How to Save Money on Food

Food is expensive in New Zealand - our list of 15+ ways to save every week on the costs has you covered

Updated 19 September 2021

According to a 2019 Otago University survey, the average household of four in New Zealand spends around $275.50 a week on grocery shopping. When financial situations are tight, grocery bills can take a big chunk of your salary. Worst of all, saving money in New Zealand is getting harder and harder. Attempting to save money by buying the cheapest foods isn't always the healthiest option either. Cheap food, generally, is filled with cheap carbs which are, in effect, cheap sugar.

This guide helps you uncover ways to save money, eat healthily and reduce food wastage. It is our first version - if you have a tips you would like to share, please email our research team.

16 Proven Ways to Save Money on Food

Set a grocery budget

It's important to make sure you set a practical budget that balances out your needs and wants. Knowing how much you spend will determine how much money you need to cut from your grocery bill to meet your savings goal. Start by digging up some old receipts from your recent grocery shopping and work out roughly how much you spend on groceries, on average.
It's also important to factor non-food items (such as toilet paper and toothpaste) into your grocery budget.
If sticking to a budget proves to be difficult, you can consider trying the cash envelope system. Although this is a rather drastic measure, it can prove to be a great budgeting tool. Simply, take your monthly budget for groceries and divide this by four. Then, place the four lots of cash in different envelopes - each envelope is your grocery spending for the week. An example would be if your monthly budget for groceries is $600, you can place $150 into four different envelopes and only bring one envelope with you to the supermarket each week.

Plan out your meals one week ahead

Always make a shopping list or meal plan each week/fortnight and stick to it. This can save you from impulsive purchases that make you exceed your budget.
Stocktaking, before you shop, is important. One of the easiest ways to spend less and save money on food is to avoid buying things you already have. Keeping in mind what you already have in your pantry, fridge and freezer can also help you reduce the amount of food you end up throwing away.

Plan out your meals based on what's on sale

When planning your meals, it can be helpful to read up on the weekly sales circular. For example, if ground beef, tomatoes and mince are on sale, then you could look at making spaghetti and meatballs. With this approach, you can look into recipe ingredient matching sites like SuperCook or Love Food Hate Waste to help you decide what meals to make based on what items you have at home and what items are on sale at any given week.
If you're looking to stock up, it pays to know the sales cycle. You can do this by noting the ten most common items you buy at the grocery store. That way, you know what the prices typically are and know when to spot deals and stock up, when needed.

Multi-purpose buying

When you're buying food at the supermarket, consider using ingredients for different meals during the week. For example, if you're buying a whole chicken, you could use it for separate recipes and find creative ways to make every bit of the chicken count.
An example could be to use the carcass or the bones and simmer them with vegetable scraps to make your own stock or soup. If you're using mince for spaghetti bolognese, consider using it to make meatballs or burritos. This means you could potentially buy fewer ingredients and bulk-buy just a few to save money.
By finding creative ways to reuse ingredients into multiple meals, you reduce the chances of food wastage.

Buy in bulk

Some nights, you may come home and feel too exhausted to cook, or perhaps you forgot to take meat out of the freezer to defrost. In those times, it may be tempting to just grab takeaways or eat outside. Unfortunately, this may not be the healthiest or cheapest option for you (and your budget).
In general, buying in bulk is cheaper than buying small quantities every week. For example, instead of preparing meals every day, you can cook meals in large batches and then place them in the freezer to be eaten for later. Bulk buying is good, but it's always good to check the unit price (such as price per 100 grams) to make sure you're getting the best deal and that you're 'actually' saving money. Sometimes, it may turn out that singular packs are cheaper than bulk-buy for certain products.
Another tip for buying in bulk is to make sure you buy foods with a long shelf-life - learn which items to buy in bulk and which items to buy only as you need them. There's no point in bulk buying if the food you buy ends up going in the bin. That's no savings at all.
Pantry essentials are things you can stock up if you catch a deal in the supermarket. Pantry staples last for a long time and can be used for a variety of recipes. These include oil, stock powder, flour, salt, sugar and vinegar.

Buy in season

Few things hit the wallet harder than mango in autumn. Just because it's available all season doesn't mean you should push your budget and buy them. Produces are usually cheaper and more plentiful when they're in season, whether it be fruits or vegetables. Plus, if you shop seasonally, it can also make your meals more diversified and creative.

Next time you go shopping, make sure to check out what produces 'are' in season. Here are a few tips from the Produce Company:
Spring: Pomegranates, Oranges, Asparagus, Tangelo
Summer: Avocado, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Plum, Apricot, Beans, Apricot
Autumn: Turnips, Feijoa, Passionfruit, Chestnut, Figs
Winter: Yams, Spinach, Mandarins, Pumpkin, Broccoli, Kale
If recipes you use contain ingredients that aren't in-season produce, it may be good to find creative ways to substitute the specific fruit or vegetable. Check out Pak'nSave's Swap & Save Chart for some ideas to try.

