Shopping-Monthly vs Weekly or daily (merged)

Penelope_Penguin

I have a monthly grocery delivery and weekly trips to the farm shop and butchers. In the summer we need to buy less as we get a lot of fruit and veg from the garden, and eggs from the chooks.

I'll add this to the exisitng thread we have on this subject

Penny. x

ironed_out

I've tried doing a weekly shop, and also tried stocking up the store cupboard, and now I'm currently about to start a 'shop every other day for what I need' plan.
I just can't seem to decide what way is the best way. If I try doing a weekly shop, I end up having to go out half way through the week and top up
I don't like going into town, so the plan is to go in the evening after tea (so I won't be hungry ) and buy what I need, taking cash so I won't be tempted by extras.

So, which way works best for you?

picklepick

we order everything we need for the freezer and store cupboards once a month if we can. we meal plan for the month so i know exactly how much chicken and meat im going to need and stick to it. then i only need to get milk and fresh foods on a weekly basi. i homemake bread and stock up by freezing loaves. this way we wont be tempted to spend more than we should on bits and pieces

MrsFraggle

Sort of in a simliar situation.
I'm now 'trialling' doing a monthly shop for items such as loo roll, catfood, washing powder, flour, etc
then topping up weekly with fruit, eggs and milk.
So far its really helping - it did take me a while to do the initial 'list' (I did a rough meal plan for the entire month then wrote the list from that) and similarly about 2hours to do the actual shop (as I went to Home Bargains, Aldi and finally Asda to get everything)
But for the past 2 weeks I've only had to pop to Asda/Aldi briefly (15 mins max!) to get the fresh stuff, I know exactly what I am going for so its straight in and out.
Working so far with keeping under the budget

I think next month will be easier, we've had a fair idea this month how much stuff we use in a month, so I can guage it better for next month (ie I bought far too many loo rolls!)

Penelope_Penguin

ironed_out wrote: »

I've tried doing a weekly shop, and also tried stocking up the store cupboard, and now I'm currently about to start a 'shop every other day for what I need' plan.
I just can't seem to decide what way is the best way. If I try doing a weekly shop, I end up having to go out half way through the week and top up
I don't like going into town, so the plan is to go in the evening after tea (so I won't be hungry ) and buy what I need, taking cash so I won't be tempted by extras.

So, which way works best for you?

We have an existing thread on how often people do their grocery shopping, so I'll merge this one to keep ideas together,

Penny. x

HockeyDuo8083

Well, I have had a good skim through this thread and have taken it on in interest.
I try to shop weekly and buy things like clothes powder & cleaning products on a monthly basis.

I find it a real challenge sometimes to do a weekly mealplan. I am on my own for 2 weeks while OH is offshore and really hate cooking for one. When he is here he eats LOADS!lol

I find having the basics in the cupboard really helps like cous cous, pasta, baked beans etc.

I seem to save more money by buying as needed although i don't think this applies to everyone. I be meat, salad and veg as needed plus I find doing this sometimes I get everything in my basket reduced (yellow stickered).
I also think that because I don't have kiddies yet so I have the time and energy to do this as a lot of hard working Mums & Dads may not.

When OH is here he will go out to the shop during the day to do a 'Food Bargain Hunt'. This is becasue he can go to Lidl, Sainsburys and Asda and pick up only reduced or special offer food. this usually covers us for a bit cos as I said earlier he eats A LOT:rotfl:

OrkneyStar

I tend to go to the main town once a week for certain items (list includes things like bread flour/flour/juice cartons/certain yogs/chopped toms/certain tins etc/some veg/sometimes milk/pet food/washing powder- this will be from Tesco/Lidl/Coop/butcher in town), I then do small top up shops at local butcher/grocer for meat/other veg/milk/any other bits and bobs. I am doing a yearly budget, currently withdrawing weekly amounts. I could NEVER shop online, unless I could not get out the house, even then I think I would send DH, as I hate the thought of shop staff choosing my stuff! I also could not do a monthly shop as, although I like my freezer, certain things should be fresh imho (milk being the main one I think of right now!).

HairyHandofDartmoor

I shop weekly, as like some other posters I can only fit 1 week's worth in my trolley/cupboards. I have a DH, 2 teenagers and an 11 year old to feed. DH and the 2 teenagers eat more than I do, so we get through vast quantities of food!

DD drinks milk and DH and I have cereals and lots of coffee, so we use 26 pints of milk a week :eek: (I know, I can't believe it either, I don't know where it goes, DD must be bathing in it like Cleopatra:rotfl: )

We also get through 1 loaf of bread a day, so as you can see, monthly shopping wouldn't work for me

Also the more food there is in the house, the more DH and the children would eat, so my attitude is 'when it's gone, it's gone'. For example, I'll buy a weeks worth of chocolate biscuits and if they choose to eat them all in 4 days then they will have to go without for 3 days

rachbc

I menu plan and do an asda online order every fortnight - for this I set a max budget of £80. This covers cleaning stuff, nappies, dried stuff, tinned stuff, milk for freezer, bread, dairy stuff etc, wine. As I don't get meat or veg I don't mind them choosing stuff for me plus I can go back and forth and take stuff out/ put stuff in to keep to budget.

I then do a weeekly fruit and veg shop at the market (loads cheaper, nicer and I get to flirt with the nice man :j ) for fresh stuff and eggs as I don't like to keep it longer than that - I spend between £7-13 a week on this. I have a butchers were I work (catering college) and either shop weekly or monthly and fill the freezer - for a week its usually 1 joint (roast plus leftovers), sausages, 1 mince meal, something for a casserole/ stir fry/ curry for 2 meals then 1 meal a week is veggie. Last Friday I bought meat for 3 weeks for £30.

Our basic meal plan is similar each week Roast, Leftovers, Mince, Sausages, Curry, veggie meal, and I try to do something new each week we haven't had before and I'm amazed how much variety we can build around this basis.

Recently DH has got into forager mode and goes late to Sainsburies local to get reduced stuff - though I have to remind him its only a bargain if it was something we would buy anyway and that chocolate biccies we wouldn't have had anyway aren't a saving!

kemo_2002

I usually do my food shopping per week, but i end up always overspending and buying food even though i don't need it. I have come to the conclusion i want to do a monthly shop as soon as i get paid and have half a day going around supermarkets (asda/iceland/farmfoods/morrisions) It also means i wont have to worry about finding the money to eat at the end of the month.

Then i will have to make a litlte trip to fetch milk (as it wont keep for a month)

Does anyone do a 'monthly' shop here? and have any tips on sticking to what you need and ensuring you get everything you need?

Any help appreciated xxxx