Household food budget issues

Teenagers eat enormous amounts of food! It's a good idea to bulk their diet out with carbohydrates.
I think that what you are spending is probably quite typical. I tend to regard wine / beer etc. as a "treat" and not part of the general budget (although I do fudge it a bit as I use it a lot in cooking!)
Your budget could come down with good planning, involving everyone in cooking carefully etc.
But some of that depends on lifestyle: like organising a cheap pot roast to go in the slow cooker in the morning; making flapjacks for the kids' snacking instead of them taking a whole packet of biscuits to wolf; making porridge to avoid expensive cereals etc. etc.
Loads of ideas on here & Old Style but they do involve time & oganisation.

Leg of lamb is an expensive meat, compared to other choices. I live in a large market town with plenty of butchers stalls at a market that runs 3 times weekly. I regularly buy 3 joints for £12, usually 2 beef (silverside) and a pork shoulder. If lamb is included in the deal it is NZ, needs using within the next day or so and isn't a leg joint.

You can get your shopping bill down, but you will need to vary what you eat. It doesn't mean that it's the choice between lamb and value-basic-smartprice sausages.

we got a new Waitrose recently, not used a lot so some great reductions if you go at the right time, high prices but seems better quality, when reduced cheaper than the cheapest othe supermarket.


Yesterday in Tesco, hit the reductions just as the meat counter dropped it's load.

£2.22 Rack of lamb 3 portions(450g)
£1.46 Rack of Lamb 2 portions (smaller eaten)
£1.31 Belly pork pieces (730g) 2-3 portions
£1.93 Belly pork slab rolled just over 1kg 4 portions.
£4.40 Lamb Shoulder 1.4kg 4-5 portions.
£3.06 Two ribeye steaks (400g), 1 eaten

Lamb is expensive only buy now when RFQS
Pork slow cooked and great crackling(shoulder pork good for this also)

the chicken at tesco when reduced is starting to leach the bulking fluid so avoid them.

One thing I have noticed is chicken wings have shot up in price, they used to be £1.80kg late last year, now they are £4kg.

The 3 for £10 offers should feed a family of 5. The mince tends to be 500g so more than enough forma spag bol/chilli. Pork chops are at least 5 to a pack and the chickens are fairly large too.

Indivdual fish portions are expensive. Its cheaper to buy fish and bulk it out. Either as a fish pie or kebabs

Do your sons have two packed lunches and a cooked tea? I would be looking at giving them bulkier pack-ups,like pasta or cous-cous (cheap but more filling than, sarnies, crisps, etc). Or even taking flasks of home-made soup

As already said. I hope your sons are paying for all they eat, plus rent

First thing, do you have an asda nearby? I'm guessing that the loaf at £1.45 is warburtons? Asda have price locked it at a pound, and it regularly cycles at two for £2.

Download the mysupermarket app or use their website to make sure you are getting value for money and check prices and offers.

Don't shop daily. This is guaranteed to increase your bill.

Look to buy meat wholesale, or from your local market. You will get a lot more for your money and without the bulking agents etc that a lot of the supermarkets use.

Look to meals like pasta, chilli and casseroles that can easily be bulked out with beans, extra veg and even grated carrot.

Buy frozen veg, it's usually healthy and only buy fresh veg in season. If you use a lot of potatoes get a sack for around five pounds. Don't store them in the fridge, but try to keep them dark and cool, they'll last you ages. Certainly don't be buying prepared veg or pre-cooked mash. You can make mash easily, just do some jacket potatoes in the oven alongside a joint or whatever, cut in half and the centres will drop out. Make mash as normal, divide into portions and freeze or chill until needed. It's a few minutes to do.

To be blunt, it sounds like your wife isn't willing to listen to what you're saying. You need to thrash this out with her. Even the busiest people can take a little time out to put a slow cooker on in a morning, it's not going to take any longer than cooking up some chicken or steak. If she didn't spend as much time shopping she maybe would have more time to cook. Don't also be fooled by whatever discount she gets at work, it still doesn't necessarily mean that you're getting a good deal.

There are a number of fish companies that deliver, you ought to look at buying in bulk and perhaps changing the types of fish for something a little cheaper. Obviously this will depend on what you're doing with it.

The teenagers who are working should really be buying their own stuff for pack up, and doing it themselves if they're not already. You say they do heavy work, they need carbohydrates not just protein.

Cut down on the alcohol, look for cheaper brands that are as good or cut it down to just the weekend.

Oh and FYI certainly Tescos basic range doesn't have the nasties in it like msg, as does Iceland. (Even though I'm not inspired enough to shop there, it is an option!)

FWIW I definitely think it's more than possible to bring your shop down. The main bit seems to be protein and just by way of example the other week I spent less than fifty pounds on 3 beef joints (with your size you might need 2 of these), 27 large chicken breasts no water (2/3 cut up is more than ample for a casserole, stir fry etc and 8 large rump steaks. Another example is I've bought 2 16oz ribeye steaks for £8 today on special.

I know you said you were in a somewhat remote location but check which stores deliver (this may work out cheaper for you) and also investigate where your nearest Aldi or lidl is.

Basic ingredients like chopped tomatoes etc can be bought most easily from Aldi, lidl and value ranges. I really see no point unless you're serving them for breakfast in buying expensive ranges for these store cupboard basics. The same with flour, sugar etc.

If you really want some extra help, collect all your receipts for a week and out them on the old style board here asking people to work out meal plans and how to cut things out. You will get some great responses and maybe will be able to prove to your wife that you really don't need to spend a lot to eat well.

Good luck!