Melbourne mom Kelly. Travers (Kylie Travers) was always obsessed with money-but she didn't really learn how to save money until she left a battered marriage and eventually became homeless.
Kelly managed to turn her life around, volunteer to help the homeless, and set up her own company, Occasic Enterprises, who was nominated for the Australian Youth Award of the year in 2015 after just a few years of hard work.
Kelly's two daughters, who have been blogging since 2009, often share her savings tips and financial secrets through her blog Thrifty Issue.
In an interview with news, she said she spends less than 50 yuan a week on groceries, while her monthly electricity bill is only 60 yuan-even in winter.
When Kelly mentions the company on her website, she often receives free ingredients from HelloFresh, but she says she will still find a way to support her family of three thriftily.
"even when the time is really tight, I try to control the cost of food," she said.
So what's the secret? Buy in bulk, try not to go to the big supermarket, and follow a few other simple tips.
"Don't eat processed food-fresh fruits and vegetables, fries and other bagged snacks," Kelly said. Don't go shopping when you're hungry, and don't go shopping with your children, because they'll leave you exhausted. "
One of Kelly's most recommended tricks, however, is to shop near closing, because stores usually cut prices to clean up items.
"when markets and butcher shops are closing, everything goes down a lot," she suggests.
Kelly says she often goes shopping at Aldi because it's much cheaper than other supermarkets.
But for those who shop regularly at Coles and Woolworths, Kelly suggests shopping alternately between the two, taking full advantage of loyalty programs such as FlyBuy and Everyday Rewards. The shrewd mother also advised shoppers to check the unit price of goods to avoid being confused by "fake promotions".
"normally, things are 'promoted,' but sometimes there is no real discount, there may be a 'buy one get one free' discount, but when you look down at the unit price, you often find that you don't actually save much money," she said.
Kelly also managed to keep her family's electricity bill at around 60 yuan a month, and for years.
"even if there are seven people in the family, my electricity bill remains relatively low, even with heating or dryers," she said. Make sure everything in your family is energy efficient. Old heaters absolutely consume more power than new reverse circulation heaters. Instead of turning the heating temperature up to 25 degrees, you might as well put on your dressing gown and ugg boots. The same is true of your bed-choose velvet sheets and blankets. In other words, you can wear a few more floors instead of turning on the heating. "
Kelly also cooks lots of meals at a time to avoid opening the oven and oven multiple times and charging only when needed, not all night.
She used glue to block any air flow in order to maximize the amount of heat in the house, and she used blinds or thick curtains to prevent heat from escaping from the cold windows.
All of Kelly's appliances turn off power when not applicable and try to use hangers to dry clothes naturally instead of clothes dryers. When using a clothes dryer, she throws a towel or a wool dry ball to help dry the clothes faster.
All of these tricks, she says, are simple and can save thousands of dollars if combined.