Grocery Shopping budget thread

VickyA_2

I'm afraid that I just have a budget of £150 pcm (2 adults) for food and cleaning equipment/toiletries etc and I don't actually know how much I spend on these items. However, I always try to make the most of any offers (eg BOGOF or 2 for £X).

Toothpaste - Colgate/Aquafresh/Macleans - whatever is on offer.

Deodrant - prefer the branded "smells". again, whatever offer is on.

Toothbrush - we have electric toothbrushes and I get replacement heads from ebay.

Razors - we're both very picky. DH has some Gilette Mach 3 or other and after a dodgy batch of blades from ebay, his blades now come from Tesco/Boots. Mine is the Gilette Venus - blades have all been ok from ebay.

Shampoo - Head and Shoulders (always bought when on offer!)

Shower gel - I have so much from Christmas and my birthday that I don't generally buy this! DH uses Simple soap for his sensitive skin - generally from Wilkos.

Bleach - either Daisy from Tesco or whatever is on offer in Wilkos

Laundry liquid - Persil (offer from Tesco! Have tried some own-brands, but it just doesn't smell the same )

Washing up liquid - supermarket own brand (when on offer)

Loo roll - more often than not, the Tesco "softish" own brand but whatever is the best offer at the time. Earlier this year, I got a 9 pack of Nouvelle for £1.99 and kicked myself for only getting one pack. (from Wilkos)

Sorry, a lengthy reply!

PasturesNew

Didn't think it was that unusual....

PasturesNew wrote: »

Washing powder: £5/year - I don't wash every week, probably do 2 washes every 3-4 weeks. When at home I wear leggings/T shirt to protect good clothes. I don't wash everything when I've only worn it once. I don't do any dirty activities that would cause any clothes to attract sweat or muck.

Washing up liquid: £3/year - I wait for offers, BOGOF. I buy supermarket own brand anti-bacterial ones - probably usually 2 for £1. I use enough, but sparingly. I wash up by hand and I don't have running hot water, so I re-use mugs/plates where possible. e.g. if I have a cheese sandwich now on a plate ... then in 4 hours' time I have another cheese sandwich I'd use the same plate. Minimise washing up because boiling the kettle is a pain to do.

Loo roll £50/year - can't skimp on that. I always buy multi-packs, not the cheapo ones, I double check the p/100 sheets on the price label and buy in bulk when I see the cheapest offer. I just bought loads from Spar - doing 16(?) for £3.89 I think (might be 12)

Washing up sponges/J cloths etc: £3/year - I buy the cheap supermarket own brand

Bleach: £5/year - I buy the supermarket own brand ones, choosing by p/litre but not using their watery stuff.

Deodorant: £1/year - I wait for bargains. Current one is Arrid XX. 50ml ball one. Bought two at Xmas for £1.... I think this one alone will last me all year.

Shampoo: £5/year - I actually managed to pick up two bottles that were 50p (reduced from £2) at Xmas. I am careful how much shampoo I use. I wash my hair about every 3 days. Current shampoo is Henara. This year's shampoo bill will therefore be £1.

Conditioner: £5/year - same as shampoo, I picked up some end of line bargains. Current conditioner is Henara. This year's conditioner bill will actually be £1.

Toothpaste: £3/year - always, always bulk buy when it's on offer. I use enough toothpaste, without it being all over the place. A dentist told me something pea-sized is enough, but that seems a bit small, so I use about 2 peas for size. I use Colgate Total usually.

Wet wipes: £2/year - I keep an eye out for these when they're on offer. I buy based on price. Currently got some 2-for-1 baby wipes I bought last year.

So it looks like: £82/year. Well under £2/week.

OK?

suzybloo

Hi there I have noted below what I ususally buy - pricing is average as I tend to try and buy when on special offer

Washing powder - ariel or persil - one month I buy colour powder next month I buy for the whites £5.85
Lenor £1.85
Washing up liquid - tesco own £0.70
Dishwasher tablets - £3.50
Bleach - buy when on 2 for £1.00
Flash liquid for bathroom/kitchen £1.75
Toilet roll £3.85 - whatever is on special for 12 rolls
Shampoo/conditioner £4.00 = ususally herbal essences/sunsilk - again whats on offer
deodorant for OH and myself - usually sure £1.80 - special offer again
Cloths for kitchen/bathroom 4 for £1.20
Toothpaste £1.70 - average usually colgate total whitening
Kitchen roll - semichem do 4 for 99p
San Towels "2.50'ish = again whats on offer
Mach 3 razor blades - semichem £2.99 at the mo
soap - always palmolive (love the smell!) 40p
Shower gel - usually radox on special £1
cloths 4 for £1.20 but I cut down old cloths etc for dusting, bathroom etc
This is just an average as some months i may not need to replace some products - i also buy wherever is cheaper between boots/tesco and have started going to semi-chem which I am quite surprised at. I know I could do the downshift a brand challenge but tend to use more of the cheaper products so its a false economy for me!
Hope this gives you some idea!
Suz

Pooky

Based on 2 adults, 2 kids (teen/pre teen age)

Washing powder - I use shops own at around £1.60 a box - add in a bag of soda crystals at 56p and that will last around 6/8 weeks. (I do around 10 loads a week including the bedding/towels etc).

