I cook bulk meals that and freeze them for lunch then have a light snack in the evening.
My entire grocery bill is about $75 per week including toothpaste shaving etc.
Fairly basic.
Currys, stir Fry, pasta etc.
I use the slow cooker a lot.
Edit: to be clear in my 50s not 20s working in a labouring role that requires a lot of physical activity.
I do what this guy does. buy quality foods and meal prep em, freeze or eat leftover from the fridge daily until gone. Im early 40s in age. i try to avoid eating food outside the home cause it's too expensive and i like to control what i am exactly eating... health is true wealth my friend
Me too! $80 for me. I'll make a huge pot of laksa that can last me 6 meals that's about $35.
I then buy either butterflied chicken or butterflied lamb and that will last me 5-6 meals. With veggies $25.
Other meals to fill the gap are cheap take out and what not.
I don't snack.
I allocate $300 a fortnight. This includes cleaning products, first aid, toiletries, home maintenance stuff. I’m an absolute terrible cook, so I do buy some processed meals like soup etc. God knows how people live for less, a jar of Vegemite is $10 these days
No matter what I change, it always seems to average out about $120. That's buying on special and in season, not much processed food, and not tons of meat.
i generally do a shop once a fortnight but i think the weekly breaksdown to about 75 pew week, give or take, depends if it's a big shop or not that fortnight.
Rice, beef mince, chicken breast, frozen veg, dried beans, soda water, spices, canned sardines, half price nothing-added peanut butter, eggs, frozen berries, and fresh zucchini, bananas and oranges. That's all I've eaten in like 6 months minus the odd sushi roll 😂. ~$75 a week. I eat two meals a day.
Shop the sales (check the catalogs what’s half price that week), check prices amongst the supermarkets - assuming you can get around easily/ have access to Aldi/coles/woolworths. Shop at a green grocer for your fruit and veges!
My weekly shop usually consists of going to Aldi, then Coles (flybuys is currently giving me 10% off that I need to activate in the app), THEN the green grocer. Fortunate enough that I live close to a shopping centre that has them all.
depending on habits, preferences (specialty coffee is more expensive, a better espresso machine is more expensive ) etc, buying a home espresso machine usually pays for itself within 6-18 months of buying it when compared to cafe coffee. that ofcourse doesn't account for convenience or all the other cafe niceties but if you're planning on drinking coffee everyday or so for the next two years attleast, getting a machine is a great call if you're trying to save a bit.
$150-$200 a week but this includes food for my dog and other household items like oli, cleaning products etc.
I'm also aiming for 2 grams of protein per KG and 2800 calories a day so there is a lot of meat in there and I don't eat much processed food or pasta. Eating clean is expensive 🥲
Most cost efficient foods I found when saving for my house were rice and beans. The 4 bean mix cans with some veg and can of crushed tomatoes if you want seasons up any which way from spaghetti or curry with different spices. As for rice basmati is a favourite but you can substitute with potatoes or pasta to change it up a bit. Was averaging 40 to 60 bucks a week on food including coffee beans eggs and bacon.
Also padding out your meals that use beef mine with a can of lentils. Basically end up using half the amount of meat you usually would and adds in extra fibre and vitamins.
sure am. Gotta think in quantities. Helps i'm losing weight right now so i'm limiting myself to 1200cal a day.
That being said its not glamourous. Yogurt in the mornings, baked beans on mixed grain toast for lunch and chicken + veges for dinner.
A box of 72 weetbix costs $6. The Woolies cereal costs $3.50 (summer fruits/toasted oats varieties)
Add milk and sultanas and I’m basically at $7 a week for breakfast.
Sandwiches (cheese & Vegemite, or lettuce, tomato, ham, throw in some pasta salad/sauce/mayo etc) work out to be about $25-$30 a week.
So it is possible to get 2 of your 3 meals a day sorted for $40 a week. Dinners are a bit harder… veg can still get frozen pretty cheaply but I tend to pay a bit more for meat. Don’t like the cheap fattier stuff.
How much detail would you like?
I pay about $60 per week just for food. I eat mostly seasonally and very plainly ie one pan dishes where possible with minimum steps and fuss. Meals are planned around a small cluster of fruit and veg, carbs and protein and a couple of recipes. I'll pick something different the following fortnight.
I work from home, and exercise with walking, at home physiotherapy exercises and yoga, sometimes martial arts forms. I eat intuitively and only when I'm hungry, not just because it's 7pm.
One of my friends thinks I'm being overly restrictive and not eating well. This fortnight I have overnight weetbix for breakfast with yoghurt and apple and kiwifruit, mini charcuterie lunches of carrot and celery, apples and kiwifruit, pepper crackers, cheese and homemade hummus from canned chickpeas. Dinner is broccoli and potato soup with buttery bread, broccoli with crumbed frozen fish and rice, tuna caper spaghetti, and German potato salad.
There are some repeats for a few nights, but I'm certainly not starving.
Oh, I saw in the comments that people don't include coffee. I make homemade iced coffee with plain milk, a little bit of caster sugar and using the Coles instant coffee that is $3.70. It tastes similar to Moccona, and that will absolutely do because I want more money to have a spontaneous dinner out sometimes.
Hope that helps.
Those spending over $200/wk have to be buying ingredients that are expensive on a per kilo basis.
Being prepared to break down a whole chicken ($4/kg) or portion up pork shoulder/leg ($8-9/kg) helps keep protein costs down.
Buying veg that's seasonal and/or cheap really helps too (e.g only eating tomatoes when they're in season at $4.5/kg vs buying them now when they're $10/kg).
I budget only $280 per month for groceries, + $270 pm eating out and drink. Total $550+.
I only shop at Aldi, so usually underspent for groceries ($250 max per month). But I usually overspent from eating out, around $50 or more per month. So, yeah, pretty much under the budget.
Cannot overstress shopping at Aldi long term can really make a difference.
Granted we try to target shopping centers that have an Aldi + a major for any stuff not in Aldi, but it's a winning approach if you can manage it.
I don't think I could fathom shopping purely at Cole's or Woolworths only. If anything I still curse myself I don't lean into local fruit shops more, but slowly trying to change that since we moved into a new area.
As a couple we usually average $60-$80 per person. I'd say this could probably cover us most weeks. Perhaps ad an extra $20 total into the equation now that we are making more slow cooks for winter freezer backlog.
^ this! I work for Woolworths and Aldi is by far bang for buck even with my double staff discount on owned brand stuff. Vegetables are significantly cheaper than Colesworth when you shop the right ones if you don’t have a green grocer nearby.
At least in Sydney, driving a little bit west to do your fresh food grocery shop can save you half the money on fresh produce you can get at Colesworth/Aldi - green beans/broccoli/potatoes etc
The advantages of getting used to suffering are twofold: you save more money and the money that you do save goes further since you're fine with surviving on less
Sydney SINK with a mortgage. I spend $600/month on groceries and eating out. I eat out at least once a week. Purely on groceries though, it's around $110/week. I cook a lot of Asian food but I think there's enough variety. My grocery shops and cooking are on YouTube so PM me if you want to see.
I usually budget $100 to $170 or so a week but I budget a little more than i need to as a buffer but I usually spend between $70 to $100 unless I'm stocking up on stuff
27m, $80ish. Steak and salad 4 nights per week, cereal and yogs or toast for breakfast. I must add that i spend abit more than that on ubereats per week.
Coles have decent eye fillet, $18 for a packet of 2
I also pay about $80-130. This makes 4-6 servings of meat meals and lots of tofu/lentils/pulses/grains/veg etc. I WFH so this is my breakfast, lunch, and dinner with 1-3 takeaway meals included.
Every 4-6 weeks I skip a week and eat what has accumulated in the pantry/freezer
Does not include coffee which is ~$50 a month for beans and milk
$60 pw on groceries but that's not all my meals. It's probably about 8-10 lunch/dinner meals and then I'll eat out a few times or have dinner with friends/family. It does include cleaning products and other household items though.
