250 pound weekly shopping/food

[Whome91]

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

I think if you would struggle to write a list of everything you buy over a week then that is a big problem. Keep your receipts for a week and then sit down and list everything you’ve bought for the week, and you will see where the money is going.

Can you afford to spend as you are? If so and you don’t want to change, then carry on. If you can’t afford it, then you will have to change something, and you need to know where you are starting from to be able to do that.

Ive found as my kids have reached the teen years they literally INHALE food and if I’m not very careful with planning, it costs a fortune. So now might be a time to get a handle on this before your kids get older.

6 sausages? That is insane. You need to look at portion size for a start.

I think the cost is because you are not cooking from scratch. Processed food always costs more, and is where the supermarkets make their money.

Hi OP! First dont feel bad most people who post have low food bills, so I thought I'd buck the trend. My grocery bill is really high for two small eating adults and plus two dogs and we spend about 200 a week. That includes alcohol and tobacco (so I am pretty evil by MN standards) but my actual food is pretty low we try to stick to a cheap and easy to prep meal plan of an omlette, soup, jacket potato, pasta, pizza and we make a big curry on saturday and we use the leftovers for weekday lunches and roast of sunday which we use the leftovers for the soup and a frittata for breakfast on weekdays. Hope that helps OP and remember that you are not alone in your struggle to reduce bills- most of us are

You clearly know what is costing this ridiculous amount of money so what are you asking ?

Meat everyday, loads of takeaways plus an unhealthy amount of coke is terrible.

I can see how you might spend that if you include lots of fresh fish, pricier fruit and vegetables such as papaya and asparagus, organic berries, organic milk and cheese, individual pots of yoghurt and so on.

Asda is the killer for me, it can be bloody expensive i can get a full shop in aldi or lidl for 85 wuid and that last 2 adults,1 kid and a baby around 1.5 weeks if not more plus theres treats/deserts and extras in there, the same in asda barely gets me anything.

That's our monthly budget (only 3 of us but still).

6 sausages is outrageous, is he overweight?

Try watching Eat well for less on iPlayer. BBC good food also has lots of easy to follow recipes. It sounds like the issue is buying lots and lots of convince foods. I buy some convenience food eg microwave veg and frozen chopped onions but if everything is convenience then that’s expensive. Stop making two lots of meals. Meal plan and get online shopping once a week.

I'd be worried about your husband's health with that level of greed and meat consumption! You both, not just you because he is also an adult, need to learn to cook and about the dangers of eating so much processed meat!!

I think you sound overwhelmed, I also worry that you seem to want the DC to have healthy meals but at the expense of your DH & you who are having something more convenient and potentially loaded with salt and sugar.
Could you meal plan for 3 days at a time if a whole week seems unachievable?
How much involvement does your DH have in shopping and cooking?
Could you attempt to all eat the same every other night?

I think it’s about trying small steps.

Anyone can cook, don’t be overly ambitious, get a slow cooker, start with casseroles, pastas. Your diet sounds very unhealthy all ready made. takeaways, cola, prepare a simple meal plan, no more separate meals plus you and your DH must be eating late on which again is really unhealthy.

and a full ready made mash.

Oh please dont use ready made mash...especially hope you dont mean the dry packet stuff 😝.

So im not very good at cooking but tonight for example we've made a really nice chicken fried rice stir fry, boil in the bag rice, fry chicken and chuck loads of veg in and scramble eggs, bit of garlic and soy sauce and job done.....very easy to make and takes no time.

Im sure with a bit of planning there are meals that you can make.

6 sausages? My very tall DH eats a lot but he'd only eat 3, unless you're getting those crap little frozen Richmond type sausages.

Do a meal plan, use a shopping list, & stick to them.

When you say you can't cook - why? Mobility issues or lack of confidence?

Is that 20 cans of coke a week or £20 worth of can a coke a week. Either way it’s a lot.

Re: 6 sausages and a ready made mash
Have extra steamed veggies on the side and cut out at least a sausage and half the mash replacing with veg. Make your own mash, or buy frozen or powdered instead.

Try and do your groceries weekly instead of daily. Plan meals for the week, make a list, eat lunch then go for the shop.

You said you can't cook so it's hard but replacing your convenience foods with stuff you have to prep yourself is what is going to save you money. Also don't be afraid of the cheaper brands.

Weekly shop from Tesco, ASDA or Morrison's about £120 (for 3 adults, sometimes 4 and a child).
Aldi or Lidl it's £50.
I don't buy big brands often, quite happy with supermarket own brands.

I probably do a 'main' shop once a month, and Aldi or Lidl the rest of the time.

Me and dh sitting down for a meal at night is important so we eat different to the kids. Someone said the fact I can’t say where the money is going is part of the problem and that’s true I’m gonna write down everything I buy. Can we afford it ? Yes but I’d rather but I’d rather save more money then we’re doing now.

And I need to learn to cook.

Convenience food is a really expensive way to shop and pointless really as cooking decent means really isn’t hard. Would you like to learn to cook? Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food is a brilliant book for learning how to cook basic family meals :)

We are five 2A 3C 13, 8, 5 abs probably spend roughly the same on food and that includes £160-80 main shop in Tesco plus £20 on shop in Lidl plus take away 1 night and prob a snack / lunch out in the weekend. That includes no alcohol usually and only packed lunch for 1 adult and 1 child the other 2 eat at school. We do eat meat or Fish every night. Most food is cooked from scratch. Would love to cut it down but currently stood in front of a pile of fruit and veg that we do get though which is expensive.

Could you do a big shop once a week and get it delivered? I always end up buying things I don't need when I actually go in.

FWIW - My DH is 6'4", 19st, built like a literal viking, very heavily muscled. Bit chubby. Still only eats 3 sausages. Lots of mash, to be fair. But we have proper mash made of real spuds, it's so much cheaper. And vegetables, at least 2, with every main meal. At least 1 of which would be a cheaper one like carrots, roast onion, cabbage, swede, etc.

@Whome91
Why are you cooking 2 meals a night?

You can eat at different times to the children but still eat the same things. We did for many years when our children were younger. E.g. Bangers and mash, cook from fresh for the children, then reheat the mash in the ,microwave and bangers in the pan when you're ready to eat.