Thinking Outside the Box

The cost of living is continuing to rise, there's no doubt about it. It doesn't matter how much some newspaper reporter spiels the most recent government cliche` that it is down, when you shop to feed your family, your wallet tells the truth.

We've had great success in the past months watching our shopping go against the upward trend. We shop once a fortnight and using a series of different method have reduced our grocery bill tremendously, our most recent bill being that of just under $200.00. That's for a family of five good, healthy eaters and includes every thing from toilet paper, eggs to flour and yeast and produce.

We have simply changed the way we shop. No, you can't escape the supermarket for certain things, especially in a regional town. But what has saved the money is shopping at the markets and road side stalls. Good fresh and local produce and less than half the price and that lasts. The vegetable garden is another plus in the equation, and it will serve a bigger saving as the garden comes into full swing.

You can easily save a quid on groceries of you think outside the box. But using markets, road side vendors and growing your own not only save money, they save waste. You've heard of the supermarkets catch cry the fresh food people, or straight from the paddock to you, umm well you'd have to be fool to believe it.

We also save on our meat, by going to our local butcher and buying a bulk family pack and bagging it into the freezer. A $95.00 bulk pack and some extras makes about $140 worth of meat last nigh on three months. A little money gets put away per fortnight to cover the next purchase. Again good quality meat, not 'supermarket fresh'.

Society today has been hornswaggled into buying as you need. I don't know how many of my friends buy for dinner on the way home, costing them a fortune when added up. The supermarkets depend on this kind of market, and the cold room stored or imported produce they supply reflects this, you would know yourself how long it lasts in the fridge.

By some simple budgetary measures, shopping wisely and thinking outside the square you can save a motza on you shopping  bill.

Baking your own goodies is another cheaper, and much healthier option for saving dollars.

Yes, the changes may take a little more time and effort, but are worth it. You don't have to drive all over the place costing a fortune in petrol if you apply a little pre-planning forethought.

So give it a try and go against the trend.