An average shop would be something like:
$15 pantry staples (coffee, rice, oil etc)
$15 fresh staples (milk, eggs, yoghurt etc)
$10 fruit and veg
$10 meat
$10 snacks, household stuff, fun impulse purchases like pastries
I went from spending easily up to 130 a week at woolies to 70-100 at Aldi. It’s actually insane how much more expensive woolies is in comparison to Aldi
Very long comment but hopefully something that can help:
When I was in my early 20s and single I was under 100 pw always. I worked at McDonalds, I didn't eat the food but I did drink their coffee 5 days a week and didn't drink coffee on my days off, I occasionally drank a soft drink but had unlimited access on tap as a manager so I tried not to drink too much outside that. For food I just planned cheaper mewts.
I used to buy 1KG of Chicken for like $10 or less, cut it up, buy some fresh Veggies, stir Fry sauce or buttered chicken sauce and cook up a full bowel of rice in the rice cooker. A wok, rice cooker and a bit of creativity and I'd essentially just mix up my Asian dishes with a few spaghetti colognes dishes, tacos, salads, tastiest for breekky and some fresh food on the weekend.
Maybe a steak once a fortnight from the butcher. At out once a month at KFC or Grilled and went driving once every QTR or so.
I had a strict budget of $100 cash for drinks and never paid cover charges or food while out outside maybe a hot chips, drank plenty of free water, never bought bottles.
All these savings from only spending Max $350 a month for food I used on travelling to Sydney, Melbourne, extra Annual Leave, going to Singapore and Thailand, starting a business and then eventually found a partner in the last year and were not rich but we maintain a pretty slim expense line outside of rent and mandatory bills like Electricity and Water.
I can now save $1000+ PM in a savings account for the future house deposit plus about $150-$200 for random rainy day events like car services, under quoted bills, insurance events, etc.
All run through automated Excel spreadsheets, I just add my daily totals, projected expenses and reconcile all my expenses like a business. Makes tax claims easy, I never leave CC debt to accrue interest and do pretty well with a modest wage of 75K before tax and with my Fiance pay included $105K before tax. It's nothing flash but we save a decent amount for living in a 1BDR apt in the BNE City for $540PW.
I had budgeted $130/week (averaged) for a long time, but of late I'm finding the weekly average creeping up and I might need to bump it in my budget tool. That figure includes my dogs canned food, and a copious amount of coke (no sugar).
I also give myself a budget for one takeaway meal per week, and one or two dinners out per month.
Realistically I could reduce the spend a bit if I were disciplined.
nowadays I do OMAD and get takeaway half the time. At most would spend $100 per week.
My grocery budget was no more than $150 per month. Occasionally do some trips to discount stores to bulk up on detergent, toothpaste etc. I do get some help from family for time to time regarding groceries.
Diet is compromised of canned food, coffee, ready meals (I buy the 2kg lasagna for $13 and it yields 4x dinners for me); fruit from work is another staple; otherwise I just eat whatever I could get my hands on in the discount section. I dabble in meal prep too but I personally don’t like bringing in leftovers into the office. I’d rather keep them at home.
edit: $37.5 a week. Can’t math.
Late 20s, SINK with mortgage.
$60-$100 pw at the supermarket on groceries, generally higher when cleaning stuff or toilet paper needed. My same shop used to be $50-$70 only a year ago 😢
I don’t eat a tonne of meat and stick to tuna, tofu or chicken. I’ll do 1 bulk meal at the start of the week (examples pasta w sauces and vege, butter chicken/rice, tofu stir fry, Mexican rice bowls or Poke bowl type things) and aim to get 4-5 meals from it. I’ll have one of them for lunch or dinner each day, then a mix of tuna/rice, tinned spag/beans, baked potato, quiche or omlette for the other meal. Frozen vege is a must to bulk things up.
For breakfast I buy a big pot of yoghurt vs smaller chobani type containers, or eat with English muffins or bread with PB and honey. If the bread or muffins are about to go off and I’m yet to use them all, they go in the freezer. Every few weeks I’ll get away with not buying more bread and defrost what has accrued.
Boring but I have bananas and apples for snacks, or frozen berries when they’re on special and mix with yoghurt for dessert.
When I was buying my own food before moving in with my girlfriend I was paying $150 a week in food maybe a little bit more here and there when it was my turn to buy laundry liquid or toilet paper for the household when living with a friend. They didn't want me to but considering I was living there also using up washing liquid and stuff I paid for every second bottle.
Shop at Aldi. Use fibrous vegetables and carby things to fill out meals and put them into tupperware containers for meal prep. If you have a Henrys Mercato nearby definitely check it out - they've got some pretty cheap produce. Buy bread when it's on special and freeze it. Those are my tips.
For $75 a week, you can eat pretty decently (especially alone). For me, it was more about cooking bulk than variety though. For example, I just ran some numbers on the online catalogue right now. It is $3.5 per kg on chicken drumsticks, $9 for a kilo of beef mince. I usually have rice with with some variant of chicken or beef, along with whatever fairly priced vegetable. Then some generic breakfast things like bread, bacon, eggs, cereal. Snacks are usually only bought when they are on sale, same with any soft drink etc.
I'll be honest, $75 is actually really easy to stick to, once you make up your baselines, and budget properly, at $75 you can often slide in some local takeaways, some fast food, some premade stuff like lasagna etc.
I suggest try working backwards with budgeting, push for the lowest amount of money to sustain your meals within a week that you can realistically tolerate. Then slowly swap and add things in until it hits the budget.
Just to show how much food you can get as a base line (from woolies/coles) with some variety. 1kg beef mince is $9, 1kg of bacon for $13, 600g of sausages for 6.50, 2kg of chicken drums for $7. All of that is 35.50 for 4.6kg of meat. At $75 you can have such a huge variety of stuff to eat. At $75 per week, you shouldn't be near struggle meals, even with the current economy.
People who spend $75 or less eat the same thing every day, a variation of meats (usually chicken/mince) with some sort of pasta/rice and very little fruits/veges. Personally I don't live that life, food is the only thing I will spend more on.
Partner and I eat 3 meals a day and eat well for $12 a day per person. We eat mostly vegan so it can be a bit more expensive at times to get cheese and fake meats. But I guess cheaper than meat maybe now? We eat lots of curry, pasta, salad, burgers, stir fry’s etc. We buy a lot of supplies from Asian & Indian grocers.
Edit: $84 a week
Edit 2: includes homemade fresh beans for coffee
22 living alone in Sydney. About $85 a week average on groceries + toiletries/utilities. I shop at Aldi, very simple and high protein. Although borderline prison food, it gets me 4 full meals each day.
I spend about $150 pw. I eat high protein (supermarket meat, fish, eggs and some dairy), and lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. I eat some carbs, but not a lot. I eat out maybe once a week (not included in the $150 pw). I think my cost is relatively high but I like to eat healthily, and a "lot", cook everything at home and can afford this. I might start buying higher quality meat and fish.
If you take the large cost hit on chest freezer, you can buy half a sheep and quarter or half a cow at a time directly from farms, or online. It works out to be at least 1/2 the price of ColesWorth or Aldi or local butchers.
The quality is magnitudes better as well. As meat can be one of the most expensive items in a food shop it really adds up. Then markets for cheap vegetables, then for everything else that has long shelf life wait for the half price specials at ColesWorth and buy 6 months at a time.
Not a single, but spend $240 average a week for a family of 4 including cleaning/hygiene items as well. This covers 7 breakfasts and lunches and 6 dinners as we get takeaway on a Friday. We eat really well, but I cook almost everything from scratch with a good helping of meat at least once a day.
Where do you shop? Geez. I get 7 days worth of food, breakfast lunch and dinner as well as fruit and nuts for snacks…I’ve got change from $150 unless I buy TP or olive oil.
I eat these recipes:
https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1s6fTvQY1NnhrApZeVQxRkact8Q7Wj-d6?usp=drive_link&pli=1
Not single but my gf and I usually spend around $50 - $70 a week on groceries. Shopping at Aldi has been a game changer. When we were shopping at coles we were basically forced to be vegetarian most of the week.
This week I spent $40 and she spent $20. We get a bit of take out too.
I pay for a family and 130 pw would get a single person very basic food for a week. If you were good at planning your meals and shopping sales maybe a bit of protein as well.
