The average Australian household spends between $150 and $300 per week on groceries, depending on family size and location. Over a year, that's $8,000 to $15,000 on food alone.

With the cost of living rising, a lot of people are looking for ways to spend less at the supermarket without living on instant noodles. The good news: there are plenty of practical ways to cut your grocery bill significantly.

1. Plan Your Meals Before You Shop

This is the single most effective way to reduce grocery spending. Before you go to the shops, decide what you'll eat for the next 5 to 7 days. Write a list based on those meals and stick to it.

Meal planning prevents:

Impulse buys (the biggest source of overspending)
Buying ingredients you already have
Buying too much fresh produce that goes off

Even a rough plan saves money. You don't need a detailed spreadsheet. Just knowing "Monday: pasta, Tuesday: stir fry, Wednesday: leftovers" is enough.

2. Shop the Specials

Every week, Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi publish their specials. Plan your meals around what's on sale rather than the other way around. If chicken thighs are half price, plan a chicken dish. If pasta sauce is discounted, stock up.

The Coles and Woolworths apps show weekly specials. Spend 5 minutes checking them before you write your shopping list.

3. Buy Store Brand

Store-brand products (Coles brand, Woolworths Essentials, Aldi's house brands) are almost always cheaper than name brands. In most cases, the quality is comparable. For staples like flour, sugar, tinned tomatoes, pasta, rice, and cleaning products, there's rarely a reason to pay more for the label.

4. Buy in Bulk (Strategically)

Bulk buying saves money on non-perishable items you use regularly:

Rice, pasta, and grains
Canned goods (beans, tomatoes, tuna)
Frozen vegetables
Cleaning supplies and toiletries

Don't bulk buy perishables unless you're sure you'll use them. A 2kg bag of spinach is not a bargain if half of it goes in the bin.

5. Use Your Freezer

Freezing is the cheapest way to extend the life of food. Batch cook meals on Sunday and freeze portions for the week. Buy meat on special and freeze it immediately. Freeze bread, bananas, herbs, and leftover rice.

A well-stocked freezer means fewer emergency takeaway orders, which are always more expensive than cooking at home.

6. Reduce Meat Consumption

Meat is one of the most expensive items on any grocery list. You don't need to go vegetarian, but swapping two or three meat meals per week for plant-based alternatives saves a significant amount.

Beans, lentils, chickpeas, eggs, and tofu are all cheap, nutritious, and versatile. A lentil curry costs a fraction of a beef stew and is just as filling.

7. Stop Wasting Food

The average Australian household throws away $2,000 to $2,500 worth of food per year. That's food you've already paid for. Reducing waste is the same as reducing spending.

Check the fridge before shopping
Use leftovers for tomorrow's lunch
Understand date labels ("best before" is not "throw away after")
Freeze anything you won't eat in time

8. Rescue Surplus Food

Food rescue apps like LastBite let you buy surplus food from local bakeries, cafes, and restaurants at up to 70% off. A $5 surprise bag might contain $15 to $20 worth of bread, pastries, or prepared meals.

It's not a replacement for grocery shopping, but it's a great supplement. Picking up a few surprise bags per week can easily save $30 to $50 that you'd otherwise spend at the supermarket.

9. Grow What You Can

Even a small herb garden saves money. Fresh herbs at the supermarket cost $3 to $5 per bunch. A single basil, mint, or parsley plant costs the same and keeps producing for months. If you have a backyard, tomatoes, lettuce, and zucchini are easy to grow and produce abundantly.

10. Track Your Spending

Most people don't actually know how much they spend on groceries. Track it for a month. Use your banking app's category breakdown or keep receipts. Once you know your baseline, you can set a realistic target and measure progress.

Start Small

You don't need to adopt all 10 tips at once. Start with meal planning and checking specials. Add one new habit each week. Small, consistent changes compound into real savings over time.

Want to add food rescue to your routine? Join the LastBite waitlist and start saving on surplus food from local stores near you.

A Beginner's Guide to Reducing Your Grocery Bill in Australia