Grocery Shopping

Sharon87

Go through your receipt and highlight all the food you could do without, add it up and use that as motivation. Use another colour to highlight what you can drop down a brand for.

Ask why did you buy something, and if it's because it's on offer and I wouldn't normally buy it, you know where you're going wrong. If it's something you would have bought then brilliant, savings, don't need to buy it next week.

Does your supermarket do the smaller trolleys? Use them, not the big ones. Won't be able to fit as much stuff in

Good luck!

Brighid

mrsdumplin wrote: »

I have returned from Tesco for the second week running with a £100 shop. :doh:this week I planned all our meals, no luxuries, no alcohol not masses of cleaning stuff.

What meals did you plan? Have you tried things like going down a brand? That was the first thing I did, and saved loads. I used to spend more than you for 2 of us plus cats, now its down to between 25 and 40, depending on if I need to buy meat, or if I find lots of 'whoopsies' and stock up!

Other things I do - green lentils in anything with mince doubles how far it goes. Frozen veg thrown into almost anything helps bulk out. Never buy sauces, always make them. Roast chicken every week from aldi, makes sunday lunch, packed lunches and lush soup! Buy as many onions as I can when aldi have them on super 6 and store them in a cool dark place for ages!! and so on.
Good luck

b

steveos

Well, my strategy is to get down to about £350/month from 400 plus odd misc trips where I go to buy one item and spend £20.

I guess on a big run I spend about an £100/week...made worse buy going to the more expensive ones (no names but they know who they are!!!..lol).

We have a Lidl but I can never get the courage to go in there, and mainly because the brands are not the same nor is range, but they do some good deals. Like the one where all the best mums shop (and me!..again no names).

I am careful with kinda knowing what I want and dont go mad at sweet stuffs and cakes etc.

This is a area where I would really like to reduce by £100/month whilst not living on baked beans on toast:D

Never tried online shopping..but hey maybe one day.

I will be happy with £350/month and yes I am impressed and respect those posts where people do really well on 50% of that.
:j:beer:;)

Mrs_Arcanum

Try calculating your shop in your head as you put things on the conveyor belt. It helps to concentrate your mind on what you are spending to try and see how close you are to the total. Spend less then give yourself a pat. If the total is regularly more than your estimate - use a list and stick to it (allowing some for bargains). Always remember a bargain is only a bargain if it is something you need or will use on a regular basis.

[Deleted User]

Are you buying branded goods at Tesco?

Most things can be replaced with Tesco own brand and certain things, like tinned tomatoes, basmati rice, toilet rolls can be replaced with 'value' or discount brand.

Also, if you have a freezer and can time your trip, you can get the stickered stuff that will go out of date the next day, get it and freeze it!

CFC

£100 a week for 2.5 people is insane. Get your courage together and visit Lidl or Aldi. Go in with a list of what you need for which meals. A meal plan is ESSENTIAL in terms of reducing your spend, plan for EVERY meal and do NOT buy anything else.
Visit the old style board for detailed advice!

Lou76

Would you consider shopping online?

I had to start online shopping through necessity, not choice as such (illness left me housebound), but I've since realised it's more cost effective.

Lately I've been getting out of the house once a week and it's costing me a fortune - I need to stay at home. :eek::rotfl:

I do a bi/tri-monthly Sainsbury's online shop*, average spend £130 (just me to buy for). Don't worry, I buy a lot of frozen veg & fruit to last me, I'm not in danger of getting rickets anytime soon.

Anyway, a few weeks ago my Mum and I stopped off at Sainsbury's on the way home, as she needed bread and milk. It cost her £30odd and me £50odd. :eek:

I'm like a kid in a sweetie shop... "ohhh, I never thought about that, might as well add it to the trolley whilst I'm here" or "ohh that sounds interesting, might as well add it to the trolley" or "Ohh I forgot that exists, might as well add it to the trolley" etc etc

All these temptations are removed when I have to think about what I actually use/need, and not walking down ailses full of "goodies".

I've been getting better at batch cooking and freezing lately as well, and thanks to the Old Style forum I'm getting even better. :T

* if I needed any fresh produce I'd get family or friends to bring it, I didn't go without. Luckily I don't drink milk, and bake my own bread as and when I fancy it.

