Grocery Shopping budget thread

Mappygirl

What a great thread!

My budget is £30 a week for food/toiletries/cleaning stuff etc. I feed 2 adults, a toddler and 2 small dogs. I usually buy fresh food on offers - aldi's 49p items and Asda are doing the same type of thing now to. I always cook from scratch and the dogs will quite often have leftovers for there dinner! I think we eat quite well, lots of fresh fruit and veg, homemade treats (Twinks hobnobs are a favourite in our house!)

I'm trying to cut this back a bit as I'm trying to save some spending money for our holiday in April!

If I had enough money then I'd love to have an organic veg box delivered every week. I have got my name down for an allotment but there's a 2 year waiting list!!

rubydoiwannabee

Hi there, great thread. We have a fairly strict, self emposed budget of £70 a week for 2 adults, one teenager and a child. (£280 pm) No pets. That is for all food, packed lunches, beer and wine, toiletries and cleaning. We seem to manage OK but only because DH has taken over the shopping because I am prone to browsing and being sucked into buying things because they are pretty, bogof, etc. etc.

starflower_2

Our Budget at the moment is £275 / month for the five of us, myself, DH, DS, 8, DD1, 5 and DD2, 3.

It includes all food, toiletries, cleaning products plus nappies for dd2 (not dry at night yet). Also the occasional bottle of wine/beers for dh.

I also love food shopping and have a habit of overbuying and impulse buying, so now sticking to my meal plan and buying only what i need when i need it. I have found making sure there is always a pre-cooked HM meal in the freezer that can be simply taken out and defrosted then reheated when i get in late - e.g. Bolognese, Chilli, etc has put an end to my 'can't be bothered cooking tonight, lets get a takeway' attitude.

Frugaldom

Our budget for 2009 is £1,200.00

The average £100 per month is for everything grocery - food, drink, toiletries, cleaning products - for 3 adults.

Casperthefriendlyghost

My budget is £480 per year for myself. £150 in January to stock up staples and then £33 per month for the rest of the year. This includes food (meat, veg, eggs), cleaning products (mostly vinegar & stardrops), toiletries & laundry products. (mostly vinegar again lol)

I am gluten intolerant and allergic to fish, I make everything from scratch, even my own bread etc. I never buy take aways (to scared about the contents) a visit to intensive care 5 yrs ago, will do that to you lol and never buy ready meals for the same reason, I count myself lucky as I have no choice so that makes it easier.

Unfortunately the flours and things I use are quite expensive, but I make good use of them. I do not buy snacks, crisps or choc, (make my own biscuits, treats) occassionally buy percy pigs out of my weekly money, not grocery money. I don't drink, batch cook and freeze regularly, so I can use whoopsies.

I work long hours and do regular on calls when I stay at the hospital and don't make it home, so it's easy if I have food in the freezer that I can take to work so I don't have to buy food, and if I get home late I just heat up whatever's on my menu plan, I take it out in the morning and put it in the fridge for when I get home. I also have some sachets of ready cooked rice in my locker in case I get caught at work, so I can heat them in the microwave.

The other thing that works for me is putting grocery money into a spare debit card only used for groceries, so once gone, it's gone.

Once my food is used up I will start buying free range eggs, chicken etc, using the butchers, green grocers, it's easy as I've only myself to feed. My weekly meals are made up of veges x 2, pasta x 1, chicken x 3, meat x1.

wow sorry didn't mean to type an essay lol. Hope that helps someone.

Cheers
Casper
x x

IsoChick

My monthly budget is £200 - this is for 2 adults, and includes all food shopping (including making lunches), toiletries and cleaning products etc.

Although we have animals (dogs, rabbits, chickens and ducks) their food, supplies etc comes from a seperate budget, as it's all bought in bulk from wholesalers etc

baileysbattlebus

sistercas wrote: »

wow you all put me to shame
I spend £350-£400 a month- thats for 2 adults 2 teenagers 1 cat and 1 dwarf hamster

that covers: food, milk, school dinners, alcohol, packed lunches for 3 5 times a week, newspapers.
I do mealplan, but will buy extra if it is a good offer.
I try really hard but everybody seems to to do so much better with their money

Don't worry, I spend more than you and it doesn't include alcohol - we are 4 adults and one 7year old and one cat. It also doesn't include soap powder or toilet & kitchen rolls - they come from Costco.

I spend more in a week on fruit & veg than some posters weekly spend.

I haven't posted on this board very often, but I do read it quite a lot and come away feeling inspired but totally inadequate at the same time.

I have tried cheaper alternatives - I tried cheap mince - there was so much fat came off it - what was left wasn't enough for 5 -

cheap sausages - again not very good.

cheap juice - no one drank it - so it was a waste of money. I gave it away in the the end.

I tried the adding lentils "sneaky ways" to bulk out mince - "why have you put stuff in the chilli/bognese" they knew.

How to make several meals from a chicken - we get one meal from a chicken and someone might have a sandwich with what's left - but make a curry or something from the remnants to feed 5 - not a chance. But I don't buy huge chickens.


But on the other hand - I have made apple braid a number of times -delicious and very cheap. And Twinks hobnobs were another one, very nice.

And as someone said - it's not how much you spend, it's about value for money - and cutting your coat according to your cloth.

Naomim

Hi,

Our monthly budget is about £230 for three of us, 2 adults and ds (age 3). This includes all cleaning products.

I do meal plan but I have a lazy oh who wont make packed lunches so he will spend everyday.

This month I am going to try and bulk buy for the month and see how I get on instead of doing weekly shops (except for milk & veg)

Naomi x

Hawthorn

baileysbattlebus wrote: »

I haven't posted on this board very often, but I do read it quite a lot and come away feeling inspired but totally inadequate at the same time.

.

You shouldn't feel inadequate - many people nearly fall over when I tell them our food budget (max £250 a month for two adults, two teens, two children and one hungry dog) which includes cleaning/laundry/toiletries etc, but what they don't realise is I spend a LOT of time, finding the best products for the cheapest price.
I shop at lots of different places, and also have a lot of stocks -this means that when something comes on offer, I can blow a lot of money on it to stock up whilst it's half price, or whatever, without making a dent in the mealplan.
It takes time to get to this position - it's taken me over two whole years, in fact.
I recently bought some Daz washpowder, on half price, saving me a fiver a box. That's quite a few pounds when you spend £40 on several boxes It's effectively a weeks shopping for us lot, for free!

jeaniej_2

Wow thats amazing Hawthorn I thought I was doing well this month, budget at £262 but still one week left . I'm pleased with this, 2 adults 2 lads 18 and 16 one eating constantly. I was spending about £470-500 each month. Will try to do better next month I also shop all over the place Asda, Aldi. netto sainsburys farmfoods home bargains to mention but a few.