for identical products. Things like olive oil and sugar could be half the price for the exact same thing. Sometimes, it's not even as good!
For example, if you eat copious amounts of tuna, as we do in my house, the Coles home brand (70%) actually contains more tuna fish than the John West version (65%), and it costs less than half the price! So make sure you’re checking your ingredients as well.

6. Go to Aldi for the staples

Research has shown that the average Aussie can save over 25% on staple items just by switching to Aldi. Their prices are lower than those of Coles and Woolies.
In 2023, Aldi repositioned itself in the market by acknowledging that it may not have everything you need for a shop but that its everyday items are generally always cheaper, so it should be your first stop.

7. Avoid recipes that use a special ingredient

We can all be suckers for seeing a video online of a recipe that looks super delicious, and we decide we just have to try it! 

But have you noticed that most of the time, it includes some super random ingredient that we don’t naturally have in the cupboard? This can rack up the price of the overall recipe. So, if you’re making different fun recipes every week, it can definitely add up.

This is especially true with specialty ingredients like saffron costing nearly $15 for a mere sprinkling, sometimes buying premade sauces can actually be more cost-effective.

8. Grow your own food

It may be easier said than done for some, but growing some of your own food could save you more than you think in the long run. Even if you’re confined to a gardenless townhouse like me, making a simple herb garden could save you money on things like basil and chillis, which people use a lot but seem to be getting more and more expensive every day.

If you have kids, watching things grow could be a really fun game for them. They might be more inclined to eat their veggies if they can see them grow with their own eyes.

9. Store your food correctly

One of the major causes of food waste is improper storage, which causes food to go off sooner than it should. Sealing off open packets, having the fridge set cold enough, and getting airtight containers can be game changers in the longevity of your fresh produce.

10. Get frozen fruit & veggies

There has been a long-winded stigma about frozen veggies that they don’t pack as high a nutritional punch as fresh. However, research from the University of Chester challenged this and found that 66% of frozen vegetables in their study contained more nutrients than fresh vegetables that had been stored in the fridge for three days.

This is because frozen fruits and vegetables are picked at peak ripeness and then frozen to preserve that ripeness. So opting for frozen veggies could not only mean less wastage and money saved but also possibly more nutrients overall.

11. Bulk out your meals with veggies

We know it can sound boring, but with what you just learned about saving money on veggies, why not use it to bulk out some of your weekly staples with them? The unit price of vegetables will almost always be lower than meat, and plenty of them contain more protein than you might think! 

See below for some prime examples:

12. Check the unit price

Sometimes we see prices that look great. But if you look a bit closer things are not always as good as they appear. Sometimes, buying a larger version of the same thing can save you money in the long run, even though it appears to cost more at first glance.

For example, even this butter, which is the same brand, has little difference in its overall price, but if you look closer, the unit price is almost half because the second is twice the size. So, it would be much more cost-effective in the long term to buy the bigger container.

Did you know? Supermarkets are sneaky and they actually have a habit of making sure specific brands are placed at the consumers’ ‘eye-level’, as people don’t always pay attention to anything else. Some brands even pay extra money to get the prime shelf spot! So make sure you look up and down, especially when it comes to big cost items.

13. Look out for price reductions

Supermarket prices change constantly, with specials popping up on big-brand items all the time. So it’s good to keep an eye out for things you like and note down if/when they go on special. Being patient is important, as is planning ahead for those larger items like laundry detergent and toilet paper!

Fun Fact: Both Coles and Woolworths reset their specials on Wednesdays! So if what you want isn’t on special and not urgent, it might be worth just waiting a few days.

14. Bulk buy items when they're on sale

If you have an everyday item that’s a staple in your day-to-day life; it can be handy to not only keep an eye on if/when it goes on special but stock up when you see a good deal!

It can be easier to have spares rather than panicking when you’re nearly out that it hasn’t been on sale for a while and risking having to pay full price.

Also, with 15 different Costco stores around Australia now, if you have one close, it could be a good idea to sign up and get all your favourite bulk buy items there at a discounted rate!

15. Cook in bulk

Meal prepping can sometimes feel like the most boring task in the world, but if you’re like me and are guilty of a lazy mid-week takeaway because you can’t be bothered to cook, pre-prepared meals can come in super handy and save you money.

It can also save you time when you get home from work during the week. You’ll thank yourself during the workweek for that extra bit of time you spent cooking on a Sunday!

16. Check your fridge and pantry beforehand

It may seem silly, but one way to avoid overspending and waste is to double-check what food you have at home before you leave the house. Writing a list of things you definitely need while you check can really help.

17. Use AI to help you with leftovers

Speaking of leftovers: with AI becoming such a norm in everyday life, why not let it help you with your grocery shopping? If you’ve got some leftover ingredients that need to be used up but you can’t think of what to make, simply type them into something like ChatGPT, and it’ll give you multiple different methods as well!

For example, here’s one I did just the other day!

18. Leave the overspenders at home

Family members get snacky in the aisles? Sometimes, it’s hard to say no to those pleading puppy dog eyes in the moment. But think about it this way: if you take two kids to the shops every single week, and every week they ask for a treat and a juice that ends up being $10, that’s over $1,000 extra a year!

Also, it can be harder to stick to your list with extra people and easier to be swayed away from the budget plan. If you do end up going with the overspenders, be strict and make sure any special requests are made before leaving the house so you can budget for them beforehand.

19. Don't forget your list

There is no point in making all of these great plans if you don’t set yourself up for success. Make sure you write everything down and take your list with you, whether written down old-school with pen and paper or just on your phone.

This will not only help you remember what you need and decrease the chances of mid-aisle brain fog, but it will also save you time in the store.

Extra Tip: if you know the layout of your local supermarket, write your list accordingly to save even more time!

20. Don't shop when you're hungry

Our final tip, and something I’m sure we can all admit we’ve been guilty of, is to not, I repeat, do not go grocery shopping on an empty stomach! A study in America found that shopping hungry could cost around $26 more per trip. That’s over $1,300 a year if you shop weekly!

Set yourself up for saving by having a little snack before you leave the house. Your wallet will appreciate it.