Food shop for a family of 5.

Jayzxc

We currently budget £350 a month for our food/cleaning products shop.
Family of five 2 adults 3 kids although 1dc is now a teen and near enough eats like an adult.
Recently I’ve been going over budget more and more. It’s time to cut down ideally I’d like to get it to 300 a month or less. Is it possible?
I shop at Morrison’s and have use of a 10% discount card so I’m not sure if Aldi or Lidl would be better. I am able to use all the big supermarkets apart from Asda and also have b & m and home bargains nearby.
How can I get my budget down, I think my meals are costing more than necessary but I’m in a bit of a cooking rut and need cheap healthy meal ideas.
Tia.

Greenqueen_2

Definitely give Aldi a try.

Like you I also have a Morrisons 10% card which I use for buying only the products which are competitive with other stores. I go to Morries just before closing time to pick up yellow sticker products.
Aldi, Lidl and occasionally Iceland get a decent share of my custom.

We are a family of 3 adults now and my spend is usually around £45 per week, (including alcohol),so I think if you aim for £250 per month it should be doable.

FtbDreaming

Im a family of 5 and spend £50 a week on the big shop then £30-50 on bits and bobs on tpp of that. Wjen im skint can do it for murch less. I sjop in aldi, heron, b&m, home bargains etc... Asda smart price is cheap.

If im trying to spend minimum then i buy more frozen food instead of fresh. Also biy bigger packs or in bulk then you go much longer before you need to buy again.

tessie_bear

Greenqueen wrote: »

Definitely give Aldi a try.

Like you I also have a Morrisons 10% card which I use for buying only the products which are competitive with other stores. I go to Morries just before closing time to pick up yellow sticker products.
Aldi, Lidl and occasionally Iceland get a decent share of my custom.

We are a family of 3 adults now and my spend is usually around £45 per week, (including alcohol),so I think if you aim for £250 per month it should be doable.

wow thats very impressive 15 quid per person per week what do u cook if u dont mind me asking ? thankyou

Greenqueen_2

We eat mostly “traditional British” foods. Avoid extra sauces and over processed things that are priced higher.

A breakfast of cereal and/ or buttered toast
Lunch is usually sandwiches, soup, beans or egg on toast, etc. We are all at home during the day so can easily make up whatever we fancy, but if we needed a packed lunch it would probably be butties!
Tea time we have meat/ fish/chicken most days with vegetables.
supper time is when we indulge in chocolate and a glass of wine or perhaps a bag of crisps or some peanuts.


I buy large joints of gammon, beef etc and cut them myself, either before or after cooking. Use everything up by keeping a good rotation in the fridge so there is practically no food waste.
I go to several stores during the week to take advantage of the best offers and always know the price per gram or litre of products so I can spot a bargain!

Greenqueen_2

Forgot to mention—- I go to Farmfoods about 4 or 5 times a year to buy bulk containers of washing powder, washing up liquid and toilet rolls. I don’t really use much in the way of household cleaners or disinfectants. I rely on elbow grease and hot soapy water to freshen up the kitchen and bathroom.

DigForVictory

Have you got your family switched on to the joy of porridge as it gets colder? Very affordable, lasts longer than cereal as fuel & everyone can add their quirks - dried fruit, fresh fruit, honey etc etc

Saves me a bundle when the fancy cereals have "worn off"

Oh aye & have a tank of soup for after school/before main evening meal. All the cheap veggies, a couple of oxo cubes or a dash of curry powder if that's popular, but if you have time to make real stock then then the soup becomes amazing.

trailingspouse

Aldi/Lidl is definitely the place to go. I was spending £75 a month at Asda, reduced to less than £50 at Aldi (2 adults). Due to a change of circumstances I've now reduced that down to £18 a week (one person). That's food only - I don't count toiletries/cleaning materials - but includes takeaways, coffees out and any other food that I might buy.


Make a meal plan for the week, shop to the plan and don't deviate!!



The other thing to look at is how much food you waste. The waste might come through things going off before they're used, or through cooking too much which then doesn't get eaten. If you find you're regularly chucking out the same thing, stop buying it. Think about portion control, so you only cook what will actually get eaten (or think ahead and decide what you'll do with the leftovers if there are any).

tessie_bear

thankyou green queen top tips x