'Grocery bill has exploded': Illawarra residents making hard choices at the shops

The Mercury went into the Wollongong CBD to ask how shoppers were faring with the increased cost of living.

University student Rizal Hoxha drew a sharp gasp from his mother Adile Hoxha when he admitted to buying caged eggs when he was feeling the pinch.

"I was compromising a little bit of my personal beliefs to have the things that I'd want now that the prices I feel like have just doubled," Mr Hoxha said.

Having just moved out on his own, Mr Hoxha says the first grocery bill was eye-opening.

"It was about $150 and it was all the regular stuff that my mom would buy for the household," he said.

"The next few weeks I kind of combed through everything, like 'do I really need this or does it have to be this brand and whatnot?'."

One of the items which Mr Hoxha has cut back on is milk which he says is just a bit too expensive for what he gets out of it.

Adile Hoxha says she has noticed more families coming into the food bank where she volunteers in Unanderra.

"It seems that people are really relying on services like that to supplement food shortages that happening ... because of the rising price in groceries," she said.

Ms Hoxha has begun waiting for sales to stock up on items she once bought regularly.

"I'm stocking up on them because if I do get caught out with the oat milk that I like to have or the high-end tuna that I like, I'm really waiting for them to go on sale because I just can't justify the price increase."

Self-funded retirees Leigh and Daniel Maier say their "grocery bill has exploded".

"It's eating into the budget, unfortunately," Ms Maier said.

The Maiers say they've stopped going out and have started to buy cheaper brands while comparing catalogues to get the best value for their money.

"We've got to watch the consumption of hot water, stuff like that, fuel's getting very expensive," Mr Maier said.

"We're not too bad but we've got to watch everything because there is no help for self-funded retirees."

Christina Wintrell says her grocery bill has "almost doubled".

"Just buying basic necessities and making sure that my child has fresh fruit and vegetables," Ms Wintrell said.

Ms Wintrell says she's going out socially less because she hasn't been able to change her grocery list because it's all "household necessities" like cleaning and personal hygiene products.

Lochie O'Duibhir says he always tries to prioritise eating healthily but admits it's becoming "more challenging".

"I've tried to keep that in my life but it just means that I'm spending more on groceries to try and maintain that," he said.

"I've noticed that buying meat is really expensive. I can only really afford to buy it when it's on special to chuck in the freezer."

Mr O'Duibhir has cut back on live music and going to the cinemas as well as going out to buy food.

"I wouldn't eat out because I couldn't afford it, yeah that's definitely a drawback."