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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How can you do a comfortable shop for £30, two adults and a baby?

135 replies

DeanaPiana · 12/04/2017 18:58

DF is adamant she does her Aldi food shop for £30 or under, for two adults and two teen boys.

This includes lunches for two adults but not baby essential etc, which she calculated separately and buys elsewhere.

Could I do it and eat comfortably from Aldi? My shop must include:

Vegetables
Fruit
NO meat
Limited dairy
Some decent snacks
Lunches for two adults
Yoghurt
Soft drinks

Other half is a vegetarian who doesn't eat much dairy. I don't eat meat within the home. Baby will be veggie too (I'm pregnant). I'll probably have to buy Quorn products elsewhere, which is a pain in the arse so a lot of meals from Aldi may well be cheaper because of me calculating the Quorn shop differently.

I use to shop at Lidl and spent around the £45 mark at least for two adults.

OP posts:
applesareredandgreen · 12/04/2017 22:26

Shocked at the vitriol in the posts from 'nabob' towards 'mummybear' just why?

'Mooey' you for the meal ideas.

Teacherontherun · 12/04/2017 22:37

Yes, with careful planning and Lots of batch cooking it is totally possible. and I am veggie, you can definitely buy quorn in Aldi

applesareredandgreen · 12/04/2017 22:39

Sorry - should read thank you to mooey

user1487175389 · 12/04/2017 22:42

Instead of quorn (which my body simply refuses to digest) why not head down to your local health food place and buy a couple of massive bags of Soya Mince and seitan? The initial outlay might set you back but it'd last you a couple of months.

Oly5 · 12/04/2017 22:54

No way!! That budget is tiny

Crunchyside · 12/04/2017 22:58

I think it's do-able as you are not eating meat and that is one of the most expensive parts of the weekly shop.

But yes, say goodbye to avocado, raspberries and strawberries and hello to broccoli, lentils, apples etc. Goodbye asparagus, hello green beans. Goodbye kale, hello big ball of cabbage...!

BCGRMDP · 12/04/2017 23:00

i do £50 a week on me, 2 year old and 6 month old

but out of that there is £18 formula, £9 nappies, £3 wipes so thats £30 straight off
then £20 for actual food but because i have two tiny people every meal i cook there is leftovers for a second so tend to have 3 fresh meals a week, 3 premade frozen meals i have reheated and then saturday nihht fakeaway. lunches are sandwhiches or tuna pasta salad.

so typical week would be a chilli con carne, chicken pesto pasta, fish/chicken/sausages with mash. chicken dippers and chips for fakeaway and then the other 3 are left overs. then fruit and snacks!

StandAndBeCounted · 12/04/2017 23:02

You can also get Baby essentials in Aldi. Aldi nappies are my favorite. I think its entirely possible. I spend about £60 per week at Aldi for me, DH and 4 DC. Includes everything and I have 2DC in nappies

user1487175389 · 12/04/2017 23:02

Seriously though mummy bear, how the heck do you find the time to earn £35 k a year in a good job, make your own cleaning products, breastfeed a Toddler and grow most of your own food?! It just doesn't ring true. Perhaps time functions differently in your dimension.

toffeeboffin · 12/04/2017 23:06

You'd have to be having lentils, cheap veg and cheap protein to do it.

No fancy fruit, no alcohol, no chocolate.

toffeeboffin · 12/04/2017 23:07

Seriously though mummy bear, how the heck do you find the time to earn £35 k a year in a good job, make your own cleaning products, breastfeed a Toddler and grow most of your own food?!

^Grin

MummyBearToTeddy · 12/04/2017 23:13

I only earn about £20k a year as I don't work full time I only do three days and three evenings a week. Making things like washing detergent, stain remover etc are all super quick and you can make in bulk and store. Batch cooking can be done anytime and you can actually hold a baby and feed whilst prepping veg etc because I have a sling. He's never been in a pram or pushchair so he's very used to eating on the go and is happy on the hip. Growing our own food is actually something I have always done since being a little girl and once you get started it's very easy and now I have a helper too so it's now a fun activity.

I think if it's something you have always done and grown up with then it doesn't need much thought or effort. Plus my child gets up at 5am everyday so we have long days!

Original poster
DeanaPiana · 12/04/2017 23:27

You strike me as an incredibly earthy type MummyBear but I have to say, most working parents simply don't have the time to do these things that you do.

I envy your Mother Earth ways, really I do. I just don't think I'll be all that natural with motherhood. Go you!

Will you be offended if I gift you a recycled materials yoga/exercise matt? Those of you who read the odd rubbish book might know where I'm referencing from Grin

OP posts:
Sparrowlegs248 · 12/04/2017 23:33

I'm not sure what you eat op if no meat or dairy, you might have a prrolblem getting what you want from Aldi as their range is limited.

I could shop for me, husband and toddler on £30 though. Aldi nappies are great. Their fruit and veg is cheap, including avocado and raspberries etc.

