Has anyone just gone “fuck it” now when it comes to the weekly food bill?

[tiredandstripey]

usual disclaimer of saying I know we are in a fortunate position to have this choice.

For so so long now I have used the weekly food shop as an exercise in budgeting. I’m very strict and never spend more than £80 a week (me, DH, two DDs age 1 and 3) including nappies etc and have been doing everything I can to try to avoid spending more each week as the prices continue to climb despite the fact that me and Dd2 have allergies (= more expensive “alternative” products) and DD1 is autistic and fairly limited in her diet (and still in nappies).

I currently shop at Asda and I have been dropping down a product level, buying a lot of their essentials range, and cutting out extras/treats or opting for cheaper alternatives. For example DH and I used to enjoy a nice pudding once a week - a roulade with cream, or a sticky toffee pudding etc - but now I just get a block of chocolate to share instead as that’s £1 instead of £4 odd.

But I’ve got to the point where I’m thoroughly fed up with it. The food is increasingly shit quality - mouldy fruit and veg, crap dates on stuff, boring cheap meals all week long. We never go out to eat in the evenings (we have no one who can have our DDs) and I’m so fed up of never having anything “nice” to eat.

if we wanted to we could afford to spend an extra £100 or so on our food shop a month. Has anyone else finally just accepted the price rises and stopped trying to budget? I mean - obviously we would still have a limit, we’re not made of money (and I’ve just dropped my hours at work so will be earning less from next month anyway). But I’d really like to just allow myself to not choose the cheapest option of almost everything for once. There’s some cheaper products that I really don’t mind but some stuff is definitely worth paying extra for (I’m looking at you, Essentials rice pudding - like eating soapy bath water). And I’d happily forego my twice a month takeaway treat in exchange.

Slightly prepared to be flamed because I know some people don’t have this choice at all. But up until now I never allowed myself to buy the “nice apples” etc and now I’m just thinking bugger it.

I’d switch supermarkets tbh.

If you can afford it, go for it. Eating food you don't like is just miserable

Also yes sorry I know this is a fairly wanky thing to start a thread about, and yes I do have better things to worry about ;-) but am now currently eyeing up the Ocado website and trying to ignore the prices

I would forego the takeaways and make your meals nicer each week

you could still have a few cheap meals (I’m thinking pasta pesto or egg and chips rather than those essential type meals )

we’ve gone up about 20 a week at least. Milk alone is costing a lot more

I never stopped buying what we normally did. We have £100 budget for three adults , one visiting weekly adult ( sons girlfriend ) and a cat. It used to be enough. It isn’t. So now I just take it out of our weekly free spending budget. We have cut down on going out. And now have movie nights in. So so nice dinners and treats.

I just get picky with the quality of food now & try to minimise waste as much as possible. Which means a smaller shop maybe twice a week.

Rarely get a takeaway or eat out.

I'm still buying what i've always brought.

I'd rather eat nice food everyday and go without takeaways to be honest.

I buy what I want to be honest, we are fortunate, but we are not huge supermarket spenders as I cook mostly from scratch and have an eye for bargains. I'm pretty keen on beans, pulses etc which helps

We don't have take aways (no decent ones in town, helps!)

We've done this - we've stopped eating out so much, reduced takeaways and upped the money we are willing to spend in the supermarket so that our usual food is better quality.

We are lucky to be able to afford to do it.

We don't really have much meat anymore. Dh and dd2 are veggie so dd1 and I tend to eat veggie as well.
I agree with pp who said about having a couple of really basic meals each week.
A bowl of pasta with basic sauce and some veg and cheese on top or jacket potatoes with beans and cheese are two really cheap meals.
Porridge rather than sugary crap cereal.
I don't ever feel deprived..

We don't have a lot to spend but always go for good quality over quantity. I don't impulse buy and stick to the basics, don't buy crisps or sweets.

