Aibu to be annoyed the food shop disappears so quickly

Maybe try going to Home Bargains or B&M to stock up on the snacks. They often have things that are a bit different and usually a lot cheaper than the supermarkets. Then hide some of it and drip feed it to the cupboard over time!

When we were a family of five and our three kids were all primary age, I used to have a snack box for each of us. Did the big weekly shop on a Saturday, and told the kids that the snacks needed to last a week. I always got extra, hid away and topped up their boxes mid week. My DS would eat his Saturday box by Monday, but soon learnt that he had to wait to see if it would be topped up. The other two were good at making their snacks last. They’d swap with each other, which was cute.

To save money I buy Lidl dupes, their mars bar, twix dupes are good and so much cheaper. Fruit’s expensive, so I’d buy dried as well as fresh. Lidl again, little boxes of sultanas etc. treat box was Lidl chocolate, almonds, tropical mix etc.

It's not about objecting to others eating loads of fruit, it's about accepting that not everyone can afford to eat loads of fruit, especially the more expensive stuff!

How old are the 3 kids if it’s 2 adults and 3kids

if money is tight don’t buy snacks

agree a pack of crisps (6) would last one day so do you buy 7 packs of 6 crisps a week if everyone wants one packet a day

strawberries are costly and crap now it’s Sept. Apples /grapes /raw catguts etc

I guesss it shows how different we all are. I understand having to ration food as your skint, I grew up poor, we didn’t have snacks either, and couldn’t afford fruit, but I don’t see that as aspirational. I also didn’t ration the sweet crap, which resulted in no one seeing it as a treat, and being able to moderate and share.

objecting to other people eating fruit and thinking they should ration is a step too far for me. I’m quite happy for mine to “mindlessly” eat a punnet of grapes or strawberries or help themselves to a biscuit or chocolate bar if they felt like it. No one has to ask in my house, no one eats more than their fair share, and that’s as food isn’t rationed and no one is sniffy or judgemental.

if money is tight, yes rations are needed. But that doesn’t mean it’s an aspirational way to live. Goodness someone on here even keeps the biscuits just for themselves and either doesnr share with their own kids or controls what’s allowed.

I’ve often heard “anyone mind if I habe the last x” I’ve never heard a no, the food in the house is ours, and we are all equally entitled, adults and kids alike.

I’m not sure £20 a day is much to feed a family these days. Gutting as that is.

I guess it depends what you're having. I rarely spend more than £10 on an evening meal (the exception would be a roast), and breakfast in the morning is toast and fruit, so for us £20 would probably be ok. But I'm not doing packed lunches or feeding hungry teenagers, which makes a big difference.

i always have some uht in as my kids will suddenly drink all the milk and until recently didn’t have a local shop. They are totally unbothered by it.

You could think about frozen, tinned and dried fruits too, that would increase variety and accessibility and might help with price?

Yes I think you're right. Im drinking some now in some tea because I opened some for a recipe (dont mind using it in recipes). Its awful.

How old are your children? I don’t let mine (pre- and early teens) take snacks without asking, other than a cheap apple or similar. They are allowed toast and cheap jam if they’re starving when they get home from school. If they want sweets or chocolate they can choose to buy them with their pocket money or sometimes I buy a multipack as a special treat and we all pig out together.

Quite apart from anything else, constant grazing is a bad habit to get into. If they’re really hungry between meals (rather than just fancying something nice), maybe they need more potatoes/pasta/bread with their meals.

i know it’s difficult when budgets are tight, but have you tried cheaper supermarkets for snacks like Aldi, Farmfoods, Home bargains/B & M, Savers. Obviously it depends on which shops are close to you. I ofter find I get more for my money in some of these places especially things like biscuits and snacks. Apologies if you have also tried this. I used to get everything from one shop but with rising costs find I end up buying different things from different shops and changing to own brands, some which I have found are actually better. Out of the Supermarkets you use I would say Asda is usually cheapest for fruit.

I’m not sure £20 a day is much to feed a family these days. Gutting as that is.

I only pick brands that we really notice the difference with. For me that is decent coffee by L’or, kids love proper HP sauce, and cats would rather die than eat anything other than Whsikas. Probably a few more, but basically I stick to real food, no labels. Deals from butchers, etc

@soupyspoonit definitely used to be, maybe 5-10 years ago.

snacks were bread and butter in my day - fruit would be puddings

Very few snacks in this household, we buy the odd packet of biscuits or muesli bars but rarely crisps or chocolate bars. Three meals a day and if you're hungry in between it's a choice between yoghurt, fruit, toast, cereal, crackers. Eldest dc favours apple slices and peanut butter or tinned mackerel on crackers, youngest likes yoghurts, cheese on toast or watermelon. I can't understand the relentless snacking culture. Mine get one treat type article in their lunchbox and sweets or nachos and dips on a Friday. No wonder there's an obesity crisis.

ps frozen berries are cheaper and easier to store. Mine love to make a smoothie with yoghurt and frozen mixed berries. Very filling, healthy and cheaper too.

AI tells me you are right, didnt quite believe that but its true. UHT milk is also really horrible

Snack boxes - when they're gone they're gone and label things for lunches etc. People will soon start to realise. And you might realise you need to buy slightly different things on different weeks etc to stretch the budget out a bit.

Why buy snacks at all, it isn't a good habit to encourage?

I spend around £200 to £220 a month just for me and do not buy much in the way of snacks, a few packs of biscuits and maybe a pack of tea cakes. I menu plan and batch cook and am good at using whatever is lurking in the fridge or freezer as I hate food waste. I do think the cost of food is shocking though and apparently it is set to increase again, what joy!

Agreed. If you all like a banana that’s basically gone after 1 day with 5 of you. My toddler would eat the equivalent of that amount of fruit in a week by himself!

Snack boxes for each person (when they’re gone they’re gone) sounds like a good idea.

And shopping mostly at Aldi or Lidl probably will help, unless you get a massive cash back incentive from your bank. I find my shops always seem far more expensive if I shop anywhere else.

But all in all, I agree that £600ish per month for a family of 5 these days is pretty decent.

I feel the same OP. Our budget is also £150 a week, 2 adults, 1 teen boy full time, another teen boy and an 11 year old boy half the week. Snacks disappear rapidly! I dont know what the answer is. Im trying to meal plan and stick to it but man these kids can eat!!

We spend just over £50 per person per week, and that’s with meal planning and avoiding convenience foods.

I am not a budgeter, but having read this thread, it seems to be that a big part of the problem is that 'snack food' is seen as something separate to 'real food'. Supermarkets package it up to look attractive and it commands a premium.

We love chocolate in this house and have it several times a week, but we don't seem to spend a lot on other packaged stuff (especially little packets of things) which I think is where we're making some savings compared to others.

My DS's favourite snack when we get home from school is a jam sandwich. The younger one likes cheese on toast (admittedly cheese has massively increased in price!) and carrot sticks. But these aren't extra 'snacky' things, they're just food we have in anyway being eaten as a snack. I'm feeling a bit mean now because I've realised that, although we do have some biscuits in a box, I view them as 'mine' and don't really share them with the kids. The kids sometimes like munching on dry cereal like cheerios and cornflakes. They do get ice cream several times a week (a scoop out of a big tub, with a few sprinkles on top). I make them pancakes sometimes if I have the time.

uht is not cheaper? It’s convenient but it’s not cheaper these days from my experience.

Bread
Boxes of economy cereal
Crackers
Jam
Peanut butter
Oats
Boxes of UHT milk (cheaper)
Economy apples
Carrots (peeled, raw and crunchy. Popular in our house)
Economy yoghurts
Basic biscuits