first attempt at a shopping budget - £20/week

want2bmortgage3

ok so now i have cleared all credit cards and can see exactly where i am financially with just one bank account its time to focus on my food shopping as i have never kept track before. i'm a single male and have a mainly vegetarian diet apart from a small amount of fish (fish fingers/tinned tuna usually).

i will keep a record of my spending on this post and update it regularly this will help me keep track of it and maybe will be of interest to others, i welcome your comments. i am not sure whether to also post what i eat/drink each day as well or to put that on a different thread...

w/b 22nd june:
23/6 co-op
toilet roll £2.01
coke 1.25l x 2 on offer 2 for £1.70
cherry bakewells £1.39
s/s milk £0.89
med cheddar £1.93
TOTAL £7.92

25/6 co-op
s/s milk £0.89
corner yoghurt £0.62 x 2 = £1.24
TOTAL £2.13

so far this week £10.05

nest_egg

I find Co-op too expensive - but I've only been to those little ones. Do they still have the big stores?

I recommend shopping at the larger supermarkets for greater access to value ranges. Do you eat vegetables? They can be easy, healthy and allow you to make further savings by cooking up 4 portions at once. Tinned fruit is great to have on hand.

Tip: using a tin of chopped tomatoes you can make a pasta sauce: to make it go further, add some stock (also adds flavour) and a bit of cheap tomato puree.

I've spent about 70 pounds this week, I'm appalled at self!

michaelboyd2

That should be easy. We have a budget of £120 per month for two of us. However this excludes lunch at work.

All the best.

maman

W2BM3, I'd say that what you are posting is like a spending diary. This is a good money-saving tool. If you do it for a week/month than look to see where savings can be made it'll help you get costs down. For example, I don't know the pack sizes you bought or which shops you have access to but generally buying from a local shop daily is very expensive. I buy 2l of milk for £1 from Farmstores and some very decent quality toilet roll there for (I think) £2 for 9 rolls. When you ask about posting what you eat/drink each day, is this additional expense (e.g. at the pub) or from your purchases? It rather depends what you want to include in your £20. HTH

Fire_Fox

Instead of corner yoghurts, buy a large plain Greek yoghurt and some good quality high-fruit jams. Bakewells and coke are just plain junk food, so could easily be cut back on. You will find you buy far less rubbish if you shop once a week or even once a fortnight - milk and bread can be frozen. Go to the shop just for a pint of milk and you will always find something else you 'need' and never ever shop until after you have eaten a meal or sugary stuff will seem irresistible!

KimYeovil

Hmm, £10 and you have not bought any real food, yet. Good luck with keeping to your budget. You'll need it!

(You must be the only person who buys Mullers at full price. Everybody else only ever buys them when they are four or five for a pound. Or they buy whichever other four-pack happens to be half price that week.)

SailorSam

Try and base your main meal around vegetables and pulses with only a bit of meat.
Instead of shop bought yoghurts for afters can't you have a go at making scones with dried fruits.
How about HM soups, again with veges, whatever is going cheap.
I keep milk in the freezer so there is no need to go out to often but also keep 5pints as an emergency in the cupboard, you can make this up and use it just the way you would ordinary milk.
If you need lunch at work, try making rice salads and take them.

Alison_c

Hi , I think you will find this a very achievable target.

I am single and I shop for the month and this month my food bill came to £80 and I am very fussy! I eat mainly organic products. I cook from fresh everyday never have anything pre packed. This isn't the only way but it is my only way

I do online shopping with ocado /waitrose and this week they gave me 15% off so I treated myself to some extra bits. I believe (certainly for myself) that doing 1 big shop works out a lot better than nipping to the shop every day .

Hope this helps a little and good luck!

want2bmortgage3

plan on spending about £10 tomorrow on way back from work... i already have a fair bit of stuff in the cupboards... so the way i see it , this challenge will get harder as my store cupboard supplies run down. i do like coke as its refreshing in the heat... but dont often buy things like bakewells. as for the yoghurts yeh i realise they are a rip off and usually buy own brand, but co -op had hardly anything in there and i wanted a desert that day! will post back tomorrow, weekly budgeting sure is a lot easier to keep on top of, than monthly.

OrkneyStar

Are muller yogs (not sure if Corners or lights) on offer in the Coop just now ?
Are you a member of Coop ? Make sure you are so you get a share in the profits. Its not a huge amount but is basically money for nothing. I use the Scottish Coop quite a bit (not many shops in our town, but there is a a slightly bigger one in the next town where Tesco and Lidl are). Coop can also be good reduction wise so check out if there is any reduced fish/fruit/veg when you are in. you can freeze most fish and some fruit/veg too. Perhaps you could meal plan ?

before_hollywood

which supermarkets are nearby?