Firstly, well done for reaching out for help, this can be really hard sometimes... especially if people are telling you are ‘saving enough’.
Everybody has their own money memoirs and what might be 'enough' for someone else might be very different for you, even if you are in a loving relationship. So much of our behaviour is linked to your memoir - it's your thoughts, feelings, behaviour and habits with money. Figure out where yours is coming from. Dig deep and ask yourself tough questions.
I think the first thing you need to do is sit down and discuss the reason why you think you are spending too much on your food bill. Is it because you are both working crazy hours and when you get home you aren’t in the mood to cook? Or do you both buy lunches every day as a quick win to save you time?
The second thing to do is figure out how much you could save if you created a food budget and prepped all your meals. Is the trade-off worth it for you and your partner or will you be forgoing overtime pay or time spent with friends to prep your meals?
Talking to your partner about this is so important. I’ve created a Money Dates Workbook (Download now) to help partners have these chats to strengthen their relationships and iron out those little creases that might get bigger over time. I’ve also put together some quick wins for you that might help your bank balance and give you the potential to stash some extra $$$ away each week from your grocery shop.

1. Plan your meals & make a shopping list – Each week make sure you plan your meals and write a list of the ingredients you need to reduce the likelihood of impulse purchasing or ordering out.

2. Shop the discounts & compare prices – For anybody who knows me I’m a lover of Aldi (not sponsored) but that doesn’t mean they are always the cheapest for every item (side tip - avoid the middle section at all costs!). Finder has put together a list of items and compared costs against Aldi, Woolworths and Coles and found ‘when all the trolleys were tallied, ALDI's total stood at $200, Woolworths at $207 and Coles at $214.’ However, the biggest price differences on individual items were huge, so it pays to have a quick squiz of the specials at each store before you shop. The differences were:
• Onions – 75% price difference (Woolworths was the cheapest)
• Yoghurt – 66% price difference (ALDI was the cheapest)
• Lemon lime and bitters – 57% price difference (ALDI was the cheapest)
• Oranges – 52% price difference (Woolworths was the cheapest)
• Carrots – 50% price difference (Woolworths was the cheapest)

3. Buy seasonal or frozen produce – Make sure you are buying things like fruit and veg in season. It is also okay to buy frozen fruits and veg, in fact, it is often cheaper and still holds nutritional value.

4. Minimise food waste or grow your own produce - Be mindful of food expiration dates and use or freeze ingredients before they go bad. Plan meals to use up leftovers and consider freezing leftovers for future meals. If you have space and time and can garden, consider starting a small vegetable or herb garden. Growing your own produce can save money and provide you with fresh, organic ingredients.

5. Make it fun - The last thing you want to do is begrudge your weekly meal prep time. Put on some music, pop a bottle of wine (if it is in your budget) or a lemon flavoured water and get cooking.

Have a money dilemma?

Money dilemmas can be a nightmare! They can leave you up all night ruminating about what to do, have you feeling alone and isolated or just plain ol' stuck. So, we are here to help. I am going to tackle one a week and give you my unbiased, no BS general thoughts on how to tackle your conundrum. We would love for you to send yours (or someone you know) in. 

Obvs all of this is general advice only... especially important to note any and all of the comments above do not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information provided and the nature of the relevant financial product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.