AIBU to ask for help to get groceries down?!

[Chihuahuacat]

I keep reading on here how people spend about £300 a month on groceries for a family of four.

There’s just 2 of us and 2 cats and this month we’ve spent £460!! I don’t know where I’m going wrong...

meals have been (these are split between me and DH):

Today -
Bottle of red wine
Chicken and roasted veg / potatoes
Avocado and egg on ryvita
Baby bell
Snack a Jack
1 Aldi moser Roth chocolate (I’ve had one of these each day to save me listing it out).

Saturday:
Fish finger brioche sandwich (Aldi brioche, fish fingers from the freezer so no spend in the £460)
Half a pizza express margarita pizza
Bistro bagged salad
Sun dried tomatoes
Parmesan (from the fridge)
Bottle of Prosecco (Aldi £7).

Friday:
Turkey burgers (homemade) in the Aldi brioche buns, Sweet potatoe wedges
Lunch was leftovers from Thursday night.

Thursday:
Lunch: homemade chicken pie and veg (leftover)
Dinner: chicken breast with quinoa, broccoli (Nando’s flavour bag).

Weds:
Lunch: leftovers (the salmon as below).
Dinner: chicken pie as above.

Tuesday:
Lunch: leftovers (sausage and mash)
Dinner: tinned salmon, lettuce, eggs, green beans.

Monday:
Lunch: cream cheese bagel
Dinner: sausage and mash

I don’t really eat breakfast (maybe have a baby bel), husband has cereal. We bulk buy cat food / litter and buy about 8 bottles of wine a month (from Aldi, probably under £50). No alcohol in the week. Share a bottle sat / sun.

Laundry detergent etc is bulk bought so it’s not that. No real waste as we always have leftovers for lunch the next day.

We do buy nice instant coffee from not being in the office, but that’s about £3.

Will buy things like Diet Coke, mini eggs but not much at all, maybe once a week. A packet of snack a jacks.

Am I going horribly wrong or is this just what it costs? We obviously try and eat fairly healthy but nothing excessive I don’t think?

Any tips? We can afford it but I’d love to get it down, it feels like such a waste. We probably get takeaway a couple of times a month on top of this as well!!

I’ve attached a pic of my spending!

Find a local wholesale butchers, or a decent butchers shop, we go maybe once every 2 months, get enough to freeze and that will last us, certainly cheaper than getting 3 chicken breasts at a time in a pack, even at places like Aldi, where we usually shop for everything else.

I think ATM we are all bored stiff and fed up! No nice Cafes or Restaurants ! I read somewhere that all bills inc Alcohol /Food shops have increased .The Food prices overall have increased as well .Brexit playing a part too.It depends how you look at it really .£460.00 for 2 people plus 1 Cat equates to around £50 per person per week! Broken down again less than a tenner a day PP.

I guess it depends why you’re wanting to save money OP? Then it becomes a question of will whatever it is make you happier than the nice food? I’ve been spending more recently because there’s no holiday to save up for, no nights out or trips to the cinema, so it feels worth it. Other people might answer the question differently.
I definitely spend less when I online shop though than physically going into the store. When I had a tighter budget I’d get three things from the meat / fish 3for£10 deal and meal plan around that. Things like fried rice stretch small amounts of meat and veg a long way. Beans and lentils make good alternatives too. Traditional dishes like shepherds pie are cheap to make, or casseroles in the slow cooker. Homemade soup is a cheap, nutritious, and tasty lunch.

6 people, 3 cats. I set out my budget for the week, in a bank account that is household only, meal plan before I go and use self scanners to keep track. Nice extras are added at the end if I come under budget. There's a little extra money then as a buy it now or pay more later deal fund. I do most of my shopping at tescos and have the club card app, so its also easy to see what's on offer before I go.

OK so what helps me is to meal plan for the week. Then do the shop online at tesco click and collect. Yea it costs £1.50 but it saves me spending on things we don't need.
We would need milk topped up in the week so I usually go to local shop for that, costs more for the milk but again I don't buy extra unless pringles are on special offer

Again I’m going to sound like a right idiot, but in terms of freezing leftovers, do you have any tips? I find anything we freeze just goes in there to die and never gets used. How do you label stuff? And do you let it defrost the day before or microwave it?

Freeze in Tupperware, write contents in whiteboard marker on lid.

I either take it out the night before or pop the frozen Tupperware in warm water in the sink in the morning if I’ve forgotten.

Microwave to reheat.

