Weekly food shop - family of 6.

JustUsSix

Hi,

I'm new to money saving and have just done my first food shop on a budget. I have made a meal plan for the week including lunches and snacks and stuck to the list exactly.

I downgraded each item i could and completely left out sweets and treats (if nothing else, being skint will get us healthier!). My online shop from Asda cost £147 including delivery, for the week. That's seven dinners, seven lunches and snacks for 5 people. It also includes things like toilet roll, 2 tins of baby milk, nappies for 3 children and baby wipes.

As I usually buy what i want, i'd normally spend £200 on average per week and that wouldn't cover meals every night - we'd usually get at least 2 take aways during the week. So i have saved money but i've no idea if this is a 'good price' or if i need to try harder? I went through my 'trolley' at the end and double checked there was nothing there i could do without etc.

All opinions will be greatfully received!

geordie_joe

JustUsSix wrote: »

but i've no idea if this is a 'good price'

Neither will anyone else unless you list what you bought and how much it cost.

It would also help if you said how much you want to reduce your shopping bill by. Otherwise some people in here will tell you how to live on a tenner a week by picking berries in the woods, hanging around asda until you can buy half a cow for 10p and eating oats for every meal.

_Emma_

If it is a good price is only something you can see after the week is over (also very individual answer). When the first week is over, ask yourself: How was it tastewise? Did it last the entire week? Did you need to top up, if so what did you buy? etc.
Also, the phrase "try harder" depends on what your goal is? You have saved £53 which is good but if your goal was to save 60, well then you failed. Maybe you can go cheaper but it depends on what you already purchased in terms of brands etc. it is a difficult question to answer for an outsider.

JustUsSix

I didn't think of it like that, sorry for the daft question!

captainbeaker

Any saving is good and a start. To bring costs down further you may have to shop around at different supermarkets, including Lidl/aldi the food there is excellent. Another thing to consider if you're using nappies for 3 is amazon they do discounts on nappies etc delivered, saving when buying large quantities. We just have the one in nappies and use aldi pull-ups which we consider very good.

snowday003

savings are great, but it's really an individual answer because the point is : was it worth it to you ? Otherwise you probably won't keep it up, regardless of the saving. And the actual saving is such a personal thing, depending on your financial situation, which I'm sure you want to keep private!

welshbookworm

As snowday says the savings have to be doable!
Its no good someone recommending you use free newspapers instead of toilet paper to save money if you couldn't do it. (that is an extreme example btw)
Look at the dearest things you buy and see if you can downsize or swap to an alternative.
Look at the items you buy 'because you always have' and see if you need them or its just habit.
Keep a 'float' so when long life items are on very low offer prices you can get a sensible stock to tide you through to the next discount, eg. washing liquid, powder, toilet paper, soap, hair stuff etc.

tessie_bear

what sort of things did you buy ? what sort of meals do your family like to eat ? i think that is an excellent saving that you made

browneyedbazzi

I agree with what others have said, whether you've achieved a 'good price' or not depends on what you bought (ie are you meat eaters or veggie, do you cook from scratch or eat prepared foods) and your budget - if you need to make more savings, then you should consider shopping around for the best prices on different products rather than getting everything from one place. Also, there are lots of recipes online (including some on the OS board here) for inexpensive family meals.

ClaireJ23

I find cooking from scratch makes things a lot cheaper but I imagine you are probably doing that already. Would help to write down your purchases, people here might be able to offer some further advice.

Dozey_crow

Hello again!

Will done for posting. On the face of it I think that seems reasonable for 6 of you. It may be a good idea to post the details of your receipt here and the meal plan. People are great at looking to see if you can do things in a more cost effective way so although it is painstaking to do It may be worthwhile.