How Much For Shopping A Week?

mumzyof2

hello all how much would you suggest on shopping a week for myself, my other half and a 3year old and 22month old.
My 22month old still has milk at night and we go through about 4 pints aday..apart from that children eat all the same foods as me and other half.
I would like to include in my budget 2x £10 rolling tobacco (for the month) and 200 cigrettees which are £21.50 for 100 so x 2 that.
I would like to inclide cigrettees as i would rather buy it with my monthly food as its cheaper to buy cigs in bulk.

any ideas? i dont have a clue. i dont even know what we spend now so whatever people suggest il go with that

we also get 8 x £2.80 tokens of free milk and veg every 4 weeks. Which we use in one go on fruit and about 6 x 4pints of cravendale milk (it lasts unopened for ages in fridge) so that way we dont spend more keep going to corner shop and there usually on offer at 2 for £2

mumzyof2

anyone????????????

Pink.

Hi mumzyof2,

It's not really possible to give you a figure that you should be spending as everyone's grocery spending will be different and individual to them, their family and their needs/wants.

The best thing you can do is to look at what you are spending now and see if you can find ways to cut back. Perhaps keep a spending diary for a couple of weeks and mark every penny spent in it.

Menu planning is also a good way to go..have a look at The Complete Menu Plans Collection for some inspiration, then decide what you want to cook in the next week and plan your shopping list around that. It saves you nipping out for bits and pieces (and spending more money) and you can plan your shopping list around your menus which will stop you grabbing bits and pieces in the supermarket that you don't really need.

There is a monthly Grocery Challenge that you are very welcome to join and you'll get lots of encouragement and support from others there trying to cut back on grocery shopping.

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HariboJunkie

mumzyof2 wrote: »

anyone????????????

Old Style is usually quiet at this time so you should bet more replies in the morning.

As regards your shopping budget it's a pretty personal thing but if you're looking for ways to cut back, meal planning is a good start and you would ideally need to find out what you are currently spending and on what so you can identify any areas you could cut back on.

Pink.

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Old Style is usually quiet at this time so you should bet more replies in the morning.

As regards your shopping budget it's a pretty personal thing but if you're looking for ways to cut back, meal planning is a good start and you would ideally need to find out what you are currently spending and on what so you can identify any areas you could cut back on.

Beat you to it Haribo!

HariboJunkie

Pink-winged wrote: »

Beat you to it Haribo!

Yes but you're MUCH OLDER and wiser.

Mumzyof2....If you have a look at what you usually spend there are lots of lovely people here who will advise you how to make your budget stretch. A good start is the storecupboard challenge which gets you to use stuff up that you already have before buying more. It always makes for some "interesting" meals.

mumzyof2

Thankyou i will join the challenge now.

Kaz2904

An easy way to meal plan is to say to the collected when you are all there "does anyone have anything they would like for tea next week?" I always get "steak and chips" from DH- which he never gets!
Make a roast dinner once a week. This should then provide meat for 3-4 meals depending on what it is. EG we had roast lamb shoulder last night which DH carved (and he's really wasteful and threw loads in the bin before I could get to it!). Tonight we had lamb and minted peas pie. We still have enough lamb left to do 2 meals- maybe 3 if I streeeeeeeeeetch it!

Look at how much you are throwing away. I have 2 adults and a 6 and 4 yr old and chuck about 1 large black bin liner per week and we're not that careful or frugal.
You could make your own bread if you have a breadmaker (I got mine from freecycle).
I've seen your other posts on DFW and think you may benefit from a spending diary. Obviously we're coming up to Christmas but that doesn't matter, just get going with it.
You will get there and you will learn to cut costs. I have to say that the most glaring cost for me is cigarettes- why is one of you on rollies and the other not? You could save an absolute fortune.
Another way to cut costs is to make a house rule of no smoking inside- it cuts your costs when it's cold and you have to make the effort to get up and go out and it's better for the kids. (I do this). Ideally I want to give up but one step at a time hey?

mumzyof2

what do i put in a spending diary and which forum do i put it in?
id love to do one..also i smoke outside anyways..non smoking house grr landlord haha but i dont mind lol

Kaz2904

OK, mumzy, the spending diary is for you. Have a piece of paper or a small notepad with you at all times. Anything you spend at all goes into it. If you have a diary thread on DFW then you can post on there. Or start your own.
Try planning 1 meal at a time rather than doing a shop.

Pink.

Hi mumzy,

A spending diary is where you keep a note of everything you spend. You may be able to do it online but the easiest way is just to keep a small notepad (or scrap of paper) with you and jot down every penny you spend. That way you can look back at your expenses and see if there is anything you are buying unnecessarily and see if there is any way to cut down on what you are spending.

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