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 couldn’t cook at all before I had DC. I was adamant that I was going to cook from scratch for them so I bought annabel karmel’s baby and toddler cook book. DC1 wolfed everything down and it encouraged me to cook for me and DH too.

Start with easy to cook recipes. Things that cook in one pot can be easiest. So a chilli con carne or a bolognese or a curry. If you can master those (and they’re easy, honest) then that is three meals out of seven every week. Another easy one is a cottage pie (delia’s is lovely, add a dessert spoon of branston pickle, a good splash of Worcestershire sauce and it is perfect). A tagine (you can cook it in a pan and then transfer to a Pyrex when it goes into the oven) is also easy, Nigella has a very simple recipe for a lamb tagine with dates and pomegranate juice.

That is five recipes.

Pasta Carbonara is also super easy.

Add a roast chicken and you’re sorted for the week.

I also drink quite a lot of diet coke (10 on a bad day) and the best I think you can possibly do is buying the 30 packs from Ocado for £10. Occasionally you can find the 30 pack for £8 on Amazon, but I haven't found it for a couple of months.

Please tell me you buy your diet coke online and shop around for the best price?

Spend 40 pound on nice wine a week so that’s a lot. I think I’d struggle to cut down as I’m currently drinking 10 cans a day

How are you not constantly peeing?! That's insane.

Buy a Soda Stream and wean yourself onto ice cold sparkling water instead of Coke?

I put an ice cube and a slice of lemon in it and call it mountain water.

The 10 cans a day are a terrible environmental waste in terms of cans

What if you and your partner took thr cooking classes together? If you learned how to make 6 or 7 "20 minute" meals between you then you could do one weekly shop, buy those ingredients. Simple, healthy, no waste.

You're spending a lotte of alcohol but you say it's good quality so maybe you're not having too much of that?

The 10 cans a day is a shocker, more for your health than your pocket book.

How do spend £30 on cleaning stuff and £30 on bathroom stuff a week?

This is Mumsnet. That's actually kind of low, assuming you are replacing your bog brush biweekly.

www.naken.co.uk/seletti-charley-toilet-brush

Oh, and Tesco often sell 24 cans of Diet Coke £6 or so. Stock up when it's on offer!

Lidl nappies were great for DD, could your DH get those for you once a week?

Sodastream is amazing. I have one and mix my sparkling water with these, you might want to give it a try:

www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/robinsons-squash'd-summer-fruits-no-added-sugar/662698-343256-343257

Something that is simple is marinaded chicken in wraps with salad and a sauce (Greek natural yoghurt mixed with mint sauce from a jar is really simple. Equal amounts of yoghurt and mint sauce). Cut the chicken breast into chunks. Marinade the chicken for an hour or so with a ready mixed spice and the juice of a lemon. Fry it in a pan. Put the chicken, yoghurt and salad in the wraps.

Sparkling water and squash is really nice to be fair, even better with a soda stream to reduce wastage.

I think I’d struggle to cut down as I’m currently drinking 10 cans a day ☹️

Drink 8 cans a day? Then 6. Then 4. Easy to cut down.

We are 2 adults and a 6, 4 and 1 year old. We eat well and don’t scrimp with our food shop (local organic meat and veg etc). We spend approximately £120 per week.

Op I'm not trying to be harsh but £150 a week on the things you mentioned seems insane to me. That's £600 a month, which is more than our mortgage! If you cut down you'll have so much more money and the health of your family would drastically improve - including your dental health.

If you can't cook you can still place a jacket potato in the oven for an hour (with a few holes stabbed in with a knife before cooking) and serve it with tuna mayo.

You can also speed up jacket potatoes considerably by microwaving them for 5-10 minutes first and then putting in a very hot oven to crisp up.

If doing one or two, takes under 20 minutes, maybe a bit longer if doing 4.

If I'm not careful my diet coke habit can spiral out of control. What i do now is buy one 6 pack a week and loads of fizzy water. The carbonated water gives me the fizzy hit I seem to need and stops me drinking so much sugary shit.
If it want it to taste more interesting I put lime cordial in it, but not often. It's weird but that one can of diet coke is a treat to me but I often find I forget about it (not today though. I've had 2 today 😳 I'll go without tomorrow because I refuse to buy more).

Ok so unless you're unable to afford it, just make small changes and cut down by a few pounds each week to start.
Replace one weekly takeaway with a supermarket version or fresh pasta and sauce.
That'll save around £140 a month immediately.

@Whome91

How about starting with sone quick easy swaps?

So for the sausages and mash, 4 for your OH is plenty. I'd have 3, kids would have 1 or 2 each. Freeze any that aren't needed. Make mash from scratch. So easy.

Takeaways- instead of dominoes, but fresh or frozen pizzas. Save a fortune.

Instead of Indian or Chinese, buy the box meal for 2. Still more than making it, but easy and ££s cheaper. Alternatively, chicken breast and a jar of sauce.

Fish and chips - buy the fish frozen or fresh, oven chips.

Easy meals - spaghetti Bolognese. Easy from scratch, easier with a jar.

Pork steaks, new potatos, veg
Quiche, jackets, beans.
Stir fry deals - veg, noodles and sauce.

Just a few basic ideas.

Oh and coke - cut down weekly. So a week of 9, then a week of 8 a day etc.

