News Corp Australia reported on July 30 that an Australian couple claimed that they only spent $50 a week on food.
Kathryn Ling and Alex Moses run a social media platform called Food Inbox. With a passion for finding great food deals, they created Cheap Eats Sydney to find affordable places to eat and drink in Sydney. But Ling said in an interview with News Corp Australia that they had started to eat out less in the past few months and instead cooked at home.
"To pay off our mortgage, save for a vacation, and think about our health, cooking is a better fit for our lifestyle."
"One week, I set myself a challenge to see if it was possible to buy ingredients for just $50."
"In the end, I made 20 meals and 18 snacks on a budget of $50, which I posted online and it was an instant hit!"
(Image source: News Corp Australia)
In one video, she makes creamy tomato Italy with pickles, chicken falsda bowl, sausage and rice, mini pork sausage rolls and rice balls.
For another week, Ling made mini Lorraine quiches, Japanese curries, Hawaiian pizza rolls, Italy bolognese and Morocco meatball tagine.
The move is impressive considering the current rising cost of living.
Ling said many people refuse to believe that what they are doing is possible.
One netizen commented: "Oh my God, how can you buy a kilogram of minced pork for less than $10? In Wollongong, 500 grams cost at least $12. ”
Another said: "It's fantastic, hahaha, it costs me $50 for a meal alone." ”
"Oh my God, it's amazing, I really need to join this bandwagon, I still have debts to pay off."
Some netizens said: "I still don't understand how this is possible", "I doubt the price of meat." At Woolies, 500 grams of minced pork costs $8. The same goes for sausages. ”
Loading...
(Image source: News Corp Australia)
Finder's April research showed that 40% of Australians found grocery spending now being one of their biggest sources of financial stress, up from just 19% in 2020.
Graham Cooke, Finder's head of consumer research, said at the time that in April, Australian households spent an average of $191 a week on groceries.
"Rising costs are putting pressure on household budgets, which are already being stretched tight."
"Grocery cost pressures have more than doubled in the last two years, driven by these large price increases," Cooke said. ”
(Image source: News Corp Australia)
"We've seen two extreme reactions online," Ling said. Many people refuse to believe that what we do is possible, but there are also many who say they are inspired to try better in their own family budgets, which is great. ”
"At the end of the day, we just want us to cook on a budget of $50 and inspire others to be smarter when cooking and make delicious food with ingredients they can afford."
It wasn't easy to prepare a low-budget meal, and the couple spent a lot of time before going to the supermarket to buy it. Ling is passionate about cooking, and she has a family recipe that she refers to when deciding what to cook each week.
"We made a list of all the ingredients we needed, then searched online or went to the supermarket to check the prices and finalize the menu for the week," she says.
"Where possible, we tend to choose the cheapest food based on the unit price. If certain foods are on sale, we also use them as a substitute for expensive ingredients, even if it means tweaking the recipe a little! ”
(Image source: News Corp Australia)
Currently, the $50 budget only covers food, excluding toilet paper and cleaning supplies. But even then, it is still difficult to procure all the food they need.
"I think the biggest obstacle to cooking in this way is including meat and dairy in the budget, because the cost of those things is quite high right now," Ling said. We try to stick to low-cost ingredients such as minced meat, and try to increase portions with beans, rice and Italy whenever possible. ”
"We try to get all sorts of things on a $50 budget – vegetables, minced meat, dried Italy, thick soy sauce or cheese, canned vegetables or legumes, and frozen pastries are usually on the purchase list."
"The key is to try to buy in bulk, such as onions, carrots and potatoes, and use them in several different recipes to make further savings."