I spent £70 last week but had defrosted the freezer and it was empty. It's full now after that ship, far more than one weeks food. Also bought nappies for both babies.

Original poster
DeanaPiana · 12/04/2017 23:38

Nott We do eat dairy but limit it quite a bit. For example we don't put cheese on anything etc. My other half only drinks soya milk, no cows milk and no dairy based spreads etc.

I don't drink really but DH is a lover of JD with Coke cans, of which are bloody expensive. Luckily he is cutting down an awful lot and trying not to drink at all during the week. All easier said than done in a demanding property management job. I have always had an agreement with him though that we'd never include his alcohol spends in the grocery shop budget, he can fund and buy out of his own disposable income etc.

OP posts:
Joffmognum · 12/04/2017 23:39

For those confused about breaking your own wipes - I did it to! You don't do it every week, you make a one off batch before your baby is born and wash them with cloth nappies. I used squares of cotton or fleece with squares of old towel and borrowed a sewing machine. Took me one evening and I don't have to buy 2 packs of wipes at £1.50 each every week.

I do own packs of disposable.wipes though - i bought a big box off of Amazon for £10 and it works out under a penny per wipe. They'll last til DS is in school though because cloth wipes can be used 99% of the time.

frieda909 · 12/04/2017 23:40

MummyBear you sound fab, and very classy for not rising to some of the downright nasty posts directed at you on here (seriously, people, what is your problem?)

Back to the point of the thread, I've lived on £10-15 a week for groceries before (just for me) and I really wasn't starving or just eating beans every day. In fact I was having meat/fish for at least one meal most days. The PP who listed all the exotic fresh fruit they buy every week should realise that's quite a luxury though! Fruit is lovely but wouldn't exactly be a priority on a budget. Although I did buy big bags of frozen fruit and whizz them up into smoothies when I felt like I needed the extra vitamins.

Joffmognum · 12/04/2017 23:56

That should be *making your own wipes

BlackeyedSusan · 13/04/2017 00:20

aldi do sell wholemeal pasta and tinned beans. (butter, blackeye and kidney) but not red lentils.

their soya milk is cheaper than morrisons, but I do not remember the actual price.

£30 woule have been doable until prices started going up a couple of months ago.

their apples are cheap enough as are carrots potatoes onions, other things are more expensive per kilo but still cheaper than elsewhere.

laughwithmeleelee · 13/04/2017 00:31

This thread has amazed me I spend £140 a week on shopping!!! We eat generally healthy and this does include toiletries etc but £30 wouldn't even get me bathroom and cleaning products!!!

Good luck to you...I wish I could do it

laughwithmeleelee · 13/04/2017 00:40

Mummy bear you have every ounce of my respect....I wish I could do it. I don't have the time in the day to go for a wee let alone make everything and be so natural about everything.

It's amazing what you do. It's a shame that you alone won't make a massive difference to the world cause there should be more people like you.

I'd love to know how you have coped without a buggy? I assume you carry in sling or something similar!! xxx

Littlelegs19 · 13/04/2017 01:16

I've just done a weeks shop at Tesco and spent £87 then had to go else where for the baby milk so another £10. This is very normal for me and I never spend less than £80 a week. We are me DH and 5month DS. I would love to spend less but just doesn't happen. There's no alcohol in our shopping just lots of meat, fruit and veg. I know the biggest part of the shopping is food for DH lunches- sausage rolls, meat slices, chocolate bars etc.

Halle71 · 13/04/2017 02:10

Another person amazed by this thread.
I'm fairly thrifty, and we have swapped our main shop from Tesco to Lidl, but we still spend £100 - £120 a week for 2 adults and 2 dc (4&7).
We eat quick to prepare meals Mon-Weds which are my work days - salmon, grilled chicken, steak with some form of carb and salad. DCs eat at school/nursery and have a light meal when they get home - cheese on toast etc.
The rest of the week I prepare food that takes longer - casseroles, bolognaise, chilli, curry, roasts - and we eat out at least once a week.
Breakfast is porridge with maybe bacon and eggs at weekends.
We do get the nice stuff from Lidl - fillet steak, wine, deluxe range - and DH usually find something crap to buy in the 'middle isle', so we could cut down a bit, but would be hard pressed to get it down to say, £60 a week.

BarbaraofSeville · 13/04/2017 06:29

£30 a week on bathroom and cleaning products leelee Shock.

That's insane.

£30 a week for everything for a family including teens would be very hard work but that might be all they can afford, which is something to be remembered by those sniping about how they couldn't possibly spend less than because their DH 'demolishes cheese' or they are stealth boasting about prodigious fruit and veg consumption.

noeffingidea · 13/04/2017 06:41

Well said, Barbara. If you only have £30 a week to spend on food then you will quickly learn to live off that amount. Either that or go hungry. I did notice the £30/week on bathroom and cleaning products - what every week?How on earth do you get through that amount of products? Even £30/month just on those things seem a lot to me.