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250 pound weekly shopping/food

393 replies

Whome91 · 26/01/2020 17:37

Please try not to judge. We are a family of 5 two adults 7 4 and 7 months kids. Some of that is takeaways that me and dh have at night. I have a Diet Coke habit (20 for cans) I cook meat for the kids most nights. It’s including nappies for two kids in full term and baby milk. Help please

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3rdNamechange · 27/01/2020 15:23

If you need to shop daily because you don't drive, is there anyone who could sit with the kids so you can go once a week with your husband if he drives ?
Aldi or Lidl would halve your spend.
Don't buy ready made or chopped stuff , it's so easy to make mash.
If not , what about a once a week delivery ?
Get a basic cook book you don't need to be doing anything fancy , try and find stuff you'll
all eat that will cut costs.
You say you can afford it but if you cut down you could have a nice amount in savings in a year. Maybe for a lovely holiday ?

AnuvvaMuvva · 27/01/2020 15:50

I find Asda really expensive. Whether I go to our local obe (it's a huge superstore), it's over £200 for a big shop. Sometimes I do an online shop with them and it costs about £90 for what would be £40ish in Aldi.

ButteryBagels · 27/01/2020 16:47

We spend around £200 a week for 5 adults (DH, me, older DC aged 23, 17, 17) and a 9 year old. We cook from scratch most nights except if we’re having chips or pizza (which I still make a massive salad to go with). We rarely buy fizzy drinks, only cordial and a few bottles of wine a week. Hate takeaways as they never taste as we expect them to so we don’t bother. Meat every night and veggie option for me. Loads of fruit and veg. DC have lunch at work, college, school so only have lunch stuff in on the weekend.

I nip to Tesco most days as it’s a 2 min walk from home and on the way to youngest DC’s school. Whenever I’ve tried to shop in Aldi/Lidl I always end up back in Tesco getting stuff I couldn’t get in there so I gave up!

I feel better about what I spend now after reading this thread Grin.

LemonPrism · 27/01/2020 17:10

If you're drinking 70 cans of coke a week you're going to keel over for dead pretty soon.

You can't be eating that many takeaways, that much alcohol, coke and massive portions and be normal sized. Clearly you don't know what overweight looks like but I would imagine it's your whole family.

Everyone can cook. You just read a recipe and then do it. Grow up

12345ct · 27/01/2020 17:13

Maybe try and get your 4 year old out of nappies? That would cut some cost and try to meal plan as much as you can.

masterblaster · 27/01/2020 17:40

We get three meals out of a roast chicken. The roast, a curry and then make stock from the bones and add some egg noodles, a few carrots and some celery.

The noodles are my kids' favourite meal. They take about 10 minutes to prepare, and cost very little.

CBsDad · 27/01/2020 17:51

We don't spend as much. Main shop 100-120 and then some top ups. Bread, milk fruit and veg which can be another 20-30. We also have dogs whose food adds up. £250 sounds a lot but things add up very quickly, how much is actual ASDA bill. Booze on here?

Mumgonenuts2020 · 27/01/2020 17:58

Is that including the takeaways or just the adds shop?

Mumgonenuts2020 · 27/01/2020 17:58

Sorry Asda

NoMoreUsernamesAnymore · 27/01/2020 17:58

Wow. That's my monthly spend. I am at home.during the days though so i can meal plan, fill my freezer with yellow sticker items bulk buy meats from muscle food when the have offers, buy bulk dishwasher (branded) from Amazon, pasta and rice in bulk. It's just about planning. Some weeks I spend more but that means I spend less the following weeks. I allocate a tenner a week for fresh fruit and veg which I buy daily from the local grocer. Rest of stuff is lidl or asda and i rarely buy branded stuff unless there really is a difference in quality/flavour (marmite for instance or whole food peanut butter). Everything is Imade from scratch including breadl and I will bulk out meat dishes with tons of veg so i can double up on quantities and freeze the surplus. We are a family of four with two tween boys. I know my budget is super low compared to most and obviously if you can afford to spend more, go for it. The best place I found for budgeting and meal.planning was the Eat Well for £1 a day group on facebook. Loads of recipes and ideas and tips.

AnnDaloozier · 27/01/2020 18:00

Are you overweight? All those takeaways

Fwaltz · 27/01/2020 18:03

You could also suggest that your husband learns to cook? Shouldn’t be all down to you to get meals ready surely.

Maybe try and have one meal a week that the children can play a part in too? Good to get them used to cooking and could be a fun way to spend time together (doesn’t need to be massively labour intensive either - could be ‘self-assembly’ meals like fajitas, or make your own pizzas etc).

Or get a slow cooker - you’ll struggle to mess up a simple casserole or curry in one of them and it will be nice and tasty.

Agree with other posters re: getting groceries delivered and planning. Good luck!

SunshineCake · 27/01/2020 18:14

People that say they hate a shop because they buy too much and stuff they don't need. It's not the shops fault. It's yours Hmm.

Oscarsdaddy · 27/01/2020 18:18

£250 a week 😱

You really need a visit from Greg Wallace at the Eat Well For Less team, your shopping Bill is absurd

AnnDaloozier · 27/01/2020 18:25

Oh god don’t inflict gregg on her. She’s suffering enough

250 pound weekly shopping/food
McCanne · 27/01/2020 18:32

It sounds like you’ve just got into bad habits, but I know it can be quite hard to break out of them. When I was younger we had a period of really intense poverty at the beginning of the 90s and my mum had to be really frugal. Fast forward a few years and my dad was working on the rigs and when he was home he’d think nothing of dropping a couple of hundred on a single shop.

The first step is probably to sit down with your receipts and look at exactly what you’re spending on, and take it from there.

