Where can I save money (groceries)

halia

OK all I need some help here, this is my tesco delivery (with comments) for this week plus an idea of any other bits I'm likely to get. This is a fairly typical list but I'm convinced I could get it down lower - problem is. I dont' cook - please dont' tell me to try it, I can cook but I hate it! PLus DH doesn't like the things I cook. DH does cook but goes overboard with expensive ingredients.

I've put anything I got reduced or on BOGOF in bold

How am I really doing? is this overspending or OK?

1 T Finest F/House Multigrain Batchbread 800g £1.19
4 Finest Multigrain Triangle Roll £1 (I like to have some nice rolls in for lunches at the weekend)
1 Stonebaked Sourdough Bloomer 400grams £1.39 (I allow us one 'nice' loaf of bread for every sliced loaf)
1 Value Apples Pack £0.99
4 Bramley Cooking Apples Class 1 Loose £1.44
1 Tesco Galia Melon Class 1 £0.80
1 Ready To Eat Nectarine Punnet £1.59
1 Punnet Plums Class 1 £1.28
Value Bananas 1.25kg £0.86
Clementines Pack £0.85
Supersweet Sweetcorn Pm Twinpack £0.99
Value Onions 2kg £0.78
2 Loose Carrots Class 1 £0.16
New Potatoes 2.5 Kg £1.48
Tesco Finest Tomatoes On The Vine £0.99
Tesco Healthy Eating Semi- Skimmed Milk 1.136ltr/2 Pints £0.80
Tesco Light Choices Low Fat Natural Cot Cheese 300g £0.79
Tesco Healthy Living Greek Style Natural Yoghurt 500g £0.98 (for me, I eat it with tinned fruit or frozen fruit for dessert)
Tesco Value Chocolate Mousse4 Pack 250g £0.28
Tesco Value Low Fat Yogurt 4x125g £0.29
Napolina 2 Pizzeria Bases 300g £0.74
Napolina Pizza Topping Tomato And Basil 300g £0.81 (both for quick meals)
Cadburys Buttons Standard Bag £0.35 (potty training rewards for DS)
Cadburys Fruit & Nut 400g £2.26 (extra LG bar, I break off 2-4 pieces at a time for DH and DS instead of buying small bars)
Fruit Bowl School Bars Blackcurrant 100g £0.64
Tesco Victoria Sponge Mix 225g £0.32 (DS likes baking so we get the mix as its less likely to go wrong!)
Tesco Peach Slices In Juice 410g £0.42
Tesco Apricot Halves In Juice 411g £0.37 (both to go with yogurt for puds)
10 Tesco Calcium Enriched Soya Drink 1ltr £6.30 (For DS, he can't have cows milk)
Tesco Value Mixed Fruit Jam 454g £0.39
Tesco Thick Cut Orange Marmalade454g £0.54
Fray Bentos Meatballs In Bolognese 410g £0.69
Tesco Value Meatballs In Tomato Sauce 392g £0.29 (I mix up the fray meatballs which DH likes with the value ones which he says he wont' eat and so get it slightly cheaper than just buying frays)
Tesco/Lancaster Mince Beef & Onion392g £0.46
Tesco Value Chicken Curry 392g £0.49 (use these as basis for quick stew type meals, I will add in extra veg and meat/pulses to bulk it out but find it gives better results than my attempts at sauces)
Tesco Sandwich Piccalilli 330g £0.69
Tesco Value Green Pesto 190g £0.99
Tesco Tomato Ketchup Squeezy 485g £0.69 (just run out this should last a good 2-3 months)
Tesco Value Peas 900g £0.98
Tesco Value Fishcakes 420g £0.78
2 Del Monte Raspberry Smoothie Lollies 3 X 90ml £0.99 (great deal BOGOFF so 6 smoothie lollies for around 15p each!)
Tesco Yogurt Tulameen R/Berry500ml £1.29
Ben & Jerry's Mango Berry Swirl 500ml £3.99
Swedish Glace Smooth Vanilla 750ml £1.41 (all of the icecream is cos of the hot weather! the swedish glace is expensive but again it has to be cows milk free for DS, I buy cornets and raspberry sauce and make him up his own icecream coens at home rather than buying them when we are out)
4 Tesco Mountain Spring Sparklingwater 4x2 Ltrs £4.92 (we get through loads of this cos I hate the tap water here)
Tesco Swivel Head Twin Blade Disposable Rzrs 10's £0.95
Tesco Value Biological Powder 3kg £1.41
Tesco Value Thin Bleach 2 Ltr £0.28
Tesco Value Twincistern Block 100g £0.33
Tesco Value Sponge Pan Cleaners 5pk £0.14
Tesco Value Kitchen Towel White 2 Roll £0.97
Tesco Value Toilet Tissue 12 Roll 2400 Sht £1.12 (all household stuff lasts about a month)
2 Huggies Pull Upscarry Pack Boy Medium 16 £4.96
2 Huggies Pull Upsnight Time Boy Medium 14 £4.96 (both on boggoff, trying to potty train at the moment but reckon we'll need a few packs yet)

