To spend an average £125 on a weekly shop?

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We're a family of 4 - myself and DP, an 8yo and an 18mo. Pescatarians, so no meat, occasional fish/sea food. We try to eat healthy and on a budget - yet a typical shop bill comes to between £120-130 per week. However, that does include nappies, baby wipes, cleaning products, most toiletries, razors, occasional stationery.

Are we spending too much? We want to be able to save more so I'm wondering if our shopping bills are unreasonable.

What do you think? Thanks in advance xx

When people give the amount they spend do you include things like washing powder or pet food? It’s just me here but did a shop this week and just milk, cat food, washing powder, bin bags etc came to £25 before I added any food on top. So when people say they spend low amounts are you just talking purely meals? As otherwise I just don’t see how it’s possible.

I spend £50-£70 a week on just me. But generally half of that is pets, household cleaning, laundry stuff etc and basics. The other half is meals.

Including nappies, toiletries etc it isn't too bad. We spend about the same for 5 of us including cleaning products, cat food etc.

I spend about that for a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 adult sized teens, if I go to one of the big supermarkets.

At Lidl or Aldi, where I usually shop, I spend between £75 and £90 for the same amount of food.

The above amount included pretty much all toiletries and household products.

Thanks for all your messages, it's been an interesting read. I have a number of takeaways.

The pandemic & Brexit obviously affected the situation - food prices increased and people are spending more on average.

Yes, I should probably look into other supermarkets. It's just so convenient to get it all from one place if you see what I mean. Pre-pandemic I definitely shopped around a lot more, now I just can't be bothered..

@hibbledibble, @MargaretThursday, @Tuba437 - ladies, would you please share examples of meal plans? typical day or 2? I'm genuinely interested and would love some meal ideas/ inspiration..!

@BlueSurfer, @LittleBearPad, @DaphneDeloresMoorhead - yes we can afford it, it just seems like a big amount of money to be spending every week.. Just wanted to see if it seemed excessive and bounce off ideas :)

@ahoyshipmates, @TwinsandTrifle, @Snog - totally agree. Those statistics are pretty vague and almost designed to make people feel bad about your spendings!

@Dixiechickonhols - tiny freezer I'm afraid :(

@SeeYaBeYa - LOL at "lifetime supply of Gold Bar biscuits and a massive fucking new patio". I'm not disciplined myself :D

@SaveWaterDrinkGin - agreed - snacks and fruit add a lot. I always plan for everyone to just have 3 meals and no snacking in between but it just doesn't happen.. Is your friend naturally frugal or does she have no choice but to spend this little on food? I know what you mean by feeling inadequate..

And last but not least, @Orla1970 - well done for contributing so much to the food bank. Important to remember, for some people, spending incredibly small amounts of money on food isn't a choice..!

Sainsbury’s: that’s your issue! So bloody expensive there these days- Aldi all the way!

We spend approx £90pw, two of us plus cats. We could do it for less but what we buy suits us. We have built up a buffer of stock though, with full freezer and larder, and it includes toiletries and cleaning products. We'd survive for a month or more without shopping if it was necessary.
Pre-pandemic and Brexit I'd say a similar weekly haul cost about £15 less.

£125 is absolutely fine!

We basically spend that at aldi for two of us plus a small dog.

One thing that has saved a fortune is buy a bottle of £1 fabulosa (Poundland zorflora) and dilute one capful in a spray bottle and use for all surfaces. It cleans really well and freshens and a bottle has lasted me a year! Also use cheap washing up liquid for cleaning. I used to get through a £3 bottle of method a fortnight so this is quite a big saving in terms of cleaning stuff. I also find 39p bleach does just the same job as a £2 bottle of harpic etc. It all adds up…

I could do the average of £80 if it included no pet food, toiletries, cleaning etc.
We have shopping delivered so don’t shop around as like the service and the fresh food lasts. When I’ve swapped before the beg and fruit hasn’t been as long lasting and I ended up going more frequently.

