How Much for Groceries?

huskypup

We bulk buy all our meat from one of the market auctioneers on our local market, I spent £90 in Nov and we still have some left - £10 of lincolnshire pork sausages - and I got nearly 80 sausages and they are really nice.

When you buy three large joints of pork for £10 they usually through in 2 family chickens.

I also buy fruit and veg from the market at the end of the day and blanch and freeze what isn't going to be eaten in a day or so.

I buy toiletries and cleaning products from a local cash and carry place that is open to the public.

On Asda own baked beans - I just throw a few herbs or some curry powder/chilli sauce into the mix. Asda do a jar of their smart brand curry sauce of 5p:money:that I use as a base for loads of things.

Pooky

Growing what you can in the garden/in boxes with help too - we got over 40kilos of runner beans off 12 plants in a small flower bed last summer...we picked courgettes daily as well as tomatoes and strawberries from hanging baskets....(still got runner beans in the freezer to use up!)

It's also good to look at what you actually need to eat, I class yoghurts as a "snack" food (they've got far to much sugar in) so I don't buy them.

bloojeans

I read a tip on this site, it was realy good and funny. Lady kept the packaging from top brands and put in the cheaper brans when she came back from shopping. She said its working a treat DH never rrealy noticed LOL I thought that was fab

Jo x

savingmummy

I hide cheaper brands too, most work and the kids definately don`t notice!
If DH notices then he goes without lol! x

ciderwithrosie_2

gonzo127 wrote: »

tesco's do a great discount brands milk at 0.75% fat it costs £1 for 3L or about 66p for 2L so it is cheaper than normal semi skimmed, is better for you as less fat content and also best of all, no one i have ever given it to has noticed a difference between that and normal semi skimmed (and i have converted 2 different work places to the new milk) just look out for it as it has a PURPLE lid and lable!

Kids should have full-fat milk though, as they need it to grow properly and absorb essential nutrients.

regards CWR

MrsBartolozzi

Why don't you come over and have a look at the Oldstyle board?
You could join in the grocery challenge, or just have a read through (don't worry about the number of pages lol, it's a busy thread, but even a skim through will give some ideas on how others reduce their shopping costs.) The idea there is to reduce your grocery budget to a level you are happier with, slowly, not by £300 in the first month, but maybe by £40 or £50, or even £20 will make a difference.
Re the cans of Coke, could you maybe buy bottles instead, works out cheaper. Personally, I don't like cheap cola, but buy Coke or Pepsi Max wherever it's cheapest. I have a monthly budget for my cola and so I like to get the most I can for my money. If you could drink Pepsi, Morrisons and Lidl often have 2L bottles on bogof or for £1 or less. One trip to a different supermarket to buy cheap cola a month wouldn't be too difficult but might save you quite a bit. (or even if you only like coke buy say a month's supply when it's on offer).
For 2 adults and 2 teenage boys I spend around £250 a month, although no takeaways are included as we rarely have them.

nanna58

:jhave you got a home bargains near you? there named stock is much reduced ,plus toiletries.Do you qualify for free school meals? When tesco have a discounted bread shelf (they usually have a day or so left in the date ) i buy and put them in the freezer they stay fresh and are a standbuy when money is tight.Ownbrands can be quite good.Kids clothes are good value at primark and the way kids grow do the job just as well.

Ames

I physically can't cook much but I can still batch cook. I get someone else to do the peeling and chopping, then just chuck a load of stuff into the slow cooker (my new best friend!). Curries, chillis, stews, I even did a gammon joint the other week! They're all cheap and filling, and with a slow cooker there's hardly ever any washing up. Just remember to label anything you freeze - I have a freezer full of food bags and I have no idea what's inside! Oh well, it makes for interesting meals.

Do you dilute the juice you give to the kids? Pure juice has a lot of sugar in it. I started diluting mine last summer on the advice of a weight loss person and it actually tastes nicer - it's not as strong. It's more expensive than squash, but healthier, and cheaper than just juice.

As for own brands, I find I prefer a lot of them. Asda Vitality is much nicer than Special K, and their muesli is loads nicer than Alpen, it's not as sugary. Asda's version of the active yoghurts is gorgeous. I also find that meat's a lot cheaper and better quality from the butcher. My sister once asked me to pick her up two chicken breast fillets, she didn't know what to do with them when I got them back, they were twice the size of the ones from the supermarket and cheaper! And lamb's much cheaper, supermarket prices are a joke.

My biggest tip is to use a slow cooker, and just experiment. I don't really like recipes, I juse use them as a starting point, more 'guidelines'. If something in the recipe's expensive or I don't like it I either miss it out or swap it.

Butti

What about slow cooking recipes. They are really easy.
Buy, chop, put in pot.
There are some good recipes on here or via a search engine. BBCs food section of their website is good too.

B

brummiebabe

Hi

Haven't read all the posts...so apologies if I repeat anything.

My family is a very similar composition to yours.....me and DH, 2 school age boys (9 & 7) and a 3 year old. I work 20 hours per week and DH works full time. We budget around £400 p/month for groceries/cleaning products and my contact lens solutions....which I know a lot of people will still say is too much, but I don't seem able to cut it down further. I'm not a great cook by any means and my children are a little fussy;).

We all take packed luches/tinned soup, kids generally have branded yogurts etc (but only when they're on offer) but use Tesco own brand for most other products....really don't notice the difference on the whole!! My 2 sons are BIG milk drinkers.....but we get them to have water/squash aswell.

I do cook from scratch but also mix it with more 'convenient' food at times...the kids don't have ready meals though, although we might if necessary.

If I do a lasagne for example (a really simple recipie that my kids and we all love) then I'll do double the cheese sauce, which can then be used later in the week for a macaroni cheese. I think the key is planning, but also recognising your lifestyle/commitments, and trying to plan your meals around this. For example, Thursday nights are very busy for us with 2 lots of football training and we don't get in until 7.30pm. I will feed the kids before we go (eg jacket potatoes, HM pizza but with a shop brought base) then I do get a ready meal in for us to bung in the microwave when we get in. Not great...but stops us going for a takeaway as the easy option. The point is that I know Thursdays are going to be difficult, so I plan for it.

If your children are also eating at their Grandparents for 3 meals per week, then you really are overspending! What do you have those nights? For me, I would have something on toast (which I wouldn't necessarily give the children as their main meal...but I'm quite happy with.)

Supermarket own brand cereals are generally fine (although my kids didn't like some of the Asda ones) but have been happy with Tesco.

Look at your receipts for the last couple of months and look at what was essential and what was an 'extra' - you might find that a bit of an eye opener!

The Old style board has tonnes of advice......and the grocery challenge is a good place to start! Come and join us over there:)