HOMEResource CentreTip SheetsCategory Tip SheetsBalancing nutrition and savings

Balancing nutrition and savings

The cost of groceries is rising quickly, but you can still make healthy eating choices without breaking the bank.

With a little planning, some savvy shopping tips, and some creativity in the kitchen, you can eat nutritious food on a budget.

40% of Australians rank groceries as one of their top three most stressful expenses. This is up from 34 percent in May 2022.

Try these tips to keep your spending in check while eating a healthy diet

Before you go shopping:

Plan before you shop – planning your meals out for the week helps you to keep organised and will help you avoid over-shopping.
Don’t shop on an empty stomach – you are more likely to buy food you don’t need.
Find out when your local supermarket marks their products down before restocking – most supermarkets significantly mark down perishable items an hour or so before closing or the day before they restock, so you can get some great bargains.

At the shops:

Shop at discount or bulk food stores or try your local farmers markets – these often have much lower prices than the major supermarkets.
Buy frozen produce – it keeps for much longer, is often cheaper than fresh alternatives, and the nutritional value is much the same.
Opt for fruits and vegetables that are in season or frozen – out of season produce isn’t grown locally so comes with a higher import price.
Look at the overall cost or price per gram – if the item is something that you eat a lot, or is non-perishable, consider buying it in higher quantities which is usually cheaper overall.
Choose the home brand option – it’s often cheaper and minimally different from its name brand counterpart.
Don’t go for convenience foods that have been prepared for you – for example, sliced cheese is about double the price gram for gram as a whole block, just because the cheese has already been cut. Instead, buy the block of cheese and cut it yourself at home. The same goes for bags of chopped vegetables, pre-cut fruit and even meat prepared by the butcher.
Most supermarkets have weekly specials and you can sign up for emails so you know about them in advance and can incorporate them into your meal planning.
Look for imperfect produce – supermarkets have strict rules on the colour, shape, and size their fruits and vegetables need to be which unfortunately creates a lot of waste. Some supermarkets are selling the imperfect produce (that tastes the same!) at a lower cost.

At home:

Make your protein go further buy adding a tin of lentils or beans to minced meat – canned legumes are high in nutritional value, cheap to buy and store for long periods of time.
Drink water instead of fruit juice, cordial or soft drink – Australia has some of the cleanest tap water in the world and it’s free!
Save your food scraps and look online for inspiration to give them a second life – for example, potato skins can be roasted to make chips, your chicken bones can be used to make stock, banana peels have amazing nutrients for your plants, stale bread can be used to make pudding.
Keep your leftovers – freeze them to have as a quick meal at a later date or repurpose them into a new meal the next day.
Grow your own produce – this won’t give you immediate savings, but in the long run you can save money and enjoy a new hobby. Lots of fruits, vegetables, and herbs grow well in pots and can even be grown from food scraps.

Download tip sheet as a PDF