Likely to get more milk for us, and some more fruit, possibly some bread otherwise this should last us a week or so.

pigpen

1. .. while the pullups are on bogof.. stock up!!!!!!!!!
2. tins of value fruit are just as edible.. ditto several other things.. look at down branding a scale.. if you don't like it you can always change back!
3. .. have you considered making your own bread/pizza bases etc??
4. fruit and veg from the local market is usuall cheaper and better value than supermarket stuff.. or do you have a Lidl nearby? they don't deliver but call it a trip out!

Pink.

Hi halia,

It's hard to give advice about a realistic budget as all our needs/wants/family circumstances are different but a good place to begin is the monthly Grocery challenge. In that thread you can see what others budgets are and it's a great place to get support with cutting the grocery bill.

I would also recommend reading Martin's article on Supermarket Shopping which has lots of tips on saving money on groceries.

Menu planning is a good idea...where you plan what you are going to eat for the next number of days then shop only for those things. If you look in The Complete Menu Plans Collection there are lots of threads with good advice.

Good luck with cutting back.

Pink

Bella79

ive just noticed the bottle water you buy !! i too can not stand the water here so only used bottle but i use tesco value i think its about 17p for 2 ltr

Magentasue

halia wrote: »

How am I really doing? is this overspending or OK?

Well, only you know that!

Have you tried the Value sparkling water? I think it's less than 20p for 2litres.

ifonlyitwaseasier

halia wrote: »

OK all I need some help here, this is my tesco delivery (with comments) for this week plus an idea of any other bits I'm likely to get. This is a fairly typical list but I'm convinced I could get it down lower - problem is. I dont' cook - please dont' tell me to try it, I can cook but I hate it! PLus DH doesn't like the things I cook. DH does cook but goes overboard with expensive ingredients.

I've put anything I got reduced or on BOGOF in bold

How am I really doing? is this overspending or OK?

