Some of the biggest savings you can make often come from the smallest purchases. Making a small change to your day-to-day routine can end up making your paycheque go much further, as long as you put the time and effort in. After all, walking instead of taking the bus doesn't save you much, but if that's a daily journey it'll all add up by the end of the month.
Sascha Farley, a mother-of-three from Sydney, Australia, figured out how to make some serious savings by only making a few changes. The 28-year-old has been using simple meal-prepping techniques for the last two years, and has managed to lose four stone and save thousands over this period - claiming she has saved over $10,000 AUD ($7,000 US) just by changing her food shop.
It was after she gave birth to her first child that she decided to make a change, hoping to get her diet back on track. In September 2016 Sascha opted for some simple recipes from meal plan sites such as 'Healthy Mummy,' and while she found it was expensive to begin with, once all the essentials were in place it ended up being more cost-effective.
"The first few shops I did in the first month were really expensive but once I had all the pantry staples my bill cut in half," she told Femail. Sascha will regularly buy fruit, vegetables, and meat, but the bulk of her food comes from tins, and some essentials that she'll stock up on every six weeks.
"I won't always stick to the exact vegetables listed in the app recipes if they're expensive when I get to the supermarket - especially if it's a green vegetable that will taste similar to other veg," she told Femail. "I'll buy frozen or tinned vegetables too if I have to to keep the cost down. Then the fruit is whatever is on sale and in season."
Sascha has said that she will spend around $80 to $120 ($56-84) a week, which includes all food and household items for a family of five - including a newborn baby. She has worked out that she saves around $100 ($70) a week, and $10,400 ($7,400) over the two years she's been keeping to this schedule.
She apparently spends around an hour and a half in the kitchen each week to put the meals together, making the likes of beef san choy bow, spaghetti bolognese and pumpkin and feta frittata, recipes found on the Healthy Mummy app. Making sure she counts the calories too, she's reportedly lost around 30 kg since she started.
"The kids also east most of the things we eat but I'll always keep a healthy mac and cheese sauce in the freezer that I know I can put with pasta at any time and they will eat," she said. "Or I can make pick plates for them with a random assortment of platter items and they'll enjoy that too."
It just goes to show that a little can go a long way!