Aussie mum saves $2,500 on grocery shop after ditching Coles, Woolworths: ‘No looking back'

Yahoo

21-02-2025

An Aussie mum has revealed how she is saving thousands of dollars on her family's grocery shop by looking beyond Woolworths and Coles. Meal kits can offer a convenient solution for busy people and some have found it to be cheaper than buying individual ingredients directly from the supermarkets.
Mum-of-two Valerie Congreve has been using meal kit delivery service Everyplate since 2020 and said 'there's been no looking back' since. The Queensland mum told Yahoo Finance she's found it's helped her save on skyrocketing grocery costs and cut down on valuable time.
'I have definitely noticed an increase in how much I am spending on groceries, I'd say when I was doing my full food shop at the supermarket, I was comfortably spending $300 to $350 a week,' she said.
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'Everything has gone up in price so much and it really adds up, especially when nutritious, healthy foods are a priority in our diets.'
Congreve said she gets six meals for her family of four each week for $140. She then goes to different supermarkets for extra additions to her shop, along with her local fruit market.
She estimated she was saving more than $2,500 a year on grocery costs since switching to EveryPlate.'One of the biggest advantages is the certainty of pricing—I know exactly what I'll be paying each week with no surprises, so I can budget really effectively,' she said.
'There's no need to worry about fluctuating prices or hidden costs, which I feel is something I regularly come into contact with at the supermarket.
'I also receive the exact amount of ingredients that are required per dish, which means there is no wastage.'
Finder head of consumer research Graham Cooke said the main benefit of meal kit delivery services was convenience.
'You get everything pre-packed in a box with recipe kits to follow,' Cooke told Yahoo Finance.
'It tends to be quite good for families that are busy. You're guaranteed to get a nice, fresh meal with a certain percentage of vegetables and you can choose what you want.'
Whether it will work out cheaper for you will depend on the service you go for and your usual grocery shopping habits.
'Overall, you probably would be able to buy all the individual ingredients cheaper if you have the time to plan your meals out for the whole week and buy a certain product and be sure that you're going to use it for multiple different meals,' Cooke said.
'But that takes a lot of time and a lot of people don't have time. That's where these services are coming in to try and offer convenience'
Finder previously compared the price of different meal kits and found that EveryPlate was the cheapest on offer, while Marley Spoon was the most expensive.
For Congreve, she's found using the meal kit has been worth it for her family.
'As a working mum with two children, I'm always on the front foot of trying to save both time and money, but I also want to make sure it's delivering my family meals made with fresh ingredients as well,' she told Yahoo Finance.
Congreve said groceries were a big expense for the family, along with their rent, which has increased by more than $200 a week over the last two years, and extracurricular costs for the kids.
If you're keen to try a meal kit, Cooke said it can pay to try a couple of different ones out.
'If you are going to be getting meal deliveries, as with any product or service, the best discounts tend to go to new customers, loyalty does not pay,' he said.
'The way to do it is to sign up for these services but swap around between the services because a lot of them will give you half-price for four weeks or half-price for six weeks when you move on.'
By trying out a few different options and taking advantage of discounts, you can also figure out which company you prefer.
Plus, if you cancel your subscription, chances are they will try and entice you back in with more discounts.Sign in to access your portfolio