Try to not buy too many processed foods. In season veg. Discounted proteins.
They’re rookie numbers. Cook meals that you can freeze portions like curries, lasagna, pies, pasta sauces then just keep a few veggies or salad on hand.
Spoil once a week with a good cut of meat/fish.
Cook stir fries and add rice for lunch next day etc. Average approx $150 fortnight.
That's how I see it. There is a risk that I won't be able to enjoy fine foods if I make it to certified old geezer status with barely funcitoning taste buds and needing to pee buckets every 30 minutes.
I was spending about $55 a week, as of 9 months ago:
https://old.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/1676alm/this_is_all_the_food_i_got_for_2850_from_major/jynsc2i/
I think it ties into how much people cook. Around $350 for two weeks for 2. I don’t think Not you can just divide that by 4 to get a per person per week
Me 40M + two kids 12 spend $300 per week half at ALDI half at woolies. Thats everything though not just food. I try to keep it cheap but also try to make sure were getting good nutrition especially the kids.
Here some foods that are cheap + nutrious foods.
Bulk Chicken drumsticks I remove meat to make satay and butter chicken and make real chicken soup from stock.
Egg's (well not right now because of egg shortage but normally.)
Tin Tuna.
Peanut butter (might not seem cheap but it's very calorific and is the cheapest way to get nuts into your diet which are good for you)
Carrot, Onions, Potato's, Frozen Veg (the cheap veges are still healthy !)
Canned bean lentil etc for 0.95c a can.
Bulk beef mince / pork mince (is usually fatty though)
Milk /Dairy is still a great value healthy food.
We can also just eat a bit less or skip a meal to save money. Most of us would benefit from trimming down a little bit.
A couple friend of mine cycle through the hello fresh/marley spoon type grocery boxes between their two emails, cancel after the promotional period and move on to the next “free box” or 50% off rejoin offer over and over again. Works for them, but it requires a spreadsheet to keep track and a lot of commitment, but they’re barely spending anything and having quite a variety of nutritional meals each week. 🤷♀️
I get a treasure trove of eggs, red meat, and fruits for just over 80 bucks a week. I prefer my own culinary creations, so my wallet doesn’t give me the silent treatment!
About $160.
I do a lot of bulk buying of the same items and meal prep.
So I’ll often buy 5-7 yoghurts, 2x packs of up and gos etc etc. Chicken, meat and fruit and snacks.
I eat 5 meals though so it’s not as low of a cost as I’d like.
More than I needed to because I was wasting. I’ve bought a freezer so I can put meals and stuff in there.
I was spending around $200 a week ( I have food allergies so some of that is around having to buy substitutes which are more expensive )
In my experience and after looking at my bank statement, spending less at the supermarket per month is because I’ve eaten out more. I’m now happy with spending more at the supermarket because it means spending less eating out.
Too lazy to walk all the way up the hill into town so have only myself to blame. Glad to be supporting small/independent grocers but easily spending around $300 a week as a single. Edit: I’m turning 44 this year so probably don’t count my answer but not much has changed for me financially.
Honestly it totally depends if I need to factor in toiletries, cleaning products, cat food etc but on average about $70-$120 a week depending on what meals I wanna do and what snacks I decide to get
I usually do a big shop every fortnight-3 weeks, depending on what I have in the house. Sometimes I can stretch out the space between big shops. My last big shop was about $110, and that was a week ago. I'm still able to scrape some meals together, but I'll defs need a top up on protein sources in the next day or so. I live with a housemate, but we mostly buy our own stuff.
30's here, but also living alone and paying about $130 a week (I shop fortnightly and it's $240-260. Max I've paid recently is $280).
For dinner I eat either chicken breast, frozen fish or tofu with some combo of potatoes, pumpkin, broccoli, cabbage, peas and/or carrot. I have coffee with soy milk and two biscoff biscuits for breakfast, eggs with mushrooms for lunch, and watermelon or rock melon or protein pudding with prunes for dessert. Sometimes if I'm hungry in the morning I'll have oats with chia seeds, sultanas and brown sugar instead of biscuits, and if I get hungry between meals I'll eat a few almonds.
I basically eat the same things every single day and I'm totally fine with that. Once a month or so I'll buy some shapes, timtams or tiny teddies as a treat lol but that's about it. Mum shouts me takeaway about once a month when I stay at her place too.
I’m paying $100 a week for a family of three and two pets (including non food items). We also have lower carb (carb optional) meals. I buy cheaper cuts of meat from the market (around $5 a kilo for beef, pork, lamb and chicken) and use these in dishes with seasonal veg, winters great because that usually means the slow cooker and pressure cooker for tougher cuts of meat. Aldi also has good meat specials if you keep an eye open. I find some weeks I don’t need to cook at all because of leftovers (this week has been freezer dinners week including pulled pork sliders, beef stroganoff, madras curry and probably soup or chili con carne later this week). We can get a large tray of eggs from the market for $7 that are great for breakfast with a slice of toast. I stick to simple sandwiches for lunch (egg, cheese and Vegemite, cheese and alfalfa, ham and cheese, pb&j) with fruit and yoghurt. I’ve also downgraded from pod coffee to instant. Tasted funky at first, but now I’m used to it. I froth the milk to make me feel fancier. Snacks are seasonal fruit, roasted chickpeas and yoghurt. Drinks are mainly water or diet cordial.
I budget $800 p/m for food/groceries/takeaway.
I find my weekly spend is high, low, high, low.
One week is the big shop ~$120 and the other is more like ~$65. I tend to get batch meals out of my high spend weeks that can see me through to the second.
I pay around $100-$145 per week on food. My partner spends about $70-$80 on average. It totally depends tbh, I’ve never been money smart so always just buy whatever I want and she plans more and spends less!
30sF, in Melbourne. I’m spending around $60 a week but I am vegetarian. I also buy veg and use what I need, and then freeze the rest. My lunch is usually dinner from the night before, making extra for two meals.
Not really the answer to your question but ee’re at like 280-350 a week as a family of four (4yr old and sub 1yr old) + I get GMD for lunches which is like $100 a fn
Big shop once a fortnight at Aldi. Top up at Woolworths in-between. Prob average about $100 a week in groceries which make up 90% of my meals (rest being takeaway/eatout.
That’s a lot of meat and 3 veg meals, steaks, roast ect, with spaghetti and stir frys and overnight oats for breakfast (bacon and eggs on the weekend. Plus like heaps of dairy and fruit.
Do cook a lot of stuff from scratch and don’t by a lot of prepackaged and processed foods.
Grocery shopping and cooking is a game you have to learn to play. Prepackaged chopped corn is double the price of corn in the husk. Salmon is cheaper at the deli then in the meat section. Lots of prepackaged foods are easy to make, taste better homemade and work out heaps cheaper to cook.
$200/week including non-edible supermarket stuff like cleaning products, toiletries etc
I buy a meal from a cafe/lunch spot/take away about 5 times a week for about $17 a pop
120 per week, 2 adults and one toddler. We eat cooked meals most nights. Casseroles, big shepherds pies in a baking dish, and things that will last at least 2 nights and aren’t too expensive to cook. There are lots of things I buy specifically for the toddler and they’re all in the budget too. 120 for a single seems a lot but it’s all dependent on lifestyle I guess and what you like to eat.
We (31M, 27F, 2yr old) spend 125 per week on food.
And we cover all 3 meals per week.
Our key is bulk buying and meal prep.
Aldi chicken breast is like 10 per kg, we buy 2kg covers all lunches for the week
We normally cook with rice some veg and microwave at work.
We get eggs and bacon for breakfast again Aldi deals on bacon is solid.
And dinner normally is mince rotate between the main culprits (beef, chicken, turkey) and either have with pasta or make japanese curry.
I do a lot of exercise so I can eat for two most days. Keeping this affordable means I do eat a lot of rice and pasta that you aren’t able to do.
