To ask what you spend at the supermarket on average each week

[Joysmum]

I'm just wondering what everyone else's costs roughly are, for how many people and whether this includes lunches?

Sorry, didn't read the whole thread. I don't think our food spend is particularly low but I do try to keep it down. These are the things I do:

• batch cook a lot, both on purpose and by freezing when we have too much of something like burrito filling;
• meal plan, including lunches;
• DD is in cloth nappies during the day and we use supermarket own brand nappies for her and DS overnight;
• I buy supermarket own brand almost exclusively;
• we don't eat a lot of meat. What we do eat is good quality free-range stuff;
• we have hardly anything for snacks. Breadsticks and fruit is all I buy;
• we very rarely have pudding. The DC have yoghurt and fruit; and
• I almost always cook from scratch.

£50-70 a week from Tesco, including all meals, toiletries and household stuff and we're in the Home Counties.

And there are four of us: two adults, a 3yo and a 1yo.

Honestly, how do you do it on £50-£70? Do you avoid luxuries? (Ie non-essentials foods, not really expensive stuff)

Honestly, how do you do it on £50-£70? Do you avoid luxuries? (Ie non-essentials foods, not really expensive stuff)

Yes, we avoid luxuries and try not to buy things we really don't need. We have particularly cut down on snack and pudding items, it helps our waistlines too!! I meal plan to make sure no food ever goes to waste and I freeze any leftovers to make another meal somewhere when we need it.

I budget each meal and if a meal becomes too pricey we don't have it anymore, unless its a special occasion for some reason or if the ingredients are reduced.

I buy things in bulk when they are reduced to freeze and keep for later. I cook from scratch whenever possible, it works out the cheapest way to eat healthily.

We don't buy alcohol because we don't drink and we don't have any pets, that makes a massive difference. I batch cook as often as I can and I make use of the offers on that week to bring in a weeks meals for as little as possible.

We buy value range where we can, with very few exceptions, and I shop around to get better prices even though this takes up more of my time.

I'm pretty ruthless on my budgeting. To be honest we can afford more now, but I learnt how to feed us on a lot less when we had less cash and now it is habit.

I hate to spend more than we need to, I'd much rather have the difference in savings like we do these days.

Meal planning Autumn helps out LOADS.

Things like fruit and veg are no different if they are own brands, cheap brands or premium brands - they all grow on trees and in the ground and all get washed before eaten.

Meat is bought in 3 for £10 deals, 2 veg days and 2 fish days and that's usually the main meals sorted out.

Cleaning stuff is usually on offer anyway, bleach for a pound, white vinegar for pence, soda crystals or just over a pound.

I think my biggest expense is washing powder, but even that's not so much now as I make my own, which works just as well on lightly soiled stuff or stuff that just needs freshening up, so only need to buy in when I've forgotten to make some or washed loads of heavily soiled stuff.

£200 in Aldi , but that includes food and tons of alcohol for 2 grown-ups, a teenager, a pre-teen and a cat. Three of us pack our own lunches and we never eat out. And my husband is a bit of a food snob god, and cooks everything from scratch.

Yorkshire

£75 - 80 pw in Aldi for 3 adults and 2 teens a dog and a cat, then a weekend top up about £25 ish (including alchol,pringles etc). 21 year old son buys his own food sometimes.(lives at home rent free,whilst working part-time and going to college)

We hardly ever go out,but have a takeaway maybe a couple of times a month

South East here. There are 2 adults and 5 children, plus 2 cats.

I usually spend between £100 - £120 per week. That includes stuff for packed lunches. I do buy loads of Value stuff, just because most of it is just as good as the normal stuff. (beans, chopped tomatoes, cereal)

Last year DH was out of work and we were on benefits and we had to survive on £50- £80 per week. It was hard work and did involve some crap (value super noodles, the kids were so excited at first, now won't touch them!) but we managed.

I'm so glad I don't have to walk around with my calculator anymore to check I don't overspend at all.

Im shocked how much people spend. I live in london hence the name. As i said before we survived on 20-30 now 50-60. When we had no money we eat really well as fruit and veg is cheap. I didnt buy any brands but did buy good quality meat but we didnt eat it every day. I hate pasta so hardly had that. Rice 40p a bag from sainsburys. No choc or anything treat wise although did make own cakes and pudding when people gave us free apples from their garden. Dish washer powder from wilkinsons costs 1.60 for 60 tabs and cleans well if you keep stocked with salt.... Why pay extra....

