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March 2026 Grocery Challenge

JingsMyBucket
JingsMyBucket Posts: 1,219 Forumite
Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
edited 16 February at 2:08PM in Old style MoneySaving
Welcome to the 3rd Grocery Challenge of 2026! 

As always this challenge is to reduce your own grocery budget to levels that you will be pleased with, not forgetting that we always recommend that you stay inside your own comfort levels and take things gently one step at a time. Remember that this is not a competition....it's designed to take you and your grocery spending to a level you are happy with.

******** Please post your budget in BOLD and HEADING 2 ********

If your new month starts early feel free to join this thread, or if you're still working on your February Budget then keep on posting in the February Challenge.

If you are new to the challenge I have quoted the advice from Galtizz below which will help you get started.

Please post into this thread for help and advice and support at any time. Good luck to everyone taking part!

I have said this before, but for all the newbies to the challenge;

For the first month I took a guess at the budget but I really had no idea how much I was spending.

I found the best thing is to have a guess the first month but SAVE ALL OF YOUR RECEIPTS (and yes, that does include the ones from the local shop when you run out of milk), then at the end of the month add them all up and have a look if you were on budget, if not, it doesn't matter because your budget was a guess. For the next month you can use the total of your receipts and take a bit off to get a realistic budget, just shave off as much as you think you can, it could be £1 a week or £20 a week.

If you are currently spending £200 a month don't suddenly drop it to £100 - you'll never do it but if you cut £20 a month off for a few months you'll get there eventually without feeling you're missing out on anything.

You might think you've done everything you can in the first month but someone always comes up with a new idea and, if you try it you often find you save a bit more (unless you are SarahSaver who is an expert at this and could only save more if she turned her back garden into a paddy field and lived on rice ) In the first month I thought, I'm planning meals, I couldn't possibly save any more, but then I started double cooking and freezing, and making soup instead of buying it in tins.

I've been doing this since Feb but only saved ALL of my receipts last month, it has given me a much better idea of where it is all going. Budget for next month is £80 for 2 of us, I'll start on 30/4. I could probably save more, by eating different foods but I can afford to live on £80, I have saved a lot of money since Feb. and I don't waste food or money any more. So I'm happy with my budget.
By request, here is Spiggles wonderful helpful post

« hide previous quotes

» show previous quotes

For guidelines on posting in this thread please read the second post in this thread.

For the Grocery challenge Recipe Index please see posts #4 to #10 this thread (the list is growing!!!!!)

For everyone's totals, see post #3 on this thread

I hope everyone has a great month!

Jings

NimbleFins Average UK Household Cost of Food - updated July 2022

Per Person: The average weekly food shop is £28.7 per person in the UK—but clearly caloric needs vary by age and gender. When you add £14.9 spent on food prepared out (e.g., restaurants and takeaways), the average weekly food bill for 1 person is £43.6.

Average Adult Man: The average adult male spends around £35 on groceries, £18 on food out and £53 altogether on food each week.

Young, active adult man: A young, active adult man around 18 years of age whose caloric needs are 50% higher than the average person would theoretically spend around £65 a week on food (£43 οn groceries and £22 out).

Average Adult Woman: The average adult female theoretically spends around £27 on groceries, £14 on food out and £40 altogether on food each week.

Young, active adult woman: A young, active adult woman around 18 years of age whose caloric needs are 25% higher than the average woman would theoretically spend around £50 a week on food (£33 οn groceries and £17 out).

2 Adults: The average weekly food bill for 2 adults would be around £93 in total—£62 spent on the weekly food shop and £32 spent on food out.

Family of 3: The average weekly food bill for a family of 3 (two adults and one younger child) is around £128—£85 spent on the weekly food shop and £44 spent on food out.

Family of 4: The typical family of 4 (two adults and 2 younger children) would spend around £163 each week on food—£108 on the weekly shop and £56 on restaurant and takeaway meals.

Family of 5: Larger families of 5 (two adults and 3 younger children) spend around £131 on the weekly shop and another £68 on food prepared out, bringing the total average food bill for a family of 5 to £198.

Family of 3 adults: Three adults (or two adults and one older teenager) would spend around £93 on groceries, £48 on food prepared out and £140 altogether on food each week, clearly with budget varying by the age and gender of the family members.

Useful additional info from @suffolk _lass:

ONS also have an interactive spend explorer on their website at this link and I do think it is worth people looking at this. You can click on a category and it splits it out a bit.  They also have figures on deb, expenditure, and income & wealth at this link and these are based on the 2021 census figures. And a personal inflation calculator here

Incredible post from our own @PipneyJane : SURVIVING ON A TIGHT BUDGET

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