Coles shopper's 'brilliant' trolley hack that could save you money
If you find it hard to keep track of your spending while grocery shopping, this budget-savvy hack could save you hundreds.
A Coles shopper recently revealed her money-tracking hack on Facebook, demonstrating how she keeps tabs on her spending while grocery shopping.
Sharing her tip in a popular budgeting Facebook group, the woman said she piled grocery items into bundles to a specific money value so she could easily add it up as she went.
“To keep to my budget, at the shops I group the food into $10 (approx) piles,” she said alongside a picture of her shopping trolley. “This was about $80.”
She also revealed it helped her shop to a budget that she set for herself in order to maximise her Flybuys points.
“So that week I was trying to spend $140 to get the $50 of Flybuys points so I got some fancy things I don’t always get. It was more about me keeping track of the things,” she said.
Shoppers praise ‘brilliant’ idea
Her post was met with praise from shoppers who said her idea was “brilliant’’.
“Great idea, I always lose track. For me, I think bags though as my trolley can get quite full (fortnight shopper),” one person commented.
“I love your concept of grouping it like that. So you know exactly how much each meal is costing. A strategy you could use anywhere you shop,” another said.
“That is a really savvy idea,” a third person wrote.
While many thought her idea was a good one, others couldn’t help but notice how expensive her shop looked for an almost empty trolley.
"I love the concept but I’m shocked at the price," one person said.
"Sadly, that'd last two days in my house. My weekly shop is anywhere from $200-$300," another said.
Shoppers reveal their money-tracking hacks
The post also prompted others to share their grocery store money-monitoring hacks used to maintain a particular budget.
“I put an amount into my phone calculator usually around $250. Then I subtract each item from that. Always get the essentials first meat, veggies, bread, milk then I look for specials to stock up with. Whatever is leftover goes into the next week’s shopping,” one savvy shopper shared.
“I always add up as I go and round up each item so the total cost is less and leaves me a little change,” another said.
“I use my calculator on my phone. Helps to know they’ve scanned correctly at checkout,” a third wrote.
Others also suggested looking up items on the stores’ online shopping apps to create a realistic budget before shopping in-store.
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