help with food bill

betterlife

hi we are a family of 6, 2 adults and children of 8, 4, 2 and 12wks. i spend £60 pw which includes nappies and wipes, i buy cleaning products monthly. this does`nt seem much but im a stay at home mum and cook everything from scratch, i also grow some veg so i make lots of soups and stews, roasts and cottage pies.x

diane118

hi thanks for your replys how do i find this old style board please

consultant31

diane118 wrote: »

hi thanks for your replys how do i find this old style board please

Here you go:- http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=33

Bitsy_Beans

Another vote for Oldstyle board.
As for cleaning products - lots of people mention about buying them. I use Stardrops (found on bottom shelf in Sainsburys) and it's a multipurpose cleaner. I use it for my bathroom and apart from bleach I don't use anything else. Its fab stuff and my last bottle has lasted 6 months as you don't need a great deal. I was getting through a bottle of jif a month before.
I definately think they can cut back if they use a bit of self discipline and effort.

kj*daisy

I spend about half that for a family of four, hopefully if you can show her the way to the Oldstyle board she''ll be able to reduce that amount.

Savvy_Sue

diane118 wrote: »

hi thanks for your replys how do i find this old style board please

I know you've had a pointer over there but

MOVING THREADS FOR BETTER RESPONSES

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to the Moneysaving Old Style board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

FWIW, it's more than I spend for a family of five, used to reckon £100 per week although I confess I don't spend a lot on cleaning materials. Hard to say now that 2 of them are at Uni and I'm getting used to cutting down. I usually stick to Morrisons and I wouldn't say I was a particularly careful shopper, although I can be. I do know roughly what things cost: went to Somerfield today because I was in a tearing hurry and it was the nearest, but refused to pay their prices for quite a few things! I'm sure we'll be OK because I keep my store cupboard topped up most of the time.

One thing to check is whether she is throwing much away. I throw very little food away. Partly because teenage boys are gannets, and partly because I am creative with any leftovers. Since the biggest gannet is now away, this is more and more necessary.

gairlochgal

Don't know if this applies to your daughter but I had a bit of a lightbulb moment a while back about my own shopping habits. I was grumpy with my DDs for always wanting juice not water, for example, and I suddenly woke up to the fact that I was causing the problem by keeping juice on tap. So now I limit my purchasing of those kinds of products and I let them run out, and don't top up for anything except milk. So when we're out we're out and that's it till next week. It has made a big impact on them and they now try to ration things a little bit.

OrkneyStar

£160 sounds a lot to me, though I understand how it could easily be spent.
I would say check out the grocery challenge thread, for hints and tips (click on the blue bit to go there!).
Also I would think about:
1. do they meal plan and make a list (thus buying only what they need) ?
2. do they throw loads away ?
3. could they come down a brand ?- brand to stores own, stores own to value ?
4. do the kids go along ? are they adding stuff in as they go ? (kids need to realise that although some treats are fine, they cannot have them all the time, healthy or other, as they need to see things are not always on tap).
5. could she shop online, thus avoiding being tempted ?
6. shop using cash only- this way its much harder to part with your cash ?
Ok, hope this helps a little.

Cornishpixie_2

Hi, There are 6 of us, 4 primary school children. I have tried to limit my food shopping to between £70-£80. I meal plan and stick to a list. I resent giving anymore of our money to the one of the bigger supermarkets. I do alot of baking from scratch and don't waste any leftovers.It gets easier once you start. Infact it turns you into a real frugally.:rotfl: