Shopping budget keeps creeping up, any ideas?

Emm-in-a-pickle

I`ve saved loads by shunning the supermarkets fruit/veg areas and becoming a `regular` at the veg shop (it`s a farm out-house) at our local butchers` farm shop.
TALK to the chaps who trade in these places, become a regular, and they`ll get to know that they have a customer who`ll appreciate a bargain. Today I took my DD and we got MASSIVE avocados 69p each, huge bunch of flat-leaf parsley £1.50, which we shared, keeps in a glass for about a fortnight, goes into everything, 4LBs green grapes for £2, which we split between us, prime vine toms £1/lb, fat red plums 6 for £1, and blood oranges 5/£1. Okay, the cauli`s were £1.60, so we got curly kale (keeps better, not chopped up like in supermarkets, and bananas, a huge bag of good fruit for £1, and big barn eggs, £2 a tray. Today we were offered a big box of field mushrooms for £1, it was a `can you use these today?`, well, YES!
DD took half, I took other half and donated a couple of giants to elderly neighbour, and we all had stuffed mushrooms for tea. Last week it was cooking tomatoes, a few weeks ago it was a box of parsnips, and all this stuff is still so much fresher than the `reduced` stuff in supermarkets!

floss2

Emm-in-a-pickle wrote: »

I`ve saved loads by shunning the supermarkets fruit/veg areas and becoming a `regular` at the veg shop (it`s a farm out-house) at our local butchers` farm shop.
TALK to the chaps who trade in these places, become a regular, and they`ll get to know that they have a customer who`ll appreciate a bargain.

Oooh, where do you live? This place sounds fantastic!

My problem is that we don't have many farm shops like that where I live, it's not arable, mainly dairy farming with the odd game or venison farm & some salad growers I used to have a couple of really good ones near my old home, but thats 50 miles away and so cancels out the savings! We are just on the edge of a box scheme, but it seems quite expensive for what they are selling and OH's work means he is often away during the week, so I would be left with odd things like artichokes or a whole cabbage just for me :eek:

Emm-in-a-pickle

Floss, my greengrocer used to do a stall at car-boot and local weekly markets, you surely have some of these in your patch? Our chap would`ve been trading the same way, `looking after his regulars` back then, before settling at the butchers` farm shop. It`s worth some hunting around and getting to know such traders in your (or any) area. I`m in North Wales, several big supermarkets in the area, but there are still the `little men` trying to compete with them and doing a great job of it!

WendysWorld

JodyBPM wrote: »

I've used loads of the advice from this board over the years, and used to be able to do my shop for a family of 4 (4 & 5 yr old children) for £40 a week (about 2 years ago). I've gradually noticed the shopping budget creep up, and being a bit of a geek set up a spreadsheet for our spends account to see where all our money is going, and the groceries are now costing £60 a week on average:eek: (averaged year to date, so should be fairly accurate). Actually, that doesn't even include the milkman, which is an extra fiver or so a week, and we have chucks in the garden for our own eggs!

I think I need a talking to from you here on the OS board to get me back on track!

This is my meal planner for the current fortnight
Omellette, salad & new pots
Pasta, pesto & frankfurters
Smoked haddock chowder and fresh bread
Homemade pizza
Chicken kebabs, served in pitta with salad
Poached salmon with new pots and veg
Homemade sweet and sour vegetable stir fry
Paella
Homemade goats cheese, tomato and spinach tart with salad
Fish fingers, potato waffles and veg
Homemade thai green prawn curry with rice
Chicken korma with rice
Roast chicken, roasties & veg with gravy
Homemade spaghetti bolognese.

Lunches are packed on school days or stuff like egg on toast, beans on toast etc.
Breakfast is cereal, porridge or toast.
Snacks are fruit or homemade biscuits/cakes.

Its important to me that we have a healthy ish diet, I know I could buy processed stuff cheaper, but I want the kids to have a good balance, and I have to watch my weight too.

Am I on track with £60 a week, or is there something I've slipped on? This £60 does include all household cleaners, toiletries, bin bags etc.

Any suggestions? We can afford the £60 if necessary, but I'd rather spend say £45 and have more to put towards our mortgage free goal!

To be honest that sounds very good to me, and don't forget prices have gone up in the last couple of years. I'm finding it a struggle to keep grocery bill under £350 (counting alcohol:p and cleaning stuff) and I have the same size family as you. Also, like you, I don't want to live on rubbish and unfortunately good quality food does cost a bit more. I buy a veg box and my meat is from a very good butcher, but I buy cheaper cuts such as brisket or a whole chicken and quarter it.
If I do buy fillet meat or chicken I give small portions. For instance I make one 250-300g breast of chicken go round all 4 of us. In stir frys or one-pots it's not hard to do but if I'm just doing plain fried chicken I'll bash it out flat with a rolling pin so it looks bigger!
Sometimes I think we just reach a limit to what our MSE powers and our lifestyle can handle. It's all about living within our means. If food budget creeps up and we're still doing our best and still living within our means, then that probably just means food prices have gone up and we'll have to live with it!