Monthly food shopping for 2 adults

meat_n2_reg

Hello
Sorry if this is the wrong forum but would like your thoughts please
Now all our kids are grown up its not just me and my wife , I have started working part time recently so decided I would look at what we were spending and budget better if possible
Have recorded food spends for last 3 months and average spend is approx £100 per week , inlcuding all food , cleaning products etc etc
We do a big shop @ Aldi approx £50 per week so that's £200 per month , I know how much you can buy for £50 at Aldi , so really don't understand why we are spending £400 a month apart from our freezer is always full to bursting
Any thoughts regarding is £200 - £250 montly spend is enough for 2 , I think it should be plenty ( but might well be wrong ?)
I don't want to upset the other half ... but think we could spend a lot less which would take a lot of financial pressure off ..
Thanks

Working_Mum

Hello,
When I started looking at my spends I broke it down quite broadly but at the end of last year I decided to set budgets for food/cleaning/laundry etc. I kept my original breakdown but then dove a little further into the receipts and had headings like fruit, alcohol, snacks, stores, laundry stuff, cleaning etc.

What this showed me is that I hoard food when I am stressed!!

I also realised that I didn't have a dynamic shopping list and would not check my cupboards prior to shopping or meal plan (and then add to my shopping list). I had staples which I bought every week and then realised I was building up stores of pasta, tomatoes etc.

So I set myself some challenges of going shopping one/two or three days later than my "normal" Thursday. I would also meal-plan and "shop from home" so that I wasn't duplicating stuff/ building up too many stores.

I kept a running tally of what my most used items were and what they cost are various shops I use L1DL, H3ron, Sainbugs, W4itr0se for me

I reduced my food waste and generally got smarter and savvier by reading these Boards and putting int practice all the wisdom here i.e cook once but eat twice, use my freezer etc etc

I have myself and two hungry teens and my food budget is £70 per week and we are at £68 year to date.

Can do a cupboard stock-take and gently suggest using up stores to your wife? Maybe by understanding what is in your cupboards and freezer you'll start to see some issues which you can address?

Good luck, being mindful and wanting to make a change is a great first step!

Sea_Shell

We are also 2 adults, and our grocery spend averages out at £200 pm. (been tracking for 30 months or so) This includes toiletries and household, with 90% of it in Aldi. So it is doable.

Go through your receipts with a fine tooth comb, as it's easy for other stuff to creep in. Clothes, gifts, Household items (garden etc) especially with Aldi special buys!!

Thrice

We are two adults and two dogs, and I've brought our weekly budget down to £25 per week for December.

I do have a good store cupboard of food and cleaning products. I've bulk bought toilet rolls, cleaning products etc so I don't need anything for weeks/months at a time. So as much as I have £25pw for food, I've already spend extra money on stuff I use daily, it was just spent before I started budgeting:o

For this month I only need to buy fresh stuff, ie fruit, veg, bread and milk, which won't even cost the £25 per week. Might get DH a bit of meat if there's nothing in the freezer for this month.

My first port of call for you would be to look in each and every cupboard, drawer, check the fridge and freezer and get a list of everything you have in. Everything. Have a look and see what you can make a dinner from, and see how many dinners you can make before you need to buy anything. You've already spent the money, so eat whats there!

kazwookie

It sounds like the freezer full to bursting is the problem.

Maybe you need to start eating items in the freezer, then spending less on the shopping for the next few weeks.

We are 2 plus 1 cat, spend about £35 to £40 per week, inc cat food, cleaning, toilet rolls etc

Sea_Shell

I'd also add "meal planning and shopping with a list" as a major help.

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GreenQueen

Working_Mum wrote: »

Hello,
What this showed me is that I hoard food when I am stressed!!

I also realised that I didn't have a dynamic shopping list and would not check my cupboards prior to shopping or meal plan (and then add to my shopping list). I had staples which I bought every week and then realised I was building up stores of pasta, tomatoes etc.

I can really relate to this - why are you going to need 15 tins of tomatoes in one week?!

"Shopping" out of the freezer and cupboard is a great idea, coupled with a good menu plan.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

We spend £10 a month on food, £5 on the cat, then enjoy ourselves with £800 on wobbleades!

No, we actually get by on £55 a week on grocery shopping!

[Deleted User]

kazwookie I think you are right I have been using up such a lot of stuff from my freezer this year plus my cupboards which were far too full and this month my shopping (which I did mainly for fresh fruit and veg and essentials only was down to £42.20, I only really have to cook for myself for five nights a week as I am out for the other two and there is only me to buy for. I keep finding bits in my freezer that had been bought and forgotten about so I really did restrict myself to essentials only.Its surprising how much a freezer actually holds and how long it takes to 'eat it down'.

I have shopped only twice this month at the supermarket, the rest of my food shopping has been done from my own stores

LameWolf

I keep an ongoing inventory of what's in my cupboard and freezer, using an OpenOffice spreadsheet. (Like Excel but freeware).

That way I can see at a glance what's in stock, and don't need to delve into all the cupboards to find out.

I allow for £220 per month to feed 2 adults - one vegetarian and one hollow-legged omnivore who actually eats veggie food at home (DH); and I usually come in well under that amount at the end of the month. In fact I just did a quick tot up and average out, and we're spending a smidge under £180 per month, as an average, this year.

Pollycat

OP
Do you/your wife cook from scratch?
And menu plan?

I've just made 5 double portions (each feeds 2) of gobble pie base - that's turkey mince with added mushrooms and onions and tinned tomatoes.
I used 3 x 3/4lb of mince and 2 tins of chopped tomatoes.
A lot of people would use 3/4lb mince for 2 people.
In an individual dish topped with home made mashed potatoes and added swede/carrot (also home-made) to the topping, it's more than filling enough for us.

Plan your menus so you can buy a family pack of mushrooms and peppers and know that they'll all be used.
That's where the mushrooms in the pie base came from.
Bought from Aldi and used in various recipes.

Same with sausages.
I buy good quality, high meat content sausages and as there's 6 in a pack, I buy 2 packs and bag into 3 x 4 sausages as 2 each is enough.

I buy large beef & pork joints when on offer and cut them up myself into slices for braising and cubes for goulash/stroganoff and smaller pieces for pies.


I keep a list (Excel spreadsheet) of everything I have in the freezer and when it went in. I'm meticulous with keeping it up-to-date.
I sit down with this when I'm doing my 3 week menu plan so that I use stuff that's been in a while.
I keep separate lists for ready cooked (bol, chilli, pie bases, stews) and raw.



Yes, it take time but do you want to save time or save money?