How I save $ 4000 a year on groceries
TRAWLING the supermarket aisles looking for bargains is a waste of time for one busy cafe owner and mother of three.
Tasmanian Rachel Power saves thousands of dollars a year, along with around three days in travel time, by buying groceries online.
“I saved more than $ 4000 in a year and that’s just from groceries,” Ms Power said. “One of my favourite things is shoes … Running the cafe means a pair of shoes doesn’t last me long and I upgrade every six months.”
Ms Power lives in a remote area in Mount Field National Park; around half an hour from her nearest supermarket, which does not have everything she needs.
On top of grocery savings and the $ 600 a year on shoes, she saves an extra $ 1000 at least on petrol and car maintenance and shipping.
Ms Power shops with Catch. com. au, one of the few daily deal websites that sells groceries. “I save roughly $ 50 a week on special food alone, as one of my children has coeliac’s,” Ms Power said.
“That was how we came across Catch. Someone recommended it to me when they had a sale on glutenfree products.
“Woolworths is half an hour away, but shops with a bigger range of that food are in Hobart, over an hour away.”
Ms Power also sources local artists and suppliers for her cafe through social media and sites like Etsy, which focuses on handmade, vintage and unique items.
Catch. com. au has evolved after launching 11 years back as Catchoftheday. com. au. Head of marketing Ryan Gracie said the decision was made to include groceries as an offering in 2011.
“We realised that people were being ripped off,” Mr Gracie said. “We don’t have the huge overheads that supermarkets have; the store costs involved with keeping them open, or the marketing costs. We pay our suppliers in advance, so they give us a better price.”
Regular shoppers can pay an annual membership fee that comes with free shipping for orders above $ 50 as a perk, which is ideal for those shopping for groceries. Woolworths and Coles both offer free delivery for orders of more than $ 300 and $ 150 respectively.
“There are not many ( online deal sites) getting into groceries as it’s hard to do,” Mr Gracie said.