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

artic_fox_2

i also recomend Lidl for nappies if you dont want to try washing your own

belfastgirl23

I'm working on trying to get our bill down from an average last year of £330 per month (for two of us, plus eating out:eek:) to around £200. I'd have thought I was reasonably sensible but I think I'll be able to make some substantial savings by just thinking about it a bit more. For example I go to Marks and Spencer every week to get bread and hummus - we don't eat a lot of it and it's much nicer from there, so that's okay. BUT I was also throwing in other stuff like fruit rather than going to the local veg shop. Just mindlessness but it was adding on a big cost for us. I've also realised that on an average big shop, Tesco will come in probably about £10 cheaper than Sainsburys and I had been going to Sainsburys because it was near to Marks. Also for some items, Lidl is much cheaper. It's out of the way for me but I do plan to try to get there at least every other month to stock up on their cheap items. Finally I want to do just one supermarket shop a month and then use local fruit and veg shops for the rest. Yes Tesco would be cheaper but I'm not to be trusted in there.

I'm also trying the stardrops cleaning method and cutting way way back on cleaning products which will make a big difference. DH loves his cleaning gadgets so I'm keeping him out of Tesco by doing online shopping.

I'm hoping you only have to pay full attention for a few months and then doing the moneysaving will come automatically

The other thing is, it's amazing how much needing to cut down makes it easier to cut down! Good luck with it! I think you can do it!

spiddy100

I'm sure you can There are four of us, two in nappies, one still drinking formula, and on our first month of budgeting we managed to spend £150 - I couldn't believe it. Normally our grocery bill is well over £300.

Next month will be more expensive as our store cupboard is a bit depleted, but it's amazing how easy it becomes when you start looking at what you can do without or replace with something cheaper. The meal planning has really helped too as we used to throw a lot of stuff away as we never got round to using it.

Good luck, there is loads of support and ideas on here if you need them

mah_jong

Angelmum

It is in within your capabilities to cut back quite easily. First I suggest you keep track of everything you spend. Understand were it goes. Sounds too simple.

Well .......Think about that a trip to get the paper ( add a couple bags of crisps, some pop, magazine or two .... you get the picture?

maybe thats not you? Look for cheaper alternatives in your shopping basket .... try the own brand (if you dont like it try the next price range up until your happy. ( I tend to use the savers/Lidl cheapest of the cheap !!:D ) . Though I wont buy caged eggs, we all have our little foibles!!

Do a veggie meal once a week ..... lots of beans?lentils (very cheap!) and of course healthy.

Good luck

apple_mint

AngelMom ... it's those midweek trips that are the killer to budgets. Milk does freeze. Get enough in the freezer to last you through. Bread freezes too. Make the effort to elimate that mid week shop. We bought a bread maker (from the savings we made the first few weeks following MSE ) and we have the base ingredients in our storecupboard to throw a loaf together overnight.

I used to be able to spend £30 just popping into the local supermarket for midweek top ups. I haven't done that for 18 months now. It makes an incredible difference to the monthly costs. Try and work out what you actually need to feed you all for the week and then get it in the one shop. We actually buy the staples once a month now (storecupboard and meat for the freezer) and just get fresh fruit & veg and cream (butter making) at the weekend (but it has taken a little while for us to work up to this). Do a little bit at a time.

AngelMom

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions.

I can remember using Aldi nappies with my older 2 kids (8 & 6) and they were excellent so will definately go back to them again. And also like you say stock up on the store cupboard essentials every other month or so from there.

I have been researching veg boxes today (after finding a thread on here) and have found a local farm shop who will deliver a box for £7 with fruit also that should last us 2 weeks at least. A friend at work has given me some of those bags that keep your veg for longer and they do work a treat (she had a carrot in the bag in her fridge for over 3 weeks and it was perfect!).

I am going to check out the thread for meal planning and cheap meals and then write up my meals for the next 2 weeks and work out how cheaply I can get hold of the ingredients.

I started keeping a spend diary since Saturday to see what I actually buy and hopefully this will point out my pitfuls also.

This moneysaving lark really is quite good fun now I've got going on it!

Thanks again and I'll keep you posted as to how well I'm doing. :T

magnolia65

I'm sure more on here are more qualified to advise than me, but I have actually started getting my shopping delivered by Tesco since looking at the OS site. I used the codes posted up from the discount code and voucher area of the forum so end up with getting my Tesco shop delivered free. Saves the 5.99 and the wear and tear on my car.

brummiebabe

You can do it!!! We're in exactly the same position - 2 adults, 2 children and a 3 month old, and I managed to come in just under £350 last month!!

Try also to look at what food items you're regularly throwing away..either because they're out of date/uneaten - I found I was regularly throwing out grapes, as I would buy a big bag, then they wouldn't get eaten........so now I either don't buy those items/buy a much smaller amount.

Buy wipes when they're on offer (either pampers/johnsons are almost always on BOGOF at tescos!!) and perhaps get a couple of extra packets...so that if you do need them..you've always got some there, even if the BOGOF promotion has ended.

Bulk buy your nappies - ASDA do a box of 3 large pkts of pampers for around £15.98 - this lasts us around a month.

Also....don't do any top-up shopping in the week if you can help it....you'll always spend more!!!!!

Buy a BIG box of washing powder rather than tablets/small boxes..although it's more of an initial outlay..you'll find it lasts much longer!! I buy the big (50 washes) boxes of Persil......you only need half the amount of powder thay say you need...a box can last me 2-3 months!!! (I do around 2 loads per day!!!)

Best of luck....have you joined the grocery challenge?????

angelatgraceland

You can cut down your meat bill by using soy or lentils and pulses etc. There are lots of recipes on this site to help you. I bought a pack of lean mince in Tesco last week which cost £2.45 and I did the following with it:
Spag bog for 4 using a quarter of the pack with a cup of soya mince
Chilli con carne for 4 using as above
4 burgers with the remainder on the third day.So for about £2.80 plus half a bag of rice, a pack of spaghetti and some oven chips and a few veggies we had 3 meals to serv 4 Total cost-all of £4. I keep a record literally of EVERY item I buy-it is detailed like the till receipts. That way I know exactly where the money has gone. I have cut my shopping bill by using newspaper coupons(see the thread on this) and buying just before closing time when the goods get reduced. Cleaning items are replaced now with Stardrops, bleach, antiseptic disinfectant, vinegar, and soapnuts and Tescos own value soap powder. Good luck on your savings-once you get the hang of it, there will be no stopping you.

HariboJunkie

Do you have a freezer. If i have room I freeze enough milk for the week so I on't have to pop out and spend another £30!! If you don't make your own bread you could do this with bread too.;)

Shop in cheaper shops like lidl and farmfoods for as much as you can then top it up with Tesco etc. Meal plan but also let that be subject to change according to what bargains are in the yellow label bit.

Also pad out mince and things with cheap dried pulses like lentils. There's another thread on here about that.

I also really recommend the store cupboard challenge. As you have been spending a fair bit you have probably stockpile a lot.

Buy in bulk. most supermarkets have 3kilo bags of pasta for £1.

Shop at the end of the day when there are more yellow labels to be found.

I used to spend £400 a month :eek: but threw alot away and didn't meal plan. By doing the above I instantly reduced it to £200-250 a month.:D