{"id":955060,"date":"2026-11-06T19:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T19:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/955060\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T19:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T19:20:12","slug":"i-know-how-to-look-after-my-money-what-an-81-year-old-spends-at-the-supermarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/955060\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I know how to look after my money’: What an 81-year-old spends at the supermarket"},"content":{"rendered":"

This retired office manager from Christchurch lives on a tightly managed budget \u2013 and that’s just how she likes it. <\/p>\n

How many people live in your household? One. <\/p>\n

And you’re not working at all? I just a volunteer at two or three things. <\/p>\n

How much do you estimate you’d spend on your supermarket shopping every week? I do it fortnightly and it’s about $160, $150, depending on whether I need extras like cleaning products. <\/p>\n

Have you found your grocery bill has gone up in the last year or two? Oh yeah, but I’m pretty good at what I choose. I don’t buy unnecessary stuff, I buy what I need. <\/p>\n

So what what are your essentials? Vegetables, fruit, milk. I used to have yogurt, but I can’t take yogurt anymore, it doesn’t agree with me. And what else? Well, butter but that usually lasts a while because I buy it when it’s cheap and I freeze it. Tea and coffee. I don’t use much sugar or flour because I don’t bake anymore. When my children were young I baked, of course. And when my husband was alive. I always had something in the tins. <\/p>\n

What about meat? Yes, I eat meat. Mainly chicken. And when I get paid I’ll go and buy myself a piece of steak. Pak’n’Save usually have three things for $25, so I’ll buy those. But I’m not an overeater of meat. Never have been. <\/p>\n

Oh and I get eggs for protein, and breakfast stuff. <\/p>\n

Which breakfast foods do you buy? Well bread, of course, but I don’t eat too much of that because it’s fattening. Yeah, bread makes me put on weight. I’ve always got plenty of muesli in my pantry. I buy peanut butter if I run out, jam if I run out. I buy cheese every now and again, and I have cracker biscuits, and biscuits if they’re on special.<\/p>\n

I don’t buy cake unless I’ve got somebody coming. <\/p>\n

\"Cake<\/p>\n

Cake is a rare treat for guests. (Source: istock.com)<\/p>\n

What’s the most indulgent treat that you buy? If ice cream’s on special, I’ll buy two packets \u2013 they had mini trumpets for $4.50 a couple of weeks ago, so I bought two. But I don’t buy ice cream in a two-litre thing, because I’d eat it. Those chips that you put in the air fryer, I have them now and again. I might only buy one packet a month, something like that. <\/p>\n

Do you shop around or do you always go to the same supermarket? Always the same Pak’n’Save. But there’s a Woolworth’s down the road so if I feel like a walk I might go there just to get something that I need for lunch or tea. <\/p>\n

Do you get takeaways ever? No, never. Waste of money. <\/p>\n

Ever get a coffee out? Yep, I do that a couple of times a week, if I go out with mates. Or sometimes I’ll just have one by myself. <\/p>\n

Do you eat out? Not dinner, just brunch with friends sometimes. <\/p>\n

Do you do you have people over for dinner? Yeah, during the weekend when my family is up I’ll have them over for lunch or tea and I’ll have a chicken and veggies and things. <\/p>\n

So you sound like you’re pretty good at controlling your spend. Do you have any tricks or hints that you could pass onto others? I’ve always been cautious with money. I set myself a goal: I know what I can spend. If I’m under, I’ll put that amount into another bank account. <\/p>\n

I manage because I used to work in an office, so I know how to look after my money. <\/p>\n

Also, when I go to the supermarket and see all the packages of stuff people buy, I think why don’t you make it yourself? <\/p>\n

\"Cooking<\/p>\n

Cooking from scratch is usually much more cost effective. (Source: istock.com)<\/p>\n

So you cook from scratch. But what about when you’re just cooking for one, do you still make the effort? Yes, I make a lot and then divide it into packets and then when I come home late or I can’t be bothered, I can just take something out of the freezer.<\/p>\n

Is there anything you’d like to buy but don’t because of how expensive it is? No, nothing. <\/p>\n

Do you buy alcohol? Don’t drink. I buy a box of Diet Coke now and again. <\/p>\n

Any pets? No. <\/p>\n

Was money watched closely in your household when you were growing up? Yes it was. That’s where I got it from, really. <\/p>\n

Did you have a lot of siblings? Five. <\/p>\n

Okay, some quick-fire questions:<\/p>\n

Brown bread or white? Brown.<\/p>\n

Marmite or Vegemite? Marmite.<\/p>\n

Pesto or hummus? Hummus. When I have it now and again. <\/p>\n

Chocolate or ice cream? Ice cream. <\/p>\n

Two-, three- or four-ply toilet paper? Three. <\/p>\n

This interview has been edited and condensed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This retired office manager from Christchurch lives on a tightly managed budget \u2013 and that’s just how she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":955061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,63,99,142476,2610,186,23940,184,185],"class_list":["post-955060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-consumer-affairs","tag-cost-of-living","tag-finance","tag-food-drink","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=955060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/955061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=955060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=955060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=955060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}