= approx £16 per year.

Washing up liquid - 2 bottles a year - I hardly wash anything by hand - it all goes in the dishwasher. I only every buy the cheap and cheerful one.

= approx 60p a year

White vinegar, probably 8 bottles a year at around 50p per bottle.

= £4.00 per year

Bleach - 6 bottles a year maybe - shops own so around 35p a bottle

= £2.10 per year

Loo rolls - cheap and cheeful again. Pack of 12 at £1.50 ....3 a month.

= £54 per year

Soap - Well there's 4 of us and we get through a bar a month easily. I buy 4 for £1 at the pound shop.

= £3 per year

Shampoo - We all use something different, anti dandruff, cheapie and tresseme... I normally buy 1 a month on rotation.

= approx £24 per year

Conditoner - tresseme 4 bottles a year...normally when on bogof with shampoo

= approx £10 per year

Deoderant - roll ons - we all get through one each a month - DD's have a body spray each month too.

= approx £30 per year

Toothpaste - Whatever's on bogof, plus mouthwash, toothbrushes, floss etc

= approx £42 per year

Dishwasher powder/salt - Lidls own, box of powder lasts around 6/8 weeks, salt every 3 months.

= approx £30

Sanitry protection - bogof

= approx £30 per year

Razors for DH - £11 per 8 weeks

= £71.50

Cleaning clothes - mine get boiled and boiled and boiled so I probably only buy new ones once a year

= £3

Wet wipes - ermm I don't think so - waste of money.

That comes to approx - £320.20 per year


I don't keep seperate pots for things, I just include it as part of my grocery budget, I'm in a good routine of buying stuff on a rota basis though so no big payouts in one week.

HTH

Butterfly_Brain

I get all my toiletries in poundland or the 99p shop it saves a lot of money and you can get every stardrops that there is in there.
last week I picked up 900ml bottles of Mess Head Shampoo and conditioner for £1 each and it really is good.

randomer

I've been wasting a fortune on this stuff. Couldn't resist all those gloopy liquids and lovely smells. I must have been a dream customer for the people who make the adverts.

NO MORE!

**purpleprincess**

Thanks for all your replies!! I have realised that I'm not spending as much as I thought I was!

My budget is the same as yours VickyA £150 p/m all in for 2 adults and a kitten.

MindaJ

I keep my toilettries budget separate from from my groceries, mainly because I use different shops for them.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

randomer wrote: »

I've been wasting a fortune on this stuff. Couldn't resist all those gloopy liquids and lovely smells. I must have been a dream customer for the people who make the adverts.

NO MORE!

Me too,I just love nice smelling things and to be honest I suppose as there's only the two of us we can afford to waste a little bit.
I've tried the wash balls and soap nuts ect but they just don't do it for me so I'd rather spend a little bit more to be honest.
As for toiletries,don't ask:eek:

xmaslolly76

I used to be A lotion and potion adict trying everything new that came on the market as for cleaning products the best i can find is soda crystals and white vinagar they work much better than all your cilet ciff and flash crap put together and the soda crystals in my washing powder make it last longer and make my whites come out lovely :-)

AS for in the bathroom Poundland poundland and poundland again you ahve to keep popping in but when they have a product i like i buy in bulk i have a box to store everything in the only thing i tend to avoid is the tooth paste as it tends to be from other countries, I had some arm and hammer tooth paste normally one of my favorites but god knows what they put in it over there it tasted vile and made me feel like throwing up so it was tesco to the rescue with their £1 deals and i have stocked up on colgate. All in all i have probably spent about £15 on bathroom stuff and have well over a yrs supply to keep me going we have 2 adults a teenager (who insists on showering at least twice a day and using a can of deodarant at every opportunity) 1 small child and a baby on the way.

Has anyone got any tips on bin bags ?? i really struggle to find good quality ones cheaply i buy at the moment tesco's extra strong ones which are about £4 for 20 ouch!!! but non of the cheap ones will hold they are flimsey and just rip :-)