Grocery Bills

salski

We sped about 280 a month on our shopping, this is just for me, hubby and pets (dog n 2 bunnies) and neither of us drink. We buy meat in Morrisons as its cheaper and better quality and buy lots of 'stewing' meat to make soups and stews. We also go to the local markets for meat when we can get there.
£400 does seem a little high, but like the others have suggested - cooking and freezing in bulk as well as switching brands, and silly things like not buying cleaning fluids - using an old empty bottle with washing up liquid, water and a dash of vinegar in works just as well!
Good luck hun x

shebrett

I used to spend that for 2 of us as well and also was amazed at what people on here got by with. I highly recommend setting yourself an insanely low budget for 1 month and finding ways to make it work. - we lived off £20 a week for 1 month due to unexpected bills, we got quite creative finding recipes that would fit that amount but managed to stick to it for the whole month , I was amazed that we did it and it made us realise we bought a lot of unecessary things. We have managed on £50 a week ever since (could do £40 but I like my steak a couple of times a week).

I cannot even begin to give enough praise to the mysupermarket.com website, you can look up your groceries and make a list that gives you the exact price of every item in the 4 major supermarket chains. Really shows you where the money goes and it helps you make sure you can buy everything you need within budget. Also, if you shop in sainsburys their basics range is quite good.

SonjaLiK

We spend maybe 20% more than that but there's 4 of us, including two kids (no nappies though).
We don't go out and rarely buy alcohol. We do, however, buy horrible amounts of munchies, loads of fruit and veg and all 100% juices.

First you need to see how much of that goes on food, drink, cleaning products etc.
Cleaning products, for one, are mainly a waste of money. Vinegar and/or bicarb of soda will clean most things the same if not better than cleaning products (plus they won't eat bits of your skin and/or respiratory tract).

Food wise, I wouldn't go with a list but rather see what's on offer and make it work. Come home and make a meal plan of what you've bought. Towards the end of the week see what's left, see what needs used up, use it, freeze if you can, make sauces etc.

Buying whatever is on offer is one of the best plans I have ever come up with - you need to invest at first, spend a bit more but in the end you are so well stocked up that you never buy products full price again - id est you go in, walk through all the isles you normally shop in and get whatever is on offer.
We, for instance, always have at least 10 boxes of different cereals in our cupboards and haven't paid full price for any for ages.

You also need to find which shops does best offers on stuff you buy.
We, for instance, buy all juices in Lidl, water in Lidl, greek yogurt, Edam etc.
Sponges, cloths etc always in Wilkinsons...

stumpycat

A few questions first -
What shops do you have access to?
What do you like to eat?
Do you have the time to visit different shops?
Are you a planner or spontaneous?
Do you have room (e.g. cupboards, freezer to keep things)

It varies so much depending on people's habits - e.g I will stockpile lots of basics when they are on offer, so I've always got, say, tinned tomatoes if I get pasta bargains.
Work out what 'basics' ranges are good - e.g. I avoid cheap coleslaw, 'cos it's got chunks of woodchip in it, but kidney beans are fine.
Let us know what you like and I'm sure you'll get loads of good suggestions!

laura1988

Sainsbury's always have their Feed A Family For Under A Fiver, and there are some really good recipes there, a particular favourite is the paella. Freezing any leftovers is also a really good idea, I normally cook with a 500g pack of mince and freeze half of it - that's one night's meal sorted, and it saves time if we're in a rush.

mum2twinsx2

Hey...
I spend around £100 every two weeks so £200 a month all together to feed three of us. That is including £40 i spend on baby milk and £20ish on baby nappies. We get quite few treats out of that too:rotfl:

Have you tryed meal planning as that halved my food bill, i found buying every two weeks easier as as easier to plan for me two weeks meals. time is a problem here. Then once id decided what we would have, id look through cupboards and see what ingrediants i have for each meal.
i was just ending up with odd ends all the time, id have a curry sauce rice and no meat for example.

I still have a habit of stocking up when things are on offer, like pasta bakes, juice, wetwipes and cereals. Not sure if this is good or bad.

viv0147

SonjaLiK wrote: »

We spend maybe 20% more than that but there's 4 of us, including two kids (no nappies though).
We don't go out and rarely buy alcohol. We do, however, buy horrible amounts of munchies, loads of fruit and veg and all 100% juices.

First you need to see how much of that goes on food, drink, cleaning products etc.
Cleaning products, for one, are mainly a waste of money. Vinegar and/or bicarb of soda will clean most things the same if not better than cleaning products (plus they won't eat bits of your skin and/or respiratory tract).

Food wise, I wouldn't go with a list but rather see what's on offer and make it work. Come home and make a meal plan of what you've bought. Towards the end of the week see what's left, see what needs used up, use it, freeze if you can, make sauces etc.

Buying whatever is on offer is one of the best plans I have ever come up with - you need to invest at first, spend a bit more but in the end you are so well stocked up that you never buy products full price again - id est you go in, walk through all the isles you normally shop in and get whatever is on offer.
We, for instance, always have at least 10 boxes of different cereals in our cupboards and haven't paid full price for any for ages.

You also need to find which shops does best offers on stuff you buy.
We, for instance, buy all juices in Lidl, water in Lidl, greek yogurt, Edam etc.
Sponges, cloths etc always in Wilkinsons...

Very good advice regarding the offers, its what I like to think of as the snowball affect. There are many weeks where being I make my own bread, I only need to buy milk veg and fruit. Which in turn allows me to take more advantage of the offers that suit me I am in that position now. So this week £10 and in fact this month £40 will be my budget + offers saying that its just me but I eat like a King.

sonnythecat

fwiw, I've reduced our monthly spend for two people from £500 (hanging head in shame lol) to £200. It's taken me a couple of months to get the hang of it, but I can honestly say we're eating pretty much just as well.

I cook from scratch, use the freezer, don't waste anything, buy cheaper brands, approach 'special offers' with caution, shop only once a week, use the slow cooker, dish up smaller portions and limit how much juice and cola we drink. I've stopped buying organic milk and dairy and keep a price book so I know how much I'm willing to pay for things. I use mysupermarket.com and will visit 2 supermarkets a week to get best offers (no more though!). I make our bread. Phew. I'm a bit knackered and spend A LOT more time in the kitchen, but LOVE LOVE LOVE having the spare cash to spend on other things.;)

C-C_3

Meal planning was the best thing I ever started - and only buying what I would need for that week

Use up some of what is in your cupboard/lurking at the back of the freezer

Do you have another supermarket you can use? I have found Tesco prices have gone up and up over the last year so have now switched to mainly Morrisons, some bulk buying from Asda and freezer filling from Farmfoods (cant believe how cheap they are even on brand names!)

I loved the suggestion of setting yourself a very low budget - might try that myself though I try & stick to about £60 a week for the 4 of us with maybe an additional £40 a month for freezer

katskorner

I spend about £320 per month for 5 of us and 2 cats too (one is nearly two and in nappies still) and this includes alcohol and cleaning stuff. I think I spend too much but am finding it hard to cut down as the boys eat more as they grow!! Plus catfood is flipping expensive!!

I have two freezers that I couldn't live without!!