Australia’s supermum-of-16 Jeni Bonell has offered a glimpse into what it’s really like to do a grocery shop to feed her growing family.
The Queensland mother – whose kids are aged between 29 and four – goes on a massive shopping haul at least twice a week to stock up on pantry staples.
‘Let me explain how I grocery shop… I don’t shop just for the food for that week. I actually stockpile,’ she said in her new YouTube video.
To keep her costs down each week, the 49-year-old mother said she buys homebrand ingredients, stocks up on half-price products and buys meat and fresh produce in bulk.
‘So I tend to buy up whatever we need to make meals for that week to add to our supplies or if I have something that I find that’s on special or half-price or it’s a great bargain, then I will buy up on that product and we will stockpile it,’ she said.
Australia’s supermum-of-16 Jeni Bonell has offered a glimpse into what it’s really like to do a grocery shop to feed her growing family (pictured Ms Bonell on one of her many shops)
The Queensland mother – whose kids are aged between 29 and four – goes on a massive shopping haul at least twice a week to stock up on pantry staples
‘We’ve bought certain ingredients to go with certain meals that we are going to make this week – and the rest of it is basically we are just filling the cupboards back up to what fits in the pantry.’
Despite coming home after filling up two shopping trolleys to the brim, Ms Bonell said the stock would only last the family half the week.
And so she would have to return to the supermarket to purchase fresh produce such as fruits, vegetables, meat and milk in a few days time.
But in her latest shopping haul, she purchased four kilos of potatoes, two kilos of carrots and 30 chicken drumsticks.
Their weekly dinner menu includes spaghetti, apricot chicken and hot dogs.
To make spaghetti for her family’s dinner, Ms Bonell said she buys 1.5 kilos of homebrand spaghetti. For the sauce, she cooks 1.5 kilos of lean beef mince with 700 grams of homebrand pasta sauce, which she would cook with 500 grams of mushrooms.
Despite coming home after filling up two shopping trolleys to the brim, Ms Bonell said the stock would only last the family half the week
Normally the family would drink through 50 litres of milk per week, but Ms Bonell said this week, they will drink 12 three-litre bottles of milk – so about 36 litres all up
To prepare school lunchboxes for her kids, she stocked up on two kilos of apples, two bags of grapes, bananas, cheese and bacon rolls and 12-packs of sultanas.
Normally the family would drink through 50 litres of milk per week, but Ms Bonell said they are trying to cut back on the dairy.
‘We’re trying to pull back on milk for a little bit just for budget sake so [I bought] six three-litre bottles, and we’re trying to get by with just 12 three-litre of bottles per week,’ she said. This means the family is currently drinking 36 litres of milk a week.
The mother said buying one kilos worth of short cut bacon was cheaper because she can dice them up herself for meals.
‘It’ll take a little bit of time to dice it up but you can certainly save some money by buying it complete and not just diced,’ she said.
And as with every shop, Ms Bonell said she always comes back with toilet paper, in which she purchased 24 rolls.
With eggs, she usually purchases six dozens of cage-free eggs, which lasts less than a week
She always buys cheap cuts of meat such as 30 chicken drumsticks and 1.5kg mince beef
She also stocked up on mayonnaise and ranch salad dressing.
‘It’s good to have other dressings on hand too because if people don’t like the dressings in the bagged salads, you can change it out for these,’ she said.
Ms Bonell also purchased three boxes of Veet wax strips for half price.
‘When you find a product you use at half-price – it’s too good a bargain to miss. So I bought three boxes while it’s at half-price and they can just be stored away and used whenever there it’s necessary,’ she said.
‘So that’s the way you save money – by looking out for sales and stocking up when you can. There’s a lot to be said about stockpiling products, especially products that can be stored away – you can certainly save a lot of money that way.’
The total cost of her grocery bill came to $451.48 for a family of 18 – costing an average of $25.08 per person for half a week.
‘Not bad, filled two trolleys worth… now the fun job, let’s get it put away,’ she said.