Seasonal

Living off one income has it's challenges, but by thinking carefully about what we buy, sticking to seasonal produce and putting a little time and effort into making plenty of homemade food and cleaning products we save heaps of money at the supermarket.

I was talking to a lady at our local farm supply shop yesterday (while I brought chicken food) about how I only go to the supermarket once a month with a budget of $360 dollars for a family of 4 (that's $90 a week) and a weekly fruit and vege shop which averages at $30 dollars.  She was amazed and couldn't understand how we get by on so little.  We don't just 'get by' though, we eat varied and interesting meals, which change with the seasons.

Eating seasonal is very important if you want to cut down on your shopping bills - heck, we never have capsicum when it's out of season - why would you?  They cost up to 5 dollars each in winter, which is madness, that same $5 can buy you something like 4 heads of broccoli, or 2 or 3 big pumpkins, or a truck load of carrots, even a fortnights worth of onions and potatoes!
The same goes for fruit, in season and fresh is always best, and cheaper - so don't buy sad looking oranges that have spent goodness knows how long shipping over from the US, grab a bag of fresh, kiwi grown pears, apples or kiwifruit for nearly half the price.

I generally stick to produce that is under $4 a kilo - so tomatoes are off the table for a good part of the year.  My husband loves them on sandwiches but at nearly $2 for an average sized tomato it's just silly, so we're agreed that for something moist and juicy in his lunches over winter we opt for tinned beetroot (which we by in bulk when it's on special).  A big tin for $1.80 will last him a week - that's if the kids and I don't get into it - the bank account and Pappa Bear are happy.

Most fruit and vege shops put ads in the local rag, so look over the specials and plan your meals around the fruit and vege you can load up on for a bargain.

I have lots of other things to share with you on budgeting, but washing is waiting in the machine and dishes are calling.  So till next time, take care and start getting seasonal.