to think that £500 is far too much to spend on groceries in a month?

[fartlek]

I just totted up what I spent at supermarkets this month and realised that this is why I am £20 away from the end of my overdraft the day before payday. DH has also bought groceries this month so this isn't even our entire bill! We don't share accounts so it gets a bit murky as to who spends how much on what (this is a whole other thread to be started in relationships, we won't go there just now) but I'm pretty sure this is extortionate.
I have never been much of a budgetter when it comes to food shopping, I just buy what we need and try not to go for the most expensive item. What do others spend if I may ask?

Toiletries are also another thing you can save loads on by buying in Home Bargains, Aldi, or only on special offer.

Passthecake 12 packs of condoms are very economical compared to babies though !

Don't worry OP, it can't just be you keeping the microwave rice people in business! If I was feeling joyless I'd suggest home-making the curry, boiling your own rice etc etc there, but you need to look holistically at what you're spending and then decide whether DP gets to keep his curry.

Have you thought about doing online shopping OP?
That way you avoid impulse buys.
Tesco Delivery Saver is good- they refund what payment isn't used for deliveries and you can get all midweek deliveries free as part of the small monthly charge.

Sometimes I do a big Tesco delivery shop just for the special offers- dishwasher tablets half price, olive oil, store cupboard essentials etc - so saves petrol, time and money.

you mention magazines OP, aren't they about £4 these days? I bet whatever's in there is online.

gifts, I always buy well in advance. I know whose birthday I have to buy for (don't really do Xmas much) so if i see something that will work for them I will nab it months in advance if it's a good price.

have you seen what might be available cheaper from Amazon - the liquid iron I take is much cheaper there than in a shop for example.

I am just one person and very frugal so I can shop for myself on £15 a week all in no problem but I admit I am so frugal I'm not a great example as most people aren't prepared to do that.

btw re bread, if you can't fit it in the freezer then is there a cool spot in your home where you can keep it - my mum does that.

also did you know you can freeze cheddar - this is good because for me it means I can buy a better value pack, chop into 4, then freeze. I also do work packed lunches.

I'm in London and I really can't stomach paying £3 for a sarnie or whatever.

(outside of that cost I have protein powder and sometimes bars, but not every day, usually every other day after a weights workout and I only ever buy those on special).

You could save a fortune (and be a lot healthier) if you cut down your meat intake!

What about jacket spuds with a filling and a big plate of veg?
Omelettes, salad and chips?
Pasta with non-meat sauce?
Casseroles made with beans and veggies?

I make a chicken last 3 meals- hot, cold, then make stock for risotto. It might cost me £9 for a free range chicken but I'm getting 6 adult meals off it.

I use boil in the bag rice because I'm genuinely useless at rice.

And look at it like this OP - it's still cheaper than a takeaway, so it's not all bad if that's the alternative. You have to have some joy in your lives!

£140 a week here. Two adults + 3 kids and a cat. So expensive.

Sandy the thread is about groceries though, not socks or birthday presents. If OP asked how much a month people spent on birthday presents and coffee out I wouldn't lump my whole supermarket shopping budget in with that amount.
If I buy a present and card with the supermarket shop I pay for it separately using a different debit card. Same with clothes and the same with coffee or lunch out.
I guess it's why threads like this are a bit pointless because we all divide our money up differently.

Also central(ish) Edinburgh. Lidl in Granton is worth a visit if you're looking to reduce bills, and isn't as grim as the Asda store I'm thinking of!

I just spent £110 in Asda, some of this are things I'd only buy once a month like jam, lemon curd, peanut butter, sauces etc. A few things even less than that like vinegar.

I find meat far cheaper at the butchers because they give you what you need, so no wastage and it's not pumped full of crap like supermarket meat.
A chicken can last for ages if it's proper chicken and not water/ ab

I'm another who uses microwave rice, and while I know it's cheaper, we very rarely shop at Aldi/Lidl. Sometimes the convenience factor just wins out, especially when you're working full time. The rice is pure laziness, but to get to Aldi/Lidl would be a massive trek for us without a car, which cancels out being able to save a bit of money.

4 adults and I spend around £200 pw sometimes more,

It's not me, rather it's DH who orders expensive cuts of meat and comes up with very elaborate recipes, with very specific ingredients. I can't really complain though as I can't remember the last time I cooked at a weekend.

I generally shop weekly at Morrisons and M&S and Waitrose every couple of weeks.

There are five of us, two adults, one teen, one pre-teen, one 7yo. I budget 750 a month for all groceries, toiletries and the odd meal out/takeaway.

Meal planning is very helpful for me, also click and collect, so I don't impulse buy. I could cut it if I made time to go to Aldi/Lidl.

Not RTFT but probably spend around £500 a month for 3 of us and no pets. Definitely well over £400.

I do an online shop with Sainsburys most weeks which usually costs somewhere between £80 and £100 including household items like loo roll, washing powder and the like. But I generally spend money in the week as well (eg today I have spent another £12 in Waitrose).

It's not hard to spend that sort of money though. For example, I bought a chicken this week which was £11. It does a decent roast dinner, some sandwiches and a further meal in the week with chips so I'm not too worried. Fruit is expensive and we eat a lot of it.

We don't often go out for dinner, I work from home and husband takes a sandwich to work, so we're not spending much on top of the £500.

Personally I think people expect food to be too cheap. It's fuel - but for most of us it's also an enjoyable thing and so worth spending some money on, depending on your income.

I think we spend quite a lot, but since it's just us two and the dog currently it's not really an issue. We would cut back if we had to though, but we can afford it and I enjoy cooking and baking etc. If we couldn't afford it, we'd spend less. I come from a not very well off family so it's quite nice to not always buy the cheapest of everything now I shop for myself, and my partner comes from quite a well off family so has no real issue with spending money on good quality food he enjoys.

Everyone in the I Can't Make Rice brigade - something like this is the same price as a pouch of Uncle Bens, and is nearly 5x the amount of rice. It's idiot-proof take it from me.

The we spend anywhere from £400-600 depending on what's needed. Two adults, two five year olds and a dog. I do a weekly delivery for between £80-90 but the rest creeps on in 'treats' and entertaining.

The month the new M and S food hall opened at the top of our road I spent £1300 for 4 of us

About 2/3 of that usually. We love food here. That would include wine and beer too though (although we are not huge drinkers, but two bottles of wine and 8 of beer a week is £80-100 a month)

And yep we could definitely economise but we do cook almost everything from scratch most days.

Essential that looks great but they don't do a brow rice one from what I can see.. Usually we cook out own rice but the packets are handy when you are in a rush and we don't eat white rice except risottos.

The we spend anywhere from £400-600 depending on what's needed. Two adults, two five year olds and a dog. I do a weekly delivery for between £80-90 but the rest creeps on in 'treats' and entertaining.

I try and not spend anymore than £100.00 a week. 3 adults and 2 toddlers. This includes cleaning products, nappies and toiletries

Forgot to add I cook everything from scratch and meal plan. Shop in tesco (online) and lidl

RJ - no, I don't think Iceland do brown rice. There's this Tesco one, which is still about half the price of the sachets. As ever though, if you don't live near enough to a Tesco/Iceland/whatever, you're probably not going to go out of your way for it.

My budget is around £400-£450 a month for 2 adults, 2 teenagers and a dog. That includes all grocery shopping though so I'm including food, cleaning products etc.