How do you grocery-shop?

tillycat123

I'm a total impulse buyer. I rarely plan I buy what's on offer and plan around that. I'm lucky I can pop to a local supermarket quite ofetne and all the big names are only around 4 miles away from me so will visit them all to see what they all have on deal.

chelms38

I get a bus to town and walk into a supermarket pick up a basket and proceed up and down the different aisles.

clairibel

I shop online and usually buy the same items every week but whatever is the best offer at that time. I can see the offers better at home and spend time juggling it all about.

I shop online as i cannot stick to my budget in a supermarket and i start to throw all sorts in the trolley and when i get to the till i panic

I have saved loads since shopping online so the delivery costs are worth it compare to the amount i overspend. Its also easier for me with ill health.

We don't meal plan as such but i always have ideas of what i can do with the food i have bought days ahead but sometimes you just don't fancy what you planned and pizza it is

Birdy12

ThreeMarks wrote: »

One more interesting thing I've been thinking about. You also mention you look for the cheaper foods. So if my app were to find the most appropriate ingredients, in terms if cost, for a meal. Again, for example, you're a family of four with a budget of £25 per day, my app could find the best products from a particular store. The best products being, value for money and item size, so as to minimise waste. I imagine something like this would be really useful in this economic climate for families who are struggling.

Three Marks, there is already a website that does something along these lines, it's called mysupermarket.co.uk . It covers, Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Ocado. Didn't know if you were aware of it or not. HTH.

Birdy

JulieGeorgiana

Due to health issues I have to balance my fibre, calories, carbs, GI and GL foods. Therefore I have an 8 week menu plan, with an associated list which I have manually calculated the food nutrition I need.

From there I have a standard shopping list and I only buy what I need to make the meals which I have planned.

Every 8 weeks I 'tweak' my plan to accomodate life, and add changes where required. I then set up 8 weeks of shopping lists.

Week 1 I do an 8 week meat shop.

Weeks 1 & 5 I do large shops for 4 weeks at a time. Weeks 2,3,4,6,7 & 8 I only buy fresh ingredients I need for the meals required that week.

I always make a comprihensive list as we are on a tight budget, and I do the big shops at Lidl, Netto, Mr T and Mr S to make the most of the offers. I rarely impulse buy, and even then it has to be something on offer that I was planning on buying soon.

I do change my mind in the shop if something seasonal is on offer, but normally when I am planning my shopping list (with prices) I use mysupermarket and look at the fruit and veg offers.

I buy my fruit depending on offers each week... much to my sons disgust!!

I also bulk buy all non food items when on offer (3 - 6 months worth at a time)

I think it's a great project you want to do... I would certainly like it, as doing it myself on a spreadsheet is very time consuming... I end up eating the same breakfast daily, just because it's hassle to work it all out!

Praana

my husband used to do a big shop everyweek, we used to waste so much food, as midway through the week, he or the kids didnt want what was on the menu. now i shop in between in the week. i will pop into Tesco as its local 2 or 3 times a week, and either buy what we want to eat that night or the next day along with basics that run out like bread, eggs, ketchup! (yes ketchup is a basic in our house!

My husband annoyingly scours the reduced section in Tesco nearly everyday and constantly brings home reduced food which we have to eat or freeze. so we really are living on the salmonella edge, whereas i want to eat organic food, i end up eating reduced normal food! so the happy comprmise is that he eats what he's bought and i cook me and the kids a nice meal :rotfl:

farmers-marketeer

Well I have the feeling that I'm not typical I have a card to the Company Shop that sells overstocks from retailers I think, I go there a couple of times a week and since there is nothing always there its a bit of an adventure. Basics reduced I always buy, had 3 kilos of sugar in the space of a week a 1500 grammes of organic flour for 70p so will make me some bread. If I go to shop for my dinner I look at whats reduced discovered pork cheeks that way thats a real surprise taste fabulous in a casserole. I also visit farmers markets for a lot of my meat.