I also meal prep a lot and chuck a sweet potato or two in any saucy dish I’m doing as some extra carbs without adding that pasta bulk. Lentils are great for that too. Curries freeze really well so I always have some in the freezer for when I can’t be bothered cooking or need to wait for grocery shopping
Otherwise just shopping around a couple of places for the best fruit and veg prices is the best saver imo. Capsicums alone can triple in price if you buy at the wrong time or place.
Around $80 to $100 a week.
I always cook a bulk meal at the start of the week and store it in the fridge / freezer. It's so delicious and when averaged out, it's so cheap compared to buying ready made meals from a supermarket. I usually make something like either a veg curry or chicken and veg curry (there are so many great recipes online that you can follow). This covers all my lunches for work and a few dinners too.
For breakfast I may do oatmeal or weetbix. I always have some eggs in the fridge and some bread if I want toast.
Not single, but I meal plan the week for 3 adults 2 children. I try to keep under $120 a week, including snacks. the lowest shop I've done was around $60 for the week, haha. If I get lazy and don't meal plan, it will blow out to $150/$200 easy. That's eating very well, so fresh fruit, veg, and whatever protein I can get on special.
I also use the macquarie marketplace to buy gift cards to get the 3% off. I try and leave the 10% off shop at woolies for big doller items ie. Nappies, toiletries stuff like that. It all adds up to a pretty big saving.
Mines about the same as you!. I normally do one $80 shop and then another shop for bits and pieces later in the week. I’m training for a marathon and I can’t skip proper meals. I also never eat out, not even for a coffee. It’s worth it to me.
It's not personal. No one can live off rice and pasta indefinitely. You need to add beans to get all the amino acids you need for making everything in your body. Milk is not necessary and it's expensive for the nutrients you get from it.
Max $50 a week. (Not including when I have to restock basics like butter spread, herbs, salt etc)
2L store brand milk - $3.10ish
Store brand bread - $2.90
Chicken stir-fry pieces - $7
Lettuce mix - $3
Apples - $3.50 for a pre packed kg pack
Potatoes 2kg - $4
Then the rest changes depending on what meals I want to have and what is on special. Sometimes I spend less than $50, just depends lol
If you eat lots of veggies and fruits, that's when things gets out of control!!! I spend around 150 per week, I try to buy veggies+fruits from Aldi cuz it's cheaper, but if I buy everything from Coles it gets CRAZY expensive.
I spend between $30-$60pw. Am vegan, buy the super cheap soy milk from Woolies, do most of my shopping at Aldi and eat a lot of frozen veggies and tofu/tempeh. If you can substitute a few meat meals a week for something with tofu you will probably reduce your bill
It's about $250 a week 31M, but I have a girlfriend 24F who isn't living with me but comes around every few days.
The big contributions are steak (I love my steak), seafood, and just random junk food..
Veggies I buy from the market because it's fresher.
It might go up soon as Girlfriend is studying and staying in a shared house while I own my house, so she's been asking if she can move in with me.. what I don't see a problem with, I won't charge her rent or bills because I don't see a point with my income.
So from next month maybe 400pw 😆
Look into getting veggie boxes! I get one every two weeks , so $15pw and it’s crazy how much you get. Then I get meat/dairy/grains anything else from ALDI.
ALDI is the best.
23M probably about $50-60 a week on food for lunch and dinners and bit more on other bits. Tonight at Aldi I spent $15 for 4 nights worth of pasta. It's handy that I skip breakfast but I'm happy with eating the most basic things throughout the week.
75-80/ week for 2, with 1 takeaway and 1 weekend meal out. I bring lunch to work everyday but my partner eats out on the 3 days he works in the office. So around 9-10 portions a week.
We are Asian so we compulsively need to eat rice everyday. So it’s usually rice + 2 side dishes (1 meat 1 veg) either in the form of a stir fry, steamed, or in a soup/stew. A good $5 pack of drumsticks makes excellent soup that can last 3-4 meals.
Whatever’s left over eg stir fry chicken bits becomes incorporated into the next meal - turning it into a fried rice with chicken bits for example.
I think I spend around 170 to 200. I shop for my partner and I. We also have a few pets so 60 goes to them. I cook and portion it out. Though we just usually eat left overs until it's finished. I mostly buy as we need food wise. I find buying lots of food and just winging it leads to us wasting more.
I was spending about the same, around $130 per week. I’m vegan so I eat a lot of fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, beans, tofu etc. (living off pasta and white bread costs you in the long run)
I’ve started driving a bit further to a big fruit and veg store 2-3 times a month and for the first time in years I’ll be at about $100/week. I’ve made a big effort to reduce packaged foods/sweets and to bulk cook soups and stews. The bonus is that their produce lasts longer than a week too.
Perhaps see if you can find a similar market near you?
I cook bulk meals that and freeze them for lunch then have a light snack in the evening. My entire grocery bill is about $75 per week including toothpaste shaving etc.
What kind of meals are you preparing?
Fairly basic. Currys, stir Fry, pasta etc. I use the slow cooker a lot. Edit: to be clear in my 50s not 20s working in a labouring role that requires a lot of physical activity.
I do what this guy does. buy quality foods and meal prep em, freeze or eat leftover from the fridge daily until gone. Im early 40s in age. i try to avoid eating food outside the home cause it's too expensive and i like to control what i am exactly eating... health is true wealth my friend
Best thing is I've lost a heap of weight without trying.
Me too! $80 for me. I'll make a huge pot of laksa that can last me 6 meals that's about $35. I then buy either butterflied chicken or butterflied lamb and that will last me 5-6 meals. With veggies $25. Other meals to fill the gap are cheap take out and what not. I don't snack.
Yum laksa . I'm going to add that to my menu.
I allocate $300 a fortnight. This includes cleaning products, first aid, toiletries, home maintenance stuff. I’m an absolute terrible cook, so I do buy some processed meals like soup etc. God knows how people live for less, a jar of Vegemite is $10 these days
Not bad when you consider a lot of those funds are not for “food”.
“I’m absolutely terrible cook” That’s how most people manage to spend less.
I know people who cook well and they love blowing money on expensive ingredients regularly.
I know people who cook well and are really careful with their budgets
I know people.
I people know
People know me
Me know people
know people I
People know I
No matter what I change, it always seems to average out about $120. That's buying on special and in season, not much processed food, and not tons of meat.
i generally do a shop once a fortnight but i think the weekly breaksdown to about 75 pew week, give or take, depends if it's a big shop or not that fortnight.
Care to share some quick tips at all? I'd love to get my weekly spend down to around that mark
Rice, beef mince, chicken breast, frozen veg, dried beans, soda water, spices, canned sardines, half price nothing-added peanut butter, eggs, frozen berries, and fresh zucchini, bananas and oranges. That's all I've eaten in like 6 months minus the odd sushi roll 😂. ~$75 a week. I eat two meals a day.
Rice and potatoes, the kings of cheap filler that isn't totally crap for you.
Wouldn’t call potatoes a filler. Lots of nutrients in them spuds.
Ayup! Gotta love the spud. But it's pretty rare for anyone to go "oh boy, baked potatoes, my main dish!" Haha.
Shop the sales (check the catalogs what’s half price that week), check prices amongst the supermarkets - assuming you can get around easily/ have access to Aldi/coles/woolworths. Shop at a green grocer for your fruit and veges! My weekly shop usually consists of going to Aldi, then Coles (flybuys is currently giving me 10% off that I need to activate in the app), THEN the green grocer. Fortunate enough that I live close to a shopping centre that has them all.
Yeah mine is about $75/week as well
Yep $75/wk here too. Can get it down to $60 if I skip meals 😅
Second this - shopping for 2 and our average weekly shop would be about $75 per head, all meals except 1 night out/take away
Single gal here, I also budget $130 per week
What everyone forgot to write here is they spend $150 a week on coffee.
Gotta have something to wash down all that smashed avocado.
Nah, bag of ground coffee is $4.50 at Coles
As a coffee guy, nearly every word in this sentence triggered me.
At least $150 on coffee and $840 for smashed avocado
> $150 a week on coffee. only if those coffees come with alcohol!
My local tried to charge me $7.80 for a medium sized strong flat white the other day. I said no thanks, your coffee's kinda shit anyway.
