Emelie and Jon live car-free, dumpster drive for groceries and rarely buy anything new. Here’s how they do it

It’s not a glamorous lifestyle. But the money they save gives the Watsons the life they’ve always dreamed of.

“Our overall lifestyle involves quite minimal consumption, but it is not a sacrifice.”

“We’re very lucky to have so much in Australia. And just because it is possible [consume so much] doesn’t mean we have to do that,” Emelie added.

Emelie and Jon are mortgage-free and can choose when they work.

To finance their family’s lifestyle, they take casual or part-time jobs in teaching and technology, earning a combined $190,000 a year.

“We worked a maximum of four days a week for a year,” Jon said, adding that the couple are now “testing retirement.”

Full-time hours are not needed if they rarely spend money on groceries.

Meat, bread, fruit, vegetables and everything in between can be found thrown away in a dumpster near the loading docks of the supermarkets.

The family spends an average of less than $40 a week on extra food they might need, but says they don’t spend a dime for weeks.

“A year of dumpster diving for our family of four saves us between $7,000 and $10,000 in groceries,” Jon said.

“From Friday evening through Sunday or Monday morning, we go twice a day, morning and evening, until we find that the tank has been refilled.”

Emelie said it is “startling” to see how much edible food ends up straight into the bins at night.

Supermarkets commonly throw away food that is past its expiration date or slightly imperfect.

“We have shared some of our loot with other people who have not been dumpster diving, and when they see the quality of the food we take out of the dumpster and the quantity, they are shocked,” Emelie said.

“There’s really no compromise on our diet or nutrition,” Jon added.

“In fact, we probably eat better by eating what we get from the waste stream than what we normally would.”

The Watsons say their local grocery store knows they take food out of the dumpster.

They are aware of respect for staff and implement safe practices.

“If you make something difficult for the staff or the store, you’re just giving them excuses to lock you out and other people who may depend on dumpster diving for their survival,” Jon said.

Australia’s major supermarkets have previously discouraged people from bin diving, citing health and safety risks.

Emelie and Jon say the risk is worth the reward.

“If we get the timing wrong, we’re exposed to maggots and rotting things. But life is not without risk,” Jon explained.

“We experience a little discomfort in doing the right thing.

“The reason it’s all wasted is because of a hyper-concern about minimizing risk, which turns out to be very wasteful.”

The savings extend far beyond groceries.

The couple also chooses to bike everywhere instead of using a car, potentially avoiding thousands of dollars in extra fuel costs as motorists battle rising prices at the pump.

At home they use a vegetable garden, rely on solar panels for their energy and pick up everything they need from second-hand shops, tips or on the street.

“Most of our lives are designed to do things without needing a car or substantial resources,” Jon added.

“I would say we have won against capitalism, and I don’t just mean financially.”

Part of Emelie and Jon’s lifestyle, described as “living more with less,” is helping to fund their charitable efforts.

In 2024, the pair funneled more than $47,500 of their annual income to healthcare, food insecurity and education organizations.

It’s about making the Earth a better place and minimizing their footprint while they do it.

“There’s reward and satisfaction, the feeling of being part of a solution rather than part of a problem,” Jon said

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