Monthly v Weekly Home Delivery shops

Flat_Eric

As the New Year is just hours, not days away now ! I am pondering my New Years Resolutions.

I am keen to address the cost of my food shopping bills - I have tried in 2010 but must try harder in 2011.

Over the last few months, I have tried to avoid having my food shopping home delivered because I seem to spend too much.

Typically I do a monthly shop and stock up but two weeks later I find myself repeating the process.

If you home deliver - how often do you shop ?

I can't make up my mind whether to have a monthly shop stocking up for the month on things like cat food, toilet roll, tinned toms, beans etc (stock cupboard staples) and then visit the local store weekly to buy things like spuds/milk/bread/sandwich fillings/meat.

Alternatively I could have HD every two weeks having meal planned and shopped accordingly.

or and this seems a bit excessive - I could meal plan and have a shop every week. because this would mean a delivery charge of at least £5.50 - that would mean delivery charges over the month of at least £25 which seems crazy but at the same time would mean that I would probably not need to set foot in a supermarket as everything would be delivered for the week that was needed.

As an aside to the above, I can share a weekly shop with a friend but it means i can't make any decision on substitutes (i'm not there when the order comes) and means i have to give him the list days in advance which means i can't take advantage of the last minute offers / have to decide / plan days in advance what I need.

I like the idea of the weekly shop but not keen on the expense of the delivery charge. What do you think ?

edited to add/for further consideration - I do have access to a car but my local store is a metro so their prices and choice reflect this. My only food shopping opportunities are weekends and for a decent huge supermarket, I would probably be looking at a commute of 45 mins each way which is not my preferred way to spend my precious weekends !

monicaj

I will be interested to read replies to your thread. Currently I have a weekly home delivery and have been thinking of savings by reducing to fortnightly meal planning - I think it's going to take a bit more time getting used to but may be worth a try. I've also thought of changing from Tesco for everything to using a butcher and aldi/lidli for fruit and veg. More faffing about but must be worth a try,

Rebekah24

I usually do a once a month order ..delivery £3.50 or free (depends if I do OH & MIL can go to free price )

Usually I save my shopping list then can just do the same each month - adding in/altering once I have hunted for any offers

Usually just get few household essentials
Value toilet roll
Deodarant
Value shower gel

Then a skeleton shop - adding in anything noted - I tend to constatly add/edit things for a week leading up to the order.

When its gone its gone, I dont do much in the way of topping up etc

I couldnt meet the £25 minimum with Mr A for a weekly shop anyway, my months is just a smidge over that.

suzie_wong

I am trying to make a similar decision at the moment. I used to get a Tesco shop delivered weekly a couple of years ago. I then changed it to fortnightly, but over the past few months have got all my shopping in my local Sainsburys. The trouble is, I go in for a couple of things and end up spending £15 or £20!!
I am now thinking that I might be better off going back to a weekly Tesco delivery, therefore hopefully avoiding setting foot in Sainsburys (for the last few months I have had to go in 3 or 4 times a week,sometimes more). It must end up cheaper in the long run?
Am also thinking of trying Asda deliveries- they have only just started delivering in my area. They are supposed to be cheaper, but I am wondering if it will really make much difference?

uolypool

I used to do weekly hd then went to monthly .Have now changed to fortnightly .However we still have a weekly budget for fresh stuff and whoopsies I do find that somehow I save more by fortnightly shopping have no idea why.Also find it cheaper to online shop at Asda and weekly fresh at Tesco.Kids frequently pop into tesco to see what bargins they can find

snoop2008

I have to say due to my disability, I finally figured out how to shop online and ended up having a home delivery every month. I buy at Tescos and have compared the prices and have found give and take a couple of pennies, it's not bad. I was doing some sums and have worked out that I have £100 to spend a month on shopping. As there is only two in my household, I buy the value range toiletries, frozen meats, canned stuff and milk in large quantities also drinks like fruit juices that will last in this house for months. I noticed that the toiltet rolls when comparing the prices, that each roll had only 100 sheets. I thought I was getting a bargain when the cushell range was something like 6.99 for 16 rolls. that lasted exactly a month. I won't be buying the rolls anymore, lidi has a great range with 240 sheets per roll.

I did my shopping again today, the cost of £54.00. many of my favourites I still have in the cupboard but I must admit, when their is a bargain I do buy it as long term I will save money. When my carer use to shop for me at morrisons, I sent her out 3 times a week, each time with £20.00 note. Thats £60.00 and still I didn't have everything for the month. Next month my bill will less, I 'd say about £30.00 as much of cooking is home cooking. I have also recently started to bake my own cakes so that is a nice treat for anyone who drops by and I must admit buying shopping one a month has certainly save me a fortune.

It's very tempting to over spend when out and about and pick up things I don't really need, this way online I buy only what I need but can also see were I am saving. I use to pay the cab man £6 to do a less than mile trip from morrisons, now I only pay £3.50.

suzie_wong

snoop2008 wrote: »

When my carer use to shop for me at morrisons, I sent her out 3 times a week, each time with £20.00 note. Thats £60.00 and still I didn't have everything for the month.

It's very tempting to over spend when out and about and pick up things I don't really need, this way online I buy only what I need but can also see were I am saving. I use to pay the cab man £6 to do a less than mile trip from morrisons, now I only pay £3.50.

That's the thinking behind me starting online shopping- even if I end up doing it weekly. I was easily spending £20 or so in my local Sainsburys 4 or more times a week, but never seemed to have what I needed to make meals for every day. This week I did an online shop at Tesco, which cost £73 with the delivery, and lots of what I bought will last us into next week and beyond. I am sure that shopping this way I won't actually need to do an online shop - maybe one week in 3 I can just do a small shop locally. Either way, it seems to me that it will save me money. Also of course, I'm not paying for the car park in my local town or petrol there and back :T

Am trying Asda for the first time next week- they seem to have some brilliant offers, so we'll see.

Raksha

I have been shopping online monthly for a few months now - my OH works shifts over a 5 week pattern, and our menu is planned over 5 weeks too, so that makes it a little more complicated than doing the same shop every month, but I add up how may chicken based meals, how many mince based meals, fish, joints etc and do it that way. The only things I buy weekly are milk and fresh fruit and veg. I will normally spend about £175 - £200 on a months shopping, leaving me £25 a week for the fresh stuff (I make my own bread)

mummyroysof3

i have been having a weekly delivery for a year now, i am not trying to move to every 10 days, then hopefully to 1 delivery a fortnight.

i would love to be able to use the cheaper evening slots but i think it would disturb the kids to much and stress me out, as id be worrying that it would wake them up, ive only needed bread and milk inbetween my delivery is sunday but i need nappies and bananas today which im annoyed about but my fault for not ordering enough last time, ill learn im sure lol

toffifee

Couple of things that might be useful:

- last time I looked, if you spend more than £100 with Sainsburys for a Tues - Thurs order there's no delivery charge.

- Not sure it they're still doing it, but in December Ocado were doing an offer where you could sign up for a year of deliveries (except Christmas week) for £3.99 per month. I've signed up and use it for staples that I need every week and go to Sainsburys maybe twice a month for the things I prefer from there. Ocado price matches Tesco on lots of things and are doing more 'budget' ranges lately.

suzie_wong

toffifee wrote: »

- Not sure it they're still doing it, but in December Ocado were doing an offer where you could sign up for a year of deliveries (except Christmas week) for £3.99 per month.

Could you tell me how you go about signing up for this please? I have had a quick look at their website, but couldn't find it, although there was a reference to something called 'delivery pass'- is that it? I may try them out one week using a money off code, then make a decision.