Horrendous supermarket overspend this month... Need HELP to change our habits!

Idiophreak

echo_and_narcissus wrote: »

2. Budget for the Saturday evening not wanting to cook. Either that or plan for a slow cooker meal evening? Does anyone else suffer from this?

I rarely want to cook, tbh, but you have to work out things that will be cheaper to not cook. If you're spending ~£30, it's not going to be hard to think of nice treats that you can have in front of the telly with next-to-zero effort and much lower cost...Think about stuff like:
Pizza + garlic bread
Smoked mackerel, salad, bread
Nachos
Gnocchi with cheese + tomato sauce
etc - things that will take far less time to cook than a trip to the shops, take no effort and save you £25/week.

echo_and_narcissus wrote: »

4. We clearly need to structure our money differently. Does anyone do the thing where you allocate a certain amount of "pocket money" for each adult after all the bills etc are accounted for and how do you do this - is it transferred into a separate account? What do you do with the money left over after bills etc and pocket money - do you stash it into savings, or wait until the end of the month in case you need it? Or something else?

We're paying debt at the moment, so we basically allocate each other a certain amount of pocket money each month (a realistic amount, that we'll stick to) - then we budget for fuel, food and all the various direct debits - and anything left over is put into savings or repayments.

It sounds like you might need a bit of a target to keep you focussed..maybe think about saving for a family holiday or something...and track how much money you're saving toward that...then you'll both be much more mindful of how much you spend throughout the course of a month - as you'll be able to see your holiday getting further and further away as you overspend.

HeadAboveWater

:eek: to the bill! Crazy isn't it?! Sometimes we think 'oh it's only £5 or £10', but when you add them all together... :eek::o

1. Does anyone do the keeping their purse/bank card at home thing when they go out and how does it work for you?

Me! :hello: The only way I could get myself OUT of debt was to ditch the card and carry cash. If I was going shopping with £20 in my purse, I'd have roughly counted up the spends in the basket, but then thinking 'sure it's ok - I've got my card'. Pay by card then spend the £20 on crap!

I'm no longer in debt but I still swear by cash! I budget myself £xx per week for groceries, fuel and treats. That has to last me otherwise 'tough'!!

2. Budget for the Saturday evening not wanting to cook. Either that or plan for a slow cooker meal evening? Does anyone else suffer from this?

If OH doesn't want to cook he makes me do it and vice-versa

Seriously though. Our idea of a night off cooking is getting the 2 for £4 pizzas from Asda and bunging them in the oven!! :rotfl: In saying that, we'll go out for dinner once every 6-8 weeks. We don't really do takeaways/chinese. Once every 6 months probably!

3. How comprehensive can I realistically get with my menu planning to stop the majority of these top ups? Is there anyone who plans down to what day they need to pick up extra milk/bread/etc in the week?

No idea! Meal planning is not our thing. We're lucky if we decide the night before what we're for having! Our meals are usually determined by what we find in the reduced section
We try to do a 'big' shop once a week, then the occasional top-up. Last night we went to Asda about 6pm. 3x bags for life bunged full, plus DD2 carrying a few things, all for £23! eg. We got 3x 10" and 1x 14" pizzas for about £5.50, whereas it should've been easily £13+.
At most we spend £200 a month for 2 adults and 3 teenagers. That would include toiletries.

4. We clearly need to structure our money differently. Does anyone do the thing where you allocate a certain amount of "pocket money" for each adult after all the bills etc are accounted for and how do you do this - is it transferred into a separate account? What do you do with the money left over after bills etc and pocket money - do you stash it into savings, or wait until the end of the month in case you need it? Or something else?

As per my answer to point 1. Well, that's what I do. OH doesn't really need to be as strict with himself coz he's never 'learned the hard way' as I would put it!!
My weekly budget would still allow me £xx at the end of the month to put away into savings.

Good luck :D

marisco_2

My food bill was getting ridiculously high at one point too OP and I decided I had to reign it right in just as you are now. So I got myself into the habit of meal planning and batch cooking and find that this greatly reduces my costs. It cuts out the 'oh what shall we have for dinner, lets pop to the shops' then ending up spending £30 and not knowing where it had all gone scenario that was all too frequent. I spend Sundays making large amounts of my families favourite dishes and then I freeze them.

