how much should a family of 6 spend on groceries?

hello007007

Family of 6: parents, 3 teens, 1 small child.

Its a basic question.

I don't know how to budget. There are a lot of things I buy the same of every week and then extra bits get thrown in.

We spend about £150 a week.

The big shop is about £70 from Aldi and then we pick up bits like milk and fresh fruit thoughtout the week from Aldi or Teaco (as its closer).

I don't know how to meal plan either. I've tried in the past, but they never really worked eg somedays we will cook and have the leftovers the day after or we decide we would like to eat something else. All this messes up the meal plan. Other days I'm too depressed to cook and the family sorts themselves out with cereal.

tessie_bear

hello x thats £25 per person per week or £3.50 ish per day or if 3 meals a day £1.20 per meal so not bad imo
with regards to the meal plan i plan a couple of days leave a gap say on wed and use up leftovers if there isnt any leftovers use  something in the freezer such as a frozen pizza....you could make a few hm ready meals such as chilli then if you dont feel up to cooking get them from freezer in morn to defrost for tea.

If you want to try and reduce it a bit google cheap meals and do a bit of yellow sticker shopping have an on toast meal each week. eat a bit less meat
hth

thriftwizard

I'd say you're doing quite well @ £25 pp per week. I spend more! (Costs seem to have risen quite a lot recently, but I'm still spending less per head than most of my friends.) Sad to hear that you are depressed, though; that's going to affect your ability to plan and budget, BUT admitting you're lost & doing something about it is the first step to feeling better. There are some very wise & experienced heads here who will help you get back on track & feel more in control.

The meal-planning thing is just that; a way of helping you "take back control". It doesn't need to be rigid, and it will work differently depending on your circumstances. For example, I buy most of our fresh food at our local market, once a week, and will pick up on the best bargains, which vary from one week to the next; non-perishables are bought on a monthly trip down to L!dls in the city with top-ups at our local small supermarket as necessary. But I try to keep those to once a week, maximum, because somehow I never just buy what I went in for; they employ psychologists to make sure that we're always tempted to buy more than we need! Our week's meals are planned on the back of an envelope around the best market bargains, BUT I can vary them according to circumstances (e.g. unexpected guests) or how I feel; I also keep a store cupboard and also have lots of eggs, cheese & potatoes on hand at all times, so if I'm feeling lazy & whatever was planned will keep or freeze, we might have a simple omelette & baked beans. Or use the breadmaker to whip up some pizza dough & everyone does their own toppings, which is one of my most popular dinners, to this day. Stir-fries are also very quick, cheap, easy & nutritious.

We're down to 4, sometimes 5 adults at home now but at one stage we had 5 of our own kids (one with autism-related difficulties) plus one extra at home, with OH working shifts (including nights) and never enough money. You need to be kind to yourself, & knowing that there's always a plan B for those days when everything comes unstuck is part of that. Your 3 teens could certainly take some of the load, even if they're normally out playing footy/dancing/socialising/practising or even working; it will be a huge feather in their cap when they get to uni/apprenticeship/first home stage if they can cook/understand budgets/see when help is needed.

Anyway, you're in the right place for some of that help now...

rach_k

Is it affordable for you?  That's all that really matters - if you can't afford it, you're spending too much.  If you can afford it and you're happy to spend it, stick with it. 

We spend around £130/week for a family of 4, including all meals (no school lunches) so £150 for 6 doesn't sound bad to me.

If you find you can't stick to a full-on meal plan, have you tried just planning the right number of meals for the week?  I tend to plan a few meals that need 'proper' cooking, then a couple that are quicker and easier e.g. stir fry from ready prepped veg, then a couple that are cheat meals like ready-made pizza or pesto pasta.  I don't plan for a particular day, just take it as it comes.  If I  can be bothered, I do the proper meals earlier in the week so there's only easier stuff as we head into the weekend.  I also make sure we have easy things in the freezer all the time so there's always that if I'm having an off day.  Most things can be frozen for next week if you don't get round to using them.  

freyasmum

It's really a how long is a bit of string question. £25 per head isn't a bad amount at all, in my opinion; if it's affordable to you then I don't see a problem. 