1 T Finest F/House Multigrain Batchbread 800g £1.19 maybe down grade or make your own
4 Finest Multigrain Triangle Roll £1 (I like to have some nice rolls in for lunches at the weekend) how about making your own ?
1 Stonebaked Sourdough Bloomer 400grams £1.39 (I allow us one 'nice' loaf of bread for every sliced loaf)
1 Value Apples Pack £0.99
4 Bramley Cooking Apples Class 1 Loose £1.44
1 Tesco Galia Melon Class 1 £0.80
1 Ready To Eat Nectarine Punnet £1.59
1 Punnet Plums Class 1 £1.28
Value Bananas 1.25kg £0.86
Clementines Pack £0.85
Supersweet Sweetcorn Pm Twinpack £0.99
Value Onions 2kg £0.78
2 Loose Carrots Class 1 £0.16
New Potatoes 2.5 Kg £1.48
Tesco Finest Tomatoes On The Vine £0.99
Tesco Healthy Eating Semi- Skimmed Milk 1.136ltr/2 Pints £0.80
Tesco Light Choices Low Fat Natural Cot Cheese 300g £0.79
Tesco Healthy Living Greek Style Natural Yoghurt 500g £0.98 (for me, I eat it with tinned fruit or frozen fruit for dessert)
Tesco Value Chocolate Mousse4 Pack 250g £0.28
Tesco Value Low Fat Yogurt 4x125g £0.29
Napolina 2 Pizzeria Bases 300g £0.74 make your own, vv easy
Napolina Pizza Topping Tomato And Basil 300g £0.81 (both for quick meals) make your own and freeze, basically, blitz up some tomatoes with herbs and garlic
Cadburys Buttons Standard Bag £0.35 (potty training rewards for DS)
Cadburys Fruit & Nut 400g £2.26 (extra LG bar, I break off 2-4 pieces at a time for DH and DS instead of buying small bars) tesco version fools OH and he's a choc fiend
Fruit Bowl School Bars Blackcurrant 100g £0.64
Tesco Victoria Sponge Mix 225g £0.32 (DS likes baking so we get the mix as its less likely to go wrong!)
Tesco Peach Slices In Juice 410g £0.42 go value
Tesco Apricot Halves In Juice 411g £0.37 (both to go with yogurt for puds) go value
10 Tesco Calcium Enriched Soya Drink 1ltr £6.30 (For DS, he can't have cows milk)
Tesco Value Mixed Fruit Jam 454g £0.39
Tesco Thick Cut Orange Marmalade454g £0.54
Fray Bentos Meatballs In Bolognese 410g £0.69 make your own, i use mince, breadcrumbs, herbs and sometimes an egg to bind it, use the tom sauce from above
Tesco Value Meatballs In Tomato Sauce 392g £0.29 (I mix up the fray meatballs which DH likes with the value ones which he says he wont' eat and so get it slightly cheaper than just buying frays) as above
Tesco/Lancaster Mince Beef & Onion392g £0.46
Tesco Value Chicken Curry 392g £0.49 (use these as basis for quick stew type meals, I will add in extra veg and meat/pulses to bulk it out but find it gives better results than my attempts at sauces)
Tesco Sandwich Piccalilli 330g £0.69
Tesco Value Green Pesto 190g £0.99
Tesco Tomato Ketchup Squeezy 485g £0.69 (just run out this should last a good 2-3 months) tesco jetchup tastes just as nice
Tesco Value Peas 900g £0.98
Tesco Value Fishcakes 420g £0.78
2 Del Monte Raspberry Smoothie Lollies 3 X 90ml £0.99 (great deal BOGOFF so 6 smoothie lollies for around 15p each!)
Tesco Yogurt Tulameen R/Berry500ml £1.29
Ben & Jerry's Mango Berry Swirl 500ml £3.99
Swedish Glace Smooth Vanilla 750ml £1.41 (all of the icecream is cos of the hot weather! the swedish glace is expensive but again it has to be cows milk free for DS, I buy cornets and raspberry sauce and make him up his own icecream coens at home rather than buying them when we are out)
4 Tesco Mountain Spring Sparklingwater 4x2 Ltrs £4.92 (we get through loads of this cos I hate the tap water here) go value
Tesco Swivel Head Twin Blade Disposable Rzrs 10's £0.95
Tesco Value Biological Powder 3kg £1.41
Tesco Value Thin Bleach 2 Ltr £0.28
Tesco Value Twincistern Block 100g £0.33
Tesco Value Sponge Pan Cleaners 5pk £0.14
Tesco Value Kitchen Towel White 2 Roll £0.97
Tesco Value Toilet Tissue 12 Roll 2400 Sht £1.12 (all household stuff lasts about a month)
2 Huggies Pull Upscarry Pack Boy Medium 16 £4.96
2 Huggies Pull Upsnight Time Boy Medium 14 £4.96 (both on boggoff, trying to potty train at the moment but reckon we'll need a few packs yet)

