Grocery Shopping budget thread

gailey_2

We family of 5

2adults 5year old and 10month old.

no pets

I breastfeed and use cloth for baby

hubby and eldest take packed lucnches

was £400 a month
but trying to reduce it to 200 for next 3months

going to be very hard

that includes household and toilitries.

we spend small fortune on milk as get through 4pints a day!
baby prefers jars to my food hes well fussy eater

we shop

farmfoods -cheaper than iceland
we have large chest freezer

we go co-op and spar for reduced and pop in freezer rarly pay fullprice for bread

lidls for veg/fruit and few other bits

sainsburys/tesco or morrisons for rest depending where we are and whos got good offers.

i look at everyones offeres each week
use my supermarket
try and get reduced
use the odd coupon
batch cook and freeze in to tubs £1 from poundland

forage free fruit we get blackberries, cherries, plums and elder round here and im outer city suberb.

we have small veggie patch- need to plan what we grow.
for the begginer herbs good as easy to grow, use in meals and fresh herbs pricey to buy

we buy value lines
we only buy crisps/biscuits if on offer
same with pop-
use double concentrate squash lasts longer

I suggest you look through old recipts

see what you could live without
see what you can downshift to cheaper brand
meal plan
try living off cupboards and freezer before doing shopping
make na list and stick to it
try use any leftovers or freeze what you can.
stake bread can make bread and butter pudding or worst case feed ducks cheap activity with kids.

good luck.

Linda32

We are just two adults here, no children or pets.

OH gets a hot dinner at work so he dosn't have to take much packup, only 1 sandwich and few toms and a "pudding" - fruit/cake/yog whatever.

I budget for £65 per week, which seems to work well.

Includes food, cleaning things, toiletres - no posh names there, far to [STRIKE]tight[/STRIKE] MSE and wine.

Emzbubbles

We spend about £90 a week and there is myself, partner, 2 year old daughter and 2 cats. That includes everything, pet food, nappies, toiletries etc

I know this is too much and we spend money on things we don't really need just because we can. Since joining this forum and browsing the mse site I have realised we could cut our bill dramatically and save lots of pennies.

We are now aiming for £70 a week. Looking forward to the challenge.

cleggie

I aim to spend no more than £200 a month on all food, drinks, toiletries, cleaning products etc. There is me and my 2 sons (they are 11 and 7 and eat a LOT!!).

Kirri

Planning on £80 a month for food (largely organic) - me plus pets.

But I'm veggie and don't bother drinking alcohol really these days plus I grow my own veg - so should be easy!

I was over budget this year but then I do like baking new recipes but less of that and more meal planning and using store cupboard stuff up and less waste in 2012!

pourwitty

I'm on my own i spend £15 a week on food & £3 on the dog
so £60 a month on food for me, wish i could spend less as i think it's a waste of money- but we have to eat sadly!
not sure what i spend on toiletres but it's not going to be much.

quintwins

i have a budget of £200 for 2 adults two 5 year olds and a 2 year old who eat alot so more like 4 adults with extra fruit, that includes everything from dog food to cleaning products and nappies, i'm hoping to cut down to £150 from next month

Jessie11

For me and my partner our budget is £200 a month.

Penelope_Penguin

As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add it to the existing thread to keep ideas together

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Hm thanks for the replies, I was thinking £200 but maybe that's too much?

Dog says dry dog food which I buy in bulk every odd month. I eat at home 7 days a week, DD (4) eats at home 4 days a week (3 days at school and just cereal on these days ay home) OH Only here 2 days a week and baby not born yet but will be breast fed. Cleaning wise, mainly buy bleach, washing powder, fabric conditioner - rest I have LOADS of.