How much do you spend a week/month on food?

[Badgoushk]

I'd be really interested to know how much people spend a week or month on food?

I'm on maternity leave and have a weaning baby and a toddler, plus a husband!

We get a weekly online shop that costs approximately £135 for food, £15 for toiletries, loo roll, nappies, etc. So £150 a week or £650 a month.

I cook everything from scratch and we have meat or fish every night, plus plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. We don't buy alcohol (can't afford it and I'm breastfeeding!) or any sweet treats.

I'm interested to know if this is a lot? (Ocado!) or whether others spend a lot more/less.

[turquoise88]

I'm in a similar situation to you. On maternity leave with DD (10 months). Me, DH and DD in household.

We shop at Aldi and spend about £60-£70 for two weeks worth of food. Plenty of fruit and veg also. I don't cook everything from scratch though, we use their pasta sauces etc but we never eat ready meals. Also then pick up top-up bits and pieces on the weekend I don't do the big shop, totalling about £20-£30.

This also includes nappies/wipes etc. DD has a bottle a day but we don't need formula every week as she only drinks about 5oz a day.

[turquoise88]

Also forgot to mention we don't really drink alcohol at home so no expense there.

[Badgoushk]

Thanks Turquoise. Do you freeze much? We have a tiny freezer compartment on our fridge freezer. I think we could save more money if we had more freezer space!

[turquoise88]

Thanks Turquoise. Do you freeze much? We have a tiny freezer compartment on our fridge freezer. I think we could save more money if we had more freezer space!

Definitely!

We invested in a large (not American style though) Samsung fridge freezer and it's got a lot of space.

I buy lots of meat and fish which I freeze and take out as necessary. A bag of chicken breasts eg can go a fairly long way

[CottonSock]

That's a lot more than us. I'd consider a week with a shop that big a stocking the shelves/freezer event. Mind you we probably eat out a bit more than average. I use tesco delivery

[Badgoushk]

Thanks CottonSock. We don't eat out at all unfortunately!! Ha!

[turquoise88]

OP I did think that £15 sounds a lot to spend weekly on toiletries. What are you buying? You wouldn't need shampoo and shower gel etc weekly would you?

[Badgoushk]

When I say toiletries I mean all non-food items. I have a baby (nappies) and a toddler (pull ups at naptime and night time) so get through a lot of wipes! The wipes cost £6.50 a week for a pack of 3!!!! The rest of the stuff includes (not every week obviously)...

Soap
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Loo roll
Kitchen roll
Sun cream
Nappies
Pull ups
Wipes
Bickie pegs teething biscuits
Slug pellets
Persil washing liquitabs
Washing up sponges
Washing up liquid
Hand wash
Surface cleaning spray
Bubble bath
Shampoo
Baby bath washing gel
Conditioner

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

£75-80 every 10 days for two adults, 5yo and 18mo. That includes everything. Probably do £5-10 of top up in that period

[Badgoushk]

I think we might do a couple of vegetarian dinners each week as I've noticed the bulk of the food costs are from meat/fish. Plus we buy a lot of berries (raspberries, blackberries and blueberries each week) as the baby and toddler love them!

[Badgoushk]

Thanks Ginger. Where do you shop?

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

Are you buying branded everything? Tesco own brand wipes are £3 for 6, for example

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

Tesco online!

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

We're vegetarian though so that probably counts for a lot if you use a lot of meat/fish

[lightcola]

£200 a month, mainly at tesco for 2 adults a toddler and dog so this includes nappies and dog food. We get a lot of our meat from the reduced section and base meals around that. Everything is cooked from scratch and includes plenty of veg. I find batch cooking helps.

[thejoysofboys]

There's four of us here (2 adults and 2 infant schoolers). I shop with Ocado and generally spend around £80 per week with perhaps another £10 at Tesco express for fresh bread and fruit etc mid week.

The only things I don't include in the weekly shop are toilet rolls, kitchen rolls and dishwasher tablets as we get them at Costco. We're not really drinkers either.

[Badgoushk]

I've been buying the Naty wipes. I think I got wooed by their 'eco' advertising!! I might need to get different wipes! Thankfully now that my toddler is toilet trained we only have one bottom to use wipes on!

I tend to get own brand for everything. Happy to get 'essential' range for most things except meat/eggs.

[Hiddenaspie1973]

Toiletries from wilco, savers or pound land.
Meat and yogurts very reduced from morrisons then frozen
Or Iceland or farm foods for packs of meat/fish, spuds, grapes, milk, eggs and big marg tubs.
Frozen fruits and fresh fruit n veg from aldi. I get bargain toms and peppers from local Italian deli.
Tinned toms, chickpeas etc cheapest at tesco in ethnic aisle.buy in bulk
Value rice, pasta, oats from anywhere. Buy in bulk.
I cook from scratch as I can (work v p/t)
I used to get brilliant nappies from aldi, same with wipes or Wilkos from r wipes.

[WaitrosePigeon]

I spend about £200 a week. I'm a disgrace. I just can't cut it down. I would love to be able to spend under £100, I don't know how to cut it down?!

[lovelyupnorth]

60-70 per week 2 adults 2 teens. A mixture of Aldi and local butcher, greengrocer. Always cook from scratch and use fresh ingredients. Usually includes a bottle of wine. Always meal plan - that's what saves the most. 650 a month is nuts.

[Badgoushk]

GingerAndTheBiscuits - we need to do more veggie cooking

lightcola - yeah I think batch cooking is the way forward. I just need some freezer space!

[Smerlin]

If you are buying water wipes (am assuming at that price) they are cheaper to buy in bulk on Amazon. 3 packs a week seems a fair amount to get through though.

We spend £70-£100 every 10 days probably

[Stillwishihadabs]

2 adults and 2 dcs (9&12) here I reckon £60-80 per week that includes a bottle of win e or 2. Off the top of my head I'd say ditch the persiltabs. Your wipes sound extortionate. We do eat veggies twic e a week.

[NapoleonsNose]

Between £300 and £350 a month for 2 adults and 2 teens. DD is 18 but has a small appetite. DS, 16 eats enough pasta to put the average Italian to shame (cheap to fill up though!). That includes cat food for one moggy and all toiletries and non-food groceries. Shop mainly at Lidl, with a Tesco run for the bits I can't get. Cook mainly from scratch with the odd 'something from a packet' if I can't be arsed or late back from work.

[Muskateersmummy]

I shop at tesco and spend between £70 and £100 depending on the week. And that's for everything including cleaning stuff and toiletries.