Monthly food shopping bill - couple

DigSunPap

DigSunPap said:

I haven't found the same with my local farm shop. In fact I feel that the stock is more expensive than a lot of supermarkets - as you are paying for the quality

@MrsStepford

roadweary

OP here....wow, this thread has taken off!  I am delighted to say that this month the grocery bill came down to £535.  Now some of that is awareness on both our parts....and my obvious concern with the numbers.  The other thing is apparently the switch to veg from salad as we move out of the hot weather.  My hope is that as the shopping bill gets driven down, the 'salad season' spending can be more restrained.  Regardless it might be like fuel bills in reverse....e.g. your DD build up to a surplus in the summer months and sorts out the more expensive winter.

I too have been more careful....I would sometimes pop to a local shop and grab a ping meal when I was feeling lazy which I haven't done.

Also, the direction of travel is important.....come week 2 of the experiment, shopping bills definitely started to come down; both the recipes being used....and taking a good look at what we already had in the cupboard.  Today, the first day of the new month (I just randomly started logging shopping after the initial discussion of finances and shopping), the main shop was only £47.  It felt like a light shop compared to normal....but again, I will continue to track.

Btw, I do appreciate that some people survive on a fraction of what we are spending, and I know that we are fortunate....but I'm still quite impressed in the turn around in spending.....particularly as my car has just died....again!!

roadweary

£356 this month but with silly season coming and children moving back in, I expect that to rise...

Murphybear

MrsStepford said:

Farm shops are often tourist attractions and/or food shops for 'ladies who lunch', so reasonable prices aren't high on their agendas.

We use one farm shop because it stocks gluten free sausages from Kent and saves us trekking across the county. Another local farm shop sells its own free range pork and lamb and buys in local game. Generally though, we buy direct from farms, online.

We prefer organic veg and that's a case of buying what we can, from ASDA, Lidl, Milk & More, Morrisons,  Sainsburys, Tesco, Waitrose. I'm now buying some peelable fruit & veg to keep costs down. 

I am still shopping pantry offers everywhere, including Co-op, One Stop, Iceland and Nisa.

From 1st November, I'm getting a £100 pcm increase to food budget, making it £700pcm. This also has to cover things like disinfectant, antiseptic, plasters, wipes, washing powder, washing machine cleaner, fabric conditioner, Henry bags, Swiffer cloths, laundry cleaner, hand sanitizer, furniture polish, shoe cleaner, fly traps, household plants, light bulbs, non-chlorine bleach, washing up liquid, loo cleaners, caddy liners, sponge scourers, tissues, kitchen roll, loo rolls, toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, anti-perspirant, printer cartridges etc etc etc. 

It’s scary how much you can spend on non food but not luxury items  . Presumably most of these items don’t need to be bought frequently.  I gave up buying house plants as I was totally skilled in killing them

MrsStepford

First month with increased budget and I have £100 left at the moment. Had quite a lot of refunds from ASDA, Milk & More and Iceland this month. Not getting the products can be annoying but refunds help stretch the budget, too. 

Mnoee

I use the same credit card for food shops and only food shops so I can see we've been pretty consistent at £350-360 per month this year. That's all meals, drinks and snacks for two adults (one veggie, one omni) including alcohol, hygiene and household stuff. The odd month goes up to £400-ish, but that's for special occasions, a self catering holiday - reasons I can identify. We eat out or buy drinks at a show about once a month and get a takeaway once a month. 

I don't think I could bring that number down without sacrificing the few luxuries we enjoy, but thankfully I don't have to at the moment! It's pretty much all home cooked food, outside of the alcohol and occasional steak/duck for my partner, there's very little to cut back on. 

Pet supplies are bought online, but they're around £120 a month for two cats. I know that's more than many, they're absolutely spoilt rotten, but getting cats was the kick I needed to quit smoking. A quick check of current prices and I'd be spending about £165 a month if I was smoking at the rate I used to, so I'm still quids in! 

alipops1986

I budget £400 a month for 4 of us (2 adults & 2 primary school aged children). 
I mostly stick to Aldi, although I've had some cracking offers through for money off Sainsburys delivery, so have done that for 2 weeks. 

The £400 includes all food and cleaning items. I find doing some big batches of food helps. Today I've done huge spag bol and lasagne, to freeze into portions. I also do that with Sausages in gravy and beef stew. 

This year I've been keeping a monthly track of the £400 food budget, and on the whole we've managed to stick to it just about! The best way I've managed to do this is to reverse meal plan; look in freezer and work out meals based on what's in there. I also will buy reduced items in the supermarket which I can freeze, even if that takes me over that weeks budget slightly it normally pays off later in the month. I also check dates very carefully, and buy things with a longer date especially if it's for the kids pack ups. 

I remember fondly the days when my children were younger and needed nappies etc, and I could get all that plus the weekly shop including quite a few treats for £65-70 in Aldi!