Dh is spending a fortune on the weekly shop !!!!

[Comps83]

It's always been DHs job to do the big shop as he says I'm shit at it and he knows what we need as he does all the cooking
But since lockdown he is going crazy . He's spending between £200-300 every week
There's only us and a small baby
I'm about to go onto statutory maternity pay soon!
Anyone else spending a lot more since lockdown ?

I went to Sainsbury’s today and spent £70 for the week on 2 adults and dd who is 15 and that included a joint of beef / chicken / prawns / burgers and the usual fruit and veg and cupboard bits and lunchtime snacks.I’ve planned my meals for the week and the only things I’ll need to top up would be bread and milk
Every other week we go to the local butchers so the week we do we probably spend about £50 in the supermarket and about £30 at the butchers for the week

It's always been DHs job to do the big shop as he says I'm shit at it and he knows what we need as he does all the cooking

Sorry but I think this proves he's the one that's shit at it, op

We're about £30 up a week, which I think is fairly good as DD home from uni, we're eating cakes instead of cheap biscuits and filter coffee instead of instant when DH breaks. Definitely consuming more alcohol and I'm not looking at prices so carefully.

OP, putting aside alcohol, what's he cooking? Are you having things like steak, salmon, luruxy ready meals?

I'm spending a lot less mainly because it's much harder just to pop into tesco or whatever for bits or meal deals. I spend £30 per week at Lidl and half of that is alcohol and thats it. I'm scrimping and saving as well as I'm furloughed and no idea how much longer I will have an income for

We’re spending quite a lot, definitely more than before lockdown (2 adults and 2 small children). We’re approx £130 per week for everything (so food, toiletries, cleaning products, cat food etc). £200-300 a week is insane OP! You definitely both need to work out a budget together

Actually, I just looked at my banking app as I splits up my spending and it tells me I spent €267 last month on groceries so that's around an average of €60 per week.

We are spending around £90 a week for the two of us, and that includes two or three bottles of 🍷 and a case of 🍺. We get our basics at Lidl, then top up on treats at M&S or Waitrose. We have one takeaway per week. We are certainly not economising, as nice food is essential at the moment.

How is it even possible to spend £200-300 a week at Lidl to feed two plus a baby? That amount of food would feed a family of two adults & three teens.

Jesus, that's bonkers!! We spend £100 a fortnight for two adults at Tesco. I thought we were buying too many luxuries (crisps/chocolate)

Well, I spent over £200 on the last shop. But I hadn't been for 3 weeks, and I had a list. I also bought a ton of treats because we had none left. I was a bit shocked at the bill, but I'm not about to go on maternity. I won't go again for another 2 weeks. Except to baker's for bread this week. You need to check what you've got already, and what needs using up. Cook and/or freeze, then sort out together what goes on the shopping list, and how much to allow for extras when he is, or you are, in the shop. I don't go until the fridge and freezer are practically bare. It's made for some interesting meals!
On a separate note, you've basically handed all control of the shopping and cooking to your DH. Are you happy with the situation?

Not rtwt yet but I honestly think you should take over. £300 in Aldi for 2 adults and a baby is waaay too much money. Especially of he's buying what you already have.
Frankly I wouldn't accept bring told I'm a rubbish shopper by someone who's clearly not shit hot at it himself!

It's also not good for you to stay home all the time unless there's a medical reason for it. You are becoming too scared to do normal things, like go to the supermarket.

DH does the shop too - we are definitely buying more and things we wouldn’t necessarily buy before. For example due to the lack of flour we are buying either mixes or ready made breads which end up costing more. With fruit and veg it’s almost a lottery of what we’ll find and the costs - mangoes have gone up in price so it’s a no, no for us at the moment but I know people who have paid £3-5 per mango.

Is he actually spending all that at Aldi/Lidl? He's not taking cashback is he?

Lots and lots of booze? All sorts from the middle aisles?

A bit of wasted veg and even a few luxury food items like lots of fish, steak or high end ready meals isn't going to explain £2-300 pw for 2 adults and a baby from those shops.

You'd struggle to do that in Waitrose unless you were going for the real high end stuff or buying far far more than you need.

That's a lot of money. I just spent £260 in Waitrose this morning 2 adults, 2 primary dc but that will do us for about 10 days with prob a top up shop for fruit/milk/bread/eggs. It also included about £15 of toiletries and loads of fresh meat and fish.

In Aldi and Lidl I would have got the same for about half that. And we are feeding 2 hungry kids! What is he buying?!

