Cooking the Books podcast: How a family of five cut their grocery bill to $170 a week

With the cost of food soaring, one New Zealand family has found ways to cut back. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald’s Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it’s how a family went from living pay cheque to pay cheque to saving 60 per cent of their income. Hosted by Frances Cook.

One thing I’ve heard a lot when I talk to people about budgeting and money management is “just wait until you’ve had kids”.

It’s true – I had my first child and life got more expensive and slightly more difficult to manage.

However, I’m still a firm believer that whatever stage of life you’re in, there are ways to change your approach to help yourself get ahead.

Today’s podcast guest has done just that.

After a dose of bad fortune, this family made big changes and went from living pay cheque to pay cheque to where they are now, saving 60 per cent of their income and working towards financial independence.

Not only are the three kids not holding them back, they’re on board with the change and helping the family get there.

And here’s the impressive part. As a family of five, they only spend $170 a week on groceries.

So, forgive the self-interest, but I had to get this guest on the podcast for the food tips alone, because my grocery budget certainly doesn’t look that good.

For the latest podcast, I talked to mum Belinda.

For the interview, listen to the podcast here.

• If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you’d like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I’m on Facebook here, Instagram here, and Twitter here.
• Listen to the full interview on the Cooking the Books podcast. You can subscribe on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.