Having a baby can put a financial strain on any relationship. Which is why one young Australian couple had a novel idea to help them to save money when they moved out to the country to have their first child.
Caity Fitzgerald, 26, and her husband, Chris, 30, made an active decision to cut their monthly grocery bill when they re-located from the city to Mary Valley in rural Queensland.
Since then, they have sliced their monthly food outgoings in half, and moved from AUD $500 to $250 a month.
Here, Ms Fitzgerald shares her top tips for saving money on your grocery bill with FEMAIL.
From cutting down on meat consumption to filling up your freezer and writing lists of what you need to buy and eat for the next fortnight, many are achievable.
Caity Fitzgerald, 26, and her husband, Chris, 30, made an active decision to cut their monthly grocery bill in half when they re-located from the city to Mary Valley in rural Queensland (pictured with their child)
Here, Ms Fitzgerald shares her top tips for saving money on your grocery bill with FEMAIL; these include shopping at fruit and veg shops and stocking up your pantry (stock image)
For Ms Fitzgerald, the need to cut the family grocery bill came about when she and her partner decided to relocate, and she gave up her job.
‘We decided long ago that we wanted to create the freedom for me to be a stay-at-home mum with our kids,’ the mother-of-one told Daily Mail Australia.
‘And so, while we didn’t set out intentionally to half our bill, we did make some cutbacks.’
The young couple first of all started ‘to grow our basic food needs – such as lettuce, cabbage, shallots, broccolini, cauliflower, spinach, kale and herbs’.
Then, the young mother opted for ‘local farmer’s markets or old-school fruit and veg stores for whatever we don’t grow’:
‘I buy things that are fresh and in season as they’re usually the cheapest way to go,’ she added.
For Ms Fitzgerald (pictured), the need to cut the family grocery bill came about when she and her partner decided to relocate, and she gave up her job to stay at home with their baby
The young couple first of all started ‘to grow our basic food needs – such as lettuce, cabbage, shallots, broccolini, cauliflower, spinach, kale and herbs’ (stock image)
Next, the thrifty mother started planning her family’s meals on a fortnightly basis ‘based on what produce we have’:
‘I write lists of what we will eat, and then a list of ingredients we need to buy,’ she added.
Speaking about further cost-cutting measures she has taken since moving to a rural location and giving up her job, Ms Fitzgerald said it’s all about buying fresh food, rather than things from a package:
‘It’s much cheaper to buy what I need to make three curry sauces than it is to buy one jar or sauce,’ she said.
The young couple have also forgone meat, as well:
‘We find this saves us a heap on our food shops and we don’t really miss it most of the time,’ she said.
‘I find ways to create interesting meals and now, our friends and family don’t notice at first that meat is missing from the meal.’
Next, the thrifty mother started planning her family’s meals on a fortnightly basis ‘based on what produce we have’ (pictured: their home setup)
The young couple (pictured) have also forgone meat – and instead find ways to cook interesting meals from scratch
For those living in the city, but who want to take a few of the 26-year-old’s ideas on board, Ms Fitzgerald recommends buying in bulk – she stocks up on on-sale items (stock image)
For those living in the city, but who want to take a few of the 26-year-old’s ideas on board, Ms Fitzgerald recommends buying in bulk:
‘I always stock up on produce when it’s on sale,’ she told FEMAIL. ‘I’ll chop it up and stash it in the freezer to cook with at a later date. I even have what I call basil bombs from when our basil was going nuts in the garden.
‘I blended it up with some olive oil, poured the mix into pattycake cases and popped them into the freezer.’
Ms Fitzgerald also said you need to get organised. ‘Don’t just rock up to the supermarket and wing it entirely,’ she said.
Next, you need to ‘have a well-stocked pantry’:
‘This saves me a lot and helps me to avoid mid-week trips to convenience stores. Some fortnights, I’ll spend a fair bit on stocking up, but then other fortnights I need hardly anything. I feel it balances itself out,’ she said.
Ms Fitzgerald also swears by a well-stocked pantry and getting organised with your shopping lists (stock image)
The knock-on effects for Mr (pictured with their child) and Mrs Fitzgerald that come with halving their grocery bill are far greater than having more money – they are less stressed
The knock-on effects for Mr and Mrs Fitzgerald that come with halving their grocery bill are far greater than simply having more money:
‘We are less stressed about finances, we eat better than ever and are healthier,’ she said.
‘We eat dinner out very, very rarely. We would much rather a coffee and bakery treat on our way to the weekend markets.’
She also said that most of what they eat now if ‘food from scratch’:
‘I don’t really buy pre-packaged foods like frozen meals, jar sauces and packet mixes anymore,’ she said.
To read Caity Fitzgerald’s blog about moving to the country and saving money, please click here.