How often do you shop?

lemontart

I am cutting down a lot foe many reasons - but a trick to avoid over spending when I do go - just bring cash and use a basket not a trolley - cannot buy more than you can carry or pay for

LameWolf

I shop when it's necessary and DH is around to help me. I'm disabled, and cannot go to the supermarket alone, as I need a wheelchair pusher (I refuse to grocery-shop online, I don't trust any store enough to get the order precisely correct, also I dislike dealing with strangers, ie delivery men,coming to the house if I'm in alone).

I have a rolling shopping list - when we start the "spare" of any item, it goes on the list. I personally go to either Mr T or Mr W when DH's shifts allow, and if we need something urgently, like milk, DH goes to Mr M (local to his office) in his lunchbreak. He'll also get whatever else is on the list.

It all sounds a tad ad hoc I know, but we have a monthly allowance, and usually manage to come in under that amount.

Also, cheese, eggs, honey and bread flour are all bought at the monthly farmers market, so those are definite once-a-month purchases, and we don't have meat or fish.

I have a large-ish store of non-perishables, so if necessary I could feed us for quite a while without shopping.

To summarise - some weeks we'll shop 3 or 4 times, other weeks only once, and that'll just be a carton of milk; apart from the farmers market stuff, I don't actually do a regular "big shop" at all.

charlies-aunt

I work full time, live and work miles from shops so for me its a once a week trip into town - I always go early Saturday morning, use a list (compiled during the week as things run out) and only use a set amount of cash - I find it helps to keep me focused on needs and stay within budget

Lucky to have a car so my routine is to load up early with shopping bags and chiller boxes - start at Aldi, then hit the market, Heron/Jack Fulton Frozen Foods, B&M/Home Bargains, Wilko's and then onto Sainsburys for their Basics range and then the Approved-Foods-type of warehouse to finish off.

Not sure how it compares to others but I spend £80 maximum per week for all food, drinks, toiletries, cleaning supplies and stuff like pants/socks/tights DH & me, daughter at uni, two dogs and two cats. I do cook from stratch and with the exception of Yorkshire Tea, always buy own/unbranded

I get a perverse pleasure in getting as much for my money as I can :rotfl: I avoid doing big supermarket shops - I waste too much time wandering round tutting at the prices and muttering "I can get that cheaper at X......." :rotfl: Any surplus is piggy banked as a reserve fund for bulk buys/birthday presents/treats etc.

Pitlanepiglet

charlies-aunt wrote: »

I get a perverse pleasure in getting as much for my money as I can :rotfl:

...and me I know people who don't like to be seen buying value stuff - when I used to actually go to a shop I used to tut at myself if I had non value stuff in the trolley!

(I missed off in my first post that I do a farm shop trip about every two or three weeks for veg - as long as the veg is kept in the shed it lasts for a few weeks.

sandyann63

Three adults in our house; myself, hubby and son. We all work full time so shopping once a week suits us just fine. We shop on a Friday evening which means its fairly quiet and we manage to pick up a fair few ys things. Every other week we shop in a local town centre which has an amazing wee butcher shop to stock up on meat- the quality for the price is amazing. I personally wouldn't trust myself to shop several times a week as its hard enough for me to resist temptations once, never mind three or four times so I would spend a fortune. However, if it suits you and fits in with your lifestyle then that's great too. There's no one size fits all xx

Iced_Bun

Just me here but I have an aversion to shopping so I tend to buy things like meat/loo rolls/kitchen roll/tea/cleaning things in bulk from Costco. I have a garage for storage and a extra freezer in there so it makes sense money wise and time wise for me. I buy a very large washing powder tub which lasts me over a year!!

Usually then I just need to top up once a week with fresh veg/bread/wine

I find if I am shopping too often I spend a lot more so with a bit of planning I can have enough food for a long time and not be tempted to grab any extras.

Goldiegirl

I have an online shop delivered once a week, usually on a Monday. I prefer doing it that way, as I'm less likely to get extra things, as I won't pick up extras like I would on the way round a real shop.

Also, I dont enjoy going round shops for food, so I find doing it online is less stressful and also saves time

pollys

I meal plan and usually go twice a week. I have found this saves both time and money. It works for us.

Pollys

Purple_kitten

Once a week, during an evening during the week after work, not a fan of Friday and weekend crowds if I can avoid it.

We have a freezer to stock and I have found meal planing has worked really well for us.

bearcub

OH and I are both retired and, tbh, don't have to watch the pennies, but see no reason to add to the big supermarkets profits more than necessary. We live in a large village which has independent butcher, fishmonger and baker, plus a largeish Co-op, and live 12 miles from town and the nearest alternative supermarkets ie Sainsbury, Morrison and Lidl. Sadly, we don't have a local greengrocer anymore, but the Co-op sells good quality fruit and veg, including locally grown, and sells local eggs and milk. Sadly, a lot of what the Co-op sells is expensive, especially brand names, but their own stuff is good and a good price. We have to go out by car every morning anyway, so it's easy to call into shops whenever we need/want anything, probably 4 or 5 days a week. We have a BM so mostly make our own bread, but use the local baker if we run out of time to set up the BM in the morning. Once a month, we go into town to visit other high street shops (yes, we still have some!), where we do a biggish shop in Mr M, especially stock cupboard items, and my elderly Mum has her favourite items in M&S. (I wouldn't dream of spending a fortune on nectarines from S. Africa, as she does!). Do we spend more, shopping the way we do? I doubt it, because the meat and fish we buy locally is very good quality and often cheaper than Mr M, plus Co-op's own brand usually compares well with Mr M's.