Groceries! Where am i going wrong???

bank_of_slate

Skint_Catt wrote: »

You've said you shop online - is it at Tesco or Asda? Well get over to the Discount Vouchers Board where there are LOADS of money off £50+ shops - should pay for delivery AND get money off!!!!! :j

:T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=38
link above!
...Linda xx

Horace

I have noticed that meat in the supermarkets is often more expensive than meat from the local butcher, plus it tends to be full of water or overly fatty.

Admittedly I am only shopping for one and very occasionally two but I eat extremely well on a limited budget. Basically I live in my freezer.

My butcher sells lovely meat and will often have packs of meat e.g. 12 chicken thighs or 6 new zealand lamb chops. I buy these as well as buying topside (very lean so I ask for a bit of fat to roast it with). My veg comes from the local market garden shop or the greengrocer or even the farm (if I am passing). I buy only what I need rather than what the supermarket wants me to have. My eggs are also bought from the market garden shop (they sell lots of plants and have veg and lots of freezers full of not so nice looking food:rolleyes: ) and they cost me 59p for half a dozen as opposed to the local tesco that sells them for 84p for half a dozen.

I never pay full price for bread as I will always buy stuff that has been reduced and freeze it - wholemeal and granary seems to last better than white stuff.

I even venture into Lidl - in there I buy pizzas, a large lasagne as well as loo rolls (I can buy packs of 24 Charmin rolls in there for about £9), I also buy cloudy lemonade (it doesnt have sweetners in it) for 37p for 2 litres. Chocolate is also cheaper here and it is jolly nice and their ice cream is nice too - again it is better value because you can buy 6 magnum type ice creams for less than you can buy 3 actual magnums.

I make lists, meal plan and shop around. I don't have any real allegiance to one store either which helps.

Toni_Broke

Hi there,

Back from the ironing!

Once again thanks for all the great advice and support. Thanks lillian for the link certainly will be giving that a go and thanks for ideas and link regarding vouchers etc.

Tonixx

notenoughcash

Hi toni, a bit more support here for you! And I have to agree with everything said above. My grocery budget for myself and two sons is rarely over £120 per month, but that's just for food. I have a seperate budget for cleaning/toiletries and another for alcohol. I have the added advantage that I have the time, space and energy to grow a lot of my own veg which makes a vast reduction especially over the summer. And tyllwyd's comment about the grocery allowance for bankruptcy are spot on.

Please don't feel under pressure to spend as little as some other people do, there will always be a lot more to it than the face value of I spend £x amount on groceries. Your family's health and happiness are by far more important.

Toni_Broke

Thanks notenoughcash!

Its really demoralising when youre trying your best to cut down and then your read a poster gasping at the amount you spend. I think today has really shown me, and others hopefully, that a realistic budget is far more 'doable' over the long term and that health and happiness come first.

Tonixx

OrkneyStar

You could always pop over to the Old Style board, grocery challenge thread. Here is February one (just starting).
There are people on there will all sorts of budgets (and reasons for those budgets).
You'd be very welcome, just lurk (i.e. read) for a bit if you don't fancy posting.
TBH £100+ per week, for your family, does sound a little excessive to little ol' me, although I am not making a dig at you so please don't think that (and who am I to say what is high, low or middling!!).
As DFW board is (generally) non-judgemental so we are over on OS!
Take care
x

Skint_Catt

To be fair what you're spending doesn't sound excessive to me either, but if YOU want to reduce it it can be done!

My intentions are always good to reduce it, but it doesn't usually happen! :rotfl:

Toni_Broke

Hi guys

I have had a quick look over on OS but it looked quite scary! Not the peopes you understand lol!

I suppose whats excessive to one isnt to another and i think as long as i know i'm not chucking things at the end of the week or buying unecessary items and being wasteful then i cant do any more. I shall continue to stick to my budget and if i've anything left it can pay off my cc.

Thanks for all suggestions its been fun.

Tonixx

OrkneyStar

Toni_Broke wrote: »

Hi guys

I have had a quick look over on OS but it looked quite scary! Not the peopes you understand lol!

I suppose whats excessive to one isnt to another and i think as long as i know i'm not chucking things at the end of the week or buying unecessary items and being wasteful then i cant do any more. I shall continue to stick to my budget and if i've anything left it can pay off my cc.

Thanks for all suggestions its been fun.

Tonixx

LOL, anything new is scary. Ultimately it is your money and your budget, so do what works for you within reason.
The one area that made a difference with us was not throwing things away, more than what we actually bought. Also, I understand that teenagers can be hoovers (hmmm I was one once, a teenager of course, not a hoover :rolleyes:).
Good luck and at least you are thinking about it, which is often the best way to start making changes (if you decide you need to!).
x

Skint_Catt

I've learnt loads on the OS Board - stick with it and just pick a few threads to start with - you can become addicted though so be careful!

C xx