Our community mums show us how they are beating the rising cost of living and are making it work!
The Healthy Mummy’s community of real-life mums are experts in meal prep, saving money and budgeting. In fact, The Healthy Mummy was recently featured in The Daily Mail for its fantastic money-saving tips!
Below are the amazing tips from our six everyday Aussie mums saving thousands of dollars extra per year despite the rising cost of living – here’s how they do it.
As seen in the Daily Mail article…..
The savvy women are not making any drastic sacrifices. Instead, they are making simple changes like shopping online, walking instead of driving, cooking ‘fakeaway’ meals and keeping a keen eye on markdowns.
They also buy meat in bulk and on special, research petrol prices, take note of food promotions and work out at home instead of forking out for costly gym memberships.
The women, who all share a passion for health and fitness via The Healthy Mummy community, have now spilled their secrets in a bid to help others save money in the increasingly challenging financial climate.
Nicole, 33
Mum-of-three Nicole, from Victoria, has saved $1,800 in nine months just by swapping takeaway nights for homemade ‘fakeaway’ versions.
‘We used to have a takeaway every Saturday night, usually pizza,’ she said.
‘Now, I love to make our own fakeaway and I usually go for homemade burgers and pizzas. I love making two ingredient pizza dough and when I’m time-poor I opt for pita pizzas.’
‘If I worked out how much we have saved over the last nine months, $50 per week x 36 weeks. We have saved $1,800. That’s crazy when you actually think about it!’
She also always compares supermarket prices online, regularly shops at Aldi and advises shopping online rather than in person because ‘you can see your shopping add up every time you add to your cart so you can keep an eye on the total.’
Amy, 32
Amy has already saved an extra $1,000 this year by transferring any money she saves at the supermarket to a savings account.
‘I plan several meals that have the same ingredient, like beef mince, which is always good value for a bulk buy,’ she said.
‘I make sure to budget and make lists as this ensures I only spend what I need and don’t end up buying extras unless it’s a pantry staple.
‘Anything left over goes into my savings account which then gets deposited into my account where I’m saving for a house deposit.’
She also replaces some meals with The Healthy Mummy smoothies which she always has on hand.
Simple budgeting tips that can save you thousands of dollars each year
Helen, 55
Helen, a NSW SES Flood Rescue volunteer, only shops online or does Click and Collect so she knows what she’s buying and avoids purchasing anything spontaneously while browsing the aisles.
‘I have $20 as an extra on my budget to purchase $20 worth of a great savings special. For example, if my washing liquid is on sale for $9.75 – I buy two (up to $20),’ she said.
‘I also don’t purchase all the junk snacks I used to because I bake at home.
‘I also use three-pot bulk meal plan recipes which save me heaps. I have a great freezer stash.’
Fi, 34
Mum-of-two Fi, from Melbourne, swears by home workouts and using reusable clip lock bags for as many things as she can.
‘One of our weirdest ways to save money is that we wash and reuse zip lock bags (we also use reusable ones). This saves us money and also the environment,’ she said.
She also swears by fakeaway meals with the family – something that’s saved her $2,000.
‘Some of our favourite fakeaways are chicken wings, pizzas, burgers and stir-fry. Takeaway can cost upwards of $50 or more a week. This is a huge saving for us,’ she said.
She also does workouts using her phone so has given up her expensive gym membership.
Roxanne, 28
Mum-of-two Roxanne is a keen promo hunter and always looks up discount codes before her grocery shop – often scoring $20 off.
She’s also ‘mad on Flybuys points’ which she saves and puts towards her groceries at Coles. She often saves $30 to $40 with this method alone.
‘Another thing I do is look at what meat is on special and our meals for the week are based on that. I used to buy taco kits etc. and now I just buy the spices and I save so much,’ she said.
‘I also use recipes with similar veggies in the ingredients and have a fuel track app on my phone so I can see which servo has the cheapest.’
Hayley, 29
Mum-of-three Hayley, from South Australia, swears by exclusively buying items on sale or on special.
‘The way I deal with saving money is I get everything on markdowns! Sometimes markdowns are still not ‘cheap’ enough,’ she said.
‘I also substitute ingredients in certain meals with other ingredients that I could get cheaper. I make it work.’
She also religiously takes food with her when she goes out and always prepares pre-packed lunches and snacks when she heads out with the family. She even brings a little cooker for a heated lunch some days.
‘I make snacks for the kids for school and I freeze them and take them straight from the freezer and I repeat meals that use the same ingredients and sometimes even use leftovers to make another invention of a meal,’ she said.
‘If we go out for dinner it would be around $100+ and we would generally not enjoy the food, so we just don’t get take out.’
She also rarely takes her car around town and takes her backpack to the shops.
‘I save on fuel and I do something good for myself and our planet. It keeps my kids active as well! I try my best to save in every area I can,’ she said.
‘Doing this also gives the boys and I more opportunities to have a day out and get amongst nature and get some quality bonding time in.’
Real Mum Budget Tips
* Meal plan every week
* Buy meat in bulk and use cheaper cuts where possible and embrace slow cooking
* Make bulk mince dishes with lentils and grated vegetables. Freeze any leftovers
* Plan a meat-free dinner each week
* Shop around for the best value health insurance
* Shop around for the best value electricity company and try paying an amount weekly or monthly to avoid a big bill
* Freeze all unfinished pastes such as curry pastes, tomato pasta, and passata. Pour into an icecube tray and once frozen transfer to a ziplock bag
* Try Vent smart containers or fruit bags to help extend the life of your fresh fruit and vegetables
* Check catalogues for weekly specials, meal plan according to shop sales and shop online to see your total before the checkout
* Try using an app such as Trolley Saver to compare grocery prices across different stores
* Make your own cleaning products with natural ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice and bicarb soda
* Each day throw any spare change you have into a money box – you will be surprised how fast it adds up
If budget tips are what you need, we have you covered!
You can see the full Daily Mail article here
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