Does anyone manage not to do endless top up shops?

[Redlorryyellowduck]

With the rising cost of absolutely everything I'm trying to reign the food shop in a bit.

I've got an Asda mid week pass, so try to use that or go to Aldi. Inevitably Asda miss something, or Aldi don't have something. We run out of lunchbox things too soon as there is seemingly another person living her I've never met who eats all the snack things.

I'm going sometimes twice a week to top up, and it'd costing a fortune.

If you manage not to do top ups share your wisdom, what day do you shop, where, how do you get through the week?

I'm happy to buy bread and milk of course from the little corner shop, but its the £25 top up I'm keen to avoid.

We don't top up shop. We used to, but once we moved to a village, neither of us felt motivated to drive to a supermarket, so I guess we never really needed the stuff in the first place. We buy bread to freeze to get us through the week, and supermarket milk usually lasts fine. If we run out of snack, the kids have to make do with bread, crumpets, fruit, veg sticks etc that are left. Our shopping comes tonight is we were a bit low in lunchbox bits today, but we scraped around and made do with what we could find. They may not like it as much, but it won't hurt them, and hopefully it'll be a good lesson for when they have to live in budgets.

I definitely couldn't fit a whole weeks worth in the fridge (even though it's a big American style one). We get through at least 7 2 litre cartons milk and around 4litres of orange juice. And soft fruits, blueberries etc, don't last a week. I don't know how people fit a whole week's worth for a family, especially if they also put bread in!

We probably don't quite make '5 a day' and there's only two of us, yet our seemingly averaged sized fridge is absolutely stuffed if we buy a modest amount of veg.
Same here! We easily fill two drawers just with fruit and vegetables even though our kids are quite particular and don't manage to eat as much as we do.

I buy lots of snacks at Aldi probably double what I think we'll need and leave a bag in the boot of the car. Apples, crisps, muesli bars, oatcakes (children love these with a babybel / cheesestring for snack) keep uht milk in the cupboard and spare bread in freezer.

I get 2l of milk delivered twice a week. Rural so handy if we get snowed in as can up the order to include butter/bread/cheese and yoghurt.

I sit down on a Saturday and plan all of our meals up until Friday then do an online shop and have it delivered on a Monday.

I do the same for the weekend which arrives on a Friday.

Once all the snacks/cooked meat etc has gone then they have to wait until the big shop arrives on the Monday again.

I'm on half term at the moment and actually went to the supermarket in person yesterday and I spent a small fortune!!!

I meal plan on a Thursday and have Tesco deliver on a Friday. We have milk delivered so if I run out of anything I could order something the night before for delivery. Before the pandemic I was a terrible topper upper but started deliveries then. I do occasionally go to a supermarket to change things up a bit but I still meal plan whereas I used to drift around buying what I fancied & missing things. I don't have school age children so if folks don't have things to take for lunch that's their problem!

@PenStation

That’s the problem with top up shops - they do cost more than shopping once per week because every time you walk through the door of the supermarket, most of us buy more than just ‘bread and milk’. And I would imagine a lot of it is stuff you don’t really need.

I just buy what's on my list, ie the day's food minus what I already have at home.

I buy bread and milk every 1 - 2 weeks.

@Wafflesnsniffles MyDcAreMarvel you say you find it bizarre that people only have food for less than a week but you yourself shop online twice a week.
Maybe you meant twice a month or what you've said makes no sense!
I don’t understand your confusion, I shop twice a week so bread, milk, fruit, veg , fresh meat wtc is always fresh. In addition in those shops I top up the pantry so there is always plenty of non perishable food. Therefore it’s not necessary to run to the shop to top up.

We plan our meals (roughly) which helps. I still do a top up shop at Aldi during the week for fresh stuff but that’s about it, usually spend about £20 (if I don’t go silly and buy stuff I don’t need from the middle aisle)

Another one here saying meal plan. I plan evening meals for 6 days and usually leave one free for a Friday or Saturday night in case we fancy a takeaway or going out.

Keep some food in store, always have pasta and a jar of sauce in the cupboard, or rice/curry sauce/tin of chickpeas plus some frozen veg in at all times. I always have baked beans in the cupboard and sliced bread in the freezer so quick and easy meals are available in a pinch. Keeping a loaf of bread in the freezer is perfect for toast which means fresh bread is just for sandwiches. Same with milk, always have an extra bottle of filtered milk in the fridge so I don't run out. These sort of things are bought the next time I go shopping after I use them so I always have them in stock.

In terms of snacks for DC I have fruit (apples, pears, oranges and plums last all week), crackers/breadsticks in the cupboard or for after school I keep things like crumpets in the freezer which can again be toasted from frozen.

I think if you get yourself into a position where you have a little bit of surplus you always have something on hand and can often wait a day or two before needing to do another big shop. I don't keep a massive stockpile but know if I had to we could have beans on toast for lunch and pasta and sauce for dinner with some peas from the freezer and there would be an extra milk in the fridge for tea and coffee.

I go to top up milk and bread but that's it.