About £200 pw 2 x adults and 1 DS who is at home 6 days. I am at home everyday, we hardly ever get to go out for dinner but do have guests over for food at least once each week or two, also includes maybe 2-3 nice bottles wine between us and all cleaning / cosmetic stuff. I don't buy organic but do buy good quality meat and veg as I make 90% of our meals from fresh rather than buying ready meals etc (personal pref, i enjoy cooking)

Autumn, I plan ahead and base everything around what we already have.
So I'll buy £5 worth of pasta one week and most of the meals I make for the rest of that month will be pasta based.
As I'm a SAHM we shop around for the best deals as I've got the time to go to three different stores (Tesco, Lidl, Morrisons) +Ocado. Our local 'ethnic' food shop is brilliant for herbs, spices and beans.

I don't buy any ready made sauces, very little fresh veg (aside from salad leaves) and whatever fruit we get is always seasonal (or cheap, like bananas & apples).

We're not really snack-y people, but the ones we do get in are higher quality over quantity (we don't buy chocolate in the supermarkets unless it's for DS1) and day-to-day food is more about sustenance (DH is an exercise fiend so a combo of eggs/cheap protein & carbs suits him) than pleasure.

Very similar to sammy.

Best tip is start at the bottom and work out what you're happy to eat cheaply (eg. we like the ownbrand just about value range baked beans but nothing but Twinings will do for teabags).

last week £170 and that was in Liddl never less than £120 three children two adults and a dog. Am far from extravagant.

Ive made a real effort to keep my spend the same as it was a few years ago. As food prices have increased so much, that means we are now eating more pasta etc and less meat. I do an Aldi shop once every so often to buy cereal in bulk and a few other bits and bobs that I think they do well.
We still spend about £150 per week, although that includes cleaning stuff and wine etc.
We eat well but I wouldn't say we eat extravagantly. We could cut down further but it would be painful. I'd really struggle on much less.

If you include wine it will be £120 ish for us.

100 for two adults and 2 tiny dogs we are trying to cut it back but seem to have always had expensive taste in food and are in the habit of flinging nice stuff in the trolley even when we were students and treating ourselves all the time

Anywhere between £35 and £55 a week, for me and DS (11) and Dcat. Usually £40-45. We are vegetarian though (apart from Dcat).

£120 a week including lunches for me and the DCs but not DH who refuses to take food to work with him. That's for 2 adults and 2 yo DTs both still in nappies. My freezer is full to bursting though so I should really do a few weeks of using up what we have - I am a sucker for a 3 for 2 offer!

Shopping in Aldi makes a massive difference for us. In Aldi Chicken mini fillets are £7.71/kg, in Asda they are £9.80/kg. It all adds up to make a big difference.

For us it just took us a while to learn to not have the things we were used to, the little extras we thought we needed to buy, when in fact we really didn't need them at all and now don't even miss.

Around £50-£60 at Ocado for 2 adults and a baby. Eat out 1-2 a week. Includes lunches too. I find the food from Ocado lasts longer than Tesco stuff so I don't end up throwing as much out.

Crumbs. I'm feeling really pleased that husband and I only spend £50 a week now! That doesn't include any alcohol as we don't drink but includes all toiletries etc, plus never go without any treats we want. Maybe because we are low meat eaters?? We both do packed lunches as well, takeaway once every 2 weeks. We shop as and when we need though, and meal plan our dinners, and we waste almost nothing.

The amount of money spent by some people on this thread is eye opening to me.

65 pw in Aldi, maybe a tenner in Tesco for bits I don't like in Aldi-heinz beans, ketchup, loo roll, frozen peas and the odd toiletries. 3 adults, 16 year old and 6 year old. Includes lunches for all but me.

About £40-50 a week for two adults and two cats, including kitty litter/cat food, but not including alcohol.

That includes 5 x packed lunches for DP.

Too much.

Easily do two shops per week - probably totalling over £120. this doesn't include cleaning products, toiletries, loo rolls or booze - as I get those from Costco, wine club, online companies etc.

Two adults and teen DS. Teen DSS on the odd weekend too.

DS has packed lunch everyday out of that. And DH works from home most days. I am at home now during the day too. So no work/school lunches extra.

We eat out probably on average once per week.

I don't know how you others do it for so much less. I shop predominantly at Lidl - now and again Sainsburys, and local Co -op for emergencies items.

about 60-70 per week, thats for 2 adults and 6 kids (2 of kids here 50% of time)
im as frugal as they come, dont stick to one shop, am lucky enough to hav a tesco, lidyl and aldi in walking distance of one another and good local market.
we eat very well aswell on that.
when I was with exh money wasnt an issue so used to spend about 150 per week, what a fool I was

forgot to add from that I do packed lunch every day for 4 kids