Grocery Shopping budget thread

chewy62

Hi everyone! just wondering if you could direct me to somewhere that helps you shave money off your food shopping bill?
Need to be spending £95 a week (tax credits) and that is for two adults, DS age 7, DS age 5, and DS age 14 months.
Have already worked out we spend about £135 a week, so need to really cut back!
Any help would be gratefully received, how does everyone else manage with hungry boys!:o;):o

Trinny

Hi THere

I would look at the recipe mega index and if you havent already done so - i would join the grocery challenge

WHy not do a freezer and fridge and storecupboard inventory, that way you know what you already have

Meal planning and menu plans for the week are also good

Look at Weezl's and MBAZ threads for cutting costs to the bone - weezl is in the forum called "how much have you saved".

Otherwise - its worth reading the thread which pen pen started on "how to get to the end of the month with very little money".

Sorry i cant do links - someone will be along soon who can i am sure

Best Wishes

Trin

nomoneytoday

Our biggest saving comes from planning the week's meals in advance.
We used to buy more then throw loads away when it went out of date, where as with a plan 99% gets used

BitterAndTwisted

Set aside several hours to have a read of this thread which is about feeding a family on less than a pound each per meal:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2176651

One of the first things you could do is make an inventory of everything in your store-cupboard, fridge and freezer and see what use things can be put to.

Meal-plan for the week so you know what to shop for, buy that and absolutely nothing else.

Withdraw your weekly food-shopping budget in cash every week and spend not a penny more.

Drop down a brand from the popular manufacturers to the supermarket own brands. Then, if you perceive no difference, drop down to the supermarket's "value" brands.

Buy fruit and veg in season and take advantage of special offers, buy-one-get-one-free and marked-down items like meat and bread.

Batch cook and set aside items in the freezer for use later.

Have a look on the Approved Foods and Food Bargains websites for things past their "best before" dates. Huge savings can be made on dry goods, tinned and packaged foods even taking into account the £5 minimum delivery charge for 30 kilos of goods.

£95 a week is a fair sum to feed a family of your size, it just means a different mind-set and more planning. Never, ever throw a morsel of food away when it could be made into something!

wssla00

Hello here are some threads to be looking at

Feed the family for £20 a month
50p a meal thread
Grocery challenge- you set the budget and get support from the people on it
Family meals for a fiver

Hope this helps Also try https://www.mysupermarket.com which will show you where you can save money on your normal shopping

chewy62

I try and plan meals for the week and usually works well, using a lot of mince!
I think it's all those little snack bits and wine that we could do without!:rotfl:

wssla00

Ooh in that case... why not try making your own...

Traybakes
Twinks hobnobs

durham_girl

Trinny wrote: »

I would look at the recipe mega index and if you havent already done so - i would join the grocery challenge

Could someone point me in the direction of this please? I've searched but can't find it

Thanks!

stef240377

durham_girl wrote: »

Could someone point me in the direction of this please? I've searched but can't find it

Thanks!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=8736367#post8736367

zippychick

Hi Chewy:hello:

You've had excellent help and suggestions already. The grocery challenge would definitely be a good start for you. Thought I would also link you to a few other threads

Grocery shopping budget thread

There is a good post here from Pink Winged as she has her very own teenager

Cheap snacks to fill up teenagers

Feeding growing teenagers

healthy snacks for kids

Healthy treats/biscuits for kids

I'll add your thread to the first link later to keep the ideas together

thanks
Zip