I just tried to talk to him about it and he got defensive
Tbf we aren't actually throwing that much away. Stuff I threw out today was a few wrinkly oranges that had probably been there a few weeks, 1 lettuce and a few plums , 1 rotten pepper
I think he is buying way more than we need but it's either getting used or is stored away and will be used
It also includes all cleaning stuff , nappies , baby milk , shampoo etc etc etc
However
It is still a stupid amount in my opinion and too much of it will be on booze , I have 1 gin a night and the rest is him . He's always drank too much . Maybe we've always spent this much but the fact that it's all coming out in one go has highlighted it

Yes we are spending a lot more a week however not as much as that. Its as people say eating at home all the time, no takeaways etc and am throwing in nice bottle of wine plus a few hair treatments etc . Also some times the brand you want isn't there and have to buy the more expensive brand. We are also shopping for my MIL as she cant get out. I realized three weeks ago that we had spent 250e each week the past three weeks so refused to do a big shop the past two weeks. We have been making do and using the local shop for milk and bread and things. Have only spent I say 60e in the past two weeks and we have cleared out our freezer and fridge, made do with what we had . Will do a big shop this weekend again, but wont be doing one every week now

We are spending around £70 a week for 3 of us (me and 2 teens), I can’t see how anyone could spend £200+ and consume that much food and drink.

That is a lot. I can easily spend £250 (if I include veg box and booze) but there's 5 of us - 2 adults and 3 teen boys.

Considering there's 2 of you and a baby you're not wrong to question it although I know babies come with their own expenses - nappies, milk, wipes, food jars etc...

We are still saving money despite the grocery cost going up because we have no petrol, meals out, expensive coffees etc...

unfortunately the drip feed makes it clear that the OP has a problem drinker in the house. That's the reason for the high cost.

I hope he will realise that he is ill and get help. There's nothing the OP can do except the nuclear option.

Ours is around £70 per week for me,dh and ds.

@onwheels Baker & Ross are massively cheaper than Hobbycraft. Larger volumes in orders, but you get through them with kids. I've always used them for party bags etc as well.

www.bakerross.co.uk/

We're spending a lot on food. Think everyone is right now. Prices have risen and everyone's at home all the time. I'm clicking on whatever I want, going to the root item, then looking to see if I can get a cheaper version, or one on offer. And even doing that, we're spending more. Doesn't help that I always bulk bought on good offers and froze/stored, and right now there are only piddling discounts, so most things are full price or close to it.

This was us for the first couple of weeks of lock down , though we are a two adult two teens household , I then firmly took back control and put strict meal planning and shopping list routine back into action . This has really helped get the costs back down . I know some might laugh but I also find doing the shopping list in sections really helps .So I divide the list in to areas of the supermarket , fridge , freezer , fruit and veg etc , then try to not go off list too much .

That's loads! I shop at m&s often and I couldn't spend anywhere near that. I thought we were being decedant spending about £80-£100 which includes hello fresh

That's a lot of money what the hell is he buying?! Oysters, steak and champagne?

Yes the cost went up slightly as all the multibuy offers went. But it's more or less even out by now.

Are you all eating at home more than you were? Having lunch & snacks at home where you weren't before (but probably spending more on these than you would do use at home too)

Have you accounted for the money you're NOT spending on food & drink outside the home?

I have ocd & other conditions so my grocery bill for 1 person is high - around £70-80 a week, BUT if I adjust to discount those extra costs and only include the things I'd be buying if I weren't ill and it's closer to £40 so for 2 adults and a baby I'd not expect it to be more than £100 a week

Wow! And he's in the cheapest shops? Is it genuinely going on groceries op? Is he buying a lot of booze or "middle aisle crap"? Are you seeing receipts/proof?

I think a lot of it is alcohol yes. That'll be the most expensive thing is the alcohol being consumed? If so and it's a lot that's a different cause for concern - you say he drinks "far far too much" that needs addressed ASAP especially if you're pregnant

And food is being wasted? He needs to get a grip! possibly both of you do - what was wrong with the fruit and veg?

Head over to frugal foodies thread for ideas on avoiding food waste

On the food side I recommend the nest egg app for doing an inventory so he's not buying stuff you already have plenty of in AND you can note expiry dates and set up alerts to tell you something close to use by date

I find it hard to believe you're not capable of doing the shop, even if you know his meal plan. I wonder if he's persuaded you of this so he can buy more booze than you know about and hide it?

Mine's gone up £50 a week (used to do Ocado, now going into Tesco). I think it's a combination of price rises, less choice so sometimes having to buy more expensive brands and being at home all the time!
Luckily I'm saving a fortune on extra-curricular activities so it's balancing out.

We don’t drink alcohol, just food and toiletries we have been spending £170 roughly a week, I don’t know how it’s happened we have also been having a takeaway once a week at £20 a time, I’m so embarrassed but I don’t know how to bring the cost down we usually spend around £110 a week.