To think it's really hard to spend less than £100 per week on groceries

[Myplateiswhite]

I have a family of 4 (one in nappies). I have shopped around at all the major super markets and cannot ever bring our weekly grocery bill in under £100. We are all veggie although do eat fish and this cost covers 3 meals a day plus cleaning products, toiletries etc.
I don't think we eat anything particularly extravagant, maybe fish twice a week plus some prawns or salmon for lunch a couple of times a week. Rest of the time it's veggie meals mainly from scratch.

Genuinely don't know where I'm going wrong. I'm interested in what you spend and also what meals you make?

I have found my grocery bill has gradually creeped up to £100 but there is nine of us with four in full time nappies and two in night time pull ups. That includes everything food, nappies, wipes, cleaning supplies etc.
I meal plan around offers and shop online at Morrisons and once a month Aldi. I bulk meals out with lentils extra veg etc. Very rarely eat pre packaged food. I do use a lot of frozen veg as it cheaper. I normally only buy apples and bananas, only buy strawberries etc in season.

Ldll white fish is amazing and £2 something last time i bought it. Very fresh. Morrison got offer on cod at moment so stocked up.

We're a family of four, not veggie. Switching from Tesco to Lidl has slashed my shopping bill! It was over £100 a week, and is now between £60-£70. I shopped in T last week as a "treat" and spent around £50 more than I would have done in L, buying the same stuff. That's buying some branded things too, such as Weetabix. I also plan my evening meals a week in advance, make a list then write the ingredients that I need. I don't compromise on quality, buy lots of fresh food, hardly any frozen ready meals. We don't have a lot of waste, mainly because I now plan in advance. I'll also buy double the mince one week, for example, make two lasagnes and freeze one. I top of on bread, milk and fruit during the week, and there's a couple of things I have to buy elsewhere, but not much.

We spend that.

But ways to reduce without changing food:

• strop buying all the cleaning products and toiletries. Dove bars of soap, shampoo and toothpaste only. Plus an Eco multi purpose cleaner and toilet cleaner. No extra cleaners or toiletries, no cleaning wipes etc

• reusable nappies and wipes for youngest. Little lamb all in one nappies you can get 10 for £50. Assuming your baby isn't newborn they should be plenty. Wipes £20 for 50, can use for years for wiping faces and surfaces after nappies no longer needed

Another Aldi fan here. Family of 4. Grocery bill down from over £100 to about £75 pw

Forgot my meals they are quite boring really. Spag Bol, pasta bake, roast chicken, cottage pie, baked potatoes and salad, sausage and mash and veg, fish pie( with frozen pollock) .

Soon - def get reusable nappies! A one size fits all can be used from newborn up, and can use on those needing night pull up instead.

I think it is pretty easy for veggies to spend under that. Maybe harder for pescatarians

Is there a difference between Aldi and Lidl?

One big way to save on fruit and vegetables is to eat far more seasonally. Also, when different berries are in season buy them up and freeze them (assuming you have freezer space).

If you want fresh herbs then look at growing them. With a little practice you should be able to get a steady supply.

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is a long term plan not a quick fix on the whole. However for things like french beans if you have a little bit of fence space in your garden (if you have one) then you could buy seeds from somewhere like Wilkinsons and be eating your own grown this summer.

Yeah i find it really hard too, i found buying stuff every couple of days for meals made it easier for me to not over spend, also not spending money on grabing a drink and sandwhich if im out

I tend to spend£120 one week then two weeks at about 40 to 60 so for two of us about 200 a month . Oh and shock horror I shop in W
I make our own bread and cakes and cook everything from scratch. Due to my illness and restricted diet .

Meal planning and sticking to the shopping list is the key. We are a family of 4 (with 1 DC that eats like an adult) and will generally eat meat at least 5 times a week but easily keep under £100 a week for food (that's including all meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner). We tend to do a mixture of meals, so one meal might be a roast, but the next will be baked potato with tuna and veg. We also minimize "snacky" things - easy to spend a fortune on that sort of stuff!

We are a family of 3, DD in nappies at night.

We spend £50 - £60 a week in Aldi.

Used to spend £80 - £90 when we shopped in Tesco and didn't meal plan properly.