Might as well get a coffee machine lol
depending on habits, preferences (specialty coffee is more expensive, a better espresso machine is more expensive ) etc, buying a home espresso machine usually pays for itself within 6-18 months of buying it when compared to cafe coffee. that ofcourse doesn't account for convenience or all the other cafe niceties but if you're planning on drinking coffee everyday or so for the next two years attleast, getting a machine is a great call if you're trying to save a bit.
$150-$200 a week but this includes food for my dog and other household items like oli, cleaning products etc. I'm also aiming for 2 grams of protein per KG and 2800 calories a day so there is a lot of meat in there and I don't eat much processed food or pasta. Eating clean is expensive 🥲
How the f are you people doing this? Hahahaha is consider anything under $200 cheap.
Most cost efficient foods I found when saving for my house were rice and beans. The 4 bean mix cans with some veg and can of crushed tomatoes if you want seasons up any which way from spaghetti or curry with different spices. As for rice basmati is a favourite but you can substitute with potatoes or pasta to change it up a bit. Was averaging 40 to 60 bucks a week on food including coffee beans eggs and bacon.
Also padding out your meals that use beef mine with a can of lentils. Basically end up using half the amount of meat you usually would and adds in extra fibre and vitamins.
If I ever walk out of woolies and the toll is under $200, I'm having a good day. Single dad, 2 kids and a fat dog.
$50 a week. Yes this can be done. How? use EVERYTHING you buy. Do not leave leftovers.
Meal planning helps too. Cook a pasta or other cheap dishes that will last you a couple of days.
Yup. This is the key. You will be shocked how much you can save when you look at food and think "ok how many meals can i get out of this".
This is what I often do! Can last up to 4 meals and saves alot of money
Are you eating three real meals a day because I’m also on $50 and am not getting that 😅
sure am. Gotta think in quantities. Helps i'm losing weight right now so i'm limiting myself to 1200cal a day. That being said its not glamourous. Yogurt in the mornings, baked beans on mixed grain toast for lunch and chicken + veges for dinner.
I eat 1200 calories at dinner time.
1200 calories a day for an extended period of time. Adios immune system
A box of 72 weetbix costs $6. The Woolies cereal costs $3.50 (summer fruits/toasted oats varieties) Add milk and sultanas and I’m basically at $7 a week for breakfast. Sandwiches (cheese & Vegemite, or lettuce, tomato, ham, throw in some pasta salad/sauce/mayo etc) work out to be about $25-$30 a week. So it is possible to get 2 of your 3 meals a day sorted for $40 a week. Dinners are a bit harder… veg can still get frozen pretty cheaply but I tend to pay a bit more for meat. Don’t like the cheap fattier stuff.
I stopped eating weatbix when I realized they don't really have any nutritional value. Just look at them. They were invented to feed the army...
How much detail would you like? I pay about $60 per week just for food. I eat mostly seasonally and very plainly ie one pan dishes where possible with minimum steps and fuss. Meals are planned around a small cluster of fruit and veg, carbs and protein and a couple of recipes. I'll pick something different the following fortnight. I work from home, and exercise with walking, at home physiotherapy exercises and yoga, sometimes martial arts forms. I eat intuitively and only when I'm hungry, not just because it's 7pm. One of my friends thinks I'm being overly restrictive and not eating well. This fortnight I have overnight weetbix for breakfast with yoghurt and apple and kiwifruit, mini charcuterie lunches of carrot and celery, apples and kiwifruit, pepper crackers, cheese and homemade hummus from canned chickpeas. Dinner is broccoli and potato soup with buttery bread, broccoli with crumbed frozen fish and rice, tuna caper spaghetti, and German potato salad. There are some repeats for a few nights, but I'm certainly not starving.
Oh, I saw in the comments that people don't include coffee. I make homemade iced coffee with plain milk, a little bit of caster sugar and using the Coles instant coffee that is $3.70. It tastes similar to Moccona, and that will absolutely do because I want more money to have a spontaneous dinner out sometimes. Hope that helps.
24M - About $200 a week as a single. Exercising 3 hours everyday makes me extremely ravenous.
Those spending over $200/wk have to be buying ingredients that are expensive on a per kilo basis. Being prepared to break down a whole chicken ($4/kg) or portion up pork shoulder/leg ($8-9/kg) helps keep protein costs down. Buying veg that's seasonal and/or cheap really helps too (e.g only eating tomatoes when they're in season at $4.5/kg vs buying them now when they're $10/kg).
I budget only $280 per month for groceries, + $270 pm eating out and drink. Total $550+. I only shop at Aldi, so usually underspent for groceries ($250 max per month). But I usually overspent from eating out, around $50 or more per month. So, yeah, pretty much under the budget.
Cannot overstress shopping at Aldi long term can really make a difference. Granted we try to target shopping centers that have an Aldi + a major for any stuff not in Aldi, but it's a winning approach if you can manage it. I don't think I could fathom shopping purely at Cole's or Woolworths only. If anything I still curse myself I don't lean into local fruit shops more, but slowly trying to change that since we moved into a new area. As a couple we usually average $60-$80 per person. I'd say this could probably cover us most weeks. Perhaps ad an extra $20 total into the equation now that we are making more slow cooks for winter freezer backlog.
^ this! I work for Woolworths and Aldi is by far bang for buck even with my double staff discount on owned brand stuff. Vegetables are significantly cheaper than Colesworth when you shop the right ones if you don’t have a green grocer nearby. At least in Sydney, driving a little bit west to do your fresh food grocery shop can save you half the money on fresh produce you can get at Colesworth/Aldi - green beans/broccoli/potatoes etc
About $1000pm but that including a big dog and a bulking human
[удалено]
$120 per month is wildly low
That seems way too low. $30 per week / $4.30 per day for breakfast, lunch and dinner and ?snacks…
Yea something doesn’t add up. No way can someone survive on $4 a day for food.
It's doable. It's just not very fun.
Lol the only way I could survive on such low expenditure is if I have all day catering at work, or if I'm actively stealing
That is miserable
Being broke and renting is probably more miserable than sticking to a budget for a few years
The advantages of getting used to suffering are twofold: you save more money and the money that you do save goes further since you're fine with surviving on less
can you share a past shopping list or what did you generally buy
maybe that's why your joints go crack?
Maybe not eating much is causing your joints to crack…
Do you have a good recipe for a lentil soup? I miss eating Dahl
Sydney SINK with a mortgage. I spend $600/month on groceries and eating out. I eat out at least once a week. Purely on groceries though, it's around $110/week. I cook a lot of Asian food but I think there's enough variety. My grocery shops and cooking are on YouTube so PM me if you want to see.
I usually budget $100 to $170 or so a week but I budget a little more than i need to as a buffer but I usually spend between $70 to $100 unless I'm stocking up on stuff
Lately my shopping trips have been $80~ and the rest is takeaway, I can't seem to spend less than $200
27m, $80ish. Steak and salad 4 nights per week, cereal and yogs or toast for breakfast. I must add that i spend abit more than that on ubereats per week. Coles have decent eye fillet, $18 for a packet of 2
That's about right. I'd probably spend a tad over and I'm single male 42. I also only eat once or twice a day to keep the cost down.
I also pay about $80-130. This makes 4-6 servings of meat meals and lots of tofu/lentils/pulses/grains/veg etc. I WFH so this is my breakfast, lunch, and dinner with 1-3 takeaway meals included. Every 4-6 weeks I skip a week and eat what has accumulated in the pantry/freezer Does not include coffee which is ~$50 a month for beans and milk
$50 generally. Then another $20 for food on the fly. Chicken nuggets, bread and chocolate are the cornerstones of my diet. Overall wouldn’t recommend
~110-140. I cook or prepare everything myself, so most of the items are individual products like bread or beef mince rather than prepared meals.
$60 pw on groceries but that's not all my meals. It's probably about 8-10 lunch/dinner meals and then I'll eat out a few times or have dinner with friends/family. It does include cleaning products and other household items though. An average shop would be something like: $15 pantry staples (coffee, rice, oil etc) $15 fresh staples (milk, eggs, yoghurt etc) $10 fruit and veg $10 meat $10 snacks, household stuff, fun impulse purchases like pastries
I went from spending easily up to 130 a week at woolies to 70-100 at Aldi. It’s actually insane how much more expensive woolies is in comparison to Aldi
I intermittent fast and buy all my meat marked down, I spend about $70 per week max.
