Reducing my weekly shop cost - possible?

maman

I reckon you could almost halve the £200 and still eat well. DH and I spend that but it's for two of us and it includes almost all breakfasts and lunches as well as our evening meals. I've been doing SW so we have almost no processed food and eat heaps of fruit and veg. It does mean being organised, a bit of shopping around and some cooking for the freezer. I don't do online shopping as I find I can be very quick and focused if I go shopping with a list.

Look forward to reading what you do buy/eat later. I'm off to make our liver & onions!!

meg72

adelight wrote: »

I'm so glad noone's suggested buying reduced/whoopsies yet, everyone is telling people to buy them lately but they are so scarce and unreliable these days.

Oh dear sorry I was going to mention them, whilst i agree they are getting rather scarce,lots more people want them these days and
therefore you cannot rely on them. it is always worth looking in the reduced section first.

punkpink

£200 :eek: for two people :eek::eek:

For me and my OH i usually come in under £100 a month, about £60/£70 a month on a big shop at the start of the month (including all meat, poatoes, onions, etc.) and then pop into the shop for just a bit of fresh veg and some whoopsies if i find any (which usually tops it up to about £80/£90).

I tend to do a lot of home cooking and cooking from scratch. I meal plan and although i do swap days around and include any whoospies if i fancy them but i will not buy anything that is for a meal which is on the meal plan IYSWIM.

We have a roast dinner every sunday religiously, chicken for 3 weeks, then lamb or beef (whichever i can get cheaper on the months shop, i don't eat pork). I stretch the meat as far as i can, and usually i make a chicken pie on a monday (or some alternative with the left over meat) and then i will make a stock or a soup from the carcass.
I always do home made pizza on a tuesday, we both used to love dominos,but i can make two pizza's for less than 50p each. And ive usually got some leftover chicken to throw on top, or ive always got pepperoni (slices) in the freezer.

I do more, but without your list its hard to really think how to help you individually.

ETA: i also buy larger portions (obviously checking the prices by weight first) and portion it up and freeze it, sausages for example are cheaper this way (i only eat richmond, so can get expensive if not on offer)
I also make up larger portions of food if its something i know ill be having again in the same month and i freeze it so that i have no need for as much cooking the second time round.
Home made doner kebabs have also been a regular feature for a cheap filling meal. Value pitta bread, lettuce, lamb mince (small packet - not value, done to the recipe) with value chips and ketchup, very easy, cheap and delicious!

splodger_seedswapper

£200 a month does seem a bit high - i can eat well with a spend of less than £15 per week - but i do grow my own fruit and veg so that helps and i don't snack either. i have 3 dogs so most of my weekly budget actually goes on them but i don't mind as i love them dearly.

OP - do you buy ready type meals or cook from scratch? as that would make a big difference to your shopping bill.

kit77

I too am looking to reduce my bill. My month starts on my payday 20th and pay day is tomorrow :j so I am just going to add up how much I spent last month and I have a feeling it's going to be well over the £170 I set as a target this time last month:cool: should point out this is for 2 adults and 2 kids so was probably a bit of a tough ammount to stick too (see i'm making excuses already lol)

So your thread has just started at the right time for me.

Right off to add up my receipts. If i'm not back it's because I have fainted with the shock at my overspend :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

I live alone and can get by quite well on £25.00 per week but then again I was brought up to streeetch things quite a bit and I do cook from scratch.I have never bought a chicken breast in my life I would rather buy a whole chicken and Sc it and use every bit up and the stock goes to make soups.I pad a lot out with fresh veg and will use some of the less popular veggies swede,cabbage ect.Lentils and tomatos make excellent soup and I have in my fridge at the moment several parsnips that are past their best which will go into making parsnip and apple soup tomorrow as I have a couple of windfalls to use up as well. This with crusty bread makes a substantial lunch.A rice pud made with a couple of onces of rice and caster sugar and a pimt of milk is also a good filler up when the first course needs padding out a bit . Its just a case of organising what you have and not throwing anything edible out if you can help it.

quintwins

i try to spend £200 on 5 of us (2 adults 2x5 year olds and a 2 year old who eats more than the 5 year olds) most months i do come slightly over but only slightly however my fit to burst freezer and cupboards are a huge sign that i over buy, i use also of value items, including mince now i know it has more water and fat but in my mind this is ok because i buy 2 800g portions and split them into 5, then bulk it out with loads of veg for the 5 of us so acually were eating very little, i do buy chicken breasts however i just discovered makro's ones which are £18 for 5kg which gives you 20-24 huge breasts and they don't shrink at all (i share one between me kids and tbh one is too much for me) i can make 1 1/2 breasts do all 5 of us a casarole, i buy value rice pudding and custard for puddings, our snacks are mostly fruit and yogurts or on offer things.I make alot of buns with the kids aswell which then are eaten as pudding, i do save money buy not making a roast we get that at my mother in laws every sunday so thats a few less meals to worry about and roasts are so expensive, when i make a roast it's usually gammon (classed as a treat in this house) or pork shoulder done in the sc which is lovely bulked out with loads of veg roasties and yorkshires

i use mainly frozen veg as there cheaper per weight and usually freshed with the exception of carrots and onions, fruit i buy bananas from tesco as there cheaper than anywhere else but the rest of my fruit comes from the market or farm shop, i aim for less than 20p a portion they do apples at 10 for £1.50 so 15 (these are really big and i something split them in 2 and we have half each) or they do squeezing oranges at 15 for £1 which have a tough skin but my kids school cuts oranges in 4 and then they give them 2 them skin and all and they bite the flesh off and suck the juice out so now i've started buying these, my youngest can't cope with pips so i buy him clemintines so slightly deaer usually on offer in supermarkets at £1 for 6-8, value grapes are £1 and in theory should do a good 6+ decent sized portions mine never make them away tho my kids eat them all, fruit is one of my biggest expenses as i'm forever filling up the fruit bowl and i'm asked for fruit several times a day, i can remeber fruit going off when i lived at home because it was never eaten yet i can't remeber the last time i threw fruit away in my own house

DollyDabbler

maman wrote: »

I reckon you could almost halve the £200 and still eat well. DH and I spend that but it's for two of us and it includes almost all breakfasts and lunches as well as our evening meals. I've been doing SW so we have almost no processed food and eat heaps of fruit and veg. It does mean being organised, a bit of shopping around and some cooking for the freezer. I don't do online shopping as I find I can be very quick and focused if I go shopping with a list.

Look forward to reading what you do buy/eat later. I'm off to make our liver & onions!!

Can I come and eat at yours (LOL)- I really like Liver and onions, but DH and picky DD will not entertain it and it's not the same if I cook a big batch and freeze it, doesn't have the same taste

kit77

Well wasn't too bad £226 but i am sure some receipts are missing.

I start off really well meal planning for the 1st week but life gets in the way.

Am reading through all your replies and hoping to get some tips for myself.

tigerfeet2006

When I meal plan I pick 7 meals but don't allocate days and just choose from the list depending what the family are doing.

I always have about 3 slow cooker (sc) recipes, which is brilliant for busy school days. At least 2/3 veggie meals. A roast day. A using up bits day. A quick cheap and cheerful day omlette and chips, baked potato with the chilli mixture I had earlier in the week, sausage and mash, that sort of thing. Always do a bit extra to pop in the freezer as a ready meal for when money or time is tight, what could be better than your own homemade ready meal.

Use www.mysupermarket.com to compare prices and promotions in the big 3 supermarkets.

Have a go at the Grocery Challenge. Have a look at the meal plan threads, usually posted on a thurs/fri for the week.