Homemade soup is so easy to make, really cheap and healthy. I have had most work days while working from home and then have a different lunch at weekends like open sandwiches/flatbreads etc

If I had a big lunch like you have been eating I would fall asleep during my afternoon meetings

Eggs are your friend. One of my favourite work at home lunches is a poached egg on toast - total cost about 25p. If I can be arsed I'll buy a big bag of spinach as well (not the expensive baby leaf stuff) and have a pile of buttered spinach under my egg. Creamy mushrooms on toast is also an excellent lunch - just the cheapest mushrooms, thickly sliced, then sautéed with a bit of thyme and a glug of cream.

I find the only real way to save money on grocery shopping is to draw up a weekly menu and stick to it. This will keep you away from the shops where you won't be tempted to grab extras.
Include using up anything in your freezer when planning your menu.
Also doing this should cut out food going out of date and being thrown out

[quote Chihuahuacat]@Love51 I’m actually pretty short so also have that problem!

Thanks everyone - the point about the expensive lunches makes sense as well. Will try that next week and stock up on ‘lunch items’ like things on toast, soup etc.

The habit started when I was in the office as I have access to a microwave which is great for leftovers, but no toaster or option to do like a jacket potato. I don’t really like the processed meat for sandwiches either.

Again I’m going to sound like a right idiot, but in terms of freezing leftovers, do you have any tips? I find anything we freeze just goes in there to die and never gets used. How do you label stuff? And do you let it defrost the day before or microwave it?[/quote]
@Chihuahuacat you can cook a jacket potato in the microwave, it takes about 5-7 minutes
If you’re concerned about hogging the microwave for so long then you can cook it at home and reheat in the work microwave which will only take a couple of minutes.

I label things in the freezer by writing on a piece of masking tape and sticking it on the container. You can take things out the night before if you remember but you can also defrost in the microwave or on the side if you don’t, it doesn’t really matter.

I think you're eating too much meat. It's expensive (and bad for the environment).

Pulses, beans, etc (which you can buy cheaply in bulk) are protein-rich and cheap. Curries and dahls, which you can have with rice, are filling, nutritious and cheaper to prepare than what you're making.

some good and cheap recipes here: cookingonabootstrap.com/

good luck!

Stop eating your leftovers for lunch and have them for dinner two days in a row.
Lunch can be a sandwich or egg on toast, or soup. Something like that. Will bring your cost right down.

Maybe if you have a small breakfast you might not want such a big lunch so won't need the 2 dinners a day?

@RickiTarr

I think that honestly the best way to learn the knack to frugality is to leave your cards at home, take the weekly budget you are aiming for in cash, and not a penny more, bow this will be the only shop this week, and the two of you go to the supermarket together and figure it out as you go.

Even Asda has the handheld self scanners now, so you don’t even need to add as you go these days.

Just literally go round the shop adding and removing things from your trolley until you have seven days of food and sundries for less than the cash budget in your pocket.

If you’ve been through periods of having to do that, you improvise on your feet until it becomes second nature. It’s much harder to acquire the skill theoretically with a credit card in your pocket IYSWIM.

The problem with that though, is here the self scan machines only take cards.

Leftovers - it depends, if it's a rice or pasta dish with vegetables it's perfectly cheap for lunch. And nutritiously better than a jacket potato or toast both of which offer little other than carbs.

OP you don't need to buy specific stir fry packets of vegetables or sauce. I never do. Check the BBC recipes and replace the fresh cut vegetables with frozen or whatever is in season. Frozen green beans or cauliflower, fresh carrots and onion (carrots and onions are always cheap) can be stored easily and you only use what you need for that meal, no waste. The sauce is so easy if you have a few spices/bottles of fish sauce /oyster sauce etc. Then you're not using those awful packets which are expensive, full of additives and also bad choices environmentally.

In a nutshell, buy food that has not been processed or packaged wherever possible.

With regard to soup, yes you can make your own but also canned soup can be very healthy and inexpensive, cans are all good for recycling. Same with fish. A can of fish for your fish pie is healthy, inexpensive and likely fresher than the "fresh" ish from the supermarket counter.

And it's true about own brands, very often they are as good if not better than
product in fancy packaging. (if you must but packaged food ☺)

Nearly all my lunches are leftover dinner and I don't think it's an expensive way to eat.

When people suggest sandwiches, that often involves ham or cheese and the ham especially seems expensive to me. And high calorie but not very satisfying.

If it helps we spend a bit more than you as two adults two cats and track our spend, pre-plan our meals and freeze leftovers!

I said to my partner the other day though that although we could spend less we can afford it so if it's not an issue we don't need to make it into one. That's my way of justifying regular wine and a habit of ordering from a local pricey bakery who deliver to the door!

