£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Hiddenidenity · 27 July 2017 at 1:43PM

Your meal plan is totally different to ours so I can't help.

While I think grocery budgets are the target that most can cut/keep low. I think the budget varies for everyone. I will only drink decent coffee. I don't care it's probably the most expensive thing I buy. I'd rather none than cheap coffee

We bake 99% of our treats. I don't buy biscuits/cakes etc from the supermarket. We do eat meat everyday

We was 3 adults, 8yr old, 6yr old, and 3 yr old (who has allergies and is in nappies) and I very rarely went above £40 a week. This did mean I have to bake treats, I have to make sure I remember to life out the freezer whats needed, we use all leftovers and even freeze the 'extra portion'

My point is while £40 might be what I can feed my family on happily, doesn't mean you should be able too. Within reason I do believe no ones will be the correct amount. Hope this makes sense

mummytogirls · 27 July 2017 at 1:47PM

Im my house its the kids as DH and I stick to our 3 meals with the odd snack! Mine have packed lunches when at school so loads of yoghurts, fruit etc xx

mummytogirls · 27 July 2017 at 1:48PM

My DH also takes leftovers for his lunches (thanks HI youve just reminded me) so that saves a bit xx

EssexHebridean · 27 July 2017 at 3:48PM

Think through the things you buy and pick out the pricier ones for a start - then look at what alternatives you might be able to swap for. As an example - no idea how expensive black beans are but could you switch for kidney beans/borlotti beans/pinto beans/chick peas? Look for an ethnic supermarket and buy beans and pulses in whacking great bags - cook in batches and then freeze in portions that match with the things you use them for - so chick peas for example I always freeze in "tin" sized batches. if your recipe uses x grams of a particular item you could freeze in that quantity. Dried and cooked yourself are mostly cheaper than tinned overall.

Eggs - the "cooks boxes" of 15 mixed weight are every bit as good as a standard box of free range and usually you get 15 for less money than a dozen "standard" ones - I use them in baking and never have any issues.

Investigate Jack Monroe's "9p burgers" in place of your usual veggie burgers - they're fab and you can pimp them up dead easily too - I switch the carrot for parsnip as MrEH loathes carrot!

Try switching tinned mackerel for sardines - sometimes comes up cheaper.

For "treat" fruit - why not start up a policy that treat fruit can be had but HAS to come from the Aldi Super 6 or similar options? I quite often plan a meal around what is available on those offers" :rotfl: similarly double check prices of things like apples and citrus against Sainsburys or elsewhere as I often find it's cheaper to buy a mainstream supermarket's value type range rather than Aldi or Lidl.

Go through your buys and think of anything you buy branded versions of and look to switch down. Similarly anything you buy ready made that could be cheaper if you made from scratch? Branded wise the only things we won't compromise on are Coffee (MrEH has Nescafe) Cruunchy Nut cornflakes as he has tried others but not found any as good as the Kellogs ones, washing up liquid is always fairy as for me it does seem to do a better job in our hard water, and washing liquid. other than that I'd buy brands if they're cheaper but otherwise own brand is fine.

debtaghh · 27 July 2017 at 7:24PM

I personally find Sainsbury's very expensive , is that your only place to buy the rest of your shopping? Do you stick to your meal plans? Have you looked through your receipts as I was shocked to see how much was spent on ' junk food' when I looked at ours.

Treadingonplaymobil · 27 July 2017 at 7:56PM

mummytogirls wrote: »

My DH also takes leftovers for his lunches (thanks HI youve just reminded me) so that saves a bit xx

Mine too, although he buys the odd bag of crisps or chocolate bar, but only once or twice a week. And that comes out of the fuel budget, as he does it when he fills the car, and I can't be bothered to separate out the odd £1!

mummytogirls wrote: »

Im my house its the kids as DH and I stick to our 3 meals with the odd snack! Mine have packed lunches when at school so loads of yoghurts, fruit etc xx

I'm at least as bad as the DC for snacking

, but they do go through everything that's in the house when there's three of them.

Suffolk_lass · 27 July 2017 at 8:01PM

I buy all my things that are not perishable when they are on offer, from toiletries and cleaning products to store-cupboard items. I do what EH says and buy dried pulses, lentils, beans and peas - cook them in the pressure cooker and freeze them in portions.

