Grocery Shopping budget thread

Penelope_Penguin

Hootie19 wrote: »

OMG - I was thinking cheerily that I would be able to join in this thread, but having read how little some of you spend, there is no WAY I would be able to do it!!

I have just re-started meal planning and was very proud of myself for bringing our food bill down from around (I never really priced it properly) £750 a month to £564.09 (that's from 28th June to 31st July).

This thread isn't meant to be a competition, just a realistic reflection of what people spend. Some people, me included, dare not say what we spend, as we know that we'll be criticised for our spendthrift ways Ho hum - we're happy and well fed, and can afford what we spend, so no worries

If you can afford it, have a healthy and nutritious diet, then don;t compare yourself unfavourably to others.

If you really need to reduce your spend, get onto the Grocery Thread (stickt at the top of page 1) and the regulars there will give you loads of tips and support :j

Hootie19

darkblue wrote: »

I can see three meals if you're stuck. :j

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Hootie19 wrote: »

OMG - I was thinking cheerily that I would be able to join in this thread, but having read how little some of you spend, there is no WAY I would be able to do it!!

We are five adults, one dog, and three goldfish.

I have just re-started meal planning and was very proud of myself for bringing our food bill down from around (I never really priced it properly) £750 a month to £564.09 (that's from 28th June to 31st July).

The above includes all our food shopping, including cleaning stuff, and this month there were no takeaways (due to the meal planning and knowing what to take out of the freezer in preparation).

Looks like I need to give myself another stern talking to though! But no way will I ever be able to bring the bills down to the few pennies that some of you seem to spend!


p.s. Most stuff is cooked from basics, but there are some convenience stuff in there (jars of curry sauce and pasta sauce, for example)

Hi don't forget I live alone and have no pets (apart from my DGC )
My eldest DD has 5 children,2 dogs 1,hamster,4 rats(yes I know but they are tame ones),a large tank of tropical fish plus her OH and at least once a week me for dinner.Her food bill averages around £180.00 plus per week and she cooks virtually everything from scratch.They have no take-aways ,unless its a treat for a birthday.The family have packed lunches and a cooked evening meal every night with three sorts of veg with what ever they have plus fruit or yoghurts for pudding.She has to bake cakes at least 3 times a week, as her four youngest boys adore home made cake.So don't feel too bad, you have got quite a large family to feed, and often its hard to please all of them at the same time

Nicoll

Nicoll wrote: »

I, like you, also need to really get a grip on my spending, don't really have a budget so go shopping thinking "mustn't spend too much" .
Need to start making a list and stick to and not get diverted by "Ooooh that looks yummy". Did do this for a while and was better but gone back to my old ways.

We have some big bills coming out for August (car tax £205, motorbike insurance £110, motorbike MOT (hopefully £35 and passing but possibly not!) dentist bill £198) plus all the usual stuff so this is definitely the time to start taking control!

Since posting this I thought I'd look back through my debit card statements to get an idea of what I'm spending and thought it was about £200 a month. I'm really embarrassed to put in the figures below...

For July £372
For June £354

That's for 2 Adults and 1 Rottweiler, does include all our cleaning stuff, loo rolls etc. I though I was doing pretty well but seeing those figures......Well, I guess I need to think again

Especially fed up with July figure as I was emptying out the freezer and so made lots of meals up from that. I have to seriously look at my buying habits, we are neither of us fat and we don't throw food away, I always look out for the cheapest options and special offers. Going away now to weep into my "basics" tissues

Nicoll

So far so good this month, only spend £77 in 9 days so if I can continue this way should be able to come in under £300 which I know is still a lot for 2 adults and one dog but will be a huge improvement for me so I will be happy with that and then can look at what else I can do :j

Nicoll wrote: »

Since posting this I thought I'd look back through my debit card statements to get an idea of what I'm spending and thought it was about £200 a month. I'm really embarrassed to put in the figures below...

