Grocery Shopping budget thread

alys_fowler

there are 4 in our household plus 2 pets mine ranges between £150-£200 a month outside of that money i get milk and bread every 3-4 days so probably another £20 approx a month on top of that

bramble1

This week our shop was £21 for me and OH we've now got enough food (with the exception of bread) to last till the 25th.

Next month i'm aiming at £30 a week for OH and I and our dog food costs £6.50 for 7.5kg and so far that's lasted just under a month.

The_Thrilla

I normally spend just under £45 a week and I am trying to get this down. I am a widower who lives alone. I don't smoke and I don't drink alcohol. This particular week, I decided to make a training week (for when the recession really starts to bite), So I just went shopping Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, and will not shop again till next Tuesday. I have been living on what I bought, and on the rice and the pulses in the cupboard, and the fish in the freezer. I managed to spend £24.66 for this week. It is Sunday, and I have run out of coffee, which is annoying, and will have to add hot water to the dregs that are left in the cafetiere; otherwise the week has been a success and it is even possible that I will not go shopping till Wednesday or even later.

I have lived through recessions before. My late wife and I even got to like them. But I know that this one is the Biggie, and I am determined to enjoy it. I have been stockpiling long grain rice bit by bit over the last year. I have recently been taking stock and found that I have 28 Kg of the stuff.

tessie_bear

what an interesting thread...very interesting how peoples budgets vary....as does who they are buying for and where they buy it from

i have a family of 2 adults and 2 children and the most i ever spend on food is £35....i do buy bigger quantities of bargains if i see them for example the tesco b1g2f tomatoes

i cook every thing from scratch...everyone has packed lunches and i use up leftovers as much as i can...i shop every couple of days and try never to throw anything away

hth

Wee_Jo

The_Thrilla wrote: »

I normally spend just under £45 a week and I am trying to get this down. I am a widower who lives alone. I don't smoke and I don't drink alcohol. This particular week, I decided to make a training week (for when the recession really starts to bite), So I just went shopping Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, and will not shop again till next Tuesday. I have been living on what I bought, and on the rice and the pulses in the cupboard, and the fish in the freezer. I managed to spend £24.66 for this week. It is Sunday, and I have run out of coffee, which is annoying, and will have to add hot water to the dregs that are left in the cafetiere; otherwise the week has been a success and it is even possible that I will not go shopping till Wednesday or even later.

I have lived through recessions before. My late wife and I even got to like them. But I know that this one is the Biggie, and I am determined to enjoy it. I have been stockpiling long grain rice bit by bit over the last year. I have recently been taking stock and found that I have 28 Kg of the stuff.

Hi Thrilla,

28kg of rice! Wow! Good work! In your opinion, how long until the recession starts to "bite"?

Jo

The_Thrilla

Hi Jo
I think that by the end of 2010 the recession will be so clear that even my offspring will have noticed it, and will be asking me for help.

HoneyBee83

Evening all,
We are a small family. Me,my daugher 4yrs and 2 cats...1 greedy and 1 not so much.
I budget about:
£120 a month...remove £20 for cats...thats £25 a week...£12.50 a person...£1.79 per person per day...and that pretty much covers everything,i dont drive so petrol isnt needed. Its proberly less for me as i like my 3 main meals and one snack but my daughter-growing girl- tends to have 3 main meals and 4 snacks!! And she gets through milk like you wouldnt believe!!:eek: i should just buy a cow!
I tend to spend £80 online one month to keep the freezer and cupboards well stocked then for 3 months after it'll be £30, then in both cases the rest for 'odds and ends' like milk and fresh fruit/veggies,then im usually left with a bit to pop into my emergency fund.
I take huge advantage of b1g1f and 3for2 etc etc in my £80 shop. I have to be careful when popping out for 'odds and ends' as something always catches my eye...usually cake and could make one if i wanted it that badly!! :rotfl:

This may seem like a lot to some and yes we are comfortable but i get the best prices for us and i do buy value foods too pasta,rice,noodles esp when it comes to 'emergency-end of month-freezer foods or daughters fussy friend for tea'-being chips,fish fingers etc etc after a blob of mayo you dont notice the difference!
The main thing i spend on is daughters snacks, she likes lots of cucumber/carrot with hommus dip (yes i make it),yogurts,fruit salads etc etc i like to keep a good selection so she doesnt get bored and lose her good eating habits!

**purpleprincess**

Ello ello! Our food budget has gone up a bit with food prices etc. Our budget-me, boyf and cat- is £200 a month and includes food, toiletries, cleaning products, cat food and cat litter, alcohol. It took a while to get that down, when I lived alone I was spending £100 a week! Bonkers! Our food includes breakfasts, packed lunches, dinners and snacks 7 days a week.

Hope this helps someone!

Bubby

I am posting this as I am trying to rein in our money a bit so that we can save some more money every month.

I currently spend anywhere between £450-£700 per month for a family of 4:eek:, I thought this was ok until I joined this site and saw all of the grocery challenge budgets etc:o.

I find it really frustrating that junk food is cheaper than healthy food:mad:, do all of you with smaller budgets eat lots of fresh fruit and veg and tasty meals or is it a case of thats your budget and you eat within the restrictions of that?

I am tempted to try Aldi as I have one not too far away and have never been, is this good for fruit and veg?

BitterAndTwisted

Aldi can be quite cheap especially if you buy the Super6 items but the choice is a bit restricted.

As a test, why don't you keep a spending-diary for a month to monitor what you're paying and what you're paying for? Popping into the supermarket for a couple of bits and pieces every few days can be absolutely deadly. I think the really keen price-watchers set themselves a budget and work out their meal-plans from that, substituting items from the plan which are on special offer or reduced.

No need to kill yourself or bore your family to death if you're trying to cut down, just think about dropping a brand to start with till you get the hang of it all.