reducing grocery bill

choccyface2006

I spend about £90 a month for one adult and two children, that includes all toiletries and cleaning products and I only buy decent brands for that. I always use a list, never shop with the kids and never go on an empty stomach!

Sarah

lynzpower

We do 100 a month for 2 adults inc cleaning stuff, toiletries and lunches. It has taken a bit of shuffling and thinking cap being on, but its definately comfortable.

I agree, how much is a 20 month old really eating? Cant be much in all fairness! Monhtly shopping used to cripple me, I used to do the same thing myself, and blow the majority at the start of the month. Now I shop weekly and save so much money from going weekly.

Go over to the OS board to have a look. but really the key for me is

a) menu plan, know what you are going to eat every day in the week and stick to it.
b) only buy what you need for the menu plan - not stuff you fancy "oooh that looks nice"
c) choose the value items where you can
d) shop around - some places cheaper for some things.
e) dont waste ANYTHING - if a loaf isnt going to be eaten by the time its going to go off, freeze it, likewise veg etc.

I suspect if shes spent that much here will be LOADS of food in your house, do a storecupbard challenge and eat as much up as you can, go through the bathroom, kitchen, cleaning cupbard and only buy what you NEED, not what you WANT.

All the best
Lynzx
x

Greenwellies_2

I was in the same place as you a few months ago.

I had no idea I was spending so much, and yet hubby still said, there's nothing to eat in the house.

My cupboards are full of toiletries that I have got for gifts, so I use them all up before I buy a new one.

I only buy a few cleaning products now, which are Vinegar, microfible cloths, rubber gloves, soda crystals, soap powder, washing up liquid and dishwasher tablets. I don't buy any of the gimmicky products, I just use elbow grease!

Food wise, because I am so busy juggling many factors in my life, I have to menu plan otherwise we would live on takeaways because I would have forgotten to get something out of the freezer. Because I now roughly know what I will need, I only shop for what is on my list and shop in cheaper stores such as Lidl, the market and ASDA.

Wine and beer, wine, we buy from the off licence, 3 for £10 deals.
and with less in the house, we're not tempted to just gave a glass! Beer we can get damaged / split multipacks from our neighbour who works for a supermarket, and we get 24 cans for £5

Lunch wise, you are much better than me, I do occasionally have a lunch because I am not organised enough to think of feeding myself!

Good luck, it takes time, and there will be some things that you are not willing to give up (I still use my butchers)

Keep us posted!

GW

Chell

A few of you mentioned about what the toddler eats. I have a 17mth old and a nearly three year old. Their meals aren't expensive as they have always eaten what we eat but I tend to buy certain foods for their benefit. I will buy humzingers which are 100% fruit snacks but they think they are sweets, 100% fruit juice for them and Smartprice for us etc. I spend about £5 per week for my daughters nappies (use shops own brand). I'd say out of our £50 weekly spend that more of it is on them than my DP and I.

skintchick

You can so cut that. I spend £60 a week on me, so even counting your baby as an adult, that's £180 for three.

You need to meal plan.

First, go through your cupboards, fridge and freezer and make a list of everything you have in there.

Then make another list of meals you can make using those things. I'm willing to bet you can go for a good month on what you already have, with very few additions.

Make a list each week of what you're going to eat that week, note any missing items such as bread, milk, etc., and ONLY BUY THOSE.

Keep doing this and then once it has all run out, you can plan for each fortnight.

the key is keeping to your list and not deviating. That means no alcohol, no CDs, no 'that looks nice'.

I think your list of what you have in already will scare you! You'll be amazed!

newleaf

My shopping bill reduced quite dramatically when I switched from Tescos to Morrisons for my main shop. I used to then do my top up shop at Tescos. However, I have now discovered Lidl and Aldi and have become a convert. Perhaps you could try swapping your usual store for a while, I think it makes you look more closely at what you are buying. It takes a couple of weeks to get used to it. Tescos don't make much out of me now!

gazza975526570

Thanks to all above for the great advice.

well to add some more details.

The amount i quoted includes everthing bought in supermakets so does include the off item of clothing and definately includes alcohol!! We dont reall buy anythng else tho - cds etc we would buy online and same with any toys. When people say they dont spend say more than £200 a month - does this include stuff other than food? ie toiletries, cleaning stuff etc??

Ive spoken with the mrs and we are gonna look at exactly what we have got in the fridge etc and see how many meals out of it.

we are gonna shop weekly instead of monthly

we plan to make a list every week of what meals we are gonna have every day - we tend to spend more on evening meals - where can we find some advice on what things to eat that are cheap? Now when i say cheap i mean good food but good price?

From next week we will do our shopping on line and use a money off code from one of the other forums. BTW do you know if you can use say asda money off codes if they are different after you are registered or is it just for the first time?

Keep the advise coming - now i just need to work out how to reduce my alcohol content now the world cup has started...............

lynzpower

Right (the regulars here will have heard this speil a million times- apologies! )

I do 100 a month for me & a v hungry OH, including cleaning stuff, toiletries, the lot.

LIterally, go through everything in the house, dressing table, bathroom, under the sink, you will be surprised whats there. I couldnt believe I had 3 lots of floor cleaner and umpteen moiserisers and what not in the house.

I perosnally dont bother with online shopping as I like to make the most of the "yellow label" section where I get bread, meats etc and bang them in the freezer when I see good bargains.

Have a look in my thread ( on the front page somewhere) and on page 2 there was a weekly menu plan for us. OH usually takes sandwiches, yoghurt, crisps type combo for his lunch all included in the spend.

We only use finest meat but we have dumped chicken in favour of turkey which is quite a bit cheaper for stirfrys etc. Other things that are cheap are going for chicken legs instead of breasts ( perfect for the BBQ season too) and using extra veg or lentils/ pulses to bump meals out a bit.

The old style board is a great place to start. But make sure you have a god mix of "value" or "smart price" in there. For some stuff like tinned tomatoes, or orange juice or butter for baking or tin foil there really is no point in choosing anything other than value. Value veg ( unless you usually choose organic) is perfectly good, just that they may not be "regulation shape" so thats why they are cheaper.

Are you using disposable nappies? If you are you might want to think about getting modern towelling ones, cash outlay but a very lively resale market on ebay, or as someone else said, go for shops own instead of pampers etc. Personally I think save the planet and your wallet and go for towelling, they have all the velcro already in place. greenbaby.co.uk definatley does them or speak to your locla council who should have a scheme in place for you to get a discount off them.

Best of luck
Lynz
x

Chell

lynzpower wrote:

Are you using disposable nappies? If you are you might want to think about getting modern towelling ones, cash outlay but a very lively resale market on ebay, or as someone else said, go for shops own instead of pampers etc. Personally I think save the planet and your wallet and go for towelling, they have all the velcro already in place. greenbaby.co.uk definatley does them or speak to your locla council who should have a scheme in place for you to get a discount off them.

Best of luck
Lynz
x

That would only be cost effective if the OP plans to have more babies IMO. Reusables are expensive, a 20mth old may not be in nappies for much longer.

southernscouser

How about chopping her hands off?

Do you buy the finest range or anything like that?

I'm not really an expert on this so I'm not much help but the OS board is the place to be!