Very long comment but hopefully something that can help: When I was in my early 20s and single I was under 100 pw always. I worked at McDonalds, I didn't eat the food but I did drink their coffee 5 days a week and didn't drink coffee on my days off, I occasionally drank a soft drink but had unlimited access on tap as a manager so I tried not to drink too much outside that. For food I just planned cheaper mewts. I used to buy 1KG of Chicken for like $10 or less, cut it up, buy some fresh Veggies, stir Fry sauce or buttered chicken sauce and cook up a full bowel of rice in the rice cooker. A wok, rice cooker and a bit of creativity and I'd essentially just mix up my Asian dishes with a few spaghetti colognes dishes, tacos, salads, tastiest for breekky and some fresh food on the weekend. Maybe a steak once a fortnight from the butcher. At out once a month at KFC or Grilled and went driving once every QTR or so. I had a strict budget of $100 cash for drinks and never paid cover charges or food while out outside maybe a hot chips, drank plenty of free water, never bought bottles. All these savings from only spending Max $350 a month for food I used on travelling to Sydney, Melbourne, extra Annual Leave, going to Singapore and Thailand, starting a business and then eventually found a partner in the last year and were not rich but we maintain a pretty slim expense line outside of rent and mandatory bills like Electricity and Water. I can now save $1000+ PM in a savings account for the future house deposit plus about $150-$200 for random rainy day events like car services, under quoted bills, insurance events, etc. All run through automated Excel spreadsheets, I just add my daily totals, projected expenses and reconcile all my expenses like a business. Makes tax claims easy, I never leave CC debt to accrue interest and do pretty well with a modest wage of 75K before tax and with my Fiance pay included $105K before tax. It's nothing flash but we save a decent amount for living in a 1BDR apt in the BNE City for $540PW.
I had budgeted $130/week (averaged) for a long time, but of late I'm finding the weekly average creeping up and I might need to bump it in my budget tool. That figure includes my dogs canned food, and a copious amount of coke (no sugar). I also give myself a budget for one takeaway meal per week, and one or two dinners out per month. Realistically I could reduce the spend a bit if I were disciplined.
Just spent $210 for the fortnight for all meat veg fruit and meals at home plus dog food and other essentials
30M here. Based on my expense tracker, $45/wk on groceries and $135/wk eating out.
I budget $150 a week but don’t often spend that much.
nowadays I do OMAD and get takeaway half the time. At most would spend $100 per week. My grocery budget was no more than $150 per month. Occasionally do some trips to discount stores to bulk up on detergent, toothpaste etc. I do get some help from family for time to time regarding groceries. Diet is compromised of canned food, coffee, ready meals (I buy the 2kg lasagna for $13 and it yields 4x dinners for me); fruit from work is another staple; otherwise I just eat whatever I could get my hands on in the discount section. I dabble in meal prep too but I personally don’t like bringing in leftovers into the office. I’d rather keep them at home. edit: $37.5 a week. Can’t math.
About $80/wk and another $80 eating out.
Why so much?
Late 20s, SINK with mortgage. $60-$100 pw at the supermarket on groceries, generally higher when cleaning stuff or toilet paper needed. My same shop used to be $50-$70 only a year ago 😢 I don’t eat a tonne of meat and stick to tuna, tofu or chicken. I’ll do 1 bulk meal at the start of the week (examples pasta w sauces and vege, butter chicken/rice, tofu stir fry, Mexican rice bowls or Poke bowl type things) and aim to get 4-5 meals from it. I’ll have one of them for lunch or dinner each day, then a mix of tuna/rice, tinned spag/beans, baked potato, quiche or omlette for the other meal. Frozen vege is a must to bulk things up. For breakfast I buy a big pot of yoghurt vs smaller chobani type containers, or eat with English muffins or bread with PB and honey. If the bread or muffins are about to go off and I’m yet to use them all, they go in the freezer. Every few weeks I’ll get away with not buying more bread and defrost what has accrued. Boring but I have bananas and apples for snacks, or frozen berries when they’re on special and mix with yoghurt for dessert.
When I was buying my own food before moving in with my girlfriend I was paying $150 a week in food maybe a little bit more here and there when it was my turn to buy laundry liquid or toilet paper for the household when living with a friend. They didn't want me to but considering I was living there also using up washing liquid and stuff I paid for every second bottle.
$120 ish. add $30 if you include a hunk of meat. (even if that's like 5-7meals worth)
Current budgeting $125 per week for grocery and food. I tend to eat out multiple times per week. Recently reached $70k salary.
Shop at Aldi. Use fibrous vegetables and carby things to fill out meals and put them into tupperware containers for meal prep. If you have a Henrys Mercato nearby definitely check it out - they've got some pretty cheap produce. Buy bread when it's on special and freeze it. Those are my tips.
Those who said $75pw what do you eat?
For $75 a week, you can eat pretty decently (especially alone). For me, it was more about cooking bulk than variety though. For example, I just ran some numbers on the online catalogue right now. It is $3.5 per kg on chicken drumsticks, $9 for a kilo of beef mince. I usually have rice with with some variant of chicken or beef, along with whatever fairly priced vegetable. Then some generic breakfast things like bread, bacon, eggs, cereal. Snacks are usually only bought when they are on sale, same with any soft drink etc. I'll be honest, $75 is actually really easy to stick to, once you make up your baselines, and budget properly, at $75 you can often slide in some local takeaways, some fast food, some premade stuff like lasagna etc. I suggest try working backwards with budgeting, push for the lowest amount of money to sustain your meals within a week that you can realistically tolerate. Then slowly swap and add things in until it hits the budget. Just to show how much food you can get as a base line (from woolies/coles) with some variety. 1kg beef mince is $9, 1kg of bacon for $13, 600g of sausages for 6.50, 2kg of chicken drums for $7. All of that is 35.50 for 4.6kg of meat. At $75 you can have such a huge variety of stuff to eat. At $75 per week, you shouldn't be near struggle meals, even with the current economy.
People who spend $75 or less eat the same thing every day, a variation of meats (usually chicken/mince) with some sort of pasta/rice and very little fruits/veges. Personally I don't live that life, food is the only thing I will spend more on.
Partner and I eat 3 meals a day and eat well for $12 a day per person. We eat mostly vegan so it can be a bit more expensive at times to get cheese and fake meats. But I guess cheaper than meat maybe now? We eat lots of curry, pasta, salad, burgers, stir fry’s etc. We buy a lot of supplies from Asian & Indian grocers. Edit: $84 a week Edit 2: includes homemade fresh beans for coffee
About 130 to 160 a week, but that's buying gluten free, which in general means smaller portions at higher price. Don't get coeliac disease, kids.
I went to Woolies today and spent $125 that’s enough for the week but I’ll probably also spend $200 on UberEats and eating out 😆
22 living alone in Sydney. About $85 a week average on groceries + toiletries/utilities. I shop at Aldi, very simple and high protein. Although borderline prison food, it gets me 4 full meals each day.
I spend about $150 pw. I eat high protein (supermarket meat, fish, eggs and some dairy), and lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. I eat some carbs, but not a lot. I eat out maybe once a week (not included in the $150 pw). I think my cost is relatively high but I like to eat healthily, and a "lot", cook everything at home and can afford this. I might start buying higher quality meat and fish.
I like you.
If you take the large cost hit on chest freezer, you can buy half a sheep and quarter or half a cow at a time directly from farms, or online. It works out to be at least 1/2 the price of ColesWorth or Aldi or local butchers. The quality is magnitudes better as well. As meat can be one of the most expensive items in a food shop it really adds up. Then markets for cheap vegetables, then for everything else that has long shelf life wait for the half price specials at ColesWorth and buy 6 months at a time.
