How much does your weekly food shop cost?

[prettyretro]

In a serious attempt to save money! Really cutting back on items and using more store own brand items as well. Also trying to go to different shops for the best deal - I have pretty much all major supermarkets and home bargains/ b and m etc close by.

DP says that shopping is just generally expensive and that's it! He does all the cooking and makes everything from scratch.

Family of 4 (DC ages 6 and 3) and we can be around 70/80 a week. That would be what I classify as "the big shop" washing powder, toothpaste etc. Even a standard shop can be around 60.

Genuinely interested if this is an average cost or if I can shop a bit smarter.

For me Margarita that would be too much. If you wanted to cut it down I would recommend really meal planning for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Writing a shopping list for the things you need to make those dishes and making sure to use the things from your cupboard, freezer etc first. I’ve even seen people write a list of everything they need, onions, cucumber, 4 pack of beans, etc and then writing the price next to it. Don’t buy anything that’s not on your list. You could get the prices from memory or looking at your last reciepts if you’re like me and hoard them in your bag for some unbeknown reason.

I find making things from scratch like blueberry muffins, protein balls, enchilada sauce, pasta sauces, pancakes, etc really helps stretch money and always tastes nicer.

Or even if you wanted to message me a copy of your last meal plan and reciept I’d be happy to look at it for you. I’ve watched a few too many episodes of eat well for less and obviously consider myself an expert lol. Happy to help you see if you could save anything. Even a tenner a week saved would be enough for a nice weekend away after a year :)

For myself and 16 yr old DD and 2 cats averages about £60 a week,this includes alcohol and non food sundries.I try to stick to this but we don't scrimp.
I think eating very little meat and meal planning helps.
We did our main shop today,£45 pounds so the rest is fresh milk,bread,fruit/veg through the week.

2 adults, 5 yo and 1 yo. I spend about £70 in Tesco, plus another few pounds top up of bread and fruit. Plus we get a veg box (£17) and milk delivered (£10). DH buys lunch 3 or 4 days a week, not sure what he spends. DS1 gets universal free school meals. Plus we probably have a couple of lunches or tea&cakes out per week, either just DS2 and me or DH, or all 4 of us at the weekend. So maybe £150-160 in total?

@crimsonlake I have but assuming its went up equally in all supermarkets so still better off overall

Heismyopendoor

Meal planning does not work for everyone. Fine if you have a regular schedule and know far in advance what everyone does
My home doesn't work like that.
We are 5 adults, . famil;y member's plans often change at the last minute. it's often with less than 24 hours notice if I know whether there will be one eating for dinner or five.
I keep a stash of regularly used items in the frudge, and use my freezer a lot.
I could whip up a meal for10 peaople at any time from what I keep in store.

Meal planning would mean a lot of waste in my house. Simply wouldn't work.

I spent around £50 a week and there's 3 of us (2 adults and a very hungry 16yo).

I will admit I don't really pay much attention to what I'm buying. Nothing gets wasted, but there are almost certainly cheaper alternatives to the majority of my choices, so this could be cut a lot.

I have had to increase my food budget in last few months. It had been £50 per week but I was overspending band feeling bad so it is up ton£60. I shop at Waitrose almost exclusively and we are a family if four; 2 adults, 10 and 7 year old. We all take lunches with us, often soups. We make our bread in bread machine and i cook a lot of soups which are super healthy and cheap. I find meal planning keeps me on track.

I second what the poster above said though about entertaining. We have friends staying this weekend and it has cost an extra £90 in nibbles, wine, croissants, olives, nice cheeses etc. ..we do this about once a month.

Speakout, well that’s fine for you. I wasn’t asking you though. Personally I don’t understand how it would mean waste?

Heismyopendoor

I know you wer not asking me, but you are recommending meal planning. It wouldn't work for me, and I presume others are in a asimilar situation.

It would mean waste because I can't assume what anyone will be doing on a particular day next week say.

At the moment no one has plans, so in tyheory that means a meal for 5 people.
I won't know that for sure until the morning of that day, it could be 5 people, it may turn out to be only one or two of us eating, so in the case the meal would be simpler.
No point in planning, shopping and cooking for 5 people if only one of us will be eating dinner.

Meal planning would be wasteful for me.