I do think that some figures given 80.00 for a family of 4 may not take into account things like loo rolls washing powder and so on .we would struggle to spend that .for us 4 usually about twice that amount! We too shop in sainsburys like the quality there

If you can afford it then it doesn't seem that much to me, although we spend about the same and we eat a fair amount of meat and fish so I guess there must be room for saving in your weekly bill as meat and fish are the more expensive items. Does your shop include alcohol? Could you switch to online shopping from cheaper supermarkets like Asda and Iceland? We always go to Aldi for tinned and dried stuff and it makes a big difference in cost.

Family of 5 here, 2 adults and a 12,9 and 8 year old. We spend on average £90 a week at Aldi this includes food, some cleaning products and toiletries. I then spend £50 a month on milk and eggs from the milkman and around £20 a month on toiletries/cleaning products from B and M.I usually need a top up of fresh food during the week so around £20 a week.
So spend around an average of £130 a week.

Apologies for not falling in with the prevailing rhetoric, but why is there this race to the bottom?

I'm painfully aware that many many people are severely limited in how much they can spend on food - but if one has some flexibility, what is the benefit in striving to spend as little as possible? Such an English (or maybe a British) thing! Elsewhere in the world people take pride in seeking out the very best food available.

I like shopping in Sainsbury's (just a nicer experience) but can't afford to to that every week so I tend to alternate Sainsbury's one week and Aldi the next. Aldi don't always have everything I want so I either try and get those things at Sainsbury's or I am a frequent visitor of my local co-op!

There is always a big difference in price between the two so I guess it depends on how much you value experience over price!

Ours is the about same and also a family of 4 . That would be a minimum though on a week that we have the shopping well planned. We easily spend £150-£200 if we buy alcohol, have any special occasions, visitors etc. We mostly shop in Sainsbury’s but also Tesco, Lidl, M&S or wherever’s convenient.

@LittleBearPad

I think Sainsburys is the most expensive supermarket out there. Seems quite high for a food shop with no meat.

It’s by no means the most expensive - you’re forgetting Ocado, Waitrose and M&S.

Sainsbury's absolutely isn't that expensive. I can't do the same weekly shop any cheaper across the big 4 supermarkets at all. Sainsbury's also sells much better quality fruit and veg than Asda and Morrison's too (at least around here).

And I certainly don't find it dearer than Booths at all!

Me and DH spend about ~£90 for just us two, But we are Vegan so buy some dearer items like non-dairy and plant-based ‘meat’ products.

My shopping ranges from £80 to £200 some weeks. I shop at Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl, so rotate. Fruit does last longer from Sainsbury’s so don’t usually have to pop out mid week to top up. Family of 5 one in nappies and 2 pets. I don’t think £125 is much at all, but usually planning and meal plans gives me a low shop week. We could easily spend over £100 for one family meal out so I don’t think it much at all.

@Edmontine I definitely haven't seen a race to the bottom on this thread.

I think food has gone up significantly. I used to spend about £60-80 a week and now we spend similar to you. Part of that is a move to NI where food prices are slightly higher, but I think a lot must be just general UK prices rising! It makes me sad for low income families who must really struggle.

Ours is a lot more, but there are non-essential like lots of berries and fresh herbs and different fruit and vegetables, our usual wine is around £10 bottle and our chickens eat a lot of corn on the cob, strawberries and grapes. Like you if we wanted to spend less we obviously could. Meal planning is a really good way of doing it, and using lots of lentils, perhaps buying fruit and veg from a market?

Seems quite reasonable to me, we spend more, no nappies but adult DD's

It probably is about 80 a week when you take away the costs of nappies, cleaning and toiletries though?

I don't think Sainsbury's is the most expensive, but it is equivalent to Tesco for the poorest value for money. I think in both cases, the products are mainly terrible quality, and still a high price.

I can spend £200 in Waitrose or M&S and really enjoy the food. I can spend £80 in Lidl, and find myself surprised at the quality for the price.

Tesco and Sainsbury's (particularly Sainsbury's) I find I can spend £140, the quality is frequently substandard to Lidl, and the price difference is astonishing.

So I know what pp means when they say Sainsbury's is the most expensive. In my head it is as well, because I see it as the biggest waste of money.