Shopping-Monthly vs Weekly or daily (merged)

krispyg76

I shop daily, buying what I want as and when. Sometimes meals can be based around something I find in the reduced section, say i find some fish half price then it will be a meal based around that item.

I have done weekly shops, for the first few days you eat well and then its like oh i won't have tea or let's go to the chippy. So then the cupboards fill up with tins and jars of things that you will never ever use.

i also tried a monthly shop, fill up with tins and packets and buy fresh as needed but that works out dear.

The danger of weekly/monthly shops is also the repetition of meals, food should be interesting and not just a chore to make and to eat. I'd say to everyone invest in a few good cookbooks or dig out recipes online to make something a bit different.

csarina

I have found through 40 years experience and 4 children plus various hangers on,lodgers etc that meal planning and monthly shop for basics works for me. I buy fresh fruit at the market once a fortnight, there are only two of us now, so apples, pears, bananas, oranges when they are not at silly prices (I refuse to pay 25p for an orange) grapes, plus salad stuff and veg we do not grow ourselves keeps ok in the fridge for the 2 weeks.

This way I can and do stick to a very limited budget, works out at £25 a week average........I save my Tesco vouchers, use some for deals, (have just booked the channel tunnel for next years hols for £27 in tokens plus £21)
the rest I use to do my food shopping at Christmas, so my December shopping money goes towards our holiday.

Really I think its all according to what sorrt of person you are and how controlled you budget has to be.........

keelykat

Hi!

I must be the only one who goes every other week (once a fortnight)! I work part time, and for some strange reason they pay me every fortnight instead of monthly so i started doing the shopping on my payday. It has been working out really well for us, i've stuck to my budget and most things last for the two weeks but i can easily top up a little bit on fresh things if needed.

We put bread in the freezer, and get some out when needed.
Our fridge does a great job of keeping veg and salad things fresh-so pop most things in the salad part and we have a 'fresh' drawer too.

We don't have kids yet, but do have pets. So we get our cat food in bulk from pet stores, to save us money in long run. I get big bags of biscuits and big packs of tins etc on offer. The supermarkets don't often sell pet food as cheaply (for what we feed them anyway).

Food wise-we spend £25 a week, and pet food is brought every few months in bulk so not sure how much it works out weekwise.

Our cupboards and fridge are always full so i think we're doing well for a smallish budget! I always make sure we've got a variety of foods, plenty of fruit and veg etc...and things for lunch (to take to work).

Keely.

ps-just need to sort out other money issues now.....food shopping is least of my worries these days.

elly2

Which do you think is best, and how do you decide which meals to make?

Penelope_Penguin

Bit of both

I do an online shop once a month for dried and frozen staples (flour, yeast, cereal, tins, jars, frozen veg, sugar, baking ingredients, pulses, lentils, etc, etc).

I then shop weekly at the farmshop, deli, butcher, Co-op for milk, veg, fruit, meat.

I menu plan weekly, but this can change on a whim, or if I spot a bargain.

HTH, Penny. x

nooksky

Hi, we tend to do a weekly shop. Before I go, when I am sat at work usually I make a list of basics i need, milk, bread etc.

Then I make a list of Mon to Sun and think what I have got left in the freezer and make a meal plan around this, adding any extras I need to complete meals to the list. This stops me going overboard and buying all sorts, but I am still tempted by bargains and BOGOF's!!

Also Im trying to get into the habit of buying more of certain things like milk, biscuits etc which I know will be used up quickly, and I will end up making another trip to the shops and buying more than just milk, biscuits!!

Penelope_Penguin

I knew there was an older thread - Shopping weekly vs monthly.

Penny. x

Pink.

Hi elly,

I've merged your thread with the older one that Penny linked to as it helps to keep all the replies together.

To decide which meals to make, think of what you enjoy, and of whether or not you can use any left overs the next day to make another meal. Also if you can cook double and have a freezer you can freeze another meal for another time. The Complete Menu Plans collection might give you some inspiration.

Pink

elly2

Thanks pink-winged, i have decided to use up the contents of my freezer for as long as possible this month, but dont know whether to do a big shop when i eventually run out of food or just take it week by week from then iyswim. I have decided to up my budget for december and owards by £60 per month so if i save what i can for this month this will give me enough to do a major shop, but means i need to sort out a shopping and meal plan list(so lots of threads for me to look at).

Sarahsaver

I have gone back on to having a delivery from t'internet fortnightly, and a veg box fortnightly, with top ups of fruit and meat bargains from the market. This is because I have started a little job 18 hours a week and I do not believe in making my kids go shopping, and I do not drive. Also as DH is at work long hours I do not want to spend our precious weekends in a supermarket!
I am spending about £25 to £30 on the internet delivery, and the vex box is £12 the veg lasts a week and a couple of days over. I just made some lovely minestrone with the 'past its best' veg;)
I am getting used to it again, I now have my standard list then I make a list of what I need from it and what I do not, think I will get it laminated. I got toilet paper again and I needn't have done. Lots of things will not need to be bought fortnightly like the 3kg bag of pasta, bleach, detergent.
DS laughed as he helped pack away, 4 packs of value jelly, custard, tins of tomatoes and tuna, but then at least there is always an 'emergency' meal in the cupboard;)
We get milk locally as the biggest bottle is £1.35. Not sure if it is 6 pints?