Another one for a few basic (tasty!) meals each week. Soups now that it’s winter. And I tend to buy seasonal when it comes to fruit and veg, and go apple picking etc when the kids allow. not for everyone I know.

Use a different supermarket too.
Sainsburys and waitrose do some lovely luxury products (M and S too, but not sure you would get you much needed staples there, inc nappies) You could fo an extra nice 3 course meal once a week.

I hear you, I have no allergies, and shop mainly at Aldi and Lidl, I don’t buy cheapest of everything ( cheaper cat food upsets her). Buy the other stuff elsewhere, great savings at Aldi on things like frozen veg
you need nice stuff if you can afford it, and you won’t be buying nappies forever

I’m definitely willing to drop the takeaways although DH will probably require some more convincing as he is very loyal to the local curry house 😂

I’m also trying to convince myself that I’ll also save money on the occasional meal deal I buy at work (which lets be honest are always crap unless they’re from M&S which my work doesn’t have) when I can’t face the depressing tin of soup and two slices of bread I’ve brought in from home 😐

I would really love to cook more from scratch but I have two very young children who are high needs for different reasons and we both work full time and don’t have a cleaner, so I’ve got to be realistic.

Yep. Just spent over £200 this morning in Tesco. It didn't come close to filling the trolley either! I can take the hit and make savings elsewhere but a similar shop before lockdown was about half that price🙄

I hate the meals we've been eating so I just eat apples, natural yoghurt, nuts, sultanas and low sugar granola now. Sometimes I have a cheese slice, ham, tomato and rice crackers. I shop at Lidl. I can't stomach any more shite meals, they make me feel sick. I can't afford to upgrade though.

Good point about avoiding crisps and sweets and other rubbish, that I add to make it feel like we’ve got some “treats” but actually make me feel shit not just because they’re unhealthy and not even that enjoyable. I miss my indulgent puddings! They’re obviously unhealthy too but at least feel like a really lovely once a week treat.

I think the 33p bars of smart price chocolate have been a bit of a low point 😂 I’m so tired from the kids up all hours that I just crave sugar but it’s so unsatisfying it’s really not even worth 33p.

I think if you can cook few really cheap meals for £1 a head like carbonara then your money can go further but still eat well. We do a carbonara type meal and noodles every week which is £1 or less a serving.

I would always go for quality ... I would rather have two decent meals and two 'toast' meals than compromise on quality... and prefer to eat well at home than eat out or have takeaways... yes, obviously appreciate we are lucky to have the choice.

There are lots of things I am happy to economise on ..eg; all my clothes are from charity shops, hairdresser is 'model' day (free!), can't remember the last time I went to the cinema or theatre, not bothered about holidays etc ... but I enjoy nice food and wine at home.

Part of my problems come from how limited DD1 is due to her autism. She eats the same meals on repeat each week and it costs more for me and DH to eat separately that we often just end up eating the same as her. But I’m starting to think I’d rather spend the extra and just cook two meals and at least have something vaguely enjoyable at least a few times a week.

We have naturally altered what we buy and eat which is keeping the food bill manageable - just gravitating towards more budget recipes.

Agree with the points made by PPs - we have decided to prioritise food at home over other possible expenditure and I can't believe the price of milk!

If you do want to spend more on food I massively recommend Waitrose deliveries over ocado. If I shop in person I go to a retail park with an Aldi and M&S next door to each other plus a small home bargains where you can get brands for cleaning products, canned drinks, tampax etc. I think this combo which allows for some cost cutting and some splurges probably costs similar to an Asda shop so worth considering if you have a retail park with the right coverage. I assume lidl for aldi or b&m for home bargains would work.

I would go for having nice meals.

To save money, maybe put some cheap meals in, like cheesy beans on toast, weekly. It is cheap, yet yummy! Also, cheese on toast or cheese toasties.
I have gone for cooking in bulk and freezing. I get frozen veggies now. For most casseroles, soups and stews, they actually taste the same, including stir frys, they work for those too.
I get most meat frozen too. Much cheaper than fresh.