To think that DH is being totally unrealistic about the weekly food bill!

[goingeversoslowlymad]

Am getting a bit stressed out about my DH and the grocery shop. Our weekly bill is usually between £80 to £100, we would do a top-up shop of about £20 midweek, so max £120 all in for a family of 4. We do not use nappies, this includes everything including toiletries and cleaning products.

Money is pretty tight at the moment and I can appreciate he wants to try to cut down a bit but I seriously can't seem to get it much lower than this, there are no luxuries in this either i.e wine, magazines etc. Everyone I talk to in our situation seems to spend a similar amount but DH seems to think it excessive.

I'm going to give a veg box and meat pack delivery a try. Also going to order online to avoid being seduced by the offers instore. I don't see it being much cheaper but hopefully he'll stop moaning if I prove he's being unrealistic! What does everyone else spend?

we spend similar to that, but i have seen people say they spend about 50 quid a week so i think it is possible to get it lower - you'd probably have to very strictly meal plan

I think yes, you could cut down a lot.

I think I spend around £30 a week for me and dd. I cook from scratch a lot though.

I have DH and two teenagers and I spend this amount possibly more! Again I'm not buying beer or wine with that! I try to be sensible so don't consider I'm being over the top with my shopping! It does work out more expensive if hubby or any of the teenagers accompany me though........

I spend a similar amount to you. There are 3 of us. I don't think the things I could cut out easily would save much more than £10 to £15.

I spend a similar amount to you. There are 3 of us. I don't think the things I could cut out easily would save much more than £10 to £15.

This time 2 years ago - £60-70, including wine, fags and stuff.

Now: £100 (without the wine and fags)

That is for 3 adults. (I'll count dd as one as she's 17 and eats like a bloody horse)

We usually spend around £60 - £80 per week including everything. We are a family of 4 and use nappies sometimes (mostly use cloth nappies). I think we eat quite well for that, but we do use a lot of 'savers' range products, most of them are absolutely fine.

Send him shopping, on his own, and let him plan the meals. Do it for two weeks, and let him see how well he can manage things.

I spend about that, but am pretty sure I could easily spend less. We spend a lot on meat and pre-packed stuff for convenience which I know is really expensive.

I shop online (Sainsburys) and menu plan, and spend about £120 a week for 6 of us.

You could probably cut down, there are many ways to do so.

Having said that, i dont' think YABU by spending that amount for that many people.

We spend a lot more than that!

Depends where you shop I guess. I think it is possible to do it for less you just may have to look at the types of meals you are eating

Maybe ask him to handle the weekly shop for a few weeks (so it's a realistic overview) completely by himself and see if he can realistically do any better?
If he manages it, then you've both picked up some tips on better money management. If he doesn't, then at least he'll have a better understanding of where money is going.

My ex used to do the shopping and spend £40 a week. But he bought absolute crap. Really poor quality and fruit that went bad after 2 days. It was a false economy.

If you shop at Sainsbury's or Waitrose you can cut the bill by changing supermarket.

I was going to say the same as others have.

If he is so concerned, let him do the shop and see how much he spends.

I spend £45 a week, for a family of 4 with nappies. We shop at Tesco.
I think you are very lucky to think that £120 is normal!

Veg boxes are ok if you can actually eat the stuff before it goes off - you might find it's better to go to Aldi and buy whatever that weeks specials are though. Likewise meat - price it up everywhere before committing to a box or pack, unless you can batch cook and freeze stuff to make sure you use every last bit of it, it's false economy.
Meal plan to the last crust and crumb, and do not buy anything that isn't on your list for that week. Always, always repeat to yourself that you have no money - The instant you start to relax and think "ooo we have a little bit spare" you end up spending loads on unnecessary crap and it gets away from you. If you can, carry the cash - paying real money for things makes it much more "real" somehow than using a card does, and if you have your money for the week on hand, you can say "when it's gone it's gone" and keep track of it much more easily.
Don't buy anything with a brand name unless it's on mega special offer either.

That's the point, I like decent quality food and rarely buy processed food. There probably are ways to cut it down but that would probably involve faffing about going to different places and I work and don't really have the time or the energy.

£45 a week including nappies [schock]

May I ask what you eat?

We spend about £300 a month. £40 - £60 on the 'weekly shop', £35 a month on nappies / wipes / baby treats from Asda and £150 every three months at Costco (me, DH, DD 4.7 and DD 9 months).

We buy quite a few treats in that though and while we are getting better, we still throw too much away.

I love Aldi - we save £10 - £15 per shop compared to Asda (I've checked on My Supermarket to confirm this) and a lot of the food is much better quality. The prices of the fruit, veg and dairy is amazing.

Wish there was an Aldi closer.

That is shopping at asda. We all take a packed lunch to work/school. Our 2 DC's pretty much eat adult sized portions.

How often do you eat meat? Could you cut out 2 days a week?

AH! That's where it's going. 20 adult portion lunches/week.