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?

I try to keep to £50 per week for a family of 4 plus pets, but in recent months I have found it difficult as prices rise:( Mysupermarket is the main reason I'm able to keep the bills down, and I always find myself spending loads more if I go into the shop, even if I stick to value brands. Also we're vegetarian, (not the pets) so we save money on meat. Keep your eye on the Grabbit Board of the MoneySavingExpert site too--there are often glitches and misprices that you can take advantage of. here

Seriously, it's awesome. Almost 2 years ago on the advice of that board, I got a huge case of fabric softener for £5--I haven't restocked yet.

Yes Taking please do share I really need some inspiration! :)

I have done further up thread. This week we've had shepherds pie which comes in at well under a fiver and feeds us all twice. The rest is bung in the freezer for next week. Macaroni cheese home made with side salad garlic bread and smoked sausage. More than enough left for one lunch. Baked potatoes with tuna or egg or cheese and beans. Gammon with egg pineapple and veg. Big bowl of tuna pasta for some lunches.

Nice roast chicken tonight with all the trimmings. homemade Yorkies cost pennies.

What do I buy? Everything I need!

I'm doing a shop tomorrow I'll happily copy my receipt down but generally...

Either tea or coffee whichever has ran out
3 boxes of cereal
About 4 packets of biscuits
Waffles or pancakes
Bread
Fruit and veg
Meat for the week usually mince chicken bacon but generally 3 or 4 kinds
Cheese
Yoghurt
Rice or pasta

Just what we need!

I can hand on heart say the most I've ever spent on a shop was about 90 at Christmas.

I don't have teenagers, a six year old and a baby.

I bake stuff.

We don't have fresh fruit juice all the time.

I don't do anything special really its just the way I've always shopped.

Fair enough, taking - but what about cleaning stuff, toothpaste, loo roll?

Where is that shopping at taking?

I buy what I need when I need it. I've mentioned that up thread. Tomorrow I won't need dishwasher tablets or powder but do need shave foam shampoo and fabric conditioner. Do people buy all of that sort of stuff every week? Toothpaste cost less than a quid. I'm curious as to how much people are spending on cleaning products.

Aldi.

I try not to buy all my cleaning products at once. I try to make it so I buy one big thing a week. Sometimes I'm unfortunate and they run out together. That's when my shopping ends up being £120, it's mostly around the £100 mark.

catsmother With regards vastly reduced items, just ask store staff when reductions happen and to what level! The ones I speak to are always happy to advise

I am one who feeds a family of 4 (2 adults 2 toddlers) on less than £50 per week for everything including nappies, toiletries, cleaning stuff, cat food etc & I will say we eat very well!

Have just had roast lamb, hm yorkies, roast pots, cabbage & leeks (reduced to 30p), plus a pudding of treacle tart (reduced to 9p) & cream (reduced to 24p for a large pot)/custard & I worked out it came to £5.70 between us all. There is enough lamb over for DH's sandwiches tomorrow, pie tomorrow & scraps for DCat. Tues will be chicken drumsticks, jacket spud & veg, next day maybe fishcakes, mash & veg. Then haven't thought beyond that! Have well-stocked fruitbowl & snack shelf too. We get our 5 fruit & veg a day (& more) by using a mixture of fresh, frozen, dried & tinned, buying reduced & freezing. We eat meat probably 5 days out of 7, fish 1 out of 7 & the other day.

We also last week purchased a lamb (weighing 17.8kg when butchered) from a local farmer (who I met at a baby group!) for £90, which we shared with my parents. This will feed us for around 20 meals, with the added bonus that it is delicious, local & organically reared - I know, I have seen the farm it lived on (went there to fetch it)!

I buy things in bulk when I see a good offer/reduced & store it (have 2 freezers, got 1 as an Xmas pressie from ILs!)

ATM, we shop as we do out of necessity, but we have always done it this way & when we had more money to spare, the savings went towards a nicer holiday or more days/nights out. Plus, I kind of get some kind of thrill (sad, I know!) at eating delicious food for next to nothing.

Our food shop is usually around £60 per week.

I meal plan for everyday and only get what I need. If I have time I go and get as much from the 99p store as possible.

This time last year I used to only spend £50 but prices seem to go up and up.

And I always go for cheapest cleaning products and get whatever washing powder is on offer. Not loyal to any particular product.

Meant to say, tonight's roast lamb meal @£5.70 was exceptionally dear for us - dinner usually comes in at less than £2 for us all, often less than £1 for 4.

I think I'm a bit of a slattern, I only buy cleaning products about twice a year!

We spend about the same as you OP and that includes everyone's lunches. Two preschoolers who are fussy, cat litter, toiletries - mine included, plus my gluten free stuff and nappies. No Aldi nearby. Bugger.

If he thinks it is too much let him do the shopping.

If you buy own brand cheap ranges for everything then of course it will be less but then will you be happy with the taste? It is all relative. If you currently buy all premium brands then of course you can spend less by dropping a brand or two.

Zukiecat I suggest that each of you cooks once a week and cooks double quantities so you can freeze extra portions.

Draw up the menus a month in advance.

If you don't like what the chef is making that night then you can either fix yourself something from the well stocked freezer or sort yourself out.

But what cleaning stuff are you buying?

I only really buy bleach, anti bac spray, laundry powder, fabric conditioner, dishwasher tablets, rinse aid, washing up liquid. A lot of that is bought very infrequently. I make my own multi purpose spray using water vinegar and a squeeze of washing up liquid. What else do people buy?

where do you get toothpaste for less than a quid? Sensodyne (which I need otherwise I really notice pain in my teeth after a few days) is about £3. My parents keep going on about how they save money by going to this shop for that, but another one for other bits, and Aldi for that but not that etc but they are retired and have time to do that. We only have time for one weekly shop. We spend around £80 a week - nothing processed, cook from scratch for four of us, it just doesn't seem to go very far.

Taking, your list is missing any none food items, i buy loo roll weekly, but even if you don't need to buy it every week you will need, bin bags, tin foil, cling film, shampoo, cleaner, dw tabs, powder etc at some point.

My milk bill alone is £8.00

If you bake you need flour eggs b powder. Yorkshires have 4 eggs!

£40 would be a tough call even in aldi.

taking washing powder, fabric cond, bleach, anti bac spray, bathroom cleaner, toilet duck, washing up liquid, pan scourers and all purpose cloths. Toiletries - big pump action bottle of body wash for the DC's which lasts 3-4 months, shower gel, toothpaste, deodorant, toothbrushes and body lotion. Not every week just as and when really, but they are the products I buy.

you will need bin bags tin foil

Not necessarily, we don't use bin bags or tin foil.

"This week we've had shepherds pie which comes in at well under a fiver and feeds us all twice."

I make shepherds pie with quorn mince, which is even cheaper, but a large casserole of the stuff will be polished off pretty quickly - certainly not enough for two meals! With it we will have broccoli and carrots. Then we would have something like apple crumble (made by me) and ice cream for pudding. TBH, I will go for organic carrots (taste much, much better) but will go for a bog standard sainsbury's ice cream. I expect a meal like this to cost me £5 or £6.

So £6 x 7 = £42

Plus
£6 on milk
£4 on cheese
£4 on ham (yes, I am fussy about ham)
£5 on yogurt
£5 on bread
£6 on fruit for snacks and lunch boxes
£3 on cereal
Which is another £33. So £75 before toilet rolls, or margarine or flour, sugar, and occasional buys like cinnamon/pepper, etc.

Rainyday I'm didn't list every item in my trolley. Of course I buy those things.