I stick to a food plan. I buy a few snacky bits and allow for extras. So with dunkers and stuff like that I'll buy x2 because DP likes them as a snack

@MyDcAreMarvel

I shop online twice a week. We have enough food in our pantry and two freezers to last approximately 6 months. I find it bizarre (unless struggling financially) that people only have enough food for less than a week.

Most people don’t have a pantry or two freezers.

@PenStation

Get as much as possible delivered. Fruit and veg ia fresher as a delivered veg box - Riverford’s lasts ages. Milk man, who also delivers milk, butter, bread and cheese. Meat box for the freezer monthly. Virgin wine delivery occasionally for wine. Not setting foot in a supermarket means we eat better quality, no crap, and spend less overall.

We tried a veg box once. But it plays with my meal planning as I never know what’s coming.

I don't know why but the phrase "meal plan" makes me feel depressed.
I just do the top up shops, if I have to, but don't spend loads as its usually vegetables/bread. We don't have a proper freezer, or much storage space, so I just makes sure the cupboards are filled with tins of tomatoes/rice/beans/pasta etc every month, and then buy whatever looks nice in the butcher, or whatever is on offer, and a wide selection of vegetables.
I don't always know what I feel like eating 5 days ahead of time, but if you have a lot of vegetables you can make anything-curry/thai/vegetable lasagna, whatever.
I don't "batch cook" either (depression x 100)
How I budget is, about 70% of the food money in a biggish supermarket shop, the other 30% for extras through the week.

@EvilPea Most people don’t have a pantry or two freezers. it’s very common to have a chest freezer plus a fridge/freezer. If you don’t have a pantry where would you put your food?

Most people put their food in cupboards in the kitchen don't they?

We probably have more space than many as we have two full height kitchen cupboards where the dry and canned foods live, plus a couple of smaller cupboards and a fridge freezer. If they're full, we could eat for weeks only needing fresh stuff.

I wouldn't think most people have two freezers or a pantry though but I'm surprised how many people on here say they don't have a fridge freezer as I thought it was a fairly standard kitchen appliance and most people I know are less affluent than the typical MN demographic, although we are in northern England, so mostly live in houses not flats.

@MyDcAreMarvel

I shop online twice a week. We have enough food in our pantry and two freezers to last approximately 6 months. I find it bizarre (unless struggling financially) that people only have enough food for less than a week.

I only have a normal size kitchen and back hall aka utility room that has no units in it but where I have two shelves. I have a tall ish ladder fridge and a small under counter 3 drawer freezer.

I used to only have a fridge freezer that fitted under my kitchen cupboards. It’s hard if you don’t have room for a pantry and two freezers to stock up and keep a small house liveable (I know - tons under the bed etc but this is a small house and there were 3 of us in it and I don’t have a garage. I have a damp coal shed that is falling down).

Hilarious pantry comment

I don't know anyone with a pantry. We could probably survive for several weeks with the tins and bits & bobs in the freezer, but that wouldn't be fresh stuff.

Meal plan then put any meat for later in the week straight in the freezer, so you only get it out when you need it. This gets rid of the need for use by dates.

Stop buying so many snacks.

We also just meal plan, I never do a top up shop. I do buy more than I think we need for the week, and I don’t wait till we are totally empty to buy more, but make sure we use the older stuff first when I do buy more, usually the day before we run empty.

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]**@EvilPea* Most people don’t have a pantry or two freezers.* it’s very common to have a chest freezer plus a fridge/freezer. If you don’t have a pantry where would you put your food?[/quote]
It’s not that common. Most people don’t have the space.
You’d put it in kitchen cupboards not a pantry.

To be fair, our house has a pantry that we now use to store the vacuum cleaner, mop bucket etc as it's part of the utility room that was next to the old and very tiny kitchen now we have a kitchen extension.

DM did have a pantry in her small 2 bed and a box room semi before she turned it into a downstairs toilet.

Both pretty standard in quite modest mid 20th century semi detached houses in postcodes usually on the 'avoid' lists any time anyone asks about moving to our city on here.

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]**@Wafflesnsniffles* MyDcAreMarvel you say you find it bizarre that people only have food for less than a week but you yourself shop online twice a week.*
Maybe you meant twice a month or what you've said makes no sense!
I don’t understand your confusion, I shop twice a week so bread, milk, fruit, veg , fresh meat wtc is always fresh. In addition in those shops I top up the pantry so there is always plenty of non perishable food. Therefore it’s not necessary to run to the shop to top up.[/quote]
Its not necessary for you to run to the shop to top up because you are topping up twice a week.......... thats my point. With a well stocked pantry and full freezers you are sorted for most purposes........... then twice a week you top up with fresh stuff that you have delivered. Of course you dont need to pop to a shop to top up - you get your top ups delivered - twice weekly!

For comparison I have an under the counter freezer and an under the counter fridge. Tiny kitchen (smaller than most peoples bathrooms probably!) but some storage elsewhere for some tins/jars. We have milk/eggs/bread delivered by our milkman, one weekly delivery via a supermarket - but could easily switch to fortnightly really. But thats it for us - we only need an urgent trip to a local shop for something about once every two months.