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Grocery challenge, week 3

The worst thing about weekend work is trying to fit in shopping on a weekend night or rushing it before work. It’s people like me who shop on a Saturday night at 10pm from time to time. At Countdown, what’s worse. (T likes it because he’s less tempted to buy snacks there, or so he says.)

We also did a mini shop for a picnic on Friday, which didn’t really help with cost-cutting. Roast chickens were $13 each or two for $19, so we went with two and will be doing chicken lunches all week.

(I’m not sure what that weird stain is on the first docket, either… Oh, and I should probably have explained earlier that where I haven’t uploaded separate receipts for meat/produce, it’s because T went shopping while I was at work, and he never holds on to them.)

Plus $23.48 at the Aussie Butcher…and the damage comes to $132.02. Which is fine, but not for this month! Next week really needs to be bare bones – no snacks, cheap lunch ideas, as we only have $115 until we hit $500. Plus, I’m pretty sure we’re going to need dishwash soap and possibly TP.

While we’re talking food, apparently Otago University in 2009  determined a “basic” food bill for a man, woman, adolescent boy and girl, ranged from $274 a week in Auckland, to $263 in Christchurch. Add in the use of convenience and imported foods, some out-of-season fruits and vegetables, more expensive cuts of meat and some speciality foods, and that grocery bill would grow to $426 and $411.

This seems to be the original study, in which individual costs in Auckland were:

Gender Basic shop Moderate shop Liberal shop
Man $61 $79 $95 **
Woman $58 $75 $90**

*(“liberal” – ha! gotta love it! I can tell you if we threw things blindly into the trolley, it would blow out even higher than this)

Considering prices have gone up even more since then and we average around $130 a week for two, I don’t think we can save much more, realistically.

Also, I really hate clothes shopping, and tend to do it in bursts and spurts throughout the year. Last week I hit up my favourite place – Recycle Boutique – and made off with three work-appropriate tops for under $50. I figure I need 3-4 more bottoms and I’d like a couple more tops/cardigans…and I’d quite like new winter boots this year. I wonder if I can get away with maybe $300 for the year? Last year we spent less than $1000 for the both of us, INCLUDING skincare and the like…

4 thoughts on “Grocery challenge, week 3

  • Reply fabulouslyfrugirl February 23, 2011 at 15:04

    I live alone and usually spend pretty little on groceries a week. I can see how things add up when you live with someone else, though. Whenever I’m at BF’s for the weekend, we easily spend on groceries the more than I would spend for myself an entire week’s worth of groceries.

    But wowzers! $3.59 on a melon? I guess they aren’t in season, now?

  • Reply eemusings February 23, 2011 at 15:35

    Um, nope, it’s summer. They’re in season. This is what food costs here… and that’s at a cheap Asian produce shop too.

  • Reply Grocery challenge: The end! « Musings of an Abstract Aucklander February 27, 2011 at 11:41

    […] the last time, THIS IS WHAT FOOD COSTS! I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. See last post and the numbers in the Otago uni study. One commenter wondered on my last post if melons were out […]

  • Reply unknowntheartist March 2, 2011 at 17:30

    I can def concur with EE. We’re paying 6 bucks for a kilo of bananas atm and they are grown in our state in splendiferous amounts.
    OZ and NZ consumers spend more at the grocery stores than nearly everywhere in the world, not because we want to but it’s the way here. Inflation kills the local market and we end up buying imports. And spend half the paycheck on food…

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