monthly grocery spend

EasyLay

Hi,

I am looking to get an idea about how we are doing on our monthly grocery shopping. We are a family of 4 (2 adults, a 5 year old and a 2 year old). We live in south London and shop at tesco and costco (and occasionally Marks and Spencers). On average we are spending around £700pcm, of which about £100 is on treats such as wine, chocolate, etc.

Does this seem a lot to be spending? I am surprised at how little some of the people on this thread spend per month - I read in a magazine that average for a family of 4 should be more like £340 per month.

Thanks
Mike

tori.k

Your spending 3X+ the amount im spending on a family of four (3 adults and a picky 13yr old)
But then im an extreme budgeter, i would ask myself tho how much am i throwing away each month
your spending £8400 PA on food if it suits you lifestyle then its not a issue how much you spend, but the is a family of four balanced meal plan on here that cost £1200 PA so a instant saving £7200 ( not saying you should go that extreme) but you could feed yourselves for the year and buy a brand new Kia Picanto.
if you want/need to the food budget is the quickest area to make some serious instant savings

helen_jelly

Hi

Why not pop over to the August Grocery Challenge thread - lots of advice on there

Helen

76rosie

i have a lovely silver picanto 2010 reg. Would rather buy whoopsies, coupon etc and keep some change to save for a deposit for a flat.

I didn't start off being so good with money but the harder you try the better you get.

Why would you pay full price when you could get a moc and get it for free??

I have joined the august challenge and have so far spent 10 pounds out of 60 for two adults. Not living on bread and jam either. So far this week have got 24 pounds in clubcard vouchers and my money back on mi casa pizza. :T Have also treated my picanto with rac cover with 23.00 cashback. Check out the forum for ideas, there are some clever and inspiring frugallers around.

TryingHardToSave_2

Yes i would say that is alot to be spending. I spend at the most £70 a week for 2 adults, 3 children aged 7, 5 and 19 months, An alsation, rabbit and goldfish.

This includes all food, nappies, pet food, animal bedding, toiletries etc

I cook 90% of my food fresh and personally think we eat alot of meat and veggies types meals. I rotate my weekly shop between the big supermarkets depending on the bargins on offer that week, veg from green grocers, eggs from farm shop and meat from butchers.

We dont really have that many treats maybe a upto a £30 take out every other week but that could be less depending on what we have.

After hubby went bankrupt we had to change our way of living and now i think even if we had the money i couldnt go back to my old ways love getting a bargin or a good deal. Enjoy cooking from scratch, shopping around, doing meal plans and shopping list.

The best thing ive done is not to take my card with me when i do the shopping. Withdraw the cash, take a list and calculator and when the money has gone its gone. Cant reach for the card for back up.

mymerrywidow

hi i was gonna say the same, pop over to the august grocery thread.

Missus_Aka

my family is 3 (me, oh &ds) but i normally also have my little sister 9 days a month and my niece 4 days as well as this month my other sister will be staying for 4 days so works out to nearly 4 people you could say. Normally spend £135 a month for us, but now im doing a £100 challenge on the food shopping and groceries board the thread is called Shopping, Whoopsied & Meal Planning For £100 Per Month For 3 + Visitors? and this is not supposed to be a quick fix because i dont have enough money this month, but a sustainable way of shopping for months/years. Have a look at it i put up all my meal planners, what i have bought, how much i have spent so you can have an idea of how i do it.
My sil spends the same amount as you for 4 people but she says she can afford to do it and doesnt care, its a personal decision if you got your food bill to £350 then you would have in your pocket an extra £4200 a year to save or splash out however you wish
Try find whoopsied items if you can which sometimes go down to 5-10% of their original price and bung them in the freezer and meal plan ahead maybe a week so you only have what you need so nothing gets wasted.
Good luck in trying to get your shopping bills down.

[Deleted User]

If you can afford it then its not Aa problem I think its a lot of money but they I am a very careful shopper and although I live alone can manage easily with money left over on £100 per month.its really horses for courses and personal choice at the end of the day.No one says its a 'must' to spend less but I suppose you could say that you are supporting the economy.I would rather spend my surplus cash on my children and grandchildren and having a nice holiday twice a year

EasyLay

thanks for all the advice