Grocery Shopping budget thread

Catchymonkey

Thanks for all those tips Val, luckily don't have to think about school meals as the kids are all home educated

DH has posted his DLA application today so even if he only gets the lowest level that will be a bit more to play with.

JulieGeorgiana

I spend £45 a week on 3... but I do think £80 is do-able... but nappies are the biggest expense you have. I remember looking into nappies with my sister, and lidl's nappies got some excellent reviews and cut the cost quite a big, but they only do them for older children (toddlers not babies) maybe it's worth looking into?

proudmumof4

Hi, we are a family of 6 and this includes twins still in nappies. I'm a student and my hubby works part time and starting his own business so money is very tight but we manage of a shopping budget of £50 a week. Sometimes we might push the boat out and have a few extra's, a bottle of wine, some steak etc but I manage to keep our shopping around the £50 mark most weeks. I use the slow cooker loads and often buy really cheap joints of meat that I use for 2/3 meals. It is possible and the people on this board are a really good source of info and inspiration. I wish you and your family all the best and have my fingers crossed for you x

OrkneyStar

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

I spend £45 a week on 3... but I do think £80 is do-able... but nappies are the biggest expense you have. I remember looking into nappies with my sister, and lidl's nappies got some excellent reviews and cut the cost quite a big, but they only do them for older children (toddlers not babies) maybe it's worth looking into?

Lidl nappies start at size 3 (or they did a year and a half ago)- which DS would have fitted in at about 5-6 months. We mainly used real nappies but on the occasions we used sposies I found Lidl or Tesco nappies to be as good as Pampers or Huggies!

JulieGeorgiana

OrkneyStar wrote: »

Lidl nappies start at size 3 (or they did a year and a half ago)- which DS would have fitted in at about 5-6 months. We mainly used real nappies but on the occasions we used sposies I found Lidl or Tesco nappies to be as good as Pampers or Huggies!

That's what I read all over the internet when looking it up for my sister. My son being 8 years old... I have never tried them!

But everyone raves!

They have a strip on them and when saturated it goes blue so you know when they need changing!

quintwins

i do think thats completely do able we are a family of 5 with 1 in nappies full time and 2 dogs our budget is £40 and we regulary come in under it just takes some planning and shopping around, we eat alot of cheaper cuts of meat and buy great big sacks of spud

lidl nappies are great or sainburys own brand are great and in the 1/3 off are just £1 for 22 we mainly use these and lidl if i'm caught short (doesn't happen often i tend to stock up)

also you might be suprised what you have hiding in your cupboards/freezer thats could feed you for a long time

OrkneyStar

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

That's what I read all over the internet when looking it up for my sister. My son being 8 years old... I have never tried them!

But everyone raves!

They have a strip on them and when saturated it goes blue so you know when they need changing!

Yeah the ones I used did have the strip thing, though tbh I didn't rely on it (and it only works for wet, not poo!) .
DS is now 3 and a half so not used nappies for 2 and half years!

ixia

I'm sorry to hear about your situation I am sure it is do-able with a bit of meal planning and if possible visiting a few different shops.

aldi's super 6 is usually good as id farmfoods for bread and milk if you have got them nearby.

good luck

Penny-Pincher!!

Catchymonkey wrote: »

Yes our benefits will go up but our other outgoings, including debt repayments, leave us with £640 a month for food, clothes, running costs of car etc. I will draw up an SOA and post it over on the other board in case anyone can suggest anything. Thanks.

Your debt repayments will need to be re-jiggled as your income is being reduced. Hopefully fuel costs on the car will be reduced if use is less.

Are you a member of Freecycle for clothes and other bits?

PP
xx

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi, we are a family of four (2 adults and 2 kids and spend £60 a week on food/toiletries/cleaning. I know I could do this for less, especially if I could persuade OH to eat less meat. I think your budget is do-able but you are going to have to work really hard to make sure everyone gets a good balanced diet. Take care of yourself too, it sounds like you have a lot to cope with.

If its any help my weekly spends for last week were:
Fruit and veg £7
Meat and fish £20
Dairy £8
Bread £4
Cupboard items £5.50 (pasta, rice, flour etc)
Cleaning and laundry £6
Coffee and tea £5 (stocked up because coffee was on offer)
Non-essential Extras £3 (biscuits and crisps)
Making £58.50

Check you are getting your benefits too - entitledto.co.uk is a useful place to look.

Good luck, let us know how you are getting on.