£25 a week food shop is this possible?

fizzel81

loopyloulou wrote:

Oh may not be that pleased when he sees the netto bags!

Take your shopping bags with you if you are using shops such as lidl netto aldi, they usually charge between 3 and 5 p for each bag you have, this will also save your oh seeing exactly where you have bought your shopping from and in time you can tell him

r.mac_2

hi there,

first of all for money saving in teh food department you must check out teh old style boards - great advice there.

right - I honestly think that £25pw for two is manageable, but will take some getting used to. perhaps trying to cut down a little more gradually would help you?

My tips are - Meal plan. Sit down and plan what you will eat for your meals for the next wekk/fortnight/month. remember to plan in meals where you use up left overs as these often get forgotten about. this will help you work out the cost of your shopping - try using an online supermarkets prices to help you calculate this. Then make your shopping list. the important thing is to only buy what is on your list! some people give themselves a very small allowance to make use of BOGOFs that they find instore - but rememeber....it is only a bargain if you use the item!

Alternativeley the fixture ferets website lists supermarket BOGOFs which may help your planning.

taking packed lunches to work saves money too - remember to plan these into your menu.

making things from scratch is easier and cheaper, although if you are starting with very few ingredients, then try to build your stock cupboard slowly as it is expensive to buy everything at once. it is also a great confidence booster when something works.

good luck x let us know how you get on.

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

i would have thought so but dont buy the junk food alot of these cheaper smarkets sell but fresh white meat fish fresh veg i think you could stay in the budget but i see so many do a cheap shop and to be honest they have bought crap food which in the long run may save money but what goods that if your health suffers. indeed in the bad old debt days i remember a dca company telling me i could live of £25,00pweek for a family of four ? and that was not just for food

missk_ensington

It can be done, I've just rifled through my accounts scratching my head and wondering where I can cut back. So far I've reduced my landline by £12 a month and my mobile by a whopping £40 a month, and my next step is looking at swapping car insurance.

However, can I say one thing. I've not had a night out in ages because we're saving up, and as a result Ive spent more on food. Life is pretty dull is you feel miserable, so I'd suggest, if you're sat in the house 7 nights a week to allow a little treat. If I didn't have some chocolate and biscuits and stuff, and had to sit in all weekend I'd go insane!

I've said this before but anything made from potatoes, mince, pastry are always good and cheap, as well as filling and nutritious. I swear by whole chickens, a small one can be bought for as little as £1.60 maybe less, and provides a nice healthy dinner, and lunch the next day! It can be used in siup, the carcus for stock... Its fab. Another favourite is hot pot and dumplings, You can make a big pan of it and there's always enough to feed about 10 people, for about £2.50! What you don't use, put in little tupperware boxes and freeze: take out and use as a free 'microwave meal' on another night!

I don't really shop at Lidl/Aldi because its too far away, I go to Morrisons (not the cheapest of supermarkets) and I spend £40 a week for 2 adults and a child. This could be reduced to £25 a week if I cut out my liquitabs, baby wipes, pull up nappies, flowers, dishwasher tablets and chocolate treats, plus I've started trying to buy better quality food recenty, like fresh pasta instead of dry, and the odd organic when I can afford it. If I stuck the basic-mince, dry pasta, diced stewing steak, veg (not ready-packaged!!!! pack it yourself from loose!) and other basics I would spend less, but dont want to when i'm already suffering from not having a life! lol

amosworks

Oh my gosh, I live on £25 a month for food lol
I'm sure £25 a week would be pretty easy :cool:

melancholly

come play on the OS boards - lots of people supply recipes for cheap, tasty food, as well as their menu planners!

MrsTinks

Definitely possible Having looked at my food bills then I shan't post them here (sorry gang) as I'm balancing organic/ethical etc with value Although oddly my organic veg box scheme ends up being cheaper for me as I don't nip to Tesco for some spuds and end up with all the little "oh whilst I'm here" purchases that I used to AND the products are SO much nicer and keep longer! (Still have some purple sprouting broccoli in the fridge from my box 2 weeks ago and as of this morning it still looked fine )

Come to OS and have a nose around I'm sure we can get you down to £25 per week if not lower but DON'T think you will do it in one month It'll be quite a lifestyle change for even the hardiest so set your self a target each week that is a little lower than the week before and get used to it gradually

Bunnie1982

£25 a week on food is definately do-able

We budget for £20 a week on food and never spend it (check my sig for last 2 shopping costs)

We tend to write a meal plan for the week and then shop to that plan, with extras for us to nibble on like fuit and nuts

moozie_2

This thread has been so good for me - thank you :T

The first month (March) I recorded how much we spent on groceries, household stuff and petrol I was totally gutted. It came to £337 and I think, from memory, £265 was on food only :eek:

It's just two of us and although we were doing a 'big' shop every couple of weeks, it was all the little 'pop ins' that got us!

April is going MUCH better. Spent £140 so far on groceries, household stuff and petrol. We are due a Tesco delivery this week but I am trying to push it back as much as possible so it is paid in May

So, we are making progress and I can only hope we are as successful as some of the peeps on this thread and OS in the very near future

Bunnie1982

Well done for cutting down on your shopping moozie

Since shopping on a budget I have found making a list before we go shopping means that we arn't popping the little extras in the shopping trolley