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Original poster

Desperately need tips to reduce almost £800 per mth food bill.

455 replies

Mumof3almost4 · 01/09/2020 16:02

I am stressing about mat leave pay and how low it is.
Just going through my income/outgoings and my main drain is on food. We are a family of 5, two adults, DC 18, 15, 13.
I am spending between £700-£800 a month on food. Is this ridiculous?!
I do cook mostly from scratch but will use a few pasta jars etc. I shop at local market for fruit and veg and the butchers for meat. We all like a big evening meal usually with meat or chicken and I always make sure there's salad or veg on the plate. I shop at home bargains and Asda for cupboard stuff, mainly use the freezer for left overs and don't like to waste anything.
I do try and plan meals but I think I've got in a habit of not doing this properly and then money gets frittered nipping to the shop. I then spend £30 easily feather than just getting what I need.

Reading this back I know I need to get much much better organised but really need your tips on how??
How do you plan meals without getting bored of it being repetitive?
We all eat well, no fussy eaters apart from a dislike of cheese and eggs.
Any advice for me to save a massive chunk of money please??

Also I hate Aldi. I'd never get a full shop in there

OP posts:
ExpectTheWorst · 01/09/2020 19:32

Boomtastic I know it doesn't work that way (I didn't just double your spending!) but you really can't compare buying for 2 adults and 2 small kids to 3 adults and 2 teens and then be shocked that the OP spends a lot more than you do!
Without knowing where you shop or what sort of food you buy, it's impossible to say whether you really would struggle to spend more than you do.

Mochudhu · 01/09/2020 19:34

Farmfoods quality has improved immensely in the last few years.

Their frozen veg is very good value, they also do a Good range of frozen fruit for smoothies, puddings, adding to yoghurt etc.

The have a wide variety of fish and seafood and more fresh and chilled stuff than they used to.

I've started shopping there more recently since WFH as it's close and less hassle than the big shops and I've been pleasantly surprised.

If you get the flyer through your door it can help you plan and also has money off vouchers.

Theelderscrolls · 01/09/2020 19:35

I agree with you about Aldi veg, but I find their meat is really good and much cheaper than Asda etc. My partner would never consider a meat free dinner so I pad them out with tinned kidney beans, chickpeas etc. More filling than just extra veg. I find buying good quality frozen veg is definitely worth it too.

HaveYouSeenMyFriendKimberley · 01/09/2020 19:36

Lightly fried lambs liver mixed with long cooked translucent onions a little water to make gravy , served over mash with steamed Savoy cabbage with some salt and butter on top.

Liver is even cheap at the very dear butcher I visit.

It's a cheap nutritious meaty meal that my teens actually quite like. Sadly I know they don't recommend pregnant women eat liver.

A lot of traditional style eating might suit this stage. Like filling up on the yorkshires and gravy. Baking a bread and butter pudding while the main course is in the oven.
Roast pork shoulder with the crackling. Another thing that's changed is that I encourage my teens to eat the fat on the meat. Otherwise they just eat toast (or worse) later.

It's a shame they don't like eggs. Does that include French toast?

I buy frozen berries and some veg frozen. Then fresh I buy seasonal cheaper stuff. (I find Aldi fresh stuff variable too.)

lyralalala · 01/09/2020 19:38

@Mochudhu

Farmfoods quality has improved immensely in the last few years.

Their frozen veg is very good value, they also do a Good range of frozen fruit for smoothies, puddings, adding to yoghurt etc.

The have a wide variety of fish and seafood and more fresh and chilled stuff than they used to.

I've started shopping there more recently since WFH as it's close and less hassle than the big shops and I've been pleasantly surprised.

If you get the flyer through your door it can help you plan and also has money off vouchers.

You can get the money off vouchers on their website as well. They don't spam you with crap either and you only need to stick in an email address to get them.
RunningFromInsanity · 01/09/2020 19:39

Buy loads of beansprouts and courgetti, and stick it in most meals. You won’t really notice it’s there but it will bulk out the meal

positivelynegative · 01/09/2020 19:40

OP my friend is a fruit and veg supplier all the major supermarkets. Honestly Aldi has some of the best stuff going - same grapes as M&S (just not bunched to the exact weight).
I think that sometimes their stock turn lets them down. If the put new stuff at the front, busy days leave you buying the old stuff. I’d mention a bad buy to the manager as it really shouldn’t happen.

nancybotwinbloom · 01/09/2020 19:42

Iceland do fresh chicken breasts for a tenner. I think you get 8 or ten in a pack in the fridge section. They are really big and good value.

I buy these a lot and freeze them.

Meal planning is the way to go I think. Then stick to it.

ZZGirl · 01/09/2020 19:42

Meal plan and consider buying in bulk, especially for meat. Muscle foods is great for that.

Bubblesbubblesmybubbles · 01/09/2020 19:47

Personally I think it's great you are supporting local butchers, we do the same. Yes it's more expensive but justified. We bulk meals out with less meat and more veg, stew, lasagna, pie, everything is chokka full of veg so meat goes further.

