Household food budget issues

greenwoodlad

Hi, we have the some issues trying to keep the food bills down, and argue about the costs daily. but we end up justifying it by the argument that we both have demanding jobs, work hard and therefore we eat well, good quality food etc we look at these forums and my wife says there is no way you can feed a family of 4 adults and a child on £100 a week or even £125 !!!

There are 2 adults, 2 late teenage boys and 1 child in our family . The lads work and have hard physical jobs, often out 10 hours days - they take 2 pack outs a day ! My wife estimates their packouts cost £30.00 a week at least. My wife works for a major supermarket & gets discount so she does not bulk buy she tends to shop on a daily basis as we live in the middle of nowhere.
We spend approx £150-£175 minimum a week that includes dog food toiletries etc Add a few bottles of wine and we are spending well over £200 a week / £800 a month.

We do buy savers items such as tinned kidney beans , pasta

I have had valuable advice from people on the forum before and i agree you can do some meals cheaply but my wife says unless you eat cheap food full of additives you cant go ultra cheap...she gives 2 examples of 2 of our meals last week

Roast leg of lamb - leg of lamb cost £11.77 - that was 1/2 price and with wife's discount - so by the time we had the meal and a bottle of wine the meal came in at about £20 for 5 - there was a little left for pack out the next day, but no where near enough for all the packouts

Fresh fish - we are good eaters(!) we had grilled fresh fish (haddock) for 5 of us, mashed potatoes & peas.. the fish cost £19.00 for this 1 meal !!!!

When you like to eat good fresh food and eat well how do you feed a family of 5 for a fiver - my wife says a large fresh chicken is £6 - 7 ! so by the time you have bought veggies etc your hitting £10.00 + for the meal

My wife says that you can by a packet of sausages for a pound but she wont touch them as they are full of additives etc - instead she will but 2 packs for £5.00 of the decent sausages etc
She says that even the meat for a stew can be £8

We chat daily about the food bill - my wife says we cant cut food bills - she doesn't have time to pre-cook & freeze etc or we cut bills and eat c**p !

We do tend to eat a fresh meat meal every day .

At my wife's supermarket there are offers like 3 meat items for £10.00, but she says that there is no where near enough for our meal in one of those items.

Another example is bread - £1.45 a loaf - we've tried the cheaper loaves but they are not good and don't get eaten , my wife gets the best wholemeal sliced or fresh baked bread.

We have 1 takeaway a week on a friday night - this is included, I know what you are all going to say but here goes.....

your thoughts !!!

rpc

greenwoodlad wrote: »

We do tend to eat a fresh meat meal every day .

There's your problem (aside from £25-50 on wine a week). Fresh meat of good quality is expensive.

What about pasta night? There's a fairly cheap meal.

Even a curry doesn't have to cost the earth.

You can also swap for some of the more humble cuts of meat and throw them in the slow cooker before leaving for work.

If it's the 3 for £10 deal I think it is (Sainsburys) then you can get packs of chicken in that. Do you really eat more than half a pack of meat per person? Pad it out with veg and staples like rice or noodles.

If you want to eat roast lamb and fresh fish as regular meals then it is going to cost a lot.

Mojisola

greenwoodlad wrote: »

There are 2 adults, 2 late teenage boys and 1 child in our family . The lads work and have hard physical jobs, often out 10 hours days - they take 2 pack outs a day ! My wife estimates their packouts cost £30.00 a week at least.

Presumably the lads are paying keep and, at the very least, covering the cost of the food they eat?

We spend more than the average on food because we want to eat what we like to eat. If you can afford what you're spending and food isn't getting wasted, what's the problem? Just because other people feed themselves for less, you don't have to do the same.

maman

greenwoodlad wrote: »

Hi, we have the some issues trying to keep the food bills down, and argue about the costs daily. but we end up justifying it by the argument that we both have demanding jobs, work hard and therefore we eat well, good quality food etc we look at these forums and my wife says there is no way you can feed a family of 4 adults and a child on £100 a week or even £125 !!!

There are 2 adults, 2 late teenage boys and 1 child in our family . The lads work and have hard physical jobs, often out 10 hours days - they take 2 pack outs a day ! My wife estimates their packouts cost £30.00 a week at least. My wife works for a major supermarket & gets discount so she does not bulk buy she tends to shop on a daily basis as we live in the middle of nowhere.
We spend approx £150-£175 minimum a week that includes dog food toiletries etc Add a few bottles of wine and we are spending well over £200 a week / £800 a month.