Likely to get more milk for us, and some more fruit, possibly some bread otherwise this should last us a week or so.

ideas are in blue, as others have said it might be worth trying lidl/aldi for veg, they really are fab and good quality, have you looked on mysupermarket.com to see if you could get your shopping cheaper from another supermarket?

join the grocery challenge, we have loads of great ideas and recipes as well as lots of support and suggestions

marmitegirl

hi looks pretty good to me if you are really sure you wont cook at all. But could you drop the choc down a brand level and also notice all your fruit and veg is pre-packed ,how about either just choosing the loose stuff and now its summer take kids to do fruit and veg picking fun and good for the budget too! Good luck have a happy summer .

Ben84

Have you considered a water filter so you don't have to buy bottled water? The savings would steadily add up, and you could use the water to make tea/coffee.

Olliebeak

I noticed that you use Bramley Apples for making apple pies. I usually make stewed apples using any apples that have gone past their best. Just cut them in half, peel, cut into chunks using the pips bit as a guide and then remove the core and pips. I put these into a pyrex dish with just a couple of tablespoons of water and no sugar and soften for a couple of minutes in the microwave. They will maintain their shape and some firmness and will be great for going into an apple pie or for apple sauce - much cheaper than Bramley's and no added sugar.

halia

hi all thanks for ideas so far
I did try the value branded water and just couldn't stand it! It has to be fizzy as well so this is as cheap as I can find that I'll still drink.

re pizza bases/bread etc and making my own. I do love to bake (hate cooking) but DH won't eat my homemade bread at all. Saving up for breadmachine for Xmas but until then I make a loaf or two for me and buy the rest for DH and DS.
The pizza bases and pizza topping are my cheaper alternative to takeout, again DH wont' eat homemade bases so I keep a pack in plus the sauce. I then add sliced veg, tuna and cheese to make up a pizza each.

The prepack fruit I do watch, sometimes its cheaper to buy loose but alot of the time at the moment it seems to be just the same or more. I tend to get in a load fromt esco with my 'big' shop and then pick up extra from local shops including lidl or netto.
No fruit and veg picking round here unfortuantly

I have just stocked up on the pullups - I actually have enough for this month but realised they were still on BOGOF and so bought some more in case they go back to full price. Hoping DS will be out of pullups/nappies by the end of the summer.

The bramleys are for puds, I like a whole apple cooked in the oven. I hadn't thought about using eating apples but aren't they alot sweeter? I like the tart edge of bramleys.

Will try going down a brand on choc, DH (and me) are choc snobs so hoping it will work! hate bars that are soapy or sickly sweet. I am trying to wean DH of his grazing habit though, as he can get through loads of choc in one sitting if I dont' hide it.

tinned fruit - I'll look out for value brands, do they come in juice? hate the stuff in syrup and thought once it had been sugered to death it wasn't countable towards your fiveaday either.

Going to try and keep a log of how long it all lasts, I know we throw alot fo stuff away at the moment so thats the area I want to try and keep on top off. For august I'm going to try and do the store cupbaord challenge now I have this shop in and just buy fresh veg/fruit and milk + sliced bread.
Just have to convince DH not to do impulse shops on his way home from work!

Magentasue

Olliebeak wrote: »

I noticed that you use Bramley Apples for making apple pies. I usually make stewed apples using any apples that have gone past their best. Just cut them in half, peel, cut into chunks using the pips bit as a guide and then remove the core and pips. I put these into a pyrex dish with just a couple of tablespoons of water and no sugar and soften for a couple of minutes in the microwave. They will maintain their shape and some firmness and will be great for going into an apple pie or for apple sauce - much cheaper than Bramley's and no added sugar.

I do this but Bramleys are best - 3lb for £1 at the market on Tuesday. Bramleys make the best baked apples too - cored and stuffed with demerera sugar and butter, some spice and maybe a few sultanas and put in the oven.