Freeze leftovers always
Shop online where possible so you dont over buy
We bulk buy when we see offers too and mix up bread/Cereal depending on offers

CharlieBoo · 01/09/2020 19:51

Yeah the veg is not the best from Aldi, and you can notice the difference between Tesco/Sainsbury’s compared to it. Also agree about the bits you can’t get, for eg.. we had steak one week as I was feeling a bit flush lol but I couldn’t get any peppercorn sauce to go with it. But I DO save quite a bit shopping in there.. maybe give it a go x

HaveYouSeenMyFriendKimberley · 01/09/2020 19:52

If the kids eat large amounts of cereals look to get them where they are on offer. Crazy prices for branded ones if you don't shop around.

I'm trying to big up porridge!

LostFrog · 01/09/2020 19:54

I am going to go against the grain here. Last year I was trying to save money on food and actually saved a fortune by shopping every day rather than a weekly shop. I did a monthly shop for household stuff like detergent etc and then went shopping every day with a £20 note. Because I only bought what I needed and based dinner around what I already had in I really saved loads. Unfortunately no one wants to go shopping every day in Covid times! But I swear it was more economical than weekly shops.

HaveYouSeenMyFriendKimberley · 01/09/2020 19:54

I use the different available shops on rotation. It also kind of does the meal planning for us.

Elllicam · 01/09/2020 19:55

If you work for any of the emergency services/NHS or know someone who does I can highly recommend the Company Shop. You need to be a member of the emergency services to join but they sell food for massive discounts. Companies donate end of line/short weighted/short dated products and you get some amazing bargains. I usually go every week and get a weeks shop for about £50. You can go as a guest of a member as well.

lovelymm · 01/09/2020 19:57

Whoever said 'chicken boobs' needs to be shot with shit! What a stupid, revolting phrase!

HaveYouSeenMyFriendKimberley · 01/09/2020 19:58

LostFrog I used to shop like that and yes you can pick up last minute markdowns and offers for dinner (sadly not so many around now anyway!) Also I'd pick up standard cupboard items when they were on offer.

Allthepinkunicorns · 01/09/2020 20:00

We spend about £90 a fortnight in Aldi and then we buy fruit and veg from our local green grociers. We are a family of 3 so much smaller but we used to shop at sainsbury and would spend about £120 a week. Dh is a vegetarian so this helps keep costs down, he often batch cooks a tomato sauce which can be used in pasta or lasagna. We had a lovely vegetarian chilli the other day with rice. Also jacket potatoes with tuna mayo and a salad is filling. I was the same in thinking I couldn't get everything in Aldi but I have gotten mostly everything and anything I haven't been able to find I either get from home bargains or don't bother with anymore.

GetawayfromthatWelshtart · 01/09/2020 20:04

@lovelymm

That'll be me!

Wind your neck in sweetie or just feck off.

Its a joke.

Didn't realise the "word Police" were out in force tonight.

Don't forget to put on your mask before you pick up your pitchfork for your nightly patrol.

UntamedWisteria · 01/09/2020 20:05

dahl.

lovelymm · 01/09/2020 20:07

I thought jokes were supposed to be funny?

Babyboomtastic · 01/09/2020 20:08

@lovelymm

Would you prefer chicken bosoms? Clucky tits? Cheep cheep mammaries?

We also call them chicken boobs in my house. Always have done.

BloodyNorasNeighbour · 01/09/2020 20:11

I went through a similar time and needed to cut back. I did 4 different food plans for each week and rotated theM so only had the same meal once per month. I spent a fair bit of time on this and made sure the meals were all healthy and quick to cook (No more than 30 mins) or could be batch cooked. I then did an online shop for each of the weekly shops and stored them online. This helped enormously for me as I wasn’t tempted to buy other stuff. I found I could do each meal plan shop for about £60/week and it saved me so much time and stress. I also made sure that each week had a cheap simple meal like Jackets pots with beans or eggs on toast. I also batch cooked a lot of cottage pies, lasagnes and stews. I double up the meat by adding in a ton of lentils - healthy, high in protein and lower in fat. Nobody even noticed their cottage pie had them in!
By doing it this way you then know exactly how much each shop is going to cost you Each week and can work to a budget far more easily. I would then just add each weeks order to my online basket and add anything else I needed like washing powder or shampoo etc.

Maryann1975 · 01/09/2020 20:12

I know you say you cook from scratch, but I think it really depends how you cook from scratch if that actually means it is a saving. Eg, shepherds pie, an onion, pack of mince, cornflour, bit of salt and Cheap White potatoes, Carrots on the side will come in around £5.
Shepherds pie out of a fancy chef book, could include wine in the stock, herbs, several different veg in it, fancier potatoes with spring onions on the top (I have a recipe like this in one of my books). The cost soon adds up and what could be a cheap dinner, very quickly isn’t.

ConquestEmpireHungerPlague · 01/09/2020 20:15

There is absolutely nothing left on a roast chicken after one meal.

For 5 more-or-less adult appetites you need two decent-sized chickens. Serve most of the breast meat as a Sunday roast with gravy, spuds and plenty of veg. Then use the remaining breast meat and the wing meat in a pasta bake with salad on Monday and the leg meat in a chicken and veg pie with chips on Tuesday. Use the carcass for soup with bread on Wednesday. I know the idea of multiple meals from a roast chicken gets mocked regularly on MN but I literally do this. I have growing teenage boys who love their grub. Cooking like this works.