Revealed: The home hacks that save these Wollongong students $750 a month

University of Wollongong students Tamara Stewart, Charlie Seidel and Nadia Paige wanted to plan ahead and shop as a group. They now bulk buy once a month for "convenience sake".

It all comes down to organisation, Ms Paige explained. They map out what they wanted to eat, write a list and stick to it.

It "weirdly just kind of works out between the three of us," she said.

"Keeping it incredibly organised, having lists, keeping a calculator close by and having clear, open communication are some of my best tips," she said.

Before moving in together all three were paying more than $100 weekly for food. Now, although there are a few individual extras to be considered, they pay $150 each - a month.

"Seeing that dramatic increase of prices from our first year of uni to our second was scary, especially when you're out spending over $100 a week on just getting the basics for yourself," Ms Paige said.

"It does get overwhelming sometimes and I can see why people get stressed out with the cost of living, so for us it was really about figuring out the basics, having open communication and planning it together."

A monthly household shop is not only easier on the trio's budget but also saves them time and stops incidental spending.

"It just makes it a lot easier to stay organised, you're not making spontaneous shops and when you're studying full time and working two jobs, it's great to have meals pre-prepped," she said.

Mr Seidel said they often opted for foods that could be changed up in different ways - from the basic meats like chicken and beef and the staple foods like pasta, rice, noodles and bread.

"It's important to have those staples, if you've got rice you can make a lot with it, same with pasta," he said.

"Sauces and spices can completely change up a meal as well. Take chicken for example, you can make up a butter chicken, a curry, honey soy and it becomes a different meal pretty much."

Cheap sauce packs from Aldi, Mr Seidel said, help transform a meal - and were inexpensive.

Ms Stewart said their top pick of supermarket chains was Aldi, which she believed had the best value bulk buy items.

"We go to Aldi for pretty much everything, it's definitely the cheapest of the three especially when Coles and Woolworths keep jacking up the prices," she said.

"With our meats we buy them in bulk. We get the family value meat packs in Aldi. You can get a lot from one of those and we just subdivide them and put it in the freezer."

Ms Stewart said other than meat, some of the money-savers at Aldi include sanitary items, vegetables and fruits, long-life noodle packets and sauces.

"Cheeses are also a lot cheaper in Aldi. You can get a wheel of brie for $3 when it would cost $7 at the other shops," she said.

Ms Paige said if she had any advice for young people living away from home was to make the most of the free services at uni and check out organisational apps, especially Splitwise.

"Splitwise helps me save by making spreadsheets of everything I spend so I can track my rent and groceries etc.

"There's also this app called Recipe Me that will suggest recipes to you based on what ingredients you've got left in your fridge," she said.

She also mentioned the Pulse Pantry which provides free food to UOW students on campus while Ms Stewart looked back on her childhood for thrifty tip.

"Buy a slow cooker.

"You can just grab five or six things and throw them in a slow cooker with a bit of sauce and you're done, it will cook itself and you don't have to touch it."