DanceItOut · 27/01/2020 18:34

Start simple.

Step 1 - only one takeaway per week. (If you can cut down more than that great but setting a limit of one a week is a start)

Step 2 - what are the meals you're normally making? Write a list of meals you often eat some for you and some for DCs. I would also mix up your 2 meals a night and have some nights that you and DH eat together and some nights you eat with the kids and just make one meal that night.

Step 3 Frozen pre chopped onion, carrot etc is perfectly fine and cheaper than the fresh chopped stuff. You could also buy fresh unprepared stuff and prep a load and freeze it yourself to try and get it even cheaper but have the ease of having prepped food in the freezer.

Step 4 - use your list of meals to make a meal plan for a week. Order a shop to be delivered for the week and avoid top ups where you impulse buy more than you need as much as possible.

Step 5 - work on cooking skills. Something like a slow cooker is brilliant because you can throw a load of stuff in it and leave it for hours and then boom it's a one pot meal ready for later. Google and YouTube are full of cooking ideas and tips. Don't stress everyone had to learn as some point.

Not a family of 5 but a family of 4 and we spend £40 on food shopping most weeks. We have a takeaway every other week which is usually about £20-25 for the 4 of us. DS is 11 and could eat me out of house and home and DD is 7. Husband does a physical job so also eats larger portions, he COULD EAT 6 sausages and a whole portion of ready made mash but I wouldn't let him do that on a nightly basis. Having a huge huge portion occasionally is one thing but I wouldnt let him do it often because we can't afford for him to eat 6 sausages to himself I cap him at 4 at the most. 😂

Mesoavocado · 27/01/2020 18:37

Family of 3 and we are about £120 per week shop BUT that includes alcohol and clothes and other wee bits and bobs including toiletries

Lou12124 · 27/01/2020 18:42

I spend 60-70 a week and theres 5 of us. Two adults one 4 year old and nearly 2 year old twins. That includes nappies and wipes.

Bobbi73 · 27/01/2020 18:45

If you really worry about cooking. Try buying Delia Smiths 'How to cook'. It literally starts with how to boil an egg. I bought it for my brother who lived on ready meals and take away and he's now cooking all sorts of things. If you want your children to eat healthily, you and your husband need to learn to cook. It will also save you a fortune. Good luck 😀

250 pound weekly shopping/food
MrsBadcrumble123 · 27/01/2020 18:46

we are a family of 4 our weekly shop including alcohol (for weekends!) is £100-£150 a week 2 adults 12 & 10 yr old kids. Shop at Tesco with little top ups at local Waitrose

lyralalala · 27/01/2020 18:48

Maybe try and get your 4 year old out of nappies?

Rather rude comment when the child has SN

CauliflowerBalti · 27/01/2020 18:51

Don't quit your Coca Cola. I have a Pepsi Max addiction. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs, I don't go out a lot - I'm having my Pepsi Max! AND I'm having it in cans, so every drink is equally fizzy. You'll take it from my cold dead hands... you say you can afford what you are currently spending, but can see it's ridiculous - which is fine, but keep the things that give you joy.

Start cooking basic things that you can make in bulk and freeze. Chilli con carne is good - chop two onions and put in large pan, add two packs of lean beef mince and fry until the meat is all brown. Add 2 x Schwartz chilli spice packets, 2 x tins of chopped toms, 2 x tins of kidney beans, bring to the boil and then simmer very very gently for 15 mins so the flavours all combine. That would feed me and my husband for 3 large meals/4 smaller portions. If you can do that, you can also do spaghetti bolognese - and I'll often make them both at the same time, on a Sunday morning, so there's always something in the freezer.

Don't feel bad about using those tubs of microwave mash - they're easy if you need to get fed fast, and while mashed potatoes are easy to make in and of themselves, I used to get quite stressed trying to get the mash ready and dish up, all at the same time. I understand that if you don't cook regularly, it can be daunting.

But buying pre-chopped veg is a laziness too far. You can do that...

I know you say that eating with your husband is important, but I'd argue that eating with the whole family is more important. There have been loads of studies on the factors that lead to academic success in a child, and the biggest ones were reading for pleasure, having access to a computer and a desk just for them to work at, and sitting around the table for family meals. You can save money and set them up for life if you all eat together - and yes i know that creates a whole new set of menu problems, but you'd save time and money.

Oly4 · 27/01/2020 18:53

We are a family of five, i meal plan and cook from scratch and it’s £165 a week. Loads of fruit and veg

Clucket87 · 27/01/2020 18:58

Bless ya. I know that Diet Coke addiction and it’s hard work to get out of it.
I used to drink around 2 litres a day and it used to be the only thing I would drink.
I brought myself a water bottle and try to drink a full bottle each day which is about a litre. Try it wish squash. Yes it isn’t Diet Coke but knowing that you can have some later in the day gives me hope lol. I’m down to 2 cans and 1 glass per day. I have the Tesco Diet Coke at home.
Start easy with the cooking. You aren’t suddenly expected to be a master chef contestant!
I would strongly advise that you get yourself an Actifry. I have the 2 in 1 and I can do homemade chips and then chicken, steaks, burgers etc at the top. From peeling the potatoes to on the plate in 60 minutes and only takes 15 minutes to prep.
Have confidence in yourself. You haven’t got this far in life without being able to cook! You just need to have a bit of faith.
If you can afford the weekly bill, don’t worry. Make a few small changes and get yourself on holiday or a car.
We used to do £80p/w shops for 2 adults and now we are down to £40p/w. Most people do spend to their means.
Whatever you decide, enjoy your time with your family. Life is short. Enjoy it! 💋

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