FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Five ways to slash your grocery bills

- COMPILED BY: MADISON BOGISCH

We've all got to eat, right? Which makes grocery shopping one of our most important regular expenses. And no, you're not imagining it – inflation has meant our usual trolleys full of food and household items are costing us more than they used to. Here, Emily Stewart, finance reporter and author of Sensible Money, outlines easy ways to stretch our grocery budgets a little further. Don't worry, it's not all cutting luxuries and living on beans on toast...

1. START WITH UNIT PRICING

Most big supermarkets are required to list not just the price, but a standard unit of measurement called unit pricing. That's why it's important to check the label for price per 100 grams or price per litre, and use those figures to compare different products.

That way, you can compare different sizes and packages without getting confused about the total price. You can also do this on some of the supermarket apps by clicking on “best unit price”.

For instance, if I'm buying peanut butter, I can look at the cheapest price for all the different sizes in one brand. Bigger sizes aren't always cheaper. I then look across at other brands and can see the best value, even if some are prominently marketed with “on sale” signs. I feel like I'm beating the supermarkets at their own game. You can, too.

2. CREATE A SHARED LIST