We are a family of 2 adults, one nearly 9yo DS, 6yo DD and one 2.5yo DD. I aim for no more than £100 - some weeks a fiver less, some weeks a fiver more.

Shop mainly at Tesco/asda, usually one meal a week is from m and s. Smallest still in night pull ups. Includes Calpol, toiletries, tissue, cleaning & laundry stuff too. And some items recently I've been trying gluten free for middle DD, so slightly more expensive. probably 2-3 meat free days per week. The older two DC have packed lunch for school.

It does require some planning, economising, and looking for deals - checking out which supermarket has Tetley or Ariel on offer, for example. Sometimes that may mean nipping into morrisons when I go to Tesco (extra 5 mins in car) or popping into the sainsburys nearby when I visit my mother, just for one or two things. But its the difference between paying £6 for the Ariel, or £3!

Yep, great time of year for starting a grow your own drive. Could be fun? or your idea of hell on earth

Of course you could spend less: frozen berries or only eat in season/ grow your own, washable nappies, grow herbs, buy cheaper fish eg whole plaice is £1 at asda or smoked salmon trimmings are £1.50 and do 4 in pasta. Avocados are not an essential part of a diet. You can get all vitamins and minerals from less expensive uk veg.

however, aibu to spend £100 for a family of 4, of course not! Some families spend double that and it's great you eat so healthily.

I spend about £120 for 5 of us and the cat , including toiletries and wine. I could do it for twice that or half, but I am happy with that balance. I am also happy I could do it for far less if necessary.

Bulk cooking really helps. Huge vat of bolognese/pasta sauces/soups etc, decant into freezer bags. Seems to result in less waste too.

Ldll is better quality than the aldi where i am. My ldll is brand new and spotless.... Also think its catering for ex waitrose shoppers juding by the cars in the car park....

Meal planning and sticking to it helps enormously.

Slow-cookers enable you to buy the value cuts of meat and them turn out really well.

The real savings are on brands. If you are buying Nutella - which you mention - you need to buy the supermarket own brand chocolate spread. This will make a significant difference to your outgoings. In particular, I went through a difficult time financially when my ex left and I cut my bills by buying the value brands - for some items, I would never buy value again but for the majority, it is fine and it really does help keep your costs down.

The saying is 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves'. A few pence here and there will make the difference.

I use supermarket price comparison websites to get the best deal and Aldi/Lidl as well as hot uk deals. If I see a good offer I stock up, my dh thinks I am mad but we are a one income family now so need to save where possible. The credit crunch board has good tips on saving money generate and on reducing your grocery bill, have a look.

I often wind down my cupboards and fridge before restocking again, it helps if you have a good store cupboard of basic ingredients which you can rustle up meals with quickly. I buy a lot of frozen veg which is cheap and just as nutritious but cuts down on wastage, I currently have frozen squash, green beans, corn on the cob & roasted veg plus frozen berries. Try it and see if it works for you, Sainsburys do chopped frozen herbs & chillies which I buy regularly.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/a2275410-Can-we-have-a-credit-crunch-recipe-thread

Mind you there are things in waitrose that are cheaper than the other shops. Tend to find the most expensive are asda and tesco for shopping. I dread asda but make thai curry from stratch and asda only place that seems to see coconut milk with a high % of coconut and at a reasonable price. I do a asda shop as a result every few months... (Takes that long to get brave again, its soooo big)

Family of 4 here, about £80 per week shopping in Tesco Waitrose and Also. Two in nappies and we are veggie. Could do it for less without too much hassle.

I reckon for a family of four £100 for food that includes fish and good quality ingredients is pretty good.
So the only question is do you need or want to reduce it? (I assume you do because you asked the question)
We probably spend around the same (£50 online shop, £50 for top up at grocers, and meat and fish from butchers and fishmongers)

If you are buying fish you might find it cheaper (and tastier) from a fishmonger.

Other ideas -
Aldi/lidl if close by
Poundland for toiletries
Meal plan
Batch cook with slow cooker
Is there a farm locally that delivers? I find this saves us money too.

Forgot to add dont buy the sweets and chocs that asda and tesco does cheap to get you in. Make our cake as so easy and cheap...