Can I reduce my shopping bill by £165 per month?

AngelMom

Hi there,

I am trying desperately to cut back on my weekly/monthly shopping bill and have been lurking on this board for some time and you all seem a very helpful lot.

We need to cut our housekeeping budget from £515 per month to about £350 to pay off our debts. We are a family of two adults, 2 children and a baby (nappies/wipes/milk etc). Do you think this is possible? Kids did have one school lunch per week and hubby and I also had 1 lunch at work per week (subsidised) but this will now stop.

I tend to shop on-line with Tesco using vouchers for points to collect towards a possible holiday next year and also find I spend less on-line even with the £3.99 delivery charge.

I always write a list and plan my meals around whats in the house already. Do you think its unrealistic to be able to cut back that much? Does anyone else manage on around the same budget per month?

Thanks very much

AM :A

embb

I spend on average £50 pw for me, 3 kids and OH so yes it is very possible to cut it back to £350. Mind you I don't have a baby anymore, youngest is 7, but I'm sure even with baby stuff to buy it's still possible. Aldi baby wipes are fantastic and only 99p (?) for a big packet, their nappies were ok too from what I can remember, why pay for big names when they only go in the bin. Good Luck

Cazzdevil

From what I gather there are families on here who manage for even less than £350 a month!! My OH and I rarely go above £100 a month for the two of us + 2 cats so I'd reckon It's easily possible.

If you don't mind me asking, if you already plan your meals how do you manage to (currently) spend £125 a week on food?

AngelMom

Hi, I have just started to plan them, using up whats in the house already and looking at this site for inspiration for cheaper meals. I do find that I tend to pop into the supermarket for essentials we have run out of bread, milk, veg etc as I only have a delivery every 2 weeks or so and get tempted to buy the "offers". I really must learn to resist these I suppose. I did do a massive stock up on nappies, wipes etc the other month when they were on offer so that should help over the coming couple of months.

Thanks for your re:beer: plies

:A

Penny-Pincher!!

That should be no problem hun! We are 3 and we spend no more than £35pw and we live very well. You may be able to cut back further and get your dents paid quicker. Good luck!!

PP
xx

lil_me

I've just done it this year, I was spent £740 on housekeeping spending in January 2006, and this year it's been £243. There is 2 adults 2 kids and the animals (Son has special needs and use PJ pants at night, like nappies but much more expensive) We didn't have excess shopping from Christmas as I reduced our budget then too. If I can, you can! I'm going for £220 this month. With wipes you could use muslin squares and wash them, kinder on babies skin too. It's a case at looking at what you buy then looking for a cheaper alternative. I made myself rules like no ready meals, prepared foods, ready to use veg etc. Homebake likes of cakes, biscuits etc. Reducing waste (I threw out a shocking amount) So we're not just spending less, but also eating better.

LJM

it will prob be a bit difficult to start with but once youve put into place all your o/s tips and savings ideas you should be fine good luck

Horasio

I send my OH shopping, he only gets what is on the list plus any deals. He is well trained tho' and won't buy things we don't need.

If you do not have this luxury, get it delivered. They will only send what is ordered and don't accept substitutions, unless you want to of course.

I find when I go twice a month, I get tempted by offers but this is good when I need to stock up on essentials. I am terrible at overstocking tho', panic buying etc, so that is why I only go twice a month!

I ask myself this, courtesy of Martin MSE Lewis...

Do I need it?
Can I afford it?
Can I find it cheaper anywhere else
Will I use it?
Is it worth it?
How urgently do u need it?

I was a terrible spendthrift at one time - spending £200 a week for three of us! M&S was on our list!

I have been a member of MSE for a year and I was spending £550-660 a month on food then.

Currently, I am still using up old food, we have the place on the market, so need to run down the food and it is rotting away anyway.

Last month I got it down to £350 for the month and it was a Christmas/New Year time. I still have a long way to go compared to some on here!

r.mac_2

its great that you are so keen - why not set yourself a target of reaching £350 pcm, but start off with somewhere in between. It means that you are less likely to fail and therefore give up!!!

I look on the meal planning thread for inspiration when i run out and also the cheapest meal even thread. I try and pick one ultra cheap meal to add to my plan and remember to plan in the left overs (I always forget that one!!!).

I'm sure that you can do it - i think your target is achievable

Cazzdevil

I think it's those "top-up" shops midweek which do the greatest damage to budgets because you go in for milk or bread and before you know it you've spent £10-20 on about half a dozen things!

When you do your shop, maybe buy a carton or two of UHT milk or even dried milk powder for emergencies to stop the temptation to go out just for that. And maybe have a loaf of bread in the freezer for the same reason.

How often do you do an online shop? Could any of the things be bought locally i.e veg at a greengrocers or meat at a local butchers? Just changing those two things have cut my weekly bill by about 30%

Alisonpennypincher

Hi Hun,

I am trying to cut down too but because DH is facing redundancy in the next couple of weeks!

I have started to buy stuff from Lidl, a whole chicken is good value there i find, their Nappies are also great, I normally use Tesco's but found Lidl to be as good, not had any leaks or other problems at all.

Try getting fruit and veg from the market if you can get to one, my local market does bowls of bananas, tomatoes, apples etc etc for a pound, good stuff, better than supermarkets and great value. Also if you eat a lot of meat then try your local butchers, for most things they tend to work out cheaper than the supermarkets and again they are better quality.

HTH
Ali x