For July £372
For June £354

That's for 2 Adults and 1 Rottweiler, does include all our cleaning stuff, loo rolls etc. I though I was doing pretty well but seeing those figures......Well, I guess I need to think again

Especially fed up with July figure as I was emptying out the freezer and so made lots of meals up from that. I have to seriously look at my buying habits, we are neither of us fat and we don't throw food away, I always look out for the cheapest options and special offers. Going away now to weep into my "basics" tissues

orangesmartie

lynzpower wrote: »

I get the dogs food from Pets at home now, as its cheaper than supermarkets. She used to have pate trays or cesar type things, ( 50p for a tiny tray- she can eat 3 for tea) but now shes on nature diet/ wainwrights trays from PAH. which are about 75p and 3x the size of the cesar trays. I reckon on her food costing about 10-15 less per month now we are buying organic from notoriously expensive PAH! Her breath is a lot better now too

Haven't got all the way through the thread yet and apologies if this has already been said but...

You can buy cases of naturediet direct from the manufacturer. They come in cases of 18 packets and it works out about 55p per tray. If you order two or more cases at a time, shipping is free. I have found them to be really good, order one day and two days later there is the food. Its only a few pence per tray, but on a case basis its a saving of about £3.60 per case.

sistercas

We are five adults, one dog, and three goldfish

darkblue wrote: »

I can see three meals if you're stuck. :j
.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:ooh that made me laugh :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Hippeechiq

Hootie19 wrote: »

OMG - I was thinking cheerily that I would be able to join in this thread, but having read how little some of you spend, there is no WAY I would be able to do it!!

We are five adults, one dog, and three goldfish.

I have just re-started meal planning and was very proud of myself for bringing our food bill down from around (I never really priced it properly) £750 a month to £564.09 (that's from 28th June to 31st July).

The above includes all our food shopping, including cleaning stuff, and this month there were no takeaways (due to the meal planning and knowing what to take out of the freezer in preparation).

Looks like I need to give myself another stern talking to though! But no way will I ever be able to bring the bills down to the few pennies that some of you seem to spend!


p.s. Most stuff is cooked from basics, but there are some convenience stuff in there (jars of curry sauce and pasta sauce, for example)

Perhaps I've been lucky since I joined MSE, but none of the threads I partake in on the forum have members who are so far up their own backside as to judge anyone else for how much they spend on groceries or whatever.

We are all trying to do our best, by whatever standards we live by, are trying to improve our situations, doing our best to be more aware of what we spend and waste.

It's not my, or anyone elses place to judge other people. I do however like to offer support where I can, and have received it back ten-fold, and I for one applaud anyone who acknowledges that they are spending too much (by their own standards) and tries to do something about it. So well done you :T

CupOfChai

HEAR HEAR Hippeechiq!

And personally I think getting your shop down from £750 to just under £565 is bloody good! Don't worry about some people seeming to spend very little, we all have different circumstances. I think it is easy to start comparing yourself to others but you really should try not to as it's really a very personal thing. For example, I'm aware you might think my aimed-for bill (in sig) is small, but you're buying for five adults plus pets and I'm only buying for little old me!

loupoppins

Great thread! It has inspired me again to look at trying to further reduce our grocery budget:D!
We are a family of 8. 2 adults, and 6 kids aged 12,10,8,6,4 and 2.
Admitedly the 4 and 2 year old don't eat huge ammounts. The 12 and 10 year old seem to eat more than me and dh though LOL
At the moment I spend on average £90 a week. That includes toiletries, cleaning stuff, nappies for ds2 (was in washable ones till recently, now potty training).Also includes our Friday night bottle of wine! I make packed lunches for all dc for school/nursery.We NEVER eat out, and me and dh would have a take-away maybe 3 or 4 times a year for a treat!We do have a dog, but this figure doesnt include her food. She costs around £25/month.
I cook pretty much everything from scratch.I bake a lot of cakes/biscuits,though do buy some sometimes too. I sometimes make my ownbread, but mostly must admit buy this. I often shop late and stock up on bargains!I buyb whole chickens/gammon joints/other joints etcand get 2 or 3 meals out of them.
I feel as if I try hard! But tbh I bet if I looked at it carefullyI could get it down more!;)