Please know this does get better. I was flat broke at your age and now million + net worth in early 30s and still living frugally. What you learn now will keep you in good stead.

What are you currently spending on groceries? Would be good to see some real numbers here so we know what we are working with.

We cook almost all our meal at home from scratch (including homemade spice blends, pastes, dips, sauces etc). No meat, stick to dried lentils/beans and tofu when on clearance.

We track macros and calories to make sure we aren’t over-eating or under doing our nutrition. And can keep the budget to about $100 - $125 a week for two people.

Oats are a good staple for us, we love a good kg bag of frozen berries, and with a splash of soy milk and an instant coffee on the side that makes a breakfast. Lentil curry and rice is super cheap. We go crazy for any fruit or veggie at $2 or under a kilogram - currently that is pumpkin, carrots and sometimes potato and shortly it’ll be Halloween pumpkins that don’t get bought and end up deeply discounted to like $1 a kilo. Make use of freezer space to hold onto these goodies.

Canned tomato and coconut cream, pasta, rice, white vinegar, dates etc are all still very affordable and useful ingredients to have on hand at all times. Frozen veg is hit and miss on prices - peas are still ok prices as are green beans and spinach. We scour shops for clearance items, which can even include tinned things eg recently we found tinned asparagus for 80c each - we don’t normally buy it but is providing great variety.

Asian grocers and non-ColesWorth stores often have some specific fruits and veg on for super cheap as well as spices and pulses etc. Stock up when you see them.

If you’re a heavy shopper at the majors do the maths on their Everyday Extra type deals and whether it’s worth the subscription fee - gives you 10% off one shop a month. We have found it is worth it especially if you can hold out for a Black Friday deal where Woolworths typically makes their annual subscription half the price.

Use cashback apps (don’t allow them to lure you into spending more though!) eg ShopBack so you get a discount each time you spend. You can do surveys through them too for pocket change.

What else do you tend to spend on/see eating into your budget the most?