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With just $63 a week, this budget queen manages to feed her entire family of five.

I don’t know about you, but I LIVE FOR THIS STUFF.

A mother in England has revealed to SWNS that she feeds her family of five (plus dog! Plus dog!) for just $63 AUD. Bonkers.

Danielle Ross is 30, has three young sons, lives in Colchester, UK, and is basically our new supermarket hero. She’s gained a loyal online following of 22,000+ fans who hang on her every receipt.

Check out her Facebook page/ Holy Grail Of Cheap Eats here.

 

And don’t think Ross is peddling any old chip buttie – she manages to whip up healthy meals for her young family on a shoestring budget. From chicken Caesar salad to lasagne to lamb koftas, Ross is clearly practicing some kind of budget witchcraft…

But no.

What she’s actually doing is this: shopping at low-cost supermarkets, planning out a list before arriving, keeping a close eye on discount deals, and packing out meals with cheap fillers like pasta or bread.

She makes her husband bring a packed lunch every day, collects vouchers like a trooper, and blends her veggies to get maximum use out of them.

All up, Ross reckons she’s saving around $650 a month. GUYS. THAT’S ENOUGH TO BUY A WHOLE AISLE IN ALDI.

 

Ross says that involving her kids in the cooking process allows her to introduce new, low-cost items to their household menu.

“My eight-year-old Ollie is really fussy,” she says, “but when he cooks with me he can try new things more readily because he’s cooked it.”

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So to all the mums preparing to head back to school in a few weeks, let this tight-a$$ miracle worker be a shining inspiration to affordable lunchboxes forevermore.

 


So, what does her weekly shop look like?

Here’s a typical week of food from ALDI:

  • Large gammon joint – £4.25
  • Medium British Cheddar – £1.49
  • Fresh semi-skimmed milk – £0.95
  • Breaded chicken steaks – £1.59
  • Breaded chicken steaks – £1.59
  • Chicken breast 300g – £1.79
  • Beef mince 500g – £2.29
  • Baby potatoes – £0.79
  • White potatoes – £1.19
  • Ready rolled pastry – £0.89
  • Butcher’s select pork – £1.29
  • Butcher’s select pork – £1.29
  • Greek style yogurt 500 – £0.69
  • Greek style salad cheese – £0.75
  • Mushrooms – chestnut – £0.55
  • Garlic baguette – £0.34
  • Garlic baguette – £0.34
  • Passata – £0.35
  • Ready-to-serve custard – £0.49
  • Specially selected grapes – £0.99
  • Pork fillet (0.566kg x GBP 6.49/kg) – £3.67
  • Squeezy mayonnaise – £0.75
  • Chopped tomatoes – £0.25
  • Chopped tomatoes – £0.25
  • Pork baked rolls – £0.39
  • Baked beans – £0.23
  • Baked beans – £0.23
  • Double cream 300ml – £0.75
  • Cucumber – £0.39
  • Asparagus – £0.55
  • Iceberg lettuce – £0.42
  • White seedless grapes – £1.45
  • Soft medium white load – £0.45
  • Fresh egg waffles – £0.75
  • Digestive biscuits – £0.31
  • 30 pack meaty crisps – £2.49
  • Choc-chip cookies – £0.59

TOTAL: £38.47 ($63 AUD)

 

Ross says that she and her husband are saving for a house, and hope their super-slim supermarket spending will get them there a little faster.

Saving is in her blood, it would seem, with the mum-of-three revealing that she inherited her mad thrift skills from her mother, and will pass it down to her sons.

“At my local shop they used to sell 2p cans of beans but it was limited to five cans per person,” she remembers.

“So my mum would get people in the queue to stand there for her. So saving has always been with him (my son) – I’m just a budget queen.”

So next time you pause over a $12 tub of imported Persian fetta, get it together mate.

If this woman can feed a family of five (plus the dog, please can we not forget the dog) for $63 a week, you can trim down that $200 Coles bill.

Put down the feta.

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