Shocked at how much I spend on food!

PasturesNew

Franalamadingdong wrote: »

3. Stop buying out of habit. If you don't need mushrooms that week, don't buy them just because you always do.

This is something I make sure I don't do. For treats (sweets, biscuits, crisps) each item is bought specifically known as a treat - and I don't buy treats every week, I actively walk away telling myself "No, you need a break".

Same with most other foods too - I deliberately "run out" and then give it a break.

There are a lot of things my house is "missing" right now - I've no eggs, no milk, no tomatoes, for instance. Not bought milk since last year, I've been out of eggs for nearly a week, I've been out of tomatoes for nearly 2 weeks.

It's easy to buy things automatically and then waste them, just because what you put into your basket is a habit.

Try giving everything a miss - try running out of some things and not buying them for a week, whether that's a cake/biscuit, or that green/fresh stuff.

monnagran

It's a bit overwhelming isn't it?
Let's boil it down.

I speak from experience having worked full time while running, on a shoestring, a large house full of a shifting population of teenagers.

Shop in Aldi or Lidl. Less choice, more value, less money.

If shopping in one of the big SMs buy own brands or basics. If you look, the ingredients are eerily similar.

Cut down on choices at home. No one needs to keep 5 different types of cereals. 2 will do and you can ring the changes.

Keep treaty things for the weekend or birthdays. If you have them every day they become devalued and are no longer treats.

What you eat as staple meals will vary. No two families like the same sort of food but keep a stock of items that can be turned into a good snack at the drop of a hat. Fish fingers, baked beans, eggs, cheese, bacon, can all be eaten on toast or with chips or jacket potatoes.

Beware of sneaky things that creep into your shopping trolley that you hadn't planned for. If possible stick to your shopping list. Don't even let your eyes stray to the tempting offers.

Don't stress. You are not doing too badly probably just need to tweak things a bit.

x

maisie_cat

I also got freaked by supermarket spending recently, I go twice a month, cook mostly from scratch and we always use leftovers. 2 adults 2 cats £110 a visit! plus local shop for milk officially and other things unofficially!.
When I analysed the receipts over a couple of months (including Christmas) I realised that non food stuff is a big chunk and treats that we don't really need, my husband is fond of saying "do you fancy some chocolate/crisps/wine?" We do like nice food, so goats cheese, avocado, olives, quinoa all expensive items. When we have a "poor" month (I'm self employed with seasonality) we do have less meat, treats & wine

maman

Good thread:).
Just wanted to add that keeping treats as treats and to a minimum, as posters are suggesting, is not only good for your pocket but also health.


It infuriates me that there's so much junk on offer in supermarkets. I caught a few minutes of a programme on tv yesterday where the mum was telling her child to 'put them [the multipack] way in the crisps cupboard'.:eek:

LameWolf

maisie_cat wrote: »

my husband is fond of saying "do you fancy some chocolate/crisps/wine?"

Mine does that, too! I always answer a resounding "No thank you" to the first two (I actually dislike crisps, and can easily live without chocolate) and wine I will agree to if there's a "reason" (oh alright, an excuse) to have a bottle - not as daft as it sounds, as Pagans we celebrate the Full Moon each month, with a bottle of @ldi Pinot Grigio.

Just another random thought to add to the mix - I keep what I call a "rolling" shopping list, ie there's always a list on the go, and when a need is identified, it's written down for the next shopping trip (we don't have a regular shopping day, but I realise that wouldn't work for a lot of folks).
But the thing is that I can be confident that I can stick rigidly to the list and still not miss getting something we do actually need.
So the usual DH question of "Shall we get <insert random item>?" can be answered with "Is it on the list? No? Then we don't need it."

PasturesNew

allthe7s wrote: »

past 4 weeks: £453

£453 for four weeks is £113/week, which is £16.17/day.

Another way of doing it starting now is to write down everything you've eaten "today" each day, with the cost - and then be honest about any waste (and the cost/value of that). Look at what's been used each day - rather than relying on lists and keeping receipts etc etc.

So, starting today, for example: what is the total consumption of food today?

Your current spend is £16/day, so, having added it all up, think about an initial budget of £12/day and think about what you could've ditched to bring that in within budget. Start to identify the "pricey things we don't need".

You can even give yourself a gold star each day you hit £12 - and a black star when you miss it!

Once you've got a month of gold stars in succession .... see if you can reassess it and go for £10/day.

suki1964

We buy a six pack of crisp and a six pack of own brand mars bars or twix a week. They are for his pack lunch during the week. If he eats them any other time and he's not got enough to stretch the week Tough

Anything else he sneaks into the trolley I leave at the checkout.

He can spend his own money on his own treats and I use the same tactics with the kids when they were young, and I do the same with the grandkids

In fact the grandkids eat very little snack food here because I fill them up at meal times insisting they eat at the table properly and no games consoles or tv allowed. I don't force feed them, it's just they are focused on eating so tend to eat rather then play with it

Meal plan around commitments. Busy nights eat easy meals on the go if need be. Pizza, buy the basis dead cheap and very good out of lidl and use up the tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers that are past their best. Use that cheese that's drying out or blue moulded( scrape that off )

Batch cook if you can. Don't even need to batch cook meals, just sauces. Basic curry sauce, basic tomato, freeze flat in bags and you have the basis for a meal without needing to defrost

Today it's roast day, so DH helps with the veg. I take advantage of that and cook potatoes for three days. That's roasties for today, and enough mash to turn into pie topping,bubble and squeak,duchesse potatoes - whatever

If I need the big oven I double up on what I'm cooking. Two chickens instead of one or throw in trays of veg for roasting to serve as roasted veg during the week or turned into soup


The amount you are spending isn't really high for a family. Yes it could be lower but every family is different. Most of my circle of friends can not believe how little I spend each week but then they also wouldn't eat the type of meals we eat

Keep a diary of what you are throwing away and why, see if you can spot a pattern and look to make changes there

monnagran

Just a quick thought.

When you go shopping take your magnifying specs and examine the unit prices. It's not always cheaper to get a large something rather than two small somethings.

Keep as your mantra, " Pennies matter."

x

allthe7s

Wow, overwhelmed by all the great advice!

Well I did as suggested & took an inventory of the cupboards and freezer before I went shopping - and only spent £30 !!!

Ive told hubby and MIL that if they take anything out of the freezer they need to tick it off the list.

I am also going to keep track of whats getting thrown out.

Thanks!

VfM4meplse

allthe7s wrote: »

Wow, overwhelmed by all the great advice!

Well I did as suggested & took an inventory of the cupboards and freezer before I went shopping - and only spent £30 !!!

Ive told hubby and MIL that if they take anything out of the freezer they need to tick it off the list.

I am also going to keep track of whats getting thrown out.

Thanks!

Did you join the GC btw? I did for a few months and realised that if anything, I was spending too little!