How much is your food shopping bill??

Cornucopia

Iceland is 4pts = 0.95 and 6pts = 1.29

poppasmurf_bewdley

One shop that I don't think has been mentioned on this thread is Iceland.

Although not as competitive as it once was, it still has some very good value meat and fish. Every since being a kid, I've loved fishcakes and Iceland do a bag of 12 for £1. Three of those with a can of mushy peas from Lidl, and a sprinking of balsamic vinegar is less than 50p.

Also their individual curries at £1.50 a go are much cheaper than going to a takeaway, and there's plenty even for the biggest of appetite.

On the whole, I think Iceland meat better than Lidl, which I find does contain rather a lot of water.

mrs_motivated

I spend about £90 a week to feed 4 adults, dinners and packed lunch for all.


I shop every other week at Aldi and the other weeks I vary, sometimes Sainsbury's and sometimes Morrisons. I always meal plan and look around for offers and we all eat very well.


This includes toiletries and cleaning materials and I cook from scratch and also batch cook.

Deep_In_Debt

Mine is usually about £100 per month. This includes cat food for two cats. I'm on my own so I could probably reduce it further. I do try and batch cook when I get the time and freeze. I try and stock the freezer as much as I can.

I don't buy cleaning or household products every month and when I need the stuff, I'll go in to my local £ shop and pick the household stuff up in there.

Deep_In_Debt

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

One shop that I don't think has been mentioned on this thread is Iceland.

Although not as competitive as it once was, it still has some very good value meat and fish. Every since being a kid, I've loved fishcakes and Iceland do a bag of 12 for £1. Three of those with a can of mushy peas from Lidl, and a sprinking of balsamic vinegar is less than 50p.

Also their individual curries at £1.50 a go are much cheaper than going to a takeaway, and there's plenty even for the biggest of appetite.

On the whole, I think Iceland meat better than Lidl, which I find does contain rather a lot of water.

I do try and shop in my local Iceland where possible. I like their frozen salmon portions among other things.

I'm not a fan of Lidl as I don't find there is much selection in terms of fresh or frozen food (maybe that is just my local store?) in there so I only ever go in there for "bits" that I need in between shops.

walletmoths

I spend £50 on our family of 4 per week, 2 adults and 2 young children. It's all I've got!

I'd say,

• make your own muesili from oats, nuts and seeds to save tons on packet cereals
• juice your own fruit, instead of buying cartons
• invest in a breadmaker, to save tons on bread
• use white vinegar and lemon juice for kitchen cleaning - saving tons on cleaning products
• never buy bottled water
• buy butter, rather than margarine (yes, it is healthier!)
• use a sprayer for your oil, rather than pouring it in
• cook your cauliflower leaves and broccoli stalks - don't chuck them
• eat more fish and vegetarian foods to save loads on meat
• look for a Love Food Hate Waste course to save £15per week (easily) on wasted food
• Bake your own snacks to save loads on biscuits, crisps, cakes etc.

Because we live on such a tight budget - helped no-end by CAPmoney - I've had to find ways to make our shopping cheaper. I blog about it actually (here), because I want to share my savings with others as much as I can. I shop in Lidl, the local butchers, Fish4thought (buying in bulk), I buy flour and bread ingredients online in bulk too, and I shop in Oxfam for bathroom cleaning stuff, and I shop in Waitrose for stuff I can't buy elseware - and yes, you can find some bargains that are cheaper than Tesco! :j

[Deleted User]

CJYP wrote: »

Ive only just come back to look at this post and wow, didnt expect so many replies! By looking at your posts its clear I can make some cut backs somewhere.
Thing is, I do already cook 6 out of 7 meals a week fresh! Itll be at the weekend when Ill be too tired from work and head to the freezer for some form of beige food! I also already do shopping lists and once weekly shops.
I will definitely pop into lidl to try some of their tomato sauce as my daughter goes through so much of it, she eats it with everything! And im paying around £2 for it! ( I bulk buy when its on offer)
To be honest i think alot of my food bill goes on 'junk', biscuits crisps etc etc.. I dont buy branded though, I already buy these tescos own brand so will I really be making much of a saving by going aldi/lidl?
I feel like I cant do a whole shop in Aldi as there isnt everything I need there, so it puts me off of shopping there as it means i then need to waste petrol going to tesco to get the bits i couldnt get hold off! Such as 6 pints of milk, we go through so much milk, the last time i checked Aldi only had the 4 pint size? Isnt it more expensive to pay for 2 x 4 pints?
When i have some free time I will pop over to this Oldstyle board and get a list of my spending habits and see how u can all help!

Buy a couple
of retro milk bottles from Lakeland and dilute your full fat milk with 50% water but dont tell the family! They wont notice and you could save over £150 a year.

SailorSam

Deleted_User wrote: »

Buy a couple
of retro milk bottles from Lakeland and dilute your full fat milk with 50% water but dont tell the family! They wont notice and you could save over £150 a year.

I don't go that far, but i do get full fat milk then mix a litre of it with a pint made up from skimmed milk powder. Can't taste any difference.

pennies_from_Heaven

I differ as I do shop in tesco as aldi/lidl are 14 miles away. I tried lidl and found the range too small in our local one, so its definitely not for me.
I always shop online at tesco using delivery saver £3 pm for all mid week deliveries, as it saves the temptations, I spend £60 per week for 2 adults, 2 very hungry teenagers and a Labrador.
You just need to shop sensibly, the fruit and veg offers are very good, as is the current 5 tins of decent tomatoes for £1. I also only buy breakfast cereals when on offer, and have a bread machine!

Before I started to seriously look at our spending, I was spending more thsn double this.

nkkingston

I've never really seen the point in a breadmaker - I remember my mother's one sat in the kitchen gathering dust. Depending on what you have bread with, it takes less than an hour to knock up some rolls without a bread maker (from bowl of flour to out of the oven), and kids love helping with it. Sure, if you let them rise for longer and kneaded them more they'd be fluffier and more evenly textured, but if you're dipping it in soup you don't really care! It's harder if you want slices for making toast, but a dinky little loaf tin does enough bread for a few days, and bread freezes really well.

Mug of flour, drizzle of oil, salt, warm water and yeast. Knead until it's got a silky texture (about five minutes). Leave to rise for twenty minutes. Into the oven, bake for ten minutes, done.