Wine - buy bottles a £ or 2 cheaper, have a glass less

Find a cooking class - learn how to cook some lovely, exciting food OP.
I personally love cooking and enjoy seeing my boys wolf down a good nutritious meal that I've cooked for them. If your DH's sausage and mash involved some greens and onions, he wouldn't need all that mash and all those sausages.

That's an insane amount to spend on food. I spend about £50 a week for me and one child and that includes cleaning products/toiletries, I hardly ever buy alcohol though.

The diet coke thing really can't be good for your health. I'd try and wean off it. I used to drink a lot of fizzy drinks but I only drink water now, so does DS, I don't even buy squash.

I often batch cook easy things like chilli, bolognese, lasagne that can be frozen.

£150 on wine, takeaways and cola?!?
That’s beyond wasteful, £600pm £7200pa, think where that ££ could go. You and your DH sound like heart attacks waiting to happen, as parents of young DC you need to change your lifestyle.

Asda is not your friend. The online mysupermarket.co.uk is.
Online delivery is your friend. No impulse buying.
Just this week I put 'fake put' 6 things in the basket on mysupermarket.co.uk
Milk, Hovis bread, Yorkshire tea, Whiskas cat food, Tate & Lyle sugar and dishwasher tabs. You 'compare' the cost over popular supermarkets. Tesco and Sainsburys were pennies different. Asda was 2nd most expensive with Morrisons most expensive.
If you are new to online shopping....sign up to Quidco(no cost). Use Quidco website to get money off 'First Shop Online' with Tesco. Order your big shop. Next fortnight/month go to your Quidco account and choose Sainsburys to get money off your First Shop Online. Next fortnight/month use Quidco to order First Shop Online from Asda. Next fortnight/month use Quidco to order First Shop Online from Morrisons.

Your Quidco account will have the First Shop Online special offer cash back money in it. You send that money to your bank account. Could be £20 £30 £40 this is a first time user deal.
By now you will have experienced value for money/quality over some weeks.

You will be emailed vouchers and offers. They want your custom.
I use Tesco. £2.97 for a small chicken. Their Tesco Value Range is amazing. Pay like a pauper, eat like a prince.
Obviously if you prefer organic or Brand Names you pay for it.
I do remember that going shopping was sometimes the only time I left the house. This could be important to you
If you take the leap into Slow Cooking, then Morphy Richards Sear and Stew(bought through Quidco, Curry's website or Ebay's around £24/£25, with cashback to your bank) is your go to. A Whole Chicken or packet of sausage or 15 meatballs or delicious spag bol etc etc etc
I too, have a Lidl a bus ride away and I just couldn't manage all those bags either.

Why the two meals? I don't get that.
I spend £20 a week on food for myself.

I shop online from Morrisons.
Typical shop would be
3 meats/poultry for £9
So any one of the following:
4 Pork Chops
1 whole Chicken
4 beef burgers
1 gammon joint
500g mince
4 turkey steaks
4 chicken breasts
20 chipolatas (like sausages)

So I get 3 of the above and that's £9.
Then I get a bag of carrots. About 70p. A bag of potatoes 1.80. Bag of onions - 80p (These can go in casseroles and stews)
A loaf of bread 55p
A six pack or two of bottled sparkling water. £2
Sliced ham (4 slices) - £1
Sliced or a block of cheese £2 (won't need to buy every week if get a block).
Bananas £1
Lemons £1 (drink water with sliced lemon in it - cooled in fridge).
Frozen broccoli £1
Lettuce 50p
Milk 80p
Tomatoes 60p

Things I don't have to buy every week would be like teabags, coffee, butter/spread.

As you might imagine I don't eat the amount of meat I buy every week. So only need to buy meat every second week.

Detergents. I buy a huge box of Daz about once every 6 months. Costs about £8.
I buy coloured detergent (liquid) for £1 from Lidl.
Fabric Softener - Lenor - £1 shop.
Fairy washing up liquid £1 from pound shop
Dettol cleaning spray £1 from pound shop

So, over the course of a year, weekly costs come in around the £20 mark.

Other sundries would include Toilet Roll, Kitchen Towel, Pledge, Window Cleaner, Dishcloths, Sponge Scrubbers, Toilet Cleaner. Stock up about once a month.

I also stock up on tinned tomatoes/peas/beans/pasta sauces/pasta.

I won't deny you your wine - but you seriously should look at your coke habit. How do you sleep with that much caffeine!

Can you start with toilet training 4 year old or is that impossible - that sized nappy must be costly.

Ditch the takeaways.

I have a few friends who are hooked on diet coke - not one of them drinks tea or coffee....is that the same for you OP? tea is so much better for you than bloody cola!

Also takeaways, you don't need a takeaway every week, again it's not good for your health. DS and I have one takeaway a month for a treat. You say you can't cook so I'm guessing you buy them for convenience.

It's overwhelming but learning to cook is really the best way forward.

Wow, you must be strong to carry all that Coke back every day!

Why not set yourself a target, just reduce it down to 8 and see how it goes. I take it you need the caffeine?

As for learning to cook, have you watched any cooking programmes or you tube videos?

I spend about £600 a month on 2 adults and 2 kids. Lots of snacks, some beer and wine included, we don't go out much so have special/treat meals instead. I shop in Asda and don't think it's as expensive as people make out - it's clearly cheaper than Tescos, Sainsbury's and Waitrose, and when I tried to shop in Aldi the food pretty much ended up in the bin (veg didn't last, tins/packet food/ham/cheese/yogurt wasn't enjoyed)