It just seems like you aren't meal planning so keep popping for more. I spent £40/45 a week for me, DP and dog. We probably spend another £10 a week at the local garage for drinks and some extras we may fancy in the evening. You probably have loads of stuff in your cupboards/freezer/throw away stuff that isn't used?

If you buy green beans/broccoli etc, just put them in sandwich bags in portions and put in the freezer, then you wont need to keep popping out to buy fresh.

Not sure why anyone would do this. "Fresh" vegetables have a long, nutrient-sapping journey from picking to purchaser,
often involving long periods of time sat in cold store. Often they are much further from "fresh" than frozen vegetables which go straight from the grower to the be snap frozen and stored.

There's a misconception that frozen vegetables lose nutrients, but they are usually picked or harvested at peak ripeness then snap frozen within hours and therefore retain maximum nutrient levels.

@BarbaraofSeville

Nearly all my lunches are leftover dinner and I don't think it's an expensive way to eat.

When people suggest sandwiches, that often involves ham or cheese and the ham especially seems expensive to me. And high calorie but not very satisfying.

I don’t think leftovers are an expensive lunch either BUT it depends what you’re having. If it’s expensive meat then cooking twice as much to allow for lunch leftovers probably adds up.

I tend to make leftover chilli into quesadillas the next day. Highly recommend that by the way OP with that Jamie Oliver chilli I suggested. It also freezes well.

I don't think £17 for three bottles of wine is expensive. It's less than £6 a bottle! My local pub charges £11 for a large glass of rosé - I think what used to be in the "going out socialising" budget has been reallocated to the groceries budget and it's not necessarily the same thing during lockdown.

Why are you buying so many branded and processed items like microwave rice? Gnocchi can be made with mash and flour rather than buying ready made.

We’re a family of three, two adults and one child, we spend £40-50 a week depending if a large item needs replacing, and we shop at ocado and buy the organic options, so could spend less if we didn’t buy organic.

This is a typical list for us

Oranges
Apples
Bananas
Mango
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Baby sweetcorn
Radish
Beetroot
Avocado
Celery
Peppers
Mushrooms
Onions
Cauliflower
Brocolli
Carrots
Okra
Spinach
Kale
Courgette
Sweet potato
Squash (the veg not the drink)
Onions
Garlic
Eggs
Oat milk
Tofu
Porridge oats
Dried turtle beans
Various tinned beans e.d adzuki, barlotti, black eye etc
Dried chickpeas
Tinned toms
Frozen peas
Frozen spinach
Frozen edamame beans
Nuts
Crisps

I plan every meal, so every breakfast, lunch and dinner

You asked for veggie recipe recommendations. A favorite in my house is Jack Monroe’s 9p burgers.
cookingonabootstrap.com/2019/11/01/carrot-kidney-bean-burger-recipe/
We serve them in a bun with salad and ketchup or relish. You can use whatever beans you have in the cupboard (even baked if you wash the tomato sauce off!).

£200 a month for 2 people. We like to eat well and we don't waste food.

I make a meal enough for 4 people in the slow cooker and freeze half. We'll eat the leftovers often the very next day or at least that same week. Lasagne and pasta bakes are also excellent for leftovers.

If I cook a curry or a risotto I only put half the chicken in compared with the recipe. The rest is bulked up with veg and (in the case of curries) chickpeas.

Indulge in more expensive dinners (we love salmon) some days mixed with more cheap and cheerful options most other days (soup and crusty bread is always a winner)

Buy meat from the butcher and freeze. Same with fish from fishmonger.

Don't buy too much veg with good intentions and then let it rot! Meal plan and just have the veg you need.

Don't let fruit go to waste. Bananas are the best for this. I either make banana bread or I chop them and freeze them for smoothies. But I'm also terrible for leaving apples and pears to rot. So I'll chop and stew them in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Excellent topping on porridge or Greek yoghurt for breakfast.

We're crazy for potatoes for cheap dinners: baked potatoes, hasselback potatoes, soup, mash, skin on fries...

We're a family of 5 plus 3 cats and weekly we spend anywhere from £60‐£130 a week. But I tend to stock up on non perishables straight after pay day so dont need to buy it later hence why there is a big difference.

We recently started meal planning, we're on month 2 and honestly it's been a game changer. I shop for what I need each week, after a long day at work I know exactly what I'm going to cook so dont have that panic and shove a frozen pizza in issue anymore and our meals have gotten more varied.

Some things we do, bulk buy meat and freeze. Bulk buy dry foods like pasta. I buy 3kg bags and it does me for months! Means I'm not buying smaller packets more often and saves me money.

The MN chicken does bemuse me though. We buy an extra large chicken and all the meat is gone in one meal!!