Love to know where you’re living to pay only $250 a week rent! We are in rural Southern Tas and paying $330 a week for a little run down s#@t box ????

Bulk buy which is hard to start off with, but helps in the long run. Shop at nights/tuesday nights etc, this will lead to cheaper near use by date food that you can use. Bulk out meals with cheap veg. Pasta and meat free nights help. Shopping at SPC or NQR facilities help to.

Meals you can spread are your friends- spaghetti can be bulked up with grated carrot and zucchini and mince is cheaper meat as well. That works with any mince dish. You can often bulk buy rice too which is a great staple.

Shop around for groceries…I get all the catalogs and write down.what I am getting from Aldi Coles and Woolies.

Head over to my Insta page @a_mothers_day I post budget family meals. My biggest thing is sticking to a budget each week. I go over it every week and adjust where needed. I have changed many habits the biggest being grocery shopping. I have 4 boys and the baby is only young but my older boys eat lots haha!

‘Look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.’ Even looking for small savings can help. ie; don’t buy pre shredded cheese. Grate it yourself (or ask one of the kids to do it) It’s cheaper to buy cheese in a block.

Meal planning and I would limit meat but that must be so difficult to balance.

Meal planning – stretch some dishes by adding leguminous. Make cake instead store bought snacks. Free entertainment for kids…

The supermarkets reduce food close to the use by date in the afternoon.It all helps money wise!

Track the specials in weekly supermarket catalogues – there is usually a pattern for when certain products are on promotion. Cook in bulk and freeze what you make. Pre paid mobile is also good – you can’t spend what you don’t have so there will be no bill shock. Divide the total cost utility bills into the number of weeks there are in a billing period and pay either weekly or fortnightly. Use the Library for borrowing books/DVDs and CDs rather than buying them. I8f you live close to the shops leave the car at home and walk if you are doing just a small/top up shop. All the other suggestions are great and I’ll be using them. Good Luck to you I hope everything works out.

Eat less meat, you can mix lentils with mince and it bulks up the meal, no one notices and it reduces the fat and cholesterol content. Meal plan like crazy, buy in bulk when you can. Only buy treats when they are on special. Buy clothes at second hand shops, pay bills in instalments.

Do a monthly meal plan this alone saves heaps of money and stress, click and collect also helps save money, grow what you can if you can, shop specials , use rewards systems with fuel vouchers and money off shops, buy in bulk! Buy big bags of chips and put into snack bags , bake, cook your own takeout night eg burgers and fries, homemade pizzas get the kiddos involved they love it, get cleaning products in bulk when on sale from places like big w that sell in bulk, invest in a slow cooker! It saves so much money and produces not only great meals but meals that stretch further. You can also get vouchers from salvos and churches. Research cheap school snacks I found an lcm bar one that works out to be 17cents per bar. Stick to budget, pay bills in instalments and car registration by instalments. I hope this helps .

Shopping to sales and catalogues for staples and making regular weekly payments on utilities so you never get the full big bill.

You have to shop wise and make a list and stick to it, you can make meals stretch make soups stews. Some meals without meat like quiches are good rice helps make meals stretch, get a slow cooker buy cheap cuts of meat to stew. I’ve looked for marked downs and specials and use lots of vegetables too to make meals stretch and make lunches at home for school and work. Make your own biscuits cakes it’s cheaper than buying cook scones and piglets it all helps work out what you are going to cook for the week and shop every 3 weeks and you will save I know you can and no cigarettes cool drinks or beer wine. Put your vegetables in the ground to grow your own as it will save you money too, some churches help with day old bread and sometimes a food hamper or voucher to help you.

Look for any shops that have reward programs or that give away freebies through their social media. This week we got a free loaf of bread for signing up with Bakers Delights VIP program and a free of pizza just by doing a facebook comment for a pizza chain. That’s carbs sorted for the week!