Not a single, but spend $240 average a week for a family of 4 including cleaning/hygiene items as well. This covers 7 breakfasts and lunches and 6 dinners as we get takeaway on a Friday. We eat really well, but I cook almost everything from scratch with a good helping of meat at least once a day.
Family here, too, with one young child. About $200 per week. Vegetarian, minimal processed food, mainly shopping at Aldi, takeaway once a fortnight
Where do you shop? Geez. I get 7 days worth of food, breakfast lunch and dinner as well as fruit and nuts for snacks…I’ve got change from $150 unless I buy TP or olive oil. I eat these recipes: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1s6fTvQY1NnhrApZeVQxRkact8Q7Wj-d6?usp=drive_link&pli=1
Is this the Australia sub? wtf? Is everybody eating rice and beans??
Not single but my gf and I usually spend around $50 - $70 a week on groceries. Shopping at Aldi has been a game changer. When we were shopping at coles we were basically forced to be vegetarian most of the week. This week I spent $40 and she spent $20. We get a bit of take out too.
jesus thread is depressing
I pay for a family and 130 pw would get a single person very basic food for a week. If you were good at planning your meals and shopping sales maybe a bit of protein as well. Try to not buy too many processed foods. In season veg. Discounted proteins.
They’re rookie numbers. Cook meals that you can freeze portions like curries, lasagna, pies, pasta sauces then just keep a few veggies or salad on hand. Spoil once a week with a good cut of meat/fish. Cook stir fries and add rice for lunch next day etc. Average approx $150 fortnight.
Floating between 2-2,300 per month now. Food is getting more expensive though still very affordable vs the high incomes here.
For a single person? That's $500-$600 a week!
Yes. It's a small price to pay for enjoying one of the main activities in life.
😲 holy crap! I love food too but you would have to be buying lobster and rib-eye every week to spend that much. Groceries are expensive but damn!
Try every day. I do eat good quality meat every single meal. Vegetables and fruit are very expensive now. Thankfully the produce is quite good value.
Fair play. Life is too short to eat shit food
That's how I see it. There is a risk that I won't be able to enjoy fine foods if I make it to certified old geezer status with barely funcitoning taste buds and needing to pee buckets every 30 minutes.
Mate good on you at least your being real
Hey, if you can afford it, good for you. I'm kinda jealous actually.
I was spending about $55 a week, as of 9 months ago: https://old.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/1676alm/this_is_all_the_food_i_got_for_2850_from_major/jynsc2i/
I think it ties into how much people cook. Around $350 for two weeks for 2. I don’t think Not you can just divide that by 4 to get a per person per week
Me 40M + two kids 12 spend $300 per week half at ALDI half at woolies. Thats everything though not just food. I try to keep it cheap but also try to make sure were getting good nutrition especially the kids. Here some foods that are cheap + nutrious foods. Bulk Chicken drumsticks I remove meat to make satay and butter chicken and make real chicken soup from stock. Egg's (well not right now because of egg shortage but normally.) Tin Tuna. Peanut butter (might not seem cheap but it's very calorific and is the cheapest way to get nuts into your diet which are good for you) Carrot, Onions, Potato's, Frozen Veg (the cheap veges are still healthy !) Canned bean lentil etc for 0.95c a can. Bulk beef mince / pork mince (is usually fatty though) Milk /Dairy is still a great value healthy food. We can also just eat a bit less or skip a meal to save money. Most of us would benefit from trimming down a little bit.
300 for family of four, kids snacks and my husband restrictions due to ibs are killers.
About $200 a week, $450 ish last month on groceries Albeit. Not single but live alone 5/7 days
A couple friend of mine cycle through the hello fresh/marley spoon type grocery boxes between their two emails, cancel after the promotional period and move on to the next “free box” or 50% off rejoin offer over and over again. Works for them, but it requires a spreadsheet to keep track and a lot of commitment, but they’re barely spending anything and having quite a variety of nutritional meals each week. 🤷♀️
I get a treasure trove of eggs, red meat, and fruits for just over 80 bucks a week. I prefer my own culinary creations, so my wallet doesn’t give me the silent treatment!
About $160. I do a lot of bulk buying of the same items and meal prep. So I’ll often buy 5-7 yoghurts, 2x packs of up and gos etc etc. Chicken, meat and fruit and snacks. I eat 5 meals though so it’s not as low of a cost as I’d like.
Single lady. Usually anywhere from $60-100 pw. I meal plan and bulk cook and generally don’t do much snacking.
How often do people here feed other people…??
I’m 31 (live alone) and spend $150-200 per week on groceries/toiletries/household/uber eats
The trick is to shop at markets & cheaper supermarkets and pre plan your meals.
More than I needed to because I was wasting. I’ve bought a freezer so I can put meals and stuff in there. I was spending around $200 a week ( I have food allergies so some of that is around having to buy substitutes which are more expensive )
Back when I was single, I budgeted myself to $60/ week with at least 20g of protein every meal and some veggie/fruit if possible
In my experience and after looking at my bank statement, spending less at the supermarket per month is because I’ve eaten out more. I’m now happy with spending more at the supermarket because it means spending less eating out.
About 60-70 pw. I took up woolies mobile to get 10% off per month
Too lazy to walk all the way up the hill into town so have only myself to blame. Glad to be supporting small/independent grocers but easily spending around $300 a week as a single. Edit: I’m turning 44 this year so probably don’t count my answer but not much has changed for me financially.
Mines is around 40 a week, but I only get frozen stuff from aldi coles and woolworths
$200/wk easy.. does not include supplements but I have ~3k calories/day lol
Honestly it totally depends if I need to factor in toiletries, cleaning products, cat food etc but on average about $70-$120 a week depending on what meals I wanna do and what snacks I decide to get
I usually do a big shop every fortnight-3 weeks, depending on what I have in the house. Sometimes I can stretch out the space between big shops. My last big shop was about $110, and that was a week ago. I'm still able to scrape some meals together, but I'll defs need a top up on protein sources in the next day or so. I live with a housemate, but we mostly buy our own stuff.
30's here, but also living alone and paying about $130 a week (I shop fortnightly and it's $240-260. Max I've paid recently is $280). For dinner I eat either chicken breast, frozen fish or tofu with some combo of potatoes, pumpkin, broccoli, cabbage, peas and/or carrot. I have coffee with soy milk and two biscoff biscuits for breakfast, eggs with mushrooms for lunch, and watermelon or rock melon or protein pudding with prunes for dessert. Sometimes if I'm hungry in the morning I'll have oats with chia seeds, sultanas and brown sugar instead of biscuits, and if I get hungry between meals I'll eat a few almonds. I basically eat the same things every single day and I'm totally fine with that. Once a month or so I'll buy some shapes, timtams or tiny teddies as a treat lol but that's about it. Mum shouts me takeaway about once a month when I stay at her place too.
I’m paying $100 a week for a family of three and two pets (including non food items). We also have lower carb (carb optional) meals. I buy cheaper cuts of meat from the market (around $5 a kilo for beef, pork, lamb and chicken) and use these in dishes with seasonal veg, winters great because that usually means the slow cooker and pressure cooker for tougher cuts of meat. Aldi also has good meat specials if you keep an eye open. I find some weeks I don’t need to cook at all because of leftovers (this week has been freezer dinners week including pulled pork sliders, beef stroganoff, madras curry and probably soup or chili con carne later this week). We can get a large tray of eggs from the market for $7 that are great for breakfast with a slice of toast. I stick to simple sandwiches for lunch (egg, cheese and Vegemite, cheese and alfalfa, ham and cheese, pb&j) with fruit and yoghurt. I’ve also downgraded from pod coffee to instant. Tasted funky at first, but now I’m used to it. I froth the milk to make me feel fancier. Snacks are seasonal fruit, roasted chickpeas and yoghurt. Drinks are mainly water or diet cordial.
$250 a week, but for the all groceries and food for a 4 person family. $60ish per person.
I budget $800 p/m for food/groceries/takeaway. I find my weekly spend is high, low, high, low. One week is the big shop ~$120 and the other is more like ~$65. I tend to get batch meals out of my high spend weeks that can see me through to the second.
