Reducing my weekly shop cost - possible?

aintshesweet

maman wrote: »

Some great suggestions but I think the only way you're going to really save is by spending more time on the shopping and cooking. You could save a bit by dropping a brand but if you want to get one shop, delivered from one supermarket then you're unlikely to save the maximum.

You don't even have to shop around - just make your food work harder for you. We eat meat most days (OH thinks it's not a proper meal if it dosn't include meat) and generally do most of our shopping from one supermarket all at once (apart from spices & rice, but that's another seperate shop like once every 6 months) and manage to keep costs down by using cheaper cuts of meat and butchering big joints at home.

abwsco

Hawthorn wrote: »

Not one of my shopping lists looks like a complete shop in itself....we have more of a rolling shop I guess. Stuff on offer is bought and stored, so some weeks we may have just washing powder, cheese and meat, whereas other weeks it's veg, fish and toiletries!

Rolling shop. Love it as that's what mines like. Providing we can afford it at the time of course.

Wish we were lucky enough to have an Aldi and Lidl nearby so I could nip in easily for their bargains. Do have a HB and B & M's so they are visited at least once a week.

Oh, and for me one of the biggest money savers has been doing my main shop online.

~Chameleon~

iris wrote: »

I think the big problem here is shopping at just ONE supermarket.

I shop once a week for myself and OH, however I usually visit up to 4/5 supermarkets (much to my husband's disapproval) and we spend on average £40 per week.

Does this work out economically viable when taking into account the increased cost of fuel? Maybe you're lucky enough to have a choice in close proximity. I live fairly rural so Tesco or Waitrose are my most convenient choices and also the only ones which provide a decent delivery service.

Ocado are terrible at packing and end up crushing everything... Asda are useless at substitutes & frequently overcharge... and Sainsbury are often more expensive whenever I've checked.

If I was to travel to 4/5 diferent supermarkets a week then it would no doubt end up costing more in petrol than any savings I might make. Unfortunately the nearest Aldi/Lidl is approx 30 miles away too

[Deleted User]

maman wrote: »

Some great suggestions
P.S. If JackieO, drops by: I haven't made a rice pudding in years and reading your post really made me fancy one. Is yours the baked rice pudding with the nutmeg on top or a boiled one more like Ambrosia? And, do you have to use caster sugar or would granulated or sweetener work?

Yes its a baked one, I prefer them,but then I am quite old fashioned and like HM food as opposed to tinned stuff

I measure out
2. x ozs pudding rice
2. x caster sugar (or granulated or even brown makes a nice change)
1 x pint milk (I only ever drink s/skimmed anyway) but sometimes I will buy a small tin of evaporated mik (it makes for a really creamy milk pud) and tip into a pyrex jug and top up to 3/4 pint with water ,then fill to 1 pint with a quarter of a pint of milk
Rub a bit of butter around a pint glass pyrex bowl and put all the ingrediants in together .mix around with a fork for a minute the place on a flat tray at the bottom of a slow oven(usually about 140c) for a couple of hours .after an hout or so have a peep and you will see a nice skin forming .get the fork and give it a quick stir and sprinkle either nutmeg or cinnamon (my favorite) over the top and leave in the oven until set and thick about another hour.Remove and set to one side to cool.This is my favourite pud in the wintre and once cold I leave in the pyrex bowl until finished as it will happily sit in the fridge for several days until gone .I soppn our into a bowl how much I want for pud and give a quick blast in the microwave to get piping hot and top with cold custard (made from Birds custard powder of course)One of these pud usually do for aronud four days for me for 'afters' when I want to extend my dinner or a portion after my lunchtime sandwich.I suppose the cost would be
rice x10p
sugar x 10p
rubbing from the butter paper round the bowl to stop it sticking too much x minimal
milk tin of evep x45p small amount of milk 10p
in total ingrediants 75p at most.The oven can also be doubled up to use to make shortbread at the same time or biscuits or meringues as they like a slow oven so no oven space is wasted
When I see what is charged for Mueller rice puds in the shops £2.50-3.00 for half a dozen pud I find it very expensive .far cheaper nicer and you get more for your money if you make your own .Plus if you do it on a slightly chilly day the oven will warm your kitchen up a bit as well so its a win-win deal.:):)A dollop of jam in the middle if you like as school days used to if you need it:rotfl::rotfl:

iris

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Does this work out economically viable when taking into account the increased cost of fuel? Maybe you're lucky enough to have a choice in close proximity. I live fairly rural so Tesco or Waitrose are my most convenient choices and also the only ones which provide a decent delivery service.

