Grocery shopping experts - how little do you spend

PasturesNew

I spend under £10/week for just me. And I don't have the benefit of a freezer or any kitchen gadgets or being any good at cooking, nor do I like cooking. So I am not there rigidly batch cooking and freezing things!

But I do have to eat a very small number of ingredients repetitively as I buy for 4 so then have to eat the same meal 4x in a row (buying for 1 is so much more expensive per person).

The only meat I ever eat is mince or sausages. And usually only when they are on special AND are cheaper than the price I would normally pay (don't be conned by a BOGOF where the next shelf contains a better bargain without any discounting).

I probably buy sausages/mince once every 2-3 weeks.

My staples are: potatoes, eggs, cheese, long-life bread, baked beans, onions, tinned tomatoes. If I've got those in I can make all sorts!

I never buy: biscuits, cakes, crisps.

Vegetable stew and dumplings are cheap. Another favourite of mine is using giant yorkshire puddings and filling them with just vegetables or sausage/mash. I make a lot of cheese/potato/onion pies served with baked beans.

I also love my version of a big cooked breakfast as a treat: 2 scrambled eggs, 1/3 tin of beans, 2 sausages, 2 slices of fried bread (or toast). This usually works out about 60p and I really enjoy it - which is what it's about!

I think about every item I buy, inspecting price, thinking how that will break down into "cost per meal". My cost per meal is very very rarely even £1 - and that would be when I'd done a chilli. I read every "best before" label and ensure I will be using it all up before it goes off, which is why I have to buy long-life bread (there's no way I can get through a whole loaf in 3 days).

I do allow myself treats. But I actively choose them. I don't stick them in the trolley without a second thought. I think about what it is, when did I last treat myself, how much it is costing and whether I REALLY need it or could make do with a different/cheaper treat.

Maxjessdru

We (me, OH & 1 dog) managed for about 6 months on approximately £80 per month a while ago (to include all pet food, cleaning, toiletries. etc) - boring diet but we didn't go hungry and I have since learnt a lot more from this site which could have stretched the budget further. For breakfast we always had porridge and for lunch either HM soup (made with whatever was going cheap and padded out with veg and pulses) or something on toast (value beans, eggs, etc). For evening meals, we always had a roast on Sunday (chicken or beef brisket) which then made up Monday & Tuesday's meals (stews, pasta, etc). A portion of mince would then be made into at least two further meals (shepherds pie, spag bol, chili, meatballs) padded out with veg, soya mince or lentils. Other two meals would usually be whatever we had found cheap in the reduced counter or something like fish fingers & mash or liver casserole. OH won't really eat veggie food but I always managed to sneak these into meat dishes to make them go further - still do and he has never noticed! Didn't really have snacks as we couldn't afford them but I always tried to get fruit when it was reduced. Jelly is also a good cheap pudding so you don't feel too deprived, as is HM rice pudding cooked when the oven is already on. Sorry I don't have children so not sure what to suggest there. Good luck!

Frugaldom

Sassamac wrote: »

Basically I want to know how little you spend, because according to my budget on our current income I need to get my grocery budget down to around £60 per month (2 adults, 2 kids, 2 cats), simply because most of the rest of the budget is fixed.
So is it do-able and what lengths do you have to go to to stick with it?

Hi Sassamac, I'm no expert but I have been budgeting strictly for several years now. I'd need to agree with the others when they suggest looking closely at where the rest of you income in going as, with 2 children, you should be receiving Child Benefit and your budget makes it sound like you are trying to feed the family (and cats) on that.

Would you be able to post a list of your other expenses on here? That way you may get a few suggestions about where you can save and, also, if you could let me know if your cats are house cats or if they go outside. Having worked with vets for years, I know it now costs about £10 per month per cat, over a year to include worming, annual booster, anti-flea treatment and the very cheapest of the cheapest cat food. That would mean you only have £10 per week food budget for a family of 4