Grocery Shopping budget thread

mama67

mama67 wrote: »

I have a basic budget of £1820 per year or £35 per week. I will have access to an extra £10 per week from Sept, so will use that if need be to help cover the increase in prices or to do a stock up so I can start 2010 with full cupboards and freezers.

This is for myself, Dh, DS1 (14) & DS2 (11) so usually 3 adult one large child portion.

DS1 has hollow leg syndrome and never stops eating; he is also very active and so needs this to fuel his activities.
DS2 is also very active and needs a fair amount for his activities as well.

I have an organic veg box delivered weekly, get eggs from the farm gate, have milk, butter, cream and fruit juice delivered by the milkman, I buy meat from either the butchers or farm shop.
The rest is bought at the supermarket usually fortnightly.

The boys both have £10 per week for school dinners (different budget) and when they are not in school this is used for any extras that are needed during the school holidays with they being at home or sometimes for a stock up.

I cook all our meals from scratch and make/bake all my bread and cakes. We only have a takeaway if Dh has done some overtime.

I save all my Clu8card and N3ctar points to use at Christmas, I also put £1 per week away into a piggy bank to use for the turkey etc for Christmas.

I always pay cash when shopping so can't go over; although I usually take an extra £5 in case of whoopsies.

This has been changed for 2010 and is now £2700, this has allowed for price increases and for the extras I'm having to buy/make for the "hollow legs".

It is broken down each week as:

organic veg box - £11.00
milkman - £11.90 ( I tfr £12.50 to a/c so surplus is left there for xmas)
meat & eggs - £10.00
supermarket -£20.00 ( tins etc)

DS1 will quite happily eat a full roast dinner with pudding and then still have sandwiches and fruit before going to bed, this is after having had sandwiches and fruit when coming in from school, he always has 3 weetabix for breakfast, and often the cooked option at school;

I buy alot of value products and make very good use of bogofs and whoopsies.

youngmummy

my budget is £150 a month(£30-£40 a week), thats for 3 of us. me, oh and a 1 year old. it includes everythink. food,cleaning stuff,nappies,formula,baby wipes ect,milk bread,toiletries-loo roll ect. i dont buy washing powder or fabric softer as i use eco-ball... is that alot?????

elf06

My budget is for £120 per 4 weeks. This is just for me, DS (3.5 but eats like a grown man ) and my nearly 8 year old cat.
It includes everything - food, cleaning products, cat food, nappies (night time only), toiletries, cards and wrapping paper (not always gifts but mostly they included) but like that last poster (or the one before that???) does not include bills like electric etc.

slinkie

Finally after lurking for an awful long time I've decided it's time to post!

I've started to keep a budget of what we spend each month and have noticed that we're spendinng quite a bit of money on food shopping. What do people typically spend a week on their food shopping??

There are only two of us to feed and we're averaging around 100 per week - which seem to be very high to me.

Also there are so many posts in the OS board - where is the best place to start??

Pink.

Hi slinkie,

Welcome to MSE :hello:

Everyone's needs/wants are different so it's hard to put a figure on what is a reasonable amount to spend on groceries, but this thread should give you an idea of what others spend on their grocery shopping: Grocery Shopping budget threads I'll add your thread to that one later.

It might also be worth joining in with the February 2010 Grocery Challenge thread. You can set a reduced amount that you feel comfortable with and if you manage that then try to reduce it a little the following month. Everyone sets themselves a personal grocery budget and try to encourage and support each other throughout the month to stick to their own budget. What you include in your budget is entirely up to you. The thread for March will begin on Sunday.

For lots of tips and ideas on cutting back your grocery bill have a look at Martin's article on Supermarket Shopping and we also have a board where grocery offers are posted regularly: Food Shopping & Groceries Also the Discount Codes 'n Vouchers board has vouchers and codes that should help with online shopping.

Meal planning is a good way of managing your grocery spending. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it's a great way to save money by making sure you don't buy unnecessary things. Perhaps try it for one week to see how you get on by making a list of what you have at home and trying to build your meals around that. To get some help with mealplanning have a look in The Complete Menu Plans Collection.

For cheaper meal ideas have a look here: Cheap recipe threads

And finally for help on getting started, have a look here:

Welcome to Old Style

Tips and Quick Questions on “How To Start Being Old Style”


I'm sorry to have bombarded you with links but if you take the time to read through them it should save you some money. Good luck with reducing your bill.

Pink

slinkie

wow what a lot of information - that should keep me out of trouble for a while!!!

thanks

BitterAndTwisted

I'm single and out of work at the moment so my shopping budget is £15 a week. Luckily I have a stock-cupboard groaning with supplies and cleaning-materials and toiletries hoarded so I'm really only buying milk, eggs and a bit of fresh fruit and veg for the most part. I love Aldi's Super6!

scotdebs

wow you lot are really inspirational...I have just started my first grocery challenge and was aiming for £400 (think i have been spending over £500 previously) for March - given that we are a family of just 2 adults and 2 children (4yrs & 7 months) and one dog - i know that we should be spending much less - after reading what some of you guys manage on Im now going to aim for £375
thanks so much everyone

tomandkath

Can anyone direct me to a site showing what the average food budget for a family of four is and possibly what is included? I've been faffing about on the internet for ages with no luck and I'm sure if such a site exists then you guys will know! many thanks!

alisong_2

I think you'll find the OS board is good for this sort of info and they're very helpful!