Ridiculous number of supermarket visits

bearcub

That does sound an awfully big spend, but I've long ago forgotten how much we used to spend when we had the kids at home.

We probably shop 5 days a week. We pass the Co-op on the way back from the livery yard, so it's easy to pop in, plus we have a very good independent shop nearby. We rarely meal plan as we're both retired, my OH does the cooking, and there's no way he's going to be able to plan meals more than 2 days ahead (just cos he's man!). And, yes, the Co-op is expensive, but the next nearest supermarket is 12 miles away. We do, however, go into town once a month, visit Morrisons, and do a big shop, with list in hand, to top up the store cupboard and the freezer - the latter to only a small extent, as we have a very good and resonable local butcher. Lists are the way to go, especially where we're concerned, because if we forget something in town, it's a long way back, and petrol costs!

flubberyzing

Mistral001 wrote: »

My advice is to make one dedicated shop to the supermarket once a week. Do not call in on the way make from work, but come back from work and then after a rest go to the supermarket or go at the weekend. The act of actually making a trip dedicated to shopping could change your outlook to it drastically.

That's good advice, certainly at the start of your money saving journey when you're still in the "brain training phase".

However, that approach costs in terms of petrol. So what I do, if I have a necessary journey, I think about what other errands I can run that are either en-route or a very small detour. For instance, later this week I'm going to visit a friend who is very down in the dumps with medical issues. So I'll drive over and visit her, but then what can I do on the way home? Do I have a shopping list for the supermarket I drive past? Is there a letter or an ebay parcel that needs the post office?
It's easy to do, but you have to give everything prior thought and be prepared to carry through. It can be hard though. Sometimes all you want to do is get home, particularly if it's dark, cold or raining. But when you do get home, you'll have such a sense of satisfaction!

foxgloves

It's lack of planning that's causing this, & I would think that when you come up with a system that suits you & stick to it, you will cut your expenditure significantly. You need to plan your meals in advance. It doesn't really matter if you do this weekly, fortnightly or monthly, choose whatever works for you & stick to it. Before you start thinking of what you want to eat, look in your freezer & cupboards to see what needs using up & what you've already got. Then start your meal list. If you cook mostly from scratch, you can save some serious money. For instance, if you have a roast dinner at the weekend, you are likely to have enough leftovers for at least another meal, if not more. If you need to buy say, cheese or bacon for making one meal, what else could you cook that week to use it up, so you are being as economical as possible with what you have bought. Base your meal list on making the nicest meals you can, on the least money. Then write your weekly shopping list, basing it on your meal plan. Add food for breakfasts & lunches by working out what you need to buy for everyone to be fed. No need to buy more than that unless something is on an amazing offer. Meal planning becomes easier once it's embedded as a habit. I'd never go back to my old slap-dash approach of calling in Sainsbury's on the way home from work & buying every couple of days, I used to waste so much money. If you are prepared to batch-cook & cook as much as possible from scratch, you can save even more, as even the basics ready meals are pretty poor value on the whole.

madnotstupid

I know it costs a bit more, but I've started buying filtered milk which lasts a lot longer, a fortnight or so between my online shops. This way I don't have the 'just a pint of milk' visits to the supermarket that end up costing £20!

Raksha

I do a 'click and collect' order once a week (so anything they're OS on I can pick up at the same time - quick job in and out) and maybe once a week to top up on bread and milk (only if the family has hammered it, normally got a loaf in the freezer just in case).

I've cut my food budget from £500/month to under £350 just by doing this.

michelefauk

Wow,so many replies already thank you!
Been sent home from work to due a power cut so I am going to read all the above posts and make notes, then try and come up with a plan.
There are 4 of us, myself, partner, 18 yr old son and 8 year old daughter. 1 cat, 1 hamster and a guinea pig. I am veggie, m daughter is a fussy madam and the guys eat LOADS, my daughter has a packed lunch every day for school, I cook most things from scratch time permitting, but use the odd jar of sauce occasionally. I like to use the slow cooker and am happy to batch cook at weekends.
The things we run out of mostly are loo rolls, orange juice, cat food, milk, bread, cheese. I don't waste food, there is rarely anything thrown away.
Anyway am off to and properly and make notes, thank you again!

Primrose

It may also help to enforce the discipline of going without. If you forget something, force yourself to go without it until your next main shop. Remember that an older generation had to go without all kinds of foods during the last war and they just learned to made do, or find alternative foods to serve. Making a weekly shopping list is essential. Keeping a well stocked store cupboard will also help you cook alternative meals if you find youself without something.

the_cat

michelefauk wrote: »

The things we run out of mostly are loo rolls, orange juice, cat food, milk, bread, cheese.

Well loo rolls, cat food and orange juice (assuming its long life) dont go off. You need to get a back up supply of these and then rotate so you always have a stock.So buy twice what you think you need next time you do a big shop......hide some of the orange juice so it lasts. Get a couple of cartons of long life milk or buy a couple of individual pints and freeze them to solve the milk problem. Ditto cheese and bread. If space is tight in the freezer, get some part baked baguettes or similar which have a long date on them, swap the cheese for something else as a backup for sarnies (tuna?) and do without otherwise for a few days until the next big shop comes around

flubberyzing

madnotstupid wrote: »

I know it costs a bit more, but I've started buying filtered milk which lasts a lot longer, a fortnight or so between my online shops. This way I don't have the 'just a pint of milk' visits to the supermarket that end up costing £20!

I do this as well. Tesco do a "Pure" range that I use. It's only marginally more expensive, but I now have no wastage at all, whereas I used to be having to throw a fair bit of milk away. So I reckon I'm coming out about equal, cost-wise. Or maybe even a little bit up on where I was before.

(I live alone, so a 2-pinter easily lasts me a week with a bowl of cereal and a coffee or two a day. It stays fresh for the week, which regular milk would rarely manage.)

Fruball

I was the same as the OP. I would go shopping seemingly all the time but never seemed to have enough stuff to make proper meals or was running out of things. I got even worse and ended up eating out a lot with the kids :eek: (partly to do with depression and SAD etc) and decided it had to stop as I was doing this on CC :eek:

I now do an online shop after checking the ald! super s!x. I try to keep my shopping under £50 per week for one adult and two 6yr olds who eat like adults! I get the cheapest delivery times which is usually £3 or £3.50 which I think is a bargain when you factor in petrol and all the crap I would buy if I went to the SM myself!

This includes all meals inc packed lunches and snacks. So far I am managing really well and we are eating really good food!

I often make the most of the 3 for £10 meat offers, ie a whole chicken, pack of mince and a gammon joint or 10pk of sausages and tbh this can do us for the week but I always get other bits too! Our cupboards are heaving and I am spending less than a third of what I was spending before (kids had school dinners which worked out at £24 a week!) We eat well and our meals include; roasts, spag bol, tacos, fajitas, cottage pie, moussaka, pasta bakes, casseroles, chuck in oven type meals etc. Packed lunches can include pasta salads (I even do one with prawns for them!) wraps or rolls with chicken, cheese or gammon. There is no skimping on anything.

I think the reason this works so well for me now is that I book my slot when my shopping arrives and add to it daily with anything we fancy/need. Then, the day before delivery, I go through it taking off unnecessary stuff and play around with it until I am happy that we have a weeks worth of food within budget

In fact, I think I might drop my budget to £45 as I am sure I can do it for that

Good luck - If I can do it then anyone can