Weekly shopping Budget how much??

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  • chevalier
    chevalier Posts: 7,937
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    Hi there
    I spend about £250 a month on 2 adults, 2 children, and 2 elderly lady cats. This includes buying all of our meat from a good quality local butcher. On the other hand things like chopped tomatoes for stew etc I get value brand for. Also my son is allergic to milk, and for some weird reason value brand biscuits don't have milk in them:j . So I save a lot there. Mainly the thing is to meal plan and cook from scratch. Again because of the allergy we rarely get pre processed food as they put whey, etc in as a binding agent.

    I think from what others have said changing gently is the key. So aim to get it £50 lower this month for example. Also don't be blinded by the supermarket being cheapest place to shop. You may be surprised at how much cheaper say your local market is for veg (and less packaging too - bonus). I get a groaning bag of fruit and veg for about £5 and they often throw extra in at the end of the day too.

    best of luck
    chev
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  • clarab_3
    clarab_3 Posts: 691 Forumite
    I eat pretty comfortably for about £10 a week I then have another £10 for "treats" like a bottle of wine, a bar of chocolate if I can afford to.

    Im veggie, so get most of my protein from eggs and pulses. I make a fab big bolagnese, chilli or curry - works out about 40p a portion. Now the winter is here, my freezer is heaving with homemade soup, packed with nutrients. A baked potato with beans is a good stopgap in a hurry, and I make my own ice lollies from filtered tap water and 19p sugar free squash for when i get the nibbles.
  • slowlyfading
    slowlyfading Posts: 13,429
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    My budget is £20 a week on just me, but that includes the occasional bottle of wine ;) most of the time I get lots of vegs and then make things in bulk and freeze it. I also get quite a few tins of soup and beans, in case of emergencies/lazy days. A jacket potato with some value beans and cheese is the nicest thing ever! x
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  • MRSMCAWBER
    MRSMCAWBER Posts: 5,442 Forumite
    Hi there

    I have been cutting back on our shopping.. more through curiosity and for the challenge than "need" at the moment... but have become an addict :j

    I have been sticking to 80euros - well roughly £60 to feed me n hubby for the month...(including toiletries/cleaning stuff) and we are eating really well, plenty of fresh veggies etc -and we are losing extra weight without trying by eating :-

    HM sausages - toad in the hole casseroled etc
    HM chilli
    roast chicken dinners
    HM steak n mushroom pie
    HM savoury meat pie
    HM pork veg n barley casserole
    liver casserole
    HM fish n parsley sauce..to name but a few

    and last month i had 10.50euros left over:j ... and this month i have loads of portions left in the freezer... enough to provide our main meals for the next month at least.... so im hoping to spend even less this month - unless i spot any "too good to miss bargains" ;) .. and all the leftover food budget (400euros)is going into a bank account to build up some savings....:j

    For me it is easier as i have no children to see to, and foods can be cheaper here in Germany..if you shop around.

    But i think that there are sooo many ways of cutting back or making food go further..and as many have suggested the OS board is the place to go... you will get soooo much help on there:j

    I think £70 a week is a good place to start....it won't be quite such a shock to the system and you will no doubt come up with ways of trimming things back a bit further as you adjust...
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  • Shineyhappy
    Shineyhappy Posts: 1,927
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    OH and I spend tend to spend 20 pounds one week and 35 the next. Most of that is non meat as I am a veggie so he doesnt get much meat.

    We go shopping after work so try and pick up some reduced items and when we see Warbutons seeded bread (a huge extragence compared to most of shopping)on special then we get quite a lot, once we found 10 loaves for 30p each! He has a second freezer btw. I got 5 packets of quorn chicken for 26p each, its always a good idea to check out the reduced section first.

    We are not afraid to try value products I love Asdas 57p museli which is our breakfast every work day. We take packed lunches to work as this saves a fortune.

    I buy organic milk (although not sure if I should after c4 news last night) and organic free range eggs but I try not to buy too many meat alternatives as they are quite dear. We do get some wine occasionally and I dont think we eat too badly.
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  • I spend about £80 per week for 2 adults and 3 children (14, 12 and 10). It is a struggle sometimes as the two oldest kids eat as much as I do, but I buy value everything, cook from scratch as much a possible, and bulk buy things on bogof that we use regularly.

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  • starlet10
    starlet10 Posts: 85
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    How do you all manage to live on so little? :shocked: I'd be worried about malnutrition and starvation if I cut my grocery shopping any lower. :p

    I find it difficult to spend less than £100 a week on shopping at the supermarkets for a family of five. This amount includes household stuff, toiletries and nappies, but we always seem to run out of food by the end of the week!
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  • I find it interesting that shopping is "top of your list" of things to cut back on. I guess non-essentials should be, but groceries? They'd be the last thing I'd cut back on - you have to eat, don't you.

    I think the key is making up a list before you visit the supermarket and more-or-less keeping to it.

    Also, discover which cheap brand foods are ok and which aren't. e.g. I find Smartprice jaffa cakes, custard creams, fruit & fibre cereal fine, with baked beans, brown sauce, mayonnaise and tinned tomatoes entirely edible. Some stuff admittedly tastes vile, but you live and learn.
  • Pooky
    Pooky Posts: 7,023
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    We spend around £45/£50 per week for a family of 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 cats and a parrot (he's great for using up leftover fruit).

    I tend to shop in tesco and do a trip to lidl once a month to stock up on the things we prefer.

    We meal plan where possible and add extras to a meal to pad it out - i.e. HM yorkshire puddings, dumplings, stuffing - all add bulk and flavour withouth too much cost.

    I tend to buy the same sort of veg each week - season dependent - but these can all be utilised in different ways - i.e carrots, celery, peppers and onions, can all be roasted, put in a stew, cassaroled, added to meat for bolognaise/chilli, or like tonight - made into a veggi pasta sauce with a jar of passata.

    I don't really buy cleaning products apart from basics, washing up liquid, dishwasher powder (lidl's own is great), white vinegar, washing powder (again lidl own) soda crystals and fabric conditioner. We bought a steam cleaner which gets used to clean all hard floors and everything in the bathroom, great for steam cleaning "dry clean" only items too.

    Toiletries I buy from boots or savers when they're on offer, if it's not on bogof then I don't buy it - we're not brand loyal apart from toothpaste so that helps.

    What you really need to do is look at what you're throwing away at the end of the week and what's in your cupboards and you'll see where savings can be made. If you plan in advance, using the stuff you already have in, what you'll be eating/needing for the next week then you can write your list and stick to it!

    HTH
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