Ocado are terrible at packing and end up crushing everything... Asda are useless at substitutes & frequently overcharge... and Sainsbury are often more expensive whenever I've checked.

If I was to travel to 4/5 diferent supermarkets a week then it would no doubt end up costing more in petrol than any savings I might make. Unfortunately the nearest Aldi/Lidl is approx 30 miles away too

We also live in a rural area. It is approx 10 miles to nearest supermarket(s), so we choose the town with the best supermarkets altogether, therefore cutting petrol costs and only visit on average once per week. The town we choose has an Aldi/Lidl/Coop/Tesco/Farmfoods and Poundland.

We have to use our car as there are no buses at all, so we make sure we fit a lot in i.e. visit doctors/dentist at same time.

When there is a special offer on a product we use regularly, we stock up and store in our garage. I always check online/mysupermarket for offers/expiry dates.

I also use Tesco delivery service sometimes when there is a code I am able to use.

~Chameleon~

Hawthorn wrote: »

Not one of my shopping lists looks like a complete shop in itself....we have more of a rolling shop I guess. Stuff on offer is bought and stored, so some weeks we may have just washing powder, cheese and meat, whereas other weeks it's veg, fish and toiletries!

This is exactly what I do which is why it's difficult to put an actual figure on how much the groceries I use each week cost, compared to what I actually spend. And often I can pop into Tesco to buy bread, OJ etc and come out having spent £30-£40 on stuff I don't particularly need

~Chameleon~

AFK_Matrix wrote: »

I am a diabetic and hence squash is not a great option for drink and I can only have 200ml of fruit juice a week.

I'm diabetic too so use No Added Sugar squash which is absolutely fine

~Chameleon~

adelight wrote: »

Are you shopping just for your lactose intolerant self? definitely try out different own brand soy milk(60-80p), try making your own oat milk and lactose free frozen deserts.
A cheaper lactose free alternative to spreads and pates is bean pate that you can make yourself very cheaply.

Yep, just for me and I didn't realise until mentioned in the thread that Tesco did their own brand of soya milk cheaper so will definitely try that in future. I'm not that bad that I can't tolerate very small amounts so the mini ice cream and small amounts in the ready made sauces don't affect me too much, it's milk & cheese I've found to be a problem hence switching to lactofree versions but still experimenting really.

I know it's cheaper to make my own lasagnes etc but this was on offer (as was the steak & mash meal so thought I'd give it a try to see how it compared to my own HM version ) and will feed me for two meals so 80p a meal won't exactly break the bank and far easier to bung in the oven when I'm not feeling well

maman

Thanks JackieO, I like the baked one too. I like it nice and firm and even enjoy it cold.

Bitsy_Beans

AFK_Matrix wrote: »

Wow thanks for all your input guys it is really appreciated. I didn't realise you could freeze some of the stuff you mentioned, especially freezing milk (you learn something new everyday ha!!).

I am a diabetic and hence squash is not a great option for drink and I can only have 200ml of fruit juice a week. I really only have the diet coke at meal times and mostly drink water the rest of the time, I will try the sainsburys stuff though. And also I know its fussy but I hate flat coke and I find that bottles go flat after a while.

I will continue to read through the posts and give your suggestions a go tonight when I order my next shop. THANKS!!!

Can I just say Aldis own coke (diet or full fat) is blooming great, I really like it and refuse to pay coca colas inflated prices. At 39p for a 2ltr bottle you'd still be saving money if you chucked it away after it went flat not that I am endorsing chucking good food of course
I am slowly converting to Aldi, I like the fact I can get my free range chicken and free range eggs for significantly cheaper prices ok this isn't any good if you don't have one nearby but I recommend taking a look if you can, even if it's for things such as their fruit and veg and free range eggs etc.