How much to feed family of 5 each month

Ebe_Scrooge

Everyone has things which they "won't compromise on", which is perfectly understandable. But for what it's worth, I use either Tesco's or Lidl's own-brand razors, they're every bit as good as the big names and a tiny fraction of the price. And the Lidl's own-brand cleaning stuff ( it's called W5 ) is brilliant, and again it's miles cheaper than the branded stuff. Lidl's in general is very good - there are certain things which you have to watch, such as vegetables, and the range they stock is much more limited than the mainstream supermarkets, but overall I love Lidl's, and the price is ridiculous compared to the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's, whatever !

joehoover

silkglade wrote: »

Wow, thank you for your comments everyone. I am very grateful.

I have to say honestly and hanging my head in shame that our food bills have been coming to approx £847 a month!!!! Shocking, but this also included toiletries and cleaning products in addition to cat food.

We are hoping to cut this down to £350, what do you guys think (we will be hitting the basics instead of branded for a start.

What cat food are you buying? I buy good quality wet food for my cat for a treat once a week, rest of time it's dry food, but I usually order online at petplanet, they have brilliant quality brands often half price or 3 for 2. I forrgot to order this month so been buying at the supermarket once a week and its cost me a fortune. Online , flea treatment and worming tables hlf the price of the vest too, and cat litter of course

Before I buy toiletries, I go online and see which of Boots, superdrug or sainsburys (my 3 local stores) have offers on my products, if I have to go to 3 stores to make sure I get them on BOGOFF or 3 for 2 then I will as I can buy enough shower gel, toothpaste, shampoo etc to last me 6 months. Cleaning products I buy the supermarket brand, and I stopped buying something diferent for each room, one cleaner can do kitchen and bathroom. I buy basics cleaning scourers and cloths, cost about 15p for 5, the kitchen once i keep longer but toilet one gets thrown out - who wants to keep them anyway after being down the loo!

Check good food website for some meal ideas on a budget. Whever it spayd dat I go out and buy this and that then when I'm skint I always budget but then I end up eating better, have the most amazing dinners I have created. Just wish I could do that all month

MFSaver

Some general rules I follow when shopping for my food:

- Plan your meals around discount deals, such as 3 for 2, BOGOF etc. I buy and freeze food in larger amounts when they go on offer.
- Meat is expensive (and unhealthy to eat in huge portions). Kill two birds with one stone by using lentils etc to replace part or all of the meat.
- Look at your regular shopping list and see what you can cut down. For example, in my case, I noticed that I was buying crisps, juice and soda, something that I could easily do without.
- I look out for clearance items, especially veg and meat. Meat can be frozen and vegetables usually last a day or two longer.
- Cooking from scratch is a lot cheaper. Buying instant food is obviously a lol more expensive, since you are paying for the convenience. for example, microwave meal cost easily 2 pounds on average for a miserable portion. You can make your own for the same price, but get at least three to four times the portion.
- I have pets. Since their food is canned, I buy in bulk when they go on offer. Pet stores nearly always have cat/dog food on offer.
- I buy store brand pasta sauce instead of Dolmio. I love Dolmio but the store brand sauce is nearly as good and half the price (more if it goes on offer!).
- When I need to order bulky and heavy groceries, I order from Asda online. I save on petrol and time, and the money back I get from Asda's price guarantee usually more than covers the delivery fee. Plus, it is a lot easier to look for discounts/deals when you are surfing their website.
- Tesco can be good as well. In fact, Tesco sent me a tenner voucher off 50 quid shopping because I have not shopped online with them in a while (blame Asda for that!).

Don't beat yourself up if you do not reach your target right away. Any progress is good progress, be it a 10 pound reduction or a 100 pound reduction.

quintwins

joehoover wrote: »

I buy basics cleaning scourers and cloths, cost about 15p for 5, the kitchen once i keep longer but toilet one gets thrown out - who wants to keep them anyway after being down the loo!

i use these but i use a cloth for my bathroom and wash it but i use these for my loo but i use the old kitchen one instead of a new one


i spend £200 a month (sometimes more, sometimes less) on 5 but i have two 5 year olds and a 2 year old between them they get about 2 adult portions (always big eaters and eat lots of fruit) i cook alot from scratch get fruit and spuds from the market/farm shop, use manily frozen veg, use lots of value products, and buy lots of whoopsies

i find costing my meals when i'm meal planning helps me, very few of our teas are over £2 and i feel a great achievement in getting a healthy meal cheap, for example we had hot dogs last night (i'm not feeling great we usually have a proper meal in the evenings) reduced sausages 69p and 2 packets of reduced baps at 15p each, but we only used 8 so 20p worth means our whole tea was 89p, tonight tuna suprise- tuna 33p (poundland do 3 for £1) pasta 30p (big bag of tesco discount brand for £1) 2 packets of cheese sauce 15p (20 for £1.50 approved foods) sweetcorn 8p (tinned ones of offer in te$co a while back normally use value frozen) means our whole tea for 5 will be £1.19 there will prob be leaftovers which i will add a wee bit of mustard to and have for lunch tomorrow


i buy value cleaning products if theres no amazing offers

laundry liquid/powder used to take up alot of my budget til i started buying in bulk in makro i buy liquid when on bogof and buy enough for a year so 4 bottles at £9 each bogof even with vat means my wahsing for the year is only £20, i also buy loo roll when on bogof but i don't have room for a years supply, so i will buy the best offer or if there is none i buy from lidl it's not the best but really your throwing it away anyway you wouldn't flush £20 notes down the loo so why spend a fortune on toilet roll

i buy nappies and wipes in bulk when on offer, and i use value when i run out, sainburys basic nappies are fab and even last all night for my 2 year old and has no effect on his exzema (unlike huggies) and are £1 if bought in the 1/3 off

i do a shop online before i go instore of what i need and what offers are on then i only bring enought cash with me for what i need plus £5 incase theres any fantastic whoopsies

emm thinks that it for me for now sorry for the long post

seated

My top tips: to feed a family of 5 (3 teens) buy a medium chicken, cut it in half and roast half one day and cut up the rest for eg curry the next. If you use a large chicken there may be some left over - have a freezer bag for cooked chicken and freeze the leftovers. After a while you will have enough for a meal or you can raid the chicken pieces to bulk out a meal for unexpected guests. Have 1-2 meat free meals per week. Carry a list of favourite recipes with you so if you spot a seasonal bargain you can check to see you have all the correct ingredients

quailpower

Reading FireWyrm's post has made me realise how much I have let things slide!!!

I used to get up at 9 on a Sunday and bake and cook for the week, as well as doing a market and shop run. I would visit about 6 different shops in the week (walking) to get the best value things!
I also used to grow my own veg and make my own jams and chutneys, ciders and wines! What has happened to me!!

Motivated to get back on the budget track now with this new baby haha wish me look. Thanks for the wake up thread OP & Firewyrm!