We do buy savers items such as tinned kidney beans , pasta

I have had valuable advice from people on the forum before and i agree you can do some meals cheaply but my wife says unless you eat cheap food full of additives you cant go ultra cheap...she gives 2 examples of 2 of our meals last week

Roast leg of lamb - leg of lamb cost £11.77 - that was 1/2 price and with wife's discount - so by the time we had the meal and a bottle of wine the meal came in at about £20 for 5 - there was a little left for pack out the next day, but no where near enough for all the packouts

Fresh fish - we are good eaters(!) we had grilled fresh fish (haddock) for 5 of us, mashed potatoes & peas.. the fish cost £19.00 for this 1 meal !!!!

When you like to eat good fresh food and eat well how do you feed a family of 5 for a fiver - my wife says a large fresh chicken is £6 - 7 ! so by the time you have bought veggies etc your hitting £10.00 + for the meal

My wife says that you can by a packet of sausages for a pound but she wont touch them as they are full of additives etc - instead she will but 2 packs for £5.00 of the decent sausages etc
She says that even the meat for a stew can be £8

We chat daily about the food bill - my wife says we cant cut food bills - she doesn't have time to pre-cook & freeze etc or we cut bills and eat c**p !

We do tend to eat a fresh meat meal every day .

At my wife's supermarket there are offers like 3 meat items for £10.00, but she says that there is no where near enough for our meal in one of those items.

Another example is bread - £1.45 a loaf - we've tried the cheaper loaves but they are not good and don't get eaten , my wife gets the best wholemeal sliced or fresh baked bread.

We have 1 takeaway a week on a friday night - this is included, I know what you are all going to say but here goes.....

your thoughts !!!

Three things come to mind:

• You could definitely live very well on a lot less. I don't have a dog and don't count alcohol in my food budget but aside from that I think £25 per person per week is plenty.
• unless you take over the shopping and cooking this won't work unless you can get your wife on board.
• I'd suggest you start this thread again (or get it moved??)on the Old Style Board, that's full of experts on meal planning, good cooking etc.

arbroath_lass

greenwoodlad wrote: »

Roast leg of lamb - leg of lamb cost £11.77 - that was 1/2 price and with wife's discount - so by the time we had the meal and a bottle of wine the meal came in at about £20 for 5 - there was a little left for pack out the next day, but no where near enough for all the packouts

Fresh fish - we are good eaters(!) we had grilled fresh fish (haddock) for 5 of us, mashed potatoes & peas.. the fish cost £19.00 for this 1 meal !!!!

These seem like reasonable prices for what you have eaten. i don't eat lamb but I know fish is expensive. Stopping buying wine (or at least saving it for occasions) will save you a lot.

greenwoodlad wrote: »

When you like to eat good fresh food and eat well how do you feed a family of 5 for a fiver - my wife says a large fresh chicken is £6 - 7 ! so by the time you have bought veggies etc your hitting £10.00 + for the meal

My wife says that you can by a packet of sausages for a pound but she wont touch them as they are full of additives etc - instead she will but 2 packs for £5.00 of the decent sausages etc
She says that even the meat for a stew can be £8

I agree with your wife. If youhave four adults with big appetites this is what it costs. Are your portion sizes too big?

greenwoodlad wrote: »

At my wife's supermarket there are offers like 3 meat items for £10.00, but she says that there is no where near enough for our meal in one of those items.

I agree, again. If you have large appetites these packs will not serve five people.

greenwoodlad wrote: »

Another example is bread - £1.45 a loaf - we've tried the cheaper loaves but they are not good and don't get eaten , my wife gets the best wholemeal sliced or fresh baked bread.

Have you actually looked at prices inthe supermarket? Your wife is right. This is what food costs. You CAN cut costs and eat well but it takes a bit of effort and time.

You can use cheaper cuts of meat if you invest in a slow cooker or a pressure cooker. You can use less meat and bulk stews etc out with more veg or lentils.

Im my opinion a little bit of decent meat is better than a large meal of chopped and shaped (ick) stuff.