I do grow loads of soft fruit and veg and pick and freeze as much as I can, and I know which branded stuff I won't swap down and which I will. Over four years I reduced our grocery spend to one third of what I started with.

I buy frozen fruit which I mix with greek yogurt, nuts, seeds and oats for my breakfast (the most expensive meal I have). Loads of top tips in the first few posts of the grocery challenge over on the old style boards

Hayles70 · 27 July 2017 at 8:02PM

debtaghh wrote: »

I personally find Sainsbury's very expensive , is that your only place to buy the rest of your shopping? Do you stick to your meal plans? Have you looked through your receipts as I was shocked to see how much was spent on ' junk food' when I looked at ours.

I agree, I personally find Sainsbury's the most expensive for food, especially fruit and veg. I find a mixture of Aldi and Morrisons the cheapest but I'm aware that there isn't a Morrisons in every area.

I also spend a fortune on strawberries, I just can't help myself, however I do only buy them in season when they are cheaper.

Keep up the good work, I've been following your diary for the last few weeks but have never commented so thought I'd say hello!

Treadingonplaymobil · 27 July 2017 at 8:02PM

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Think through the things you buy and pick out the pricier ones for a start - then look at what alternatives you might be able to swap for. As an example - no idea how expensive black beans are but could you switch for kidney beans/borlotti beans/pinto beans/chick peas? Look for an ethnic supermarket and buy beans and pulses in whacking great bags - cook in batches and then freeze in portions that match with the things you use them for - so chick peas for example I always freeze in "tin" sized batches. if your recipe uses x grams of a particular item you could freeze in that quantity. Dried and cooked yourself are mostly cheaper than tinned overall.

Eggs - the "cooks boxes" of 15 mixed weight are every bit as good as a standard box of free range and usually you get 15 for less money than a dozen "standard" ones - I use them in baking and never have any issues.

Investigate Jack Monroe's "9p burgers" in place of your usual veggie burgers - they're fab and you can pimp them up dead easily too - I switch the carrot for parsnip as MrEH loathes carrot!

Try switching tinned mackerel for sardines - sometimes comes up cheaper.

For "treat" fruit - why not start up a policy that treat fruit can be had but HAS to come from the Aldi Super 6 or similar options? I quite often plan a meal around what is available on those offers" :rotfl: similarly double check prices of things like apples and citrus against Sainsburys or elsewhere as I often find it's cheaper to buy a mainstream supermarket's value type range rather than Aldi or Lidl.

Go through your buys and think of anything you buy branded versions of and look to switch down. Similarly anything you buy ready made that could be cheaper if you made from scratch? Branded wise the only things we won't compromise on are Coffee (MrEH has Nescafe) Cruunchy Nut cornflakes as he has tried others but not found any as good as the Kellogs ones, washing up liquid is always fairy as for me it does seem to do a better job in our hard water, and washing liquid. other than that I'd buy brands if they're cheaper but otherwise own brand is fine.

Good idea to stick to treats from the Aldi/Lidl offers! But everything else I feel like I pretty much do. The veggie burgers are for nights when we are v busy, and going homemade kind of makes that pointless. It's only really every fortnight or less that we'll have something ready made like that.

We hardly buy branded anything - mayo, coffee (which we go through very slowly, as only DH drinks it, and only once every couple of days) and washing up liquid, that's literally it.

Also I suspect that homemade semi-healthy stuff (ie flapjacks made with seeds and things, sourdough bread, biscuits made with real butter) is actually more expensive than buying ready made cheap biscuits and crisps, but I really don't feel able to compromise on this, and I can't work out a cheaper solution.

Honestly, I feel like it's quantities that are the issue - going through the receipts there's no really obvious culprits.

Treadingonplaymobil · 27 July 2017 at 8:04PM

I understand that there is an option to just accept this spend and rejig the budget (somehow! not sure how), but it's such a huge spend, and I really feel like I'm missing a trick on it, which is why I keep revisiting the subject.

Maybe I'll start listing my menu plan and a screen shot of my MySupermarket basket and you can all critique it! No point over the summer as camping throws everything out of whack, but I might actually do this in September.

£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

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