I spend far too much on groceries! Please help me get it under control!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

If he's into exercise, he might be enthusiastic about somewhere online like Musclefood, where you can buy large quantities of meat and freeze portions (I know quite a few people who are very serious about fitness, including a couple of competitive athletes). Keeping meals quite high in protein is often far more filling than eating a ton of pasta - I give it the throwaway name of 'Meat 'n' Leaves'; it means,a good protein source (lean meat, halloumi, fish, etc) with a mass of salad (including tomatoes, cucumber, sweetcorn (frozen or tinned)), a good dressing or light sauce and any other vegetables.

In a similar way, rather than, for example, having a curry made with just chicken, make one with chicken, a tin of chickpeas and some greenery (perfect use for half bags of salad leaves) and serve with rice you've boiled/steamed, rather than a packet that goes in the microwave for 2 minutes.


I bake bread in the breadmaker and find it cheaper, less hassle and it's more filling than the sliced mush in the shops.

I've also got a small freezer well filled with bags of almost every type of vegetable you can buy frozen in a supermarket - that way, nothing goes off, there's no over catering, there are ten ideas sitting in two drawers and so many combinations, it would be hard to have the same meal twice. I also rely upon a lot of frozen fruit (blackberries from the garden this summer), will get reduced to clear things like pineapple or melon slices when they're about 40p, cut them up, open freeze them on baking parchment and then bag them up, which saves fruit going off on the countertop or mouldering in punnets in the back of the fridge.


Jacket potatoes are a great meal. Bung in a massive, varied salad and mix up the toppings (chilli, tuna sweetcorn, onion and olives, for example) to make it more filling than just a spud and Heinz.

trailingspouse

He really needs to be on board if this is going to work. Does he see the amount you're spending as being excessive?
What works best for us is a version of meal planning but is a bit more flexible - so it might go like this
Monday - sausages
Tuesday - mince
Wednesday - chicken thighs
Thursday - meat free
and so on - but I'll decide precisely what it's going to be on the day, based on how busy/how hungry we are. Sausages might just be grilled with peas and oven chips - or I might make a casserole. Mince might be spag bol, or chilli, or savoury mince, or homemade burgers. And so on.

Once a week (the day before I shop) I do an audit of the fridge and make sure I plan for using up any leftovers - it's amazing what you can put into a stew or a soup!!
And take note of what you're throwing out - if you end up chucking the same things regularly, stop buying them. My OH is a beggar for opening a box of fresh juice, pouring out a glass, and then forgetting about it until it's gone peculiar. So now I don't buy it. There are plenty of other things available for him to drink!

PandoraTundra

Thanks again everyone, it's all very encouraging!

He's just not into meal planning, he likes to make it up as he goes along! But sometimes that means he uses up stuff I was saving for something else. But he is very supportive in general and well aware that sacrifices need to be made, so he'll get on side.

Our local butcher has started selling leanpack meat and has some great deals. We've had a couple of offers and £25 has lasted us a couple of weeks so I'll make sure we take full advantage of them as they come up! I think high protein on a small budget is key. I love pasta but he's wary of high carb meals and gets hungry again quickly.

You guys are so friendly and supportive, thank you so much! I think we'll apply these tips for December then join the January grocery challenge!

JIL

When my children were young, I used to go to the supermarkets every Friday night whilst my husband looked after the children and I shopped like I was feeding the family for a month. Then when I was working during the week I bought my lunch, on the way home from work I did top up shops. Some nights we would all go off to the local brewers fayre or pizza hut and eat there. If I could advise my younger self now it would be meal plan and packed lunches and eating out on special occasions.
I really can't believe how much money I wasted by my poor planning.
Good luck.

PasturesNew

The trouble these days is that people have been convinced that "eating the best food/meal you can" is the norm - and they should be doing it every day, else they're bad people and bad parents.

The fact is: these programmes and articles etc are written by and for people with more money than most people have.

You need to understand the cost of every meal and then ask yourself if you neeeded to buy each ingredient, at that price ....

e.g. you can knock up a beef stew with the cheapest british beef sourced from the shops you have access to and add some seasonal vegetables to it. Or, you can get the priciest cuts possible, add in some wine, buy pricier vegetables, or those that cost more £/Kg ... and add in some "flavour pot" .... and you've gone from a £1 beef stew on your plate, served with mash ..... to a £4 beef stew on your plate, served with organic kale.

Yes it must be lovely choosing the priciest meats... but what you want is a beef stew - you shouldn't be looking at the packs ... you should be saying "I want beef, how much do all these packs cost/Kg" then buy one of the two cheapest ones. Ditto for every veg. Even a humble potato can be bought at prices between 30p/Kg and £1.50/Kg in the same shop .... they use psychologists to place packs at certain heights and in certain positions, to ensure most people overlook the cheaper varieties.

Be price savvy .... not just shop savvy. Shopping at Aldi isn't enough... it's good to go in there, but then inspect those shelf labels.

firesidemaid

And remember it's only 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 dinners a week!

eamon

Your 1st task should be to understand exactly what you are buying, the frequency and how much each item costs, so kep all your receipts. Use a spreadsheet (you will have one on your PC/laptop/tablet if not free stuff can be downloaded) to compile your list/data. Include everything (one off purchases can be excluded later). By all means start now but Christmas will really skew your numbers so perhaps best to start in the New Year.
When you are satisfied with your data then do a cupboard/fridge/freezer audit and compare. As others have said for your spend to come down then your other half needs to be on board as well. It can be done.

Vanlady

Hi there
I agree, £553 a month on groceries does seem like a lot.....not sure how much nappies cost though. ...
Lots of great advice here from everyone.
My food bill had definately reduced because of meal planning. I might only plan about 3 or 4 days in front, but it then also means that I don't have to go into those dreaded smkts for 3 to 4 days either, which is a relief cos
1. I usually find shopping boring and
2. I always buy more than the one thing that is needed, usually milk.
My dh used to take the p*** out of me for meal planning ....but.....he is now on board.....can't remember what changed him but I'm so pleased.
It also takes the stress out if thinking what we're going to eat and minimal food waste, and I hate wasting food as I don't think our society appreciates all the effort that has gone into how it is produced. Admittedly, meal planning does take a bit of pre thinking/effort (only a bit tho ), but it's so worth it.
Good luck PandoraT. ....I'm sure you'll get there, where there's a will there's a way

Greymalkin12

Hi Pandora i will be following your thread as we have a five months old and will be having to learn to budget better once I go back to work and she goes to nursery. Do you find you buy a lot of specific food for your son? Does he get fed mainly at nursery on those days?

I have just started on these grocery challenges and have found it really helpful so far to start what I am spending money on (more than I hoped!) and helps gamify it! Most important thing sounds to make sure your other half is on board. It doesn't help in monthly challenges but if you are able to stock up special offers (loo roll, washing powder, cereal etc) when you can.

PandoraTundra

Hi Greymalkin, we did baby led weaning so he's always just eaten normal food really! He does get fed at nursery and goes four days a week (and I should hope so, for £48 a day, eek!). I do tend to spend too much buying him snacks and food when we're out though, but I actually made a little packed lunch for him today and saved buying the dreaded bag of puffs!

Everyone here has given some great advice so I hope you find it useful too
I'm really inspired to make better choices and plan more throughout December, then get stuck in properly once all the Christmas madness is out of the way!