where to shop on a tight budget?

jones160312

I really need some advice on where to shop on a tight budget? I need to spend no more than £170 per month for 2 adults and one baby (
Is this realistic?). For the baby I dont need formula out if that as she is on prescription formula but i do need to get nappies. I currently shop at Asda as my hubby works there so gets 10% off.

This is all new to me and for the past 6 months have been spending WAY over this amount (I feel so stupid not being able to stick to the budget but i have never had to do it before )

Pink.

Hi Jones,

The most important thing is not to panic. £170 is doable. This thread will give you an idea of other Old Styler's budgets. Grocery Shopping budget thread

Meal planning is a good way of managing your grocery spending. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it's a great way to save money by making sure you don't buy unnecessary things. Perhaps try it for one week to see how you get on by making a list of what you have at home and trying to build your meals around that. To get some help with mealplanning have a look in The Complete Menu Plans Collection.

For lots of tips and ideas on cutting back your grocery bill have a look at Martin's article on Supermarket Shopping and we also have a board where grocery offers are posted regularly: Food Shopping & Groceries . The Discount Codes 'n Vouchers board also has vouchers and codes that should help if you shop online.

For cheaper meal ideas have a look here: Cheap recipe threads

It might be worth your while joining in with the November 2012 Grocery Challenge thread. You can set a reduced amount that you feel comfortable with and if you manage that then try to reduce it a little the following month. In that thread, everyone sets themselves a personal grocery budget and try to encourage and support each other throughout the month to stick to their own budget. What you include in your budget is entirely up to you.

I'm sorry to have given you so many links but if you take the time to read through them it should help you to cut back. Good luck with reducing your bill.

I'll add your thread to the first link later when you've had more replies.

Pink

craigywv

Hi JONES and welcome, i find the oldstyle board great for saving so many ideas and brilliant people on here, well if your from England you will have Aldi we dont have it over here in N.Ireland and i see soooooooooo many people on these threads swear by it, i know you say your hubby works in Asda but i find its worth it to shop about. When my son was in nappies i used Lidls nappies and found them to be great they were good thick ones i bought Pampers once for the baby being born and never again. I also never bought baby food in jars i made my own basically whatever we were having for tea he had just omitting the meat till he was old enough. Idropped most of the brand names teascos value range is fine i just found i added my own spices etc for a bit more flavour. I also grow my own raspberries for jam. Potatos, salad and seasonal fruit and veg, i also go to supermarker at reducing time ,i used to be mortified anyone would see me ...................now i couldnt care less amongst the shelf pokers is a solicitor from my road and a head teacher!! and we all got talking over the months and seems they also feeling the pressure,so get yellow stickered food and bread and you will save a fortune. Also frequent charity shops its amazing just what you will find, im sure loads more tips will be written in so good luck and almost forgot MEALPLAN MEALPLAN MEALPLAN xxxxx:)

Pink.

craigywv wrote: »

Hi JONES and welcome, i find the oldstyle board great for saving so many ideas and brilliant people on here, well if your from England you will have Aldi we dont have it over here in N.Ireland and i see soooooooooo many people on these threads swear by it, i know you say your hubby works in Asda but i find its worth it to shop about. When my son was in nappies i used Lidls nappies and found them to be great they were good thick ones i bought Pampers once for the baby being born and never again. I also never bought baby food in jars i made my own basically whatever we were having for tea he had just omitting the meat till he was old enough. Idropped most of the brand names teascos value range is fine i just found i added my own spices etc for a bit more flavour. I also grow my own raspberries for jam. Potatos, salad and seasonal fruit and veg, i also go to supermarker at reducing time ,i used to be mortified anyone would see me ...................now i couldnt care less amongst the shelf pokers is a solicitor from my road and a head teacher!! and we all got talking over the months and seems they also feeling the pressure,so get yellow stickered food and bread and you will save a fortune. Also frequent charity shops its amazing just what you will find, im sure loads more tips will be written in so good luck and almost forgot MEALPLAN MEALPLAN MEALPLAN xxxxx:)

I really wish we had Aldi, craigyw.....the TV adds are driving me nuts at the moment. My sister lives in Scotland and has a local Aldi. Envious, moi? I suppose we should be grateful. Do you remember the days when we only had Stewarts and Crazy Prices? Actually, you're probably too young to remember that...

craigywv

stewarts and crazy prices lol i remember them well.....friday night shopping you must be from the north too!!!

Hermia

Do you have any ethnic stores near you? Indian/Asian grocery stores especially are amazingly cheap and good quality. You do have to seek them out though as they often seem to be tucked away in side roads etc.

sarah222

I go to tesco around 7.30 pm (here) they have reduced food - veg, fruit, dairy areas and at that time they double reduce. So say there is a product that is display until 15th (using that date as its today) they will reduce it to pennies to get rid of it. If it is dated till the 16th they will do second reduction on that item tomorrow if it hasnt sold by then. I often get a couple of carrier bags of veg and fruit for under a £1 the lot and get loaves for 2p each. I freeze it all and use as and when. If you have a baby make veg mash and freeze in ice cube trays and then you can defrost as and when required a nice little selection for bubs when necessary and its way way cheaper and healthier than jars etc. Last week I got 6 packs of toms for 10p, bags of parsnips for 7p, a savoy for 6p so yes your budget is achieveable easily and if you do this shop you might even have space in that budget for some luxury ;-)

DawnW

If you have a 10% discount on Asda, it is unlikely that the main supermarkets will beat that on many things. But, depending on what you want, (including 'posh' things such as parmesan and pancetta, both of which go a very long way as ingredients btw)look at Aldi and Lidl as well (Aldi is my favourite) both of which are amazingly cheap.

Try a combination perhaps? I totally agree with Pink and other posters about meal planning as the main strategy though! When kids were small/ we were really skint, the only store within a reasonable distance - we lived in a remote area where OH worked on a farm - was Waitrose :eek: Now I love Waitrose, but cheap they ain't, and even less so back then Meal planning worked then, and will work now

Good luck, it is quite do-able x

jones160312

I think I will sit the oh down and do a meal plan for this week and see how i go. I'm doing baby led weaning for my lo so she won't need to be brought for food wise I think my main panic is buying things like washing powder but I'll have a pop into Aldi and Asda come home and compare their prices before i buy (oh and dont take my bank card).

Also thank you for the links they're brill in fact this board is fab with lots of ideas

parkgirl

I really like the Aldi non bio washing powder - I've always been a huge fan of Persil and certain own brands smell makes me feel sick but this is nice and as good as the branded stuff. The food from there is really good too. I lived abroad for a while and I just thought well I didn't know any of the brands there either so its no different

Lilyplonk

With your husband working at Asda, I'd go for the 'whoopsies' (yellow stickers) from around 4.30 onwards - any earlier than that and they're not that much cheaper anyway. You'll often find some 'Extra Special Range' items and 'freezable fresh fish' with the yellow stickers on. Lots of Asda SmartPrice products are fine as well - as craigywv says, add some spices etc for some extra flavour.

Whoopsies, SmartPrice PLUS your OH's staff discount should give you some really good bargains. If you can find some reduced price veggies, how about making a huge pan of soup and freezing some :drool:.

Good Luck - go get those elbows sharpened, girl - you might need them to get to the best of the whoopsies .