Ok. I don’t know any families like that so guess it had never crossed my mind that only one person or no one would be eating dinner every night.

For instance all of my family have dinner at home every day. Possibly not at the same time. But I could make chili in the slow cooker, rice already made in the fridge and people can serve themselves when they get home. Or I could batch cook and freeze individual portions of meals that people could take out the freezer and reheat. No waste. No money lost.

Hi. Family of 3 ..mum and 2 kids under 10. Usually 60 quid a week ..aldi or asda. Mid week top up with bread and milk. On benefits and low wage job. Kids get free school meals.
Occasional treat from mns food though!

Heismyopendoor

I think things change when your children grow.

Easy to plan when they are young and you are in charge of their schedule, but as they get older they have their own agendas- plans etc, and always subject to change!
Most of my kids families are at the same stage.

I do a lot of the things you mention, but It's not meal planning as such. I keep a big stock of home cooked food in the freezer, so anyone needing a meal can heat something up, and leftovers are used for lunch etc.
Tomorrow for instance- I have no idea whether it will be one for dinner or five.
I can't plan ahead for that.

Anyway off to Tesco, five for dinner tonight- I like to shop early when it is quiet.

Speakout I agree, we used to have a more regular schedule (although never to the point where we have all been guaranteed to be home EVERY night for dinner!) but we are all now in and out like ping pong balls. I don’t meal plan, just buy a selection of meat and veg etc so we can see in the evening who’s home and how many we need to cook for.

We're a family of 4 with 2 DC under 7yrs. Most of our food shopping is done in Lidl. We spend anywhere between 60 to 100 depending what we're out of and what we're up to. Average is probably 80.

I don’t know how you live like that :) well it seems neal planning only works if you have family that are home every night.

£90-£100 for 2 adults, 2 young kids. But both adults pay for lunch out every day on top of this.

I find it more helpful to budget monthly i.e payday to payday, so including a least one shop where you need cleaning product top ups etc.

According to my Monzo app I’ve spent £228 on grocery shopping for me and DS (6) this month. This includes a Huel subscription for £40, and 8 top-up shops at Coop where I’ve not been great at meal planning/shopping that week. Also includes a few Halloween bits for DS this week including a costume and some pumpkins 🎃 I’ve mainly shopped at Aldi but I’ve also started topping up at ASDA.

I could definitely reduce this by meal-planning, but it’s much less than when I did online shopping with Sainsbury’s. Would spend about £360 a month on average.

Heismyopendoor

What other way is there to live?

We are a family with busy lives. Work, University, unexpected overtime, spontaneous invitations.
I don't expect my family to fit their social/work lives around my meal planning.

Food fits around life, not the other way around.

We spend approx £150. £80 in Aldi once a week then top up shops in Sainsbury’s round corner about £70. That includes breakfast, lunch and dinner/snacks for 2 adults and 2 kids (dd1 has school lunches). Doesn’t include toilet paper and washing tablets etc.

I think you’re doing well and wouldn’t imagine you could get it much lower without sacrificing things like fresh fruit and veg.

Prob about £100 a week, three of us.

That's everything though including alcohol.

Plus on a Sunday we cook for about 6-8. So after a joint of meat, dessert etc that probably comes to about £40. We do get bubble and squeak on a Monday from it or the topping for a cottage pie.

True. If it’s your life it’s your life. Not much you can do about it. Every family works differently I guess :)

About £100 a week, family of 5 plus a cat - two children have lunches at school but I'm also a childminder so have 4 extra children for lunch and tea every weekday and 2 extras for lunch.

Agree with Speakout, I think rigid meal planning only works if you lead a very regulated lifestyle and know exactly who is in for every meal. Also if one of you has a large lunch, gets invited out, the weather changes, you're picked for a last minute place in a sports team, you work late, you're just not hungry etc etc then the 'plan' doesn't work. I have a rough idea of what we are eating each week, plus plenty of back up in the freezer but I've lost count of the times, for example, when I've planned a spag Bol for lunch and DH then tells me he was taken out for a big pasta business lunch .

Heismyopendoor - that's very kind of you. We've just had a very untypical week though, with eating up bits from a cancekled dinner party and impromptu child guests a few times. It would be tricky to give an impression of our normal.

I do meal plan, though.