Finance expert Queenie Tan shares her budgeting tips for saving money when shopping

A financial expert has revealed the top three tips and tricks she uses to save money when shopping. 

Queenie Tan, from Sydney, said before she buys something she makes sure to consider the cost per wear, sleep on it and use a cashback reward system. 

The 25-year-old shared the hacks in a video posted to TikTok where she has gained a loyal following for her money-saving budget advice. 

Firstly, Queenie considers the cost per wear before purchasing clothing, shoes or accessories. 

‘Cost per wear is the cost divided by how many times I think I’ll wear something,’ she explained. 

‘So if I buy a pair of shoes for $150 but I wear those shoes 100 times, the cost per wear would be $1.50.’

Queenie said she sleeps on her decision to buy something so she knows she’s sure she really does want to the purchase it. 

Firstly, Queenie considers the cost per wear before purchasing wearable items. ‘Cost per wear is the cost divided by how many times I think I’ll wear something,’ she explained

Queenie said she always ‘sleeps on’ a decision to buy something so she knows she’s sure and uses a cashback reward system to get money back on her purchases 

‘Finally I use Cashrewards when I shop online so I can get cash back on my purchases,’ she said. 

Cashrewards is a program that gives Australian shoppers a portion of the money they spent back when they buy something online or in-store at hundreds of selected retailers. 

The video has been seen more than 22,000 times as many viewers were thankful for Queenie’s ‘smart’ tips. 

This isn’t the first time the keen saver has offered her expert financial advice. 

In a previous video, Queenie shared exactly what you need to look out for in Coles to save money on your grocery shopping, and the tricks that keep her supermarket bill down every week.

She religiously scans the aisles looking for ‘Dropped and Locked’ tickets, as this means the price of that particular item has been dropped and will stay at that new price until 31 January 2023.

Queenie also looks out for ‘Member Price’ tickets when she is supermarket shopping, as this means you can need to scan your Flybuys card at the checkout to get a discount.

Queenie religiously scans the aisles looking for ‘Dropped and Locked’ tickets, as this means the price of that particular item has been dropped and will stay at that new price until 31 January 2023

‘Member pricing is available until November 29,’ Queenie said in an Instagram video. 

‘Member pricing is not available at Coles Express,’ she added.

Elsewhere, the 25-year-old will always stock up on anything she likes to buy when it is half price, like oat milk – which she can keep in her cupboard at home.

When it comes to generally keeping her bill down, Queenie said she always starts with a shopping list, and she is a fan of the app ‘Any List’.

Elsewhere, she will always stock up on anything she likes to buy when it is half price, like oat milk – which she can keep in her cupboard at home (pictured)

‘I used to use iPhone notes but it was pretty hard to edit and it didn’t properly sync with my boyfriend’s phone,’ Queenie said. 

‘With Any List I can import recipes from my favourite food blogs and I can plan out what I’m going to eat for the week.’ 

After creating the shopping list, she picks which store she prefers to buy the different ingredients from to save money.

Queenie Tan’s budget supermarket shopping secrets revealed

1. Create a list: Queenie swears by the ‘Any List’ app as you can import recipes from your favourite food blogs and websites in order to plan out what you’re going to eat for the week.

Queenie (pictured) always makes a list before she goes shopping, and scans her fridge and pantry 

2. Shop at different places: The 25-year-old loves to visit different supermarkets for different things. For example, she gets her everyday essentials from Aldi and then goes to Asian grocers or Indian shops if she wants Indian. Queenie said it’s cheaper this way.

3. Get spices from the international aisle: Queenie said getting your spices from the Indian section is 2.5 times cheaper than the curry powder in the spices section.

4. Consider the shelf life of items: When you’re shopping, it’s important to think about the shelf life of items and whether tinned items might be a better idea. Queenie also likes to buy bigger items of things that store well to save money, like honey – which she always buys in a big container.

5. Buy sale items in bulk: One of the easiest ways to reduce how much you spend on groceries is to buy sale items in bulk. You can try using an app called ‘Half Price’, which will show you everything that is half price in Coles and Woolworths.

Source: Queenie Tan 

For instance, Queenie likes to get her everyday essentials from Aldi and then her spices from the international aisle at Woolworths or Coles.

‘If I want to buy fruits and vegetables I usually go to a fruit and veggie shop. Some things can be cheaper, for example avocados, and sometimes there’s a wider variety of products,’ Queenie said. 

‘If I want Asian food, I try to shop at an Asian grocer.’ 

Finally, Queenie said one of the easiest ways to reduce how much you spend on groceries is to buy sale items in bulk.

‘When supermarkets have sales on items that I’m purchasing frequently I like to buy those in bulk, for example almond milk was half price the other day so I bought 10 bottles,’ Queenie said.

‘A good way to plan your trip is to check out this app called the “Half Price” app, which can show you the groceries that are half priced at Coles and Woolworths.’