I could use some advice to help get my grocery bill down...

Nada666

its_maths_not_magic wrote: »

* I stick to own brand stuff on most things, except with bread, and that only sets me back .50p a week.

You only spend an extra ha'penny per week on branded bread over un-? I think you need to choose a new username!

NigeWick

I read Jamie Oliver's latest book and now buy frozen stuff. Spinach is so much cheaper frozen than fresh, and, other things like pepper, cauliflower etc can be used as required rather than buying whole items possibly wasting any.

We've got a slow cooker and getting cheaper cuts of meat like beef skirt or boneless shoulder of lamb mean tasty nutritious meals with no waste and little energy use.

Eating veggie may not save you money as the fat and protein from meat will keep you satiated for longer and you will not need the same quantity. As has been said, liver and other cheaper meats are highly nutritious, as are eggs. Buying boxes of 15 non free range eggs and eating them is cheaper than buying free range and will be better than no eggs at all. Buy the best quality food you can afford as it will be better nutrition and satisfy hunger better.

I am even looking at buying a second hand chest freezer to put in the garage so as to take advantage of bulk buying meat/frozen veg when it comes on offer. I normally only buy one or two of the Lidl meat half price weekend offers but one can purchase up to six. If I had that chest freezer handy........

Mrs_Rachel_Trelfa

A sample menu for a day would be

Breakfast: Beans on toast
Lunch: Cous cous salad
Dinner: Soup and a roll
Snack: pot of yoghurt

This week cost us nearly £60.

I would have to agree with what others have said and that for the type of food that you have suggested above for £60 a week seems a lot a money for not a lot. Me and hubby budget £100 a month for the 2 of us (no dog) and we eat very well - meat for tea almost every day. however we come in about £80 most months with one month managing £50.

Do you go shopping weekly or do you go once a month then top up milk, bread etc as and when? buying a big bag/sack of potatoes rather than lots of small bags throughout the month can save so much and you can do so much with them - boiled, mashed, roast, jacket, chips, fishcakes or in your case veggie cakes and so much more.

its_maths_not_magic

Thanks all for the replies, but have to be a sheepish here .
I went through all our cupboards and bills and found a few things:

1. A £12 overspend!!! That was an eyeopener. Mainly because it was my husband's birthday and he bought a few things that quickly added up. I should have planed for that.
2. A few items I had lost up the back of the food cupboards I had bought again. Another lesson learnt, get the tallest person in the house to check groceries.
3. A cheap blender that bought the bills up.
4. Items for a party for said hubby's bday.

All this shot the price SKY high. And won't be reapeated until Christmas, thankfully. And judging from my cupboards that should be about the time I need to have a shop again, lol.

As far as the veggie thing goes, not eating meat is more an ethical thing as I can't give my money to any company that treats animals the way they are often treated in intensive farming factories. Since I can't afford to buy ethical meat, I don't eat any unless I know where it comes from and what sort of conditions the animal was raised in. Not to sound preachy or judgy but thats just the way I feel about things.

funnyguy

Get rid of the dog[if you eat him first that will save another week of grocery bills.]

sammyjammy

its_maths_not_magic wrote: »

As far as the veggie thing goes, not eating meat is more an ethical thing as I can't give my money to any company that treats animals the way they are often treated in intensive farming factories. Since I can't afford to buy ethical meat, I don't eat any unless I know where it comes from and what sort of conditions the animal was raised in. Not to sound preachy or judgy but thats just the way I feel about things.

If that's how you feel then you should make an effort within your budget to buy meat, if you don't buy it these suppliers that meet your ethical needs will disappear. I have the same ethical standards when ti comes to meat so I just eat it once or twice a week.

You buy your dog food from the chicken farm. If it meets your ethical standards enough to fed it to your dog then why not buy it for yourselves?

its_maths_not_magic

funnyguy wrote: »

Get rid of the dog[if you eat him first that will save another week of grocery bills.]

lol nah, we're saving him for christmas dinner.

its_maths_not_magic

sammyjammy wrote: »

If that's how you feel then you should make an effort within your budget to buy meat, if you don't buy it these suppliers that meet your ethical needs will disappear. I have the same ethical standards when ti comes to meat so I just eat it once or twice a week.

You buy your dog food from the chicken farm. If it meets your ethical standards enough to fed it to your dog then why not buy it for yourselves?

Thanks for the idea, I never thought about it like that before. Luckily we live very rural, and so are surrounded by pretty good farms. And it is worth spending a bit extra on ethical meat to support that industry. Chicken is a bit of a no go for me, mainly cause I just don't like it. But the occaisonal steak, very nice.

dlusman

downshifted wrote: »

Post your weekly shop on here. Based on your sample menu sixty pounds for one week sounds way over the top. I spend that but eat too much meat, cream, eggs, cheese etc etc......

agreed - If you post up a full couple of weeks shopping ( including brands , quantities and costs ) , a lot of people here will be able to point you in the right direction as to where you can cut back.

paulineb_2

Is ethical meat from animals that have had a good life? Im not sure of the term really, I don't eat meat or dairy. I do think you can eat cheaper being veggie and you can get protein easily from non meat foods.

Id second buying frozen rather than fresh for some veg, I buy frozen spinach now, I can get 6-8 meals out of a bag, Id get 2 tops out of a fresh bag.

Also, eat what you have until you buy more. Its daft to have cupboards crammed full of food and then think I need to go and buy more stuff. Make sure you have staple foods such as rice, pasta, lentils, stock cubes, even tins of beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes.

And use recipes that make the most of leftovers. Theres a site called supercook that will give you recipes for the leftovers you have.

Also, if something is past its best before date, its still fine to eat. If you don't mind eating foods from sites such as food bargains or approved foods it is possible to get quite a lot for your money

Also, shop in stores such as aldi, lidl, home bargans and B and M. Use money off coupons, if you have an aldi near you they do a £5 off a £40 spend every month, coupons are in the daily mirror or record in Scotland. Shop around, you'll find some quite big price differences on the same items between the big 4 supermarkets.