I have a larder which I keep well stocked with all the store cupboard essentials. Having a large fridge freezer in the kitchen and a chest freezer in the garage means I can store alot, take advantage of bogof deals and not have to shop so often so less opportunity to be tempted with bargains. I have also brand dropped on certain items and find that the quality is not reduced. In all honesty the thing that has helped me reduce my shopping bill the most though, is doing the weekly shop without the kids in tow. I do it when they are at after school club one evening. No little people to chuck this and that in the trolley saves me a fortune . The only things I stock up on in between shops is milk, bread and some fruit and veg.

With regards to finances I have several bank and savings accounts and the system I have set up really works for me. One account is for my income to be paid into. Another is solely for bills which are all paid on monthly direct debit so I know exactly where I stand. Then there is a spends account which covers the general monthly expenses of food, petrol, haircuts, entertainment, clothes, gifts etc. After the essentials have been covered x amount is put into an emergency fund account, savings accounts and last but not least a 'do as I like and treat myself a bit' free spends account. Hope this helps a little.

pukkamum

My advice would be for one of you to completely take over the budgeting and finances, dh and I were in a similar situation, we would both spend money without knowing how much the other was.
I now do the finances, if dh wants something he asks if we have the cash for it beforehand.
As for shopping, I avoid asda etc like the plague, I can easily add 50 or 60 to the bill on clothes for the kids, bits for the house etc if I go to the big supermarkets.
I try and use my local stores as much as possible and the market if I have time if not I go to Morrison's, our local one has a few homewares etc but nothing I feel inclined to buy, oh apart from the kilner jars, one always seems to find its way into my trolley.
On saturday we have curry and the kids have pizza both from the supermarket just pop in the oven jobbies.
I do meal plan I could not cope with coming up with a meal ten minutes before I cook, we would end up eating take out every night. I buy exactly what I need for the week no more no less, to me perfection is an empty fridge on thursday.
I do have to buy bread and milk a few times a week but I send the boy to the local shop that way I can't do boredom buying.
Oh and I put my change in a jar at the end of every week and laundry money, money found in pockets is claimed by me, and every month I go in town and spend it on crap!

Stephb1986_2

We try to plan in advance what we're having for tea on Friday evening me and OH go to Sainsburys and pick a few meals in for the weekend nothing major just stuff like curry, pizza, meatballs and pasta, chicken with pasta sauce etc etc. Because we did get into a really bad habit of buying take away all the time

My mum on a Sunday will think of meals she can do during the week and go to the supermarket and buy in what she needs like, Fajitas, Steak & veg, casserole items she can chuck in the slow cooker, curry, lasagne etc

We tend to have at least 1 loaf of bread in the freezer and if we need milk during the week we'll just nip to get some from the local co-op. I think it's more getting into a habit that you need to do.

Steph xx

pinkshoes

Meal plan, then do your food shop on-line. You'll probably half your spending!!

And just DON'T spend anything else!

Any extra money left over, put it in a savings account, then spend it on a nice family day out.

islandgirl8

I keep a notebook in my bag and ALWAYS keep a list of my spends. This has helped me so much. Pre-MSE I once spent £1200 one month on groceries and carp! We have a Waitrose up the road and I found myself there every second day. Now I shop at Aldi and Asda and my max spend for 4 is £320/month so I know where you are coming from!

mummyroysof3

After reading this thread I decided to add up what I had spent and it came to £513.00. This is a little more than io was hoping it did as I aim for £450 for 5 us us for all food alcohol household stuff nappies and wipes...feel a cut down coming on this month

any_name_will_suffice

I do tend to use the slow cooker at weekends, load it up in the morning when I feel motivated, and I find it stops me from popping out for a takeaway or to the supermarket in the evening because
i can't be bothered to cook.


i also use our corner shop for milk, it's cheaper than the supermarket anyway, and I am much less likely to get distracted by things i don't need.

margaretclare

Write a list, and stick to it.