This year, we've spent an average of £20 per person per week, but I've had lots of time not being allowed to work. I reckon it would have been less per week, but I've been baking a LOT 🙈

Meal planning has played a massive role in that. I have a spreadsheet (looove a spreadsheet) with all the meals that we make on it. Once a week, I'll go through and choose a few. We have some meals that we have on an almost weekly basis - I'd have a full scale revolt on my hands if we didn't! - and that makes it a bit easier. 

Another thing that makes a difference is shopping around. We're lucky we have Aldi, Lidl, tesco and farmfoods all within a few minutes of each other. so, once a month, we'll drive over and get things like cheese, sugar and butter from farmfoods and then other bits from other stores. Our main shop is Aldi. I also pick bits and pieces up from our local cash and carry, which is 5 minutes from the house. 

We'll also pick up any reduced items that we use regularly - whole chickens, beef and pork mince, etc. 

We don't often buy food out, usually only when travelling. 

Pollycat

Don't get stressed about meal-planning not working for you.

Lots of people manage to eat without practising it, if it works for you and the family, that's fine.

Lots of people don't have time to batch cook, especially with 3 teenagers and a small child.

I would however be more concerned about feeling too depressed to cook.

Do you really think it's depression or is it maybe just too tired or can't be bothered to cook?

Have you spoken to your GP about how you're feeling?

Are you getting enough help in the house from your partner and the kids?

hello007007

Thank you all, you have made me feel a lot better. I like the way you look at it as £25 per person.

I was talking to hubby yesterday and he thinks we spend a bit more - £200 a week but still that's not OTT spread over 6 people.

I am going to try meal planning again but as a guide not gospel.

Pollycat

hello007007 said:

Thank you all, you have made me feel a lot better. I like the way you look at it as £25 per person.

I was talking to hubby yesterday and he thinks we spend a bit more - £200 a week but still that's not OTT spread over 6 people.

I am going to try meal planning again but as a guide not gospel.

Why not involve the whole family and ask them for their input for meal suggestions...

Could you get them interested in cooking?

Maybe let them make their own burgers..

Do you shop 'sensibly' (to me)?

Can you afford to buy stuff when it's on offer (and do you have room to store it)?

e.g. tins of beans, chopped tomatoes, tuna

joedenise

Agree with @Pollycat about buying stuff when it's on offer if you have the room to store it (it doesn't have to be in the kitchen - it can be anywhere, I use the shelves and bottom of a wardrobe but others store tins etc under the beds).  

I keep a separate budget for "bulk buys" and use it to pick up trays of tinned foods like beans, tomatoes etc; big packs of meat which I then split and freeze).  We use UHT milk these days as we live a long way from the shops so it just makes life easier to buy a box of 12 at a time.

[Deleted User]

hello007007 said:

...

I don't know how to meal plan either. I've tried in the past, but they never really worked eg somedays we will cook and have the leftovers the day after or we decide we would like to eat something else. All this messes up the meal plan. Other days I'm too depressed to cook and the family sorts themselves out with cereal.

As we are often both busy working and so too tired to cook, or I might not be feeling too good (health issues) I meal plan to take this into account.

Instead of cooking for every meal we have some 'no cook', or 'easy cook' meals.  We tend to have our hot cooked meal during the day and then something lighter for the evening.  So for next week meals I have planned sandwiches (this is often more like a posh ploughmans) beans on toast with a side salad, and soup with vegetable kebabs.  Things that can be prepared really quickly and easily.  We tend to eat these meals on the days when we just cannot be bothered to cook.

Also, can the teenages not learn to cook and help on the days when you are struggling? 

baggins11

I just wanted to say that if you are regularly too depressed to cook for your kids please get some help. I have suffered with depression for many years but have been depression free for the last 5 years. 

I have only once ever had my kids eat cereal as I couldn't cope with cooking and I know how low I was on that day. I still feel guilty although I know I shouldn't. So if you are really that low be kind to yourself and get help.

Make sure you get fresh air every day as it really does help. And don't put pressure on yourself as even the small stuff like getting dressed is a big win when you have the dark cloud hanging over you.

Also the other big thing is teach your kids to cook so they can share the load. My 15yr old can cook as well as me, my 13yr old needs a bit more practice but can do basics like fried egg and beans on toast so if I am working late they cope just fine. 

And as others have said your budget sounds just fine. We spend more ourselves.