How Much Do You Budget For Groceries?

determined_new_ms

love this post Coffeekup (and your addie!) just wanted to say do you know wraps are the simplest things to make and cost pence! I usually make up a batch of 40 and then freeze in batches of 6

Also can you grow some of the salad stuff? Cut and come again salad leaves are really easy to grow. Sow a few seeds every 2 weeks and you won't need to buy any lettuce, tomatoes & radishes simple. Lots of ppl say cucumbers are easy but I never have any real success with them

muhandis

Family of three - myself, husband and my mum living in NE London. We don't keep a budget but I meticulously note all expenditure in a categorised spreadsheet.

Sep-225, Aug-197, July-180

We buy a lot of fresh 'exotic' veggies from the local Asian store and their prices have shot up over the past couple of months because of the falling pound

It's a pity, I love experimenting with the different kinds of vegetables they stock, but will have to start switching some of my shopping to the local Lidl soon to bring spending back in the 180-200 range.

suki1964

coffeekup. See that's how I spend. This week I went to the chicken processing plant and for £7 I got, 2 trays of 6 chicken thighs , 2 huge trays of thighs and drumsticks and 3 chicken breast joints

Add to that I had a £30 spend in tesco this week ( needed stuff lidl don't stock) and it looks like I'm over budget. Only thing is, all that chicken will be at least one ( if not two) meals a week


That's why I always say my average is £30. Some weeks I pay more, some weeks a lot less. If the chicken factory had as they often do, 4 crooks for a £1, I would have gone way over budget and fill the freezers because I know I'd have less to buy for the coming weeks/months

As long as I have my protein base at a price I'm willing to pay, rest of my grocery bill is peanuts


I'm still kicking myself because in tesco yesterday they were selling a whole wheel of Stilton for £2 instead of £22 I did pick up a few small slabs at less the 10p each but I'm still thinking that was a bargain and I could have used it

Denando

I never actually budget or meal plan, but I do keep a record of what I spend (on everything). This year (so far) I’ve spent just over £1000 on food/cleaning products, and that’s just for me, so I guess just over £100 each month. I rarely eat out or get takeaways and I do my shopping online at Mr. T about once a month (unless I have a decent voucher for somewhere else – just got £10 off £50 at Sbury), and top up at the local Coop if I need to (usually yogurt or oats for my breakfast).

I do buy whatever I fancy (anything I think of gets put on my list) or store cupboard things I have run out of and make everything from scratch, including bread, but I do always check the ‘special offer’ section to see if there’s anything there for a cheap ‘treat’ (usually half price crisps or meat for the freezer). I buy butter and cheese when they’re on offer and freeze them and only ever buy a whole chicken (or 2 or 3 depending on the deal) and portion it myself.

My main rule is that I won’t waste anything so, if I fancy chilli and make a batch and there’s no room in the freezer, I will eat chilli for days (then probably not again for months as I’m sick of it). I also try to use everything so any leftovers/bones are boiled into stock then frozen for another day and fruit that’s getting a bit ‘sad’ goes in the freezer for my next smoothie craving.

My challenge this month (or possibly the next 3) is to live out of the freezer until it’s pretty empty (other than with bread which I will make/slice to keep it packed). I’m sure there are things at the back that I have long forgotten about!

Thanks to the OP for asking this – I’d never actually looked at what I spent. I don’t have to skimp but I’m sure I can reduce this if I really try.

MrsTinks

I've already decided that when we return from holiday we will be going through the freezers and cupboards and listing everything!

I'm due a cupboard challenge and that way I will have more room for christmas goodies anyway :snow_laug

Doing these more often would definitely help with waste - our biggest waste is fresh food - mainly because we change plans at short notice a lot which is infuriating but a fact of our lives at the moment. I never really thought about it but come December I'll in effect have 3 jobs so I guess it's not a surprise that some days I struggle with everything??

There is no "one size fits all" - I'd never manage to hit the supermarkets at a set time each week, I can't cook fresh every day, there isn't always time to stop at Aldi and Lidl on my way home/to collect DD. You just have to find what works for you and do the best you can or what you need to depending on your situation. Some weeks I can spend an hour a day in the kitchen, the next I'm lucky if it's 5 minutes! I actually love cooking and baking but time is precious

chelseablue

Went to Aldi yesterday, got a weeks shop for £38 including a pack of nappies

EssexHebridean

MrsTinks wrote: »

I've already decided that when we return from holiday we will be going through the freezers and cupboards and listing everything!

I'm due a cupboard challenge and that way I will have more room for christmas goodies anyway :snow_laug

Doing these more often would definitely help with waste - our biggest waste is fresh food - mainly because we change plans at short notice a lot which is infuriating but a fact of our lives at the moment. I never really thought about it but come December I'll in effect have 3 jobs so I guess it's not a surprise that some days I struggle with everything??

There is no "one size fits all" - I'd never manage to hit the supermarkets at a set time each week, I can't cook fresh every day, there isn't always time to stop at Aldi and Lidl on my way home/to collect DD. You just have to find what works for you and do the best you can or what you need to depending on your situation. Some weeks I can spend an hour a day in the kitchen, the next I'm lucky if it's 5 minutes! I actually love cooking and baking but time is precious

I'm having a "Freezer fortnight" next week and the week after Mrs T! That will also hopefully incorporate using up cupboard/larder stuff before we need to find temporary new homes for everything when the kitchen is done.

katsoocam

My husband and I have been trying to save funds for our new house (just a little bit more deposit would be good!) and at the same time clear out our cupboards (less rubbish to move). Sometimes we were spending £250-350 a month on food/household supplies just for two adults which horrified my frugal Yorkshire soul when I looked into it.

We first of all did 21 days for £21 and this helped make inroads into our freezer and cupboards. Subsequently we have been aiming for a budget of £20 a week and made the rule that every meal has to have something from the store cupboard/freezer.

You have to bear in mind that we had ridiculous stockpiles - I'm a great believer in the bulk buy and my freezer is always crammed - but actually we have been coming in well under budget, despite the occaisional treat (my husband is drinking a beer as I type!). I have been putting the extra aside because at some point I will bulk buy some meat - our local butcher does a great lean meat box. We also get £20 in cash out and only use that money. We also have reduced the frequency of our shopping and stick very strictly to our list.

We shop at Aldi now and I meal plan religiously. We try really hard not to waste anything - leftover bread becomes croutons or bread crumbs, the scraps of a chicken become a risotto, etc. We now always take a packed lunch. My husband will often take soup and bread. We were fortunate in that we had an awesome crop of tomatoes and runner beans this year so we have a freezer full of pasta sauce soup etc.

This is a big change for us, but what has made it possible is that we have a target to aim for - a £1000 saving over the next six months - and I think it helps to have a goal in mind as that is an incentive. However we are eating less and eating more home cooked food from scratch which is also great.

curty510

wow! I need to save money on shopping after reading this thread. 4 in our household. Grown up kids 16 & 19, My OH & Me. We spend approx £60 per week in Aldi, £100 per week in sainsburys and about £15 during the week in local shop(milk, eggs etc). thats 175 per week. we are not overweight or big eaters, only have 2 meals per day at home.

I think a list for meal plans is needed and check of what we have before we go.

lambda

For a household of two adults, I budget £120 a month. Looking at YNAB, I spend on average £113.38 a month.

We shop at LIDL and ALDI for everything, only going to Tesco for the odd item we can't get there.