Are your older children paying enough to keep them. Perhaps discuss with them the choice of eating different food or paying more. And, as they are older teenagers, get them to cook a meal each once a week.

sooty&sweep

Hi
Decent food is expensive. However I get the impression that your meals are focused around a protein source.
How about reducing the amount of meat in a casserole meal & add beans or chick peas to replace. Still tastes good, alot cheaper & good for you too !
Also why not experiment with vegetarian cooking.

Jen

lee111s

Have you tried a wholesale butcher for your chicken? I can get 5kg of breast for £18.50.

If you buy and eat a lot of meat, you need to start buying yellow sticker items and freezing them. I save hundreds of pounds by doing this. Sometimes there's very little but othertimes I can fill 2-3 basket's worth and I freeze it. Most items are at least half price if not less. Just a small one in a local tesco express on Sunday I worked out the full price of items to be just over £30. I paid 12.80

getmore4less

As above reduced price and freeze.
Only buy the good stuff when reduced

Get cheaper cuts as well

Shoulder of pork is often down to £2.49kg cheaper than belly.

Bulk out the meals with, veg and pasta rise, noodles breads(piza nans etc), more carbs for the physical jobs.

Goldiegirl

Do you NEED to get the food bills down, as you can't afford them?

Or is it something you just want to do.

If it's a need, then perhaps you both should sit down and thrash out where reductions can be made. Spending less just doesn't happen overnight. I'm currently in the process of reducing my spending on food, as I want to prepare myself for an early retirement, and will have less money coming in. It's something I'm happy to do, because I will benefit from it in the long run. I'm being much more careful about what I'm buying, buying in bulk, batch cooking, moving to the supermarkets own brands, making my own bread, cutting out ready meals etc. It needs working at.

Your wife seems happy with your current expenditure - if you can afford the current expenditure, then it's not a problem. But it you simply want to reduce the expenditure, then you'll need to convince her of the benefits - eg, the money saved can be spent on an extra holiday.

She needs to have a reason to agree to a reduction in spending - something she sees as worthwhile.

Gillyx

Smaller portions, more veggies. I know you won't want to eat these type of meals ALL the time but things like bolognese 500g pack of mince bulked out with vegetables and lentils if it suits you or just veg if not (I chuck in grated courgette, carrot, onions, peppers and mushrooms) serve with salad/garlic bread and pasta or baked spuds.

Home made pizzas with quality fresh toppings, rocket, nice peppers and cheese? 1.5kg of strong bread flour makes around 24 pizzas in here and costs about 84p and dough freezes, we serve with salad.

I agree with pork, I bought a massive shoulder this month for a fiver, it was half price and it done my son and I around 10 meals each, so maybe 6-8 normal size adult portions.

Bulking beef stew out with things like pearl barley is another great idea, filling, and full of protein.

What about Aldi? We go here for all cleaning products, toilet rolls, biscuits (not branded but taste the exact same) cereal and other cupboard products. Iv started bulk buying meat from diff companies. I got 10kg of chicken breast fillets for £19 recently, it was Bogof on 5kg as a new customer deal but the fillets were huge.

As a whole I find supermarket quality meat not as great as butchers but you do need to weigh up cost to quantity etc.

I feed 4 adults and a toddler 4 nights a week, and 3 adults and a toddler 3 nights a week, my weekly bill is around £90 and I could cut it if I really tried. We eat fresh home cooked meals every night, 2 people take pack ups every day. My toddler and I tend to eat cooked lunch too quite often.

Gillyx

Even attempting to do a weekly shop would help IMO. I've worked in a supermarket and buying things daily works out expensive, it's those impulse buys. If you only go through that till twice a week you only spend twice a week.

I meal plan, make a list of what I have in the cupboards to suit the meals, and what I need to buy to complete the meals. Breakfast in here is 4 options, porridge (value oats) weetabix (shops own brand) toast with eggs or beans (toast on its own isn't filling enough) or something more protein based bacon, eggs and beans. I don't pander to buying expensive cereals, no need at all IMO. Any yogurt eaten at home tends to come in large tubs and is portioned out into bowls, for the pack ups I buy single pots.

Potatoes are very expensive ATM, so other carbs are definitely cheaper, rice, pasta, cous cous, quinoa for example. Serve dumplings with stew rather than potatoes? We all love them in here.