Mums share the grocery items they no longer buy and cheaper alternatives

Savvy Aussie shoppers have shared their cost-cutting alternatives to meat, cheese, snacks, convenience foods and cleaning products. 🙌

The cost-of-living crisis is hanging around like that bad smell from your teenager’s bedroom. 

Like the stench, we can’t exactly pinpoint when it started (it was a gradual build-up) and secondly, it. just. won’t. go. away.

So mum’s are banding together to navigate the increasingly expensive supermarket aisles and sharing their savvy tips and tricks.

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Looks like we're all in the same boat

A recent post in the Mums on a Budget Facebook Group sparked a conversation around the grocery items people have given up on buying and the cost-effective alternatives they’re replacing them with.

Mum Raelene wrote: “I’m just nosey 😂. What’s one household grocery item you’ve given up buying now because of the price increases?”

She then shared, “For me, I’m in Woolies and can’t justify $6 for a bag of chips.”

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Her seemingly simple query struck a chord with mums everywhere, who found comfort in knowing others were having the same struggles and making similar sacrifices. 

Once the floodgates opened, the post racked up over 400 likes and 1.1k comments. 

Image: Woolworths

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Convenience foods get the axe

Many agreed with Raelene about no longer buying chips, especially the bulk variety packs.

“Yep, chips. I get the cheap ones and separate them into ziplock bags. So much cheaper,” one user agreed.

Another chimed in, saying, “The price of frozen pizzas makes no sense anymore. They used to be an easy meal on busy nights but you can get Dominoes for the same price.”

Then another contributed, “Pre-marinated anything, chicken, kebabs etc. Just marinate them yourself.” 

Another mum is also ditching convenience foods like taco kits, saying, “I refuse to get them. I buy the home brand taco spice and salsa instead and then just use Woolies wraps or corn chips.”

“Frozen chips, you can just buy a bag of potatoes and learn to make your own ones. They taste so much better than the frozen ones anyway,” concluded another. 

Image: Woolworths

People are going without dairy and meat

While this this user said: “Babybel! Costco has them much cheaper.”

Lots of people are also switching from shredded cheese to block cheese (and grating it themself) and from regular milk to UHT milk.

Butter is another dairy product getting the axe from trollies, with many saying they’ve now switched to margarine.

And this woman expressed, “Fresh berries are now frozen berries. I get 500g from $5.60 from ALDI and it lasts us a fortnight.”

“Steak, lamb chops and anything lamb. I stock up when the half price specials are on,” one user shared. 

And another mum even said her family are currently vegetarian to cope with the rising costs of meat. 

Then this helpful group member revealed that you can buy meat directly from a local abattoir and it’s “way cheaper and tastes better!”

Image: Woolworths

Say goodbye to snacks and treats

“I don't buy cookies or snacks anymore,” said a different group member. “I buy flour, sugar, vanilla extract, baking chocolate and bake my own goodies.”

Other people also shared their go-to cost-cutting tips for snacks, with one saying, “Goodbye muesli bars, Up & Go’s and LCMs. We're back to carrots, home brand rice crackers and rice cakes, fruit and corn cobs.”

“Those small chocolate custards. I’ve tried to make them at home and put them in those resealable pouches,” read another mum's comment. 

“Soft drink cans have been replaced with making homemade kombucha,” shared someone else. 

“Fancy muesli is now Weetbix,” added another, while a different person replied saying that they no longer buy expensive breakfast cereal either. “Toast, leftovers, crumpets, smoothies, bacon and eggs and yoghurt are all better and cheaper.”

Image: Woolworths

Clever hacks for cleaning items

“OMO and Finish dishwashing tablets. I get mine from Bunnings now, it’s heaps cheaper,” another user stated.

Then someone replied to that saying, “There’s a website called Super Savvy Savers based in NSW. I get 100 Finish Ultimate Pro for $34.99.”

Another shared, “Shampoo/conditioner. I’m seriously considering looking into making my own.”

“Cleaning products… I’ve been making these ‘cleaning bombs’ myself and it’s amazing how clean things are,” a different user commented. 

“I buy one litre of hand wash refill instead of body wash. It’s $4 difference,” one user pointed out.

And then someone finally concluded, “I gave up Woolies.”

This article was originally published in June 2023 and was updated in April 2024.

Originally published as Mums share the grocery items they no longer buy and cheaper alternatives