Buy cheaper cuts of meat (or go meatless)

Cheaper cuts of meat are naturally tough compared to higher grade meat. This may cause people to avoid buying them. However, a simple way to overcome this while making your meat-eating habits more affordable is to use your slow cooker.
For example, slow cooking these tough cuts of meat can make them tender and flavourful. Slow cookers are great for stews and soup, casserole or pulled pork. Pop these ingredients in before work, and they should be ready after you come back. Here are more tips on getting the most value when buying meat.
Another option is to eat less meat. According to Food Frontier, roughly a third of Kiwis actively limit their meat consumption. There are many reasons for this, including health benefits, cutting back on meat for conversation/environmental reasons, and financial reasons. If you're interested, try incorporating meat-free meals (such as Meatless Mondays) into your meal planning each week and experiment with protein alternatives such as falafel and tofu.

Avoid buying lunches

Bringing a packed lunch to school, uni or work can save you around $70+ each week. Although slightly more effort is required, packing your lunch can help you become more healthy by including more vegetables and fruits in your diet that otherwise cost a lot in cafes or restaurants.
If you notice yourself spending a lot of money eating out, the savings from taking lunch can really add up.

Check the reduced to clear section

It's always worth looking in supermarkets' reduced to clear sections to see what's on sale. Supermarkets heavily discount food if it is close to its expiry or best before date. As most foods in these sections can last for a few days past their best before date, if you're looking to buy some food for the coming few days, purchasing from these sections can often save you a few dollars.
Another option is to buy some grocery items from Reduced To Clear. Reduced To Clear is a grocery clearance store with products up to 80% cheaper than normal retail. Examples of these products are end of the line, change of packaging, cancelled export orders and short-dated stock. This is a great way to save a lot of money and help your shopping budget last longer. Check out their FAQs for more details.

Buy house brands such as Pam's and HomeBrand

Big brand names and beautiful packaging can be tempting, but they often come at a costly price. There's very little difference between a $5 bag of branded flour and a $3 bag from a generic brand. House brands like Pam's and HomeBrand or local versions of the product are usually quite similar to the big brands ingredient-wise and are cheaper. And in most cases, it's near impossible to tell the difference when it comes to the taste.
Unless you're choosing a brand due to some ethical or loyalty reason, it might be better to pick a generic version instead. By saving a couple of dollars off each item in your shopping trolley, you could end up cutting $20 to $30 from your grocery bill.

Shop online, and do it carefully

There are many reasons why it's good to shop for groceries online.

Firstly, one of the fastest ways to spend more on groceries is to buy things you don't need. Unlike physical stores, there aren't many sales items or temptation sections when you shop online, which helps you avoid spending on unnecessary extras such as snack foods or sweets.
Second, some online shopping sites make it easy for you to see what you've purchased each week. This can be a great visual reminder for you to know what things you normally buy and what should be in your basket versus what shouldn't.
Third, instead of taking a calculator to the supermarket with you, the total in your shopping cart automatically tallies up, so you won't go over your weekly food budget. And even if you end up doing so, it's easy to remove things from your cart rather than having to walk back to the aisle to put things away.

You can also consider cashback websites such as Kiwiwallet who currently offer a 2% cashback for Countdown (among other retailers).

Try using a grocery price comparison site like FoodMe

Manually comparing prices between products and stores requires a lot of time, effort and cost; FoodMe is a grocery comparison site that helps you optimise your grocery bill for the lowest cost. Although they are an online grocery option, FoodMe can also calculate their delivery prices to fit your location.

Avoid budget creep

When you walk along aisles in the supermarket, it can be tempting to pick up foods that aren't necessary and can eat a chunk of your weekly food budget. These include cigarettes, alcohol, sweets, snack foods, ready-made dinners and desserts, and expensive brand names. However, as mentioned above, shopping online can often prevent these impulsive buys from occurring.

Shop around other stores

According to a research survey conducted by Consumer, Pak'nSave has shown to be the cheapest supermarket chain compared to Countdown or New World. On average, each week's shopping cart was more than $10 cheaper. This can total to more than $500 saved each year.
You can also try shopping around local grocery stores, farmers markets, or Asian stores other than supermarkets. Sometimes, fruits and vegetables they sell there can be 50% cheaper, if not more, than normal supermarkets. Many of them also sell non-packaged products, which means lower prices.

Join Loyalty programs

Supermarkets often have loyalty programs that help their customers save money and shop easier with them. From time to time, there may be special offers available to customers who join the programs. These programs are usually free, and earning points through regular purchases can be exchanged for discounts on groceries, fuel and other things.
Loyalty programs worth considering include:

Pak'nSave's SHOP'nGO
Countdown's Onecard (every dollar you spend grants you a Onecard point. Accumulating 2,000 points grants you a $15 Onecard e-voucher). You also get Onecard Club Prices and 6 cents/litre petrol discounts.
New World's Clubcard

Try the Foodprint app

Similar to Reduce To Clear mentioned above, Foodprint helps you discover food on the verge of becoming thrown out. To avoid this massive food wastage (50,000 tonnes of it from cafes, restaurants and supermarkets), Footprint's marketplace allows people to buy these at a fraction of the regular price.

Visit the Foodprint website (currently available in App Store and Google Play) to see more details.

Related guides:

20 Easy Ways to Save on Household Bills