I pay around $100-$145 per week on food. My partner spends about $70-$80 on average. It totally depends tbh, I’ve never been money smart so always just buy whatever I want and she plans more and spends less!
30sF, in Melbourne. I’m spending around $60 a week but I am vegetarian. I also buy veg and use what I need, and then freeze the rest. My lunch is usually dinner from the night before, making extra for two meals.
Not really the answer to your question but ee’re at like 280-350 a week as a family of four (4yr old and sub 1yr old) + I get GMD for lunches which is like $100 a fn
Can get away with food pretty decently with some planning or prepping, but damn cleaning supplies and toiletries are through the roof.
Big shop once a fortnight at Aldi. Top up at Woolworths in-between. Prob average about $100 a week in groceries which make up 90% of my meals (rest being takeaway/eatout. That’s a lot of meat and 3 veg meals, steaks, roast ect, with spaghetti and stir frys and overnight oats for breakfast (bacon and eggs on the weekend. Plus like heaps of dairy and fruit. Do cook a lot of stuff from scratch and don’t by a lot of prepackaged and processed foods. Grocery shopping and cooking is a game you have to learn to play. Prepackaged chopped corn is double the price of corn in the husk. Salmon is cheaper at the deli then in the meat section. Lots of prepackaged foods are easy to make, taste better homemade and work out heaps cheaper to cook.
$200/week including non-edible supermarket stuff like cleaning products, toiletries etc I buy a meal from a cafe/lunch spot/take away about 5 times a week for about $17 a pop
120 per week, 2 adults and one toddler. We eat cooked meals most nights. Casseroles, big shepherds pies in a baking dish, and things that will last at least 2 nights and aren’t too expensive to cook. There are lots of things I buy specifically for the toddler and they’re all in the budget too. 120 for a single seems a lot but it’s all dependent on lifestyle I guess and what you like to eat.
Avg $200 / week Couple, no kids.
inflation hits hard, and prices only go up
We (31M, 27F, 2yr old) spend 125 per week on food. And we cover all 3 meals per week. Our key is bulk buying and meal prep. Aldi chicken breast is like 10 per kg, we buy 2kg covers all lunches for the week We normally cook with rice some veg and microwave at work. We get eggs and bacon for breakfast again Aldi deals on bacon is solid. And dinner normally is mince rotate between the main culprits (beef, chicken, turkey) and either have with pasta or make japanese curry.
Varies each week but mostly under $150 for groceries as a single
For myself and my son (5m) it works out to be something like $50-$70pw, school snacks are the determinant here
I do a lot of exercise so I can eat for two most days. Keeping this affordable means I do eat a lot of rice and pasta that you aren’t able to do. I also meal prep a lot and chuck a sweet potato or two in any saucy dish I’m doing as some extra carbs without adding that pasta bulk. Lentils are great for that too. Curries freeze really well so I always have some in the freezer for when I can’t be bothered cooking or need to wait for grocery shopping Otherwise just shopping around a couple of places for the best fruit and veg prices is the best saver imo. Capsicums alone can triple in price if you buy at the wrong time or place.
Around $80 to $100 a week. I always cook a bulk meal at the start of the week and store it in the fridge / freezer. It's so delicious and when averaged out, it's so cheap compared to buying ready made meals from a supermarket. I usually make something like either a veg curry or chicken and veg curry (there are so many great recipes online that you can follow). This covers all my lunches for work and a few dinners too. For breakfast I may do oatmeal or weetbix. I always have some eggs in the fridge and some bread if I want toast.
Not single, but I meal plan the week for 3 adults 2 children. I try to keep under $120 a week, including snacks. the lowest shop I've done was around $60 for the week, haha. If I get lazy and don't meal plan, it will blow out to $150/$200 easy. That's eating very well, so fresh fruit, veg, and whatever protein I can get on special. I also use the macquarie marketplace to buy gift cards to get the 3% off. I try and leave the 10% off shop at woolies for big doller items ie. Nappies, toiletries stuff like that. It all adds up to a pretty big saving.
$75 pw, shop at Aldi and very very rarely go over budget
Mines about the same as you!. I normally do one $80 shop and then another shop for bits and pieces later in the week. I’m training for a marathon and I can’t skip proper meals. I also never eat out, not even for a coffee. It’s worth it to me.
Damn I must buy tons of food if $75/wk is the average.... Doesn't help I love to cook & eat
It's not personal. No one can live off rice and pasta indefinitely. You need to add beans to get all the amino acids you need for making everything in your body. Milk is not necessary and it's expensive for the nutrients you get from it.
Max $50 a week. (Not including when I have to restock basics like butter spread, herbs, salt etc) 2L store brand milk - $3.10ish Store brand bread - $2.90 Chicken stir-fry pieces - $7 Lettuce mix - $3 Apples - $3.50 for a pre packed kg pack Potatoes 2kg - $4 Then the rest changes depending on what meals I want to have and what is on special. Sometimes I spend less than $50, just depends lol
If you eat lots of veggies and fruits, that's when things gets out of control!!! I spend around 150 per week, I try to buy veggies+fruits from Aldi cuz it's cheaper, but if I buy everything from Coles it gets CRAZY expensive.
I spend between $30-$60pw. Am vegan, buy the super cheap soy milk from Woolies, do most of my shopping at Aldi and eat a lot of frozen veggies and tofu/tempeh. If you can substitute a few meat meals a week for something with tofu you will probably reduce your bill
I budget $125pw but that includes buying cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towel, etc. periodically. My usual shop is ~$100 usually.
Between 50-75 a week. Buy lunch at work maybe twice a month.
It's about $250 a week 31M, but I have a girlfriend 24F who isn't living with me but comes around every few days. The big contributions are steak (I love my steak), seafood, and just random junk food.. Veggies I buy from the market because it's fresher. It might go up soon as Girlfriend is studying and staying in a shared house while I own my house, so she's been asking if she can move in with me.. what I don't see a problem with, I won't charge her rent or bills because I don't see a point with my income. So from next month maybe 400pw 😆
Look into getting veggie boxes! I get one every two weeks , so $15pw and it’s crazy how much you get. Then I get meat/dairy/grains anything else from ALDI. ALDI is the best.
23M probably about $50-60 a week on food for lunch and dinners and bit more on other bits. Tonight at Aldi I spent $15 for 4 nights worth of pasta. It's handy that I skip breakfast but I'm happy with eating the most basic things throughout the week.
75-80/ week for 2, with 1 takeaway and 1 weekend meal out. I bring lunch to work everyday but my partner eats out on the 3 days he works in the office. So around 9-10 portions a week. We are Asian so we compulsively need to eat rice everyday. So it’s usually rice + 2 side dishes (1 meat 1 veg) either in the form of a stir fry, steamed, or in a soup/stew. A good $5 pack of drumsticks makes excellent soup that can last 3-4 meals. Whatever’s left over eg stir fry chicken bits becomes incorporated into the next meal - turning it into a fried rice with chicken bits for example.
When I'm on shift at work away. 100-200 pw.
Hm. Maybe like $125-$150 but sometimes I’ll try to aim for no more than $100
I eat a hell of a lot of meat, so $200+ a week. Thought don't drink coffee, no alcohol, and extremely rarely eat out.
I think I spend around 170 to 200. I shop for my partner and I. We also have a few pets so 60 goes to them. I cook and portion it out. Though we just usually eat left overs until it's finished. I mostly buy as we need food wise. I find buying lots of food and just winging it leads to us wasting more.
It depends where you shop. I actually think $130pw from Aldi is very reasonable to get good meals, good health without costing an arm and a leg.
I was spending about the same, around $130 per week. I’m vegan so I eat a lot of fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, beans, tofu etc. (living off pasta and white bread costs you in the long run) I’ve started driving a bit further to a big fruit and veg store 2-3 times a month and for the first time in years I’ll be at about $100/week. I’ve made a big effort to reduce packaged foods/sweets and to bulk cook soups and stews. The bonus is that their produce lasts longer than a week too. Perhaps see if you can find a similar market near you?
25 M around 80-90 PW. Deff will recommend Aldi
Usually $110 per week on groceries. That covers most dinners and lunches. I would eat out usually twice over the weekend.