Young couple, no pets or kids - how much should weekly shop cost?

Alfietinker

Hi, we're similar to you, although we do have 2 cats and 3 chickens. We aim to spend about £30 a week for everything (except washing powder which I get at Mackros). Sometimes we spend more if I'm stocking up on more expensive stuff like say herbs and spices. Sometimes we spend a lot less. For instance we've just been sent weekly vouchers for £2 off a £20 shop. Last week I struggled to make the £20 and had to buy some free range chicken to bump the cost up! I've found the biggest difference is buying loads of fruit and veg and using them as the basis for meals - meat and fish is almost an extra. We usually cook for 4 and either freeze the rest or eat it the next day.

As has been said, the very best way is to meal plan. We're not rigid in the sense of saying we're eating this on a certain day, just at some time that week and making sure nothing goes off.

I am actually scared to go shopping with out a list - especially with hubby as I worry about buying stuff we don't need!

The other single most thing that has saved us money is not buying sandwiches for lunch at work.

iceicebaby

Well I live on my own, but OH is here about 3 or 4 nights a week and I spend about 30 quid a week and we eat well

how do i do this?

LIDLS of course! And theres a HUGE ALDI oppening by me in 30/11!

Lidls stuff is good quality and excellent prices

charlies_mum

jembie wrote:

Does everyone still think this?
We have a Lidl near us and everytime I go in it really makes me miss Kwik Save. The only things I buy in there are the large tins of catfood and the gorgeous Strawberry Vodka that I treat myself to occasionally.
Everything else is ridiculously priced for saying it is supposed to be a budget store.:rolleyes:

I LOVE Aldi, I used to shop at Morrisons and spend about £130 a week (just for 2 adults, 1 cat and 1 dog), but then I started to shop at Aldi, and now spend about £65 which includes all pet food, £12 wine and £4.50 flowers.

When I first started going, I more or less had the shop to myself, but now it is really busy and the car park is full of BMWs and 4 x 4s.

Last week they had fresh beef joints for £8.99, it was lovely, but we will still be eating it by next weekend !

lynzpower

I shop predominantly at tescos as its closest and we are clubcard users.

We manage 25 a week comfortably, but we have done 20 a week between us- all lunches, cleaning , breakfasts & evening meals.

We are a couple ( just under 30) and not kids or pets- YET.

This gives us a fair amount of tesco finest and organic (eg sausages, some veg organic etc) we bake our own bread in a BM now ( fully converted :j) and plenty of yellow label meat/fish

But I do a lot of baking, soup making and pretty much everything is from scratch - we eat like kings and Im proud of what I manage - compared to the off the scale spends I used to do weekly :eek: No wonder we were always skint!

bobbadog

My man and I (both 25) spend around £32 in Sainsburys a week and about £5 down the organic market once a fortnight, ish. This weekend though we did a huge 'monthly' shop which came to £96. Imagine with top ups we'll keep to about £110 for the month. This includes pack lunches for both of us (he's a hungry carpenter), cleaning stuff and lots of meat and veg. I love cooking.

I know there's room for improvement should my finances suggest we need to cut it down, but I have a lot of fun in the kitchen, so I consider it more than just substinance!

Penny-Pincher!!

We spend about £30-£35 per week on 2 adults and 1 child. If I use vouchers at asda/tesco or waitrose it can be alot less.

Meal plan is the way forward but start with writing down what you have in and you may have enough for a few meals there Also note down meals you like. We have staple meals each week such as:

Roast Dinners
Toad In Hole
Stews
Shepards Pie
Chops
Pies
HM Fishpie
Egg & Chips
Baked Spuds
Chilli
Spagbol
Bacon steamed pudding
Sausage & mash

PP
xx

newlywed

I make sure I only take a basket - never a trolley. Then you can't pick up the extra bits as you can't carry them/fit them in the basket. Keeps my shopping down to £25-£35 a time, even with meat etc. Saves on gym membership too, lugging that around the supermarket makes your biceps work!!

Busy trying to get our shopping bill down some more this month and definitely meal plan, bulk out any mince with lots of veg (in with the sauce). Look at what you are buying and ask yourself if you choose a different cut/packet will that make the meal cheaper? Eg turkey often cheaper than chicken and not much difference if it's in a sauce/curry etc. That was my biggest thing not really looking and weighing up what I was buying and whether a bigger pack worked out cheaper etc.

Plus cakes, crisps and biscuits etc seem to bump it up lots so now I bake the cakes and biscuits and OH just has to wait a bit longer to eat them!!

MORPH3US

Hi OP,

Myself and GF are exactly the same as you, both young professionals who work all day then get home tired and just want food quick...

We always seem to have the same every week. Every week we will have a pasta dish, a curry, a bolognaise or chilli, burger and chips......

We always want to have something different but are never prepared when we go to the supermarket and then just get all the usual stuff, chicken, mince, jars of sauce.......

Will defo have to check out the old style board quick smart...

BTW we also have no kids and no pets and our shopping budget is £50 a week (includes a bottle of wine per week and about a can of lager a night but I buy it in 24 packs so averages out.

I am pleased though that we have lots of salad (although difficult when its colder) and we never buy crisps, cake, fizzy pop or biscuits!!!

Oh and GF is vegetarian so has quorn replacement in curry / bolognaise but quorn isn't much more than meat!

M

tawnyowls

Jars of sauce?? Tsk. Bet you can make any of those yourself, far cheaper and far nicer. A look on this board should come up with pretty much any sauce you've been buying in a jar.