Old Fashioned Weekly Shop!

belfastgirl23

The thing is though, why do you shop every day?

You do say it's a habit but why is it a habit? Is it that you only figure out what you're having for dinner on the day you're having it? Do your family feel they can request certain meals as they head out for the day or do they descend like locusts on every treat and empty the cupboards when they get home? Do you kind of like the routine of going to Asda every day? You need to figure out why you're doing it before you'll be able to successfully break the habit. I have to admit it seems really crazy to me I really don't like shopping and do a lot online to save the effort. But when I'm on holidays away from home I do enjoy the little and often method of shopping, finding foreign supermarkets much more interesting than our own. But in the normal run of things I don't have time or energy for daily shopping.

Anyway once you've established your reasons for shopping every day then you can do something about it. Some really good advice here if the issue is being disorganised but it somehow doesn't sound to me like that's the problem ....

As a PS for me there is often a bit of a trade off between time and money. If you have time to shop around and have a good level of discipline you can really save some money. But if you don't have time for this, be realistic about what it is you can manage without killing yourself doing it.

Meadows

epskie wrote: »

Can anybody help me? I would love to master the art of a weekly shop but I have never quite managed it. I've fallen into a dreadful habit of going to Asda every day and it costs me a fortune. I have a husband and 2 sons (11 and 6) Any tips would be greatly appreciated :-)Many Thanks

Try to think ahead what foods your are likely to need for the coming week, you don't have to be rigid and say we will eat x today and x tomorrow, if you do you may not want to eat that food on that day, but looking at what you eat and use over an average week then buy that in advance and bit by bit you will adjust to shopping weekly, fortnightly or even monthly.

sassyblue

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

But when I'm on holidays away from home I do enjoy the little and often method of shopping, finding foreign supermarkets much more interesting than our own.

I do that lol, we found in an Aldi or Lidls in Kefalonia, a pack of seafood in the chilled section, baby squid, prawns, octopus rings in garlic and oil it was absolutely delicious and only a few euros.

pulliptears

Family of Me, OH, DD(14) and DS(19) Ive managed to halve my weekly shop from £80 - £100 in Tesco to £40 - £60 online with Ocado.

Because I'm not wandering around the store I don't see things and fall for the special offers. I plan what we are eating for the week and because I'm doing it with a coffee in my hand sat on the sofa I can go and check if I have those ingredients in already rather than just buying them if I'm in store because I'm not sure.

It works well for me, admittedly some things are a little more expensive than Tesco but their Waitrose own brand is cheap and much nicer. Meat and vegetables especially we have noticed a huge difference with.

It's also made me a little more creative, if I see a recipe I want to try online I can just add the ingredients into my next shop.

Doesn't work for everyone but I wouldn't change it now.

hazyjo

Do it online (as mentioned above) and get it delivered. You won't be tempted by things in front of you.

Work out what you go through in a week and buy accordingly. Don't just keep picking up a 2 roll pack of loo rolls for example, get the larger pack to cover what you use in a week. Same for cleaning stuff, hair stuff, etc. Use your freezer, don't just buy fresh food, plan for the week ahead. Menu plan. If something's getting near its sell by date, freeze it and use it.

Do you go to pick up milk and things that you run out of quickly? Are you tempted by other things? I used to go with a list of stuff worth about a tenner and would always seem to spend around £80 as I'd end up buying for several days as I was there. Never seemed to last for several days though!

Do you have a reasonably priced corner shop or local small supermarket you could just pick up little things you run out of regularly such as milk? Then you might find you go in for milk - and actually just come out with milk! Even if it's a tad more pricey, you'll probably save £50 or so by avoiding going to the supermarket.

Try to avoid the things you'll eat/drink if it's there (eg crisps, fizzy drinks, etc). You'll constantly be replacing them. Find alternatives. Cordials, for example - and tap water. Lots of good choices now. Bread can be frozen - and toasted from frozen. Slices defrost very quickly. Always keep a pint of milk (plastic carton) in the freezer for emergencies too. Just defrost, give it a good shake, and it's fine.

My sister goes every day and spends a fortune too. She knows she has a 'problem' and has been trying to resolve it for years. With 3 kids in the house and a Tesco less than half a mile away, it's hard. She's trying to wean herself off it again and managed to skip one day last week! She wastes a lot of stuff, and they still end up with a lot of takeaways, etc.

I used to like going to Budgens every day when I was on my own. It was smaller so had less to tempt me. I usually wasted less as I bought as a needed it. Did sometimes do a supermarket delivery though for the bigger/heavier things like cat litter/food, etc.

Jx

pulliptears

Depending how much freezer room you have you can freeze milk and bread, cheese too!

MrsAtobe

Epskie, been there, done that and got the carrier bags to prove it . I'm now down to twice a week, Monday night is meals for the working week, and Friday night is meals for the weekend.

I started by trying to menu plan for two nights (it didn't seem so scary that way), and then when I felt comfortable doing that, plan for three nights, and so on. Eventually you can work your way up to seven nights, or whatever you feel comfortable with.

My best tip is to have a notebook on the side of the fridge, so that as you notice that you are running low on staple items, you can write them down and then don't have to think about it. You may have to train the others in your household to do this as well, though:rotfl:. Good luck.

balletshoes

I always spend way less doing an online shop compared to going into the store, even if I have my list ready. So online is the way to go, in my opinion. I do an online shop once a fortnight or so, and then pick up milk, bread and fruit/vegetables locally as they run out in between.

Belfastgirl's point is a good one though, why are you going food shopping every day?

pulliptears

Something else I find useful, have you been to the thread on the book 'The Takeaway Secret'? It's here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2665259

I cook a lot of curries from that book, they require a 'base' curry so one batch cook will give me enough 500ml sauces to make around 6 or 7 curries. You freeze the base curry, then defrost them as and when needed, add a few ingredients to the base make the different types of curry.

Batch cooking in that way is so easy! I also freeze the leftovers for when the boy comes home from the pub

Gazing_On_Sunsets

On a Sunday night, OH and I sit down and brainstorm a shopping list. I get the cook books out and we have a look at what we fancy eating. Then on Monday I go shopping with a strict list. I used to go to Tesco, it would take an hour, and I'd spend £80-£100 (FAR too much, that includes cider and wine, but OH was a bachelor until last year and had a fascination with "good" brands.) NOW I park up outside co-op in town, go to the butcher, greengrocer and co-op, and call in at Tesco to "mop up". Total time taken is now 1 1/2 hours...and I spend between £50-£70. Oh yeah..and the OH has been educated into eating value brands too.