If only I could stop smoking, albeit rollies, I could save myself a fortune...

ETA: if only I could stop the Crohns. That would save me about £20 in toilet roll a month alone. :rotfl:

TUS

Drop the brands or try a different store.

DebtfreeBY40_2

I spend £50 a week on shopping in Tesco, including cat food and they only eat whiskas, little blighters! Its all about meal planning but knowing the offers. I tend to shop in the store in case there are new offers but will check where the cat food is selling cheapest on mysupermarket if not on offer in Tesco. I batch cook and we eat chili most of the week with a few hot pots chucked in for luck with the cheap veg and cheap meat. We have salads for lunch when we are working and these include carrots, beetroots, sugarsnap peas and rocket with two eggs for the protein. We know exactly how many carrots we need and buy that many so as not to waste food. We did used to have chicken breast as the protein up until a few months ago which whilst yummy is very expensive! But we still have a roast chicken on a Sunday and get some of the left over meat for one lunch in the week. The chili lasts longer if you bulk it out with kidney beans and plenty of mushrooms.
I've been where you are, spending that much at Tesco so it can be done. And I know I can still reduce mine but it seems to take a little more time than I have to give! But I will get there... Good luck

Clarie_2

Hiya,
There are 3.5 of us as well (oh, and a cat) and we live on more or less 45 a week - and that includes cleaning stuff and toiletries when necessary. I work it out as 15 per adult (we lived on 30 a week before our lodger moved in).
I plan my meals weekly. Then use mysupermarket.com to order and buy. It inevitibly comes from Tesco though as there where I know all the offers!. The real trick is putting what you need on the list and then when it goes over the limit you take things off till it's back under! If I want to go in person and save delivery fee I print the list off and take it with me and there's a ban on buying things not on the list. (If I go with DH he has a £1 junk allowance <grin>)

Some things off the top of my head:
Buy rice/ potatoes/ pasta in bulk. We buy 10 kilos of rice, 5 kilos of pasta at a time. Which means weeks we buy these we eat very cheaply and don't buy meat - but we have more to spend all the other weeks.
We are constantly downgrading in terms of brand. My friends taught me that once you are making meals from scratch you really don't need good quality chopped tomatoes, cheese, etc.
We have chosen to go for nice meat over lots of meat - so I will only buy free range chicken, or british meat. I just don't buy it very often.
Seperate meat and freeze in portions.
Last year we grew veg, so we could afford to buy meat. (It's not cheaper to grow veg than to buy value, but it is cheaper to grow veg than to buy the equivalent of local organic produce)
Deserts, chocolate - all treats for when guests come over etc. Don't think we ever buy alcohol unless it's for us going out- guests tend to bring it when we have dinner!
The cat eats biscuits again bulk bought.

Some weeks (esp if I haven't stuck to budget recently) we have store cupboard weeks where we buy milk and bread and eggs and some fresh veg for a tenner, and then eat out of the freezer and the tins.

I over cook every single meal so I have leftovers for lunch/ the next meal. DH has rolls or wraps made at home.

A rough week plan is
cereals for breakfast. leftovers ( I over cook on purpose) for my lunch, rolls for DH's lunch, cans of soup for lodgers lunch. (according to our preferences)
Evening/ main meals:
Pasta meal (ie chopped toms, courgettes, maybe frozen sausages)
Fish meal (whatever is cheapest of fish counter if we go in, salmon pasta if not!)
Sausages (or chicken or fish or something) potatoes and veg
Curry (frozen quorn (or roast leftovers), jar sauce, rice)
Roast (surprisingly cheap when worked out per person! and grand for leftovers)
beans/cheese/eggs on toast
One meal from a recipe book which I need specific ingrediants for - this is often the night guests come, or our veggie night (coz I don't know many veggie recipes)

And then other weeks I do a variations on a theme.. so if it's mexican and I've bought guacomole and sour cream and tortillas then we'll have fajitas one night, and quesadillas another, and wraps for lunch. (still ever managed to finish a jar of guacamole before it goes off! going to have to make it from scratch :-) )

Or if I have lots of potatoes we'll have shepherds pie, and fish pie, and meat and potatoes and veg, and spanish omelette.

Gosh, written out it all sounds a lot more organised than I thought I was!