Grocery Shopping budget thread

floss2

chewy62 wrote: »

....I think it's all those little snack bits and wine that we could do without!:rotfl:

You don't need to "do without", either buy a '3 bottles for £10' - Asda are now doing own brand £10 wine boxes, quite a wide range, which hold 3 bottles (so same as a '3 for £10'), or look at Freecycle / car boots to acquire the kit to make your own.

There are lots of good recipes on here in the indexed collections for h/m wine

LillythePink

Hi all

Don't know if this is the right place - so excuse me if it isn't (maybe someone could point me in that direction)

Anyway - I have been reading topics etc from meal planning do the DFD, savings tips etc and just wondered how people manage to feed the 5000 on £1 pm (ok an exageration but......)

I am really interested to know how people do only manage to spend £200 pm on food

Now I know that in threads, the general advice is drop a brand or two etc - but is it really that simple?

We don't have Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi - live in Guernsey. We have two major supermarkets - one is locally owned and the other is the Co-op - so, ok the Co-op do own brand goods, but not a wide selection over here.

The other one does import some Iceland stuff (frozen only) and sells Waitrose - so apart from them, we have to really buy branded goods plus they add on freight charges - so we pay a few pennies more for stuff.

So, basically - what do people buy? I am looking to try and budget and cut down - but still end up paying about £130-£150 pw for two adults and a 10yo.

Thanks

meritaten

its just me and OH now - and i do main shop at Aldis and my total is usually about £53 not counting the special offers! per week that is. in my opinion we eat like kings for that! my math is awful but thats about £212 per month. I know darn well I COULD halve that - but we prefer to eat well and have treats.
I also dole out 'survival packs' from my freezer and store cupboard to any of my kids whose housekeeping runs out - about every couple of months!

Back during the awful days of the Miners strike I was a miners wife - and the only supermarket in town was Tesco. I really learned then how to make the pennies stretch.........and a good few ways of cooking sausage! a freezer is a godsend - you can take advantage of reduced products and freeze leftovers.
you learn to use the cheaper cuts of meat and how to bulk them up with cheap veg or tinned stuff.
do you have farm shops there? I often find them cheaper than supermarkets for seasonal produce.

LillythePink

There may be one - but we have "Heg Veg" more - but that usually means driving around the island until you find one with what you want

We are buying a house with a wing for my parents, so I am thinking about mortgage payments as well (if rates rise etc) and the fact that I want to start budgeting properly as I am aware that if we fail we also make my parents homeless as well

I am going to start buying properly and only buy what we need as we do waste food currently which is stupid.

dom300186

Have you tried online shopping? That way it gets delivered to you.

zippychick

Hi Lilythepink

There are quite a few links and resources in OS which should help you

Meal planning, how do you do it?

meal planning where do i start?

May grocery challenge - to see how much others spend - might be suitable for you There is a new one every month

Grocery budget shopping thread

Mealplans for this week (one every week) - to see how others eat

how easy/practical/moneysaving would it be for you to take a trip to the mainland for a monster stock up?

I'll merge your thread later on for you. I know for a fact there are other threads, but I'm just out of the bath and feeling a little sleepy :rotfl:

I'll have a think (or if someone can help me out, please do !)

thanks
Zip

Butterfly_Brain

I would advise growing your own fruit and veg - it save lots of money and you can always freeze or preserve the surplus.
Make your own bread, cakes and biscuits
If you are cooking meat bulk it out with plenty of veg or lentils
Take a look at wartime cookery sites such as
http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/7B2CDE76-8BAF-4F60-8F7C-45D1626629D5/0/HomeFrontrecipes79.pdf

http://www.wardetectives.info/scotlands%20war/files/pdf/pr/recipes.pdf

Or visit the library and see if they have we'll Eat again or Eating for victory

Have two Freezers one for daily use and one for storage for things such as meat, butter and bread.

The Co-op is an expensive place to shop - but you really don't have a lot of choice so I would look out for when they have deals on and buy in bulk.
Can you get a ferry anywhere? What about a three monthly trip to fill up the car with lots of stuff

Here are a few threads that may help with budgeting
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2384579

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2458709

And here are some links to web sites that I have found invaluable over the past few years

http://shirleygoode.blogspot.com/

http://thriftykitchenblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

Norman_Bean

not read replies but quickly for me yes it really can be done!
we are 2 adults 2 kids €180 a month

my tips:
- note everything in your cupboards and freezer and 'shop' from those - make a meal plan trying to buy the least amount possible.

- scraps - don't throw anything away, nothing!

- no second helpings

- rubber chicken is amazing - takes practice but I now get 4 meals plus stock

- soup day once a week

- forage and PYO - think nettle soup, rhubarb crumbles, pear compote etc etc

good luck x

[Deleted User]

Baby steps and good planning .Shop from what you already have in store.If you think about it you bought it in the first place to eat, so why clutter up the cupboards with it.Those tins ect are cold hard cash sitting in your cupboards If you can't grow stuff definitely forage.I can no longer garden owing to clapped out joints but I gather together to odd grandchild at times in the autumn and we pick black berries.Great for freezing and using in crumbles,jam,drinks,scones almost anything and they are FREE.We never walk far in the countryside with the dogs without taking a small plastic bag with us in case we see something of use .I once, two years ago managed to almost fill my freezer with windfalls from apple trees that we spotted.Get to a library and have a good scour at the cookbooks there.That way you don't have to buy any just get the recipes .PM me you email address and I will send you my online 'My Misers Cook Book ' that I have put together from recipes gleaned both from this site, and lots that I have used over the years.I have sent it to alomost 200 people over the past year or so and they all seem pleased with it.
It takes a bit of getting used to but it is possible to live very well on a lot less. I live alone and allow myself £30.00 per week for food I often have money left over which goes into my holiday fund.I only have cash in my purse as its a great way to make you realise how much you spend and once its gone thats it till next week Its how my generation brought our families up as we had no debit/credit cards to fall back on.With cards you are always tempted to buy more than you actually need. I try to only actually go into the shops maybe on a once a week basis if possible and stay away from them the rest of the time .Also eat before you shop you will be less tempted if you shop on a full tummy
Hope this helps a bit. Good luck
P.S. think of all those lovely Guerney tomatos I can think of lots of recipes I could use them in

Stephen_Leak

My personal simple golden rule is make a list. That way you only buy what you need. Also, you don't buy what you don't need, because you couldn't remember whether you had any or not.

OK, you can still snap up any bargains and BOGOFs, but only if it's something that you will use and especially if it's something that can be frozen or doesn't go off.

Now, I've noticed that my coarse ground black pepper is very low, so I shall add that to my list for Friday.

Now, if only I can figure out a foolproof way of always remembering to take the list with me ...

PS. And I've already noted on my list that the supermarket has started doing coarse ground black pepper in 100g sachets for just 74p, which is much better than even their own brand stuff in 100g tubs for £1.47! Information is power.