To think £56 for a food shop for a week is expensive?

[uhohhereweego]

It's just me and my 8 year old daughter. I've been trying to save money and usually shop daily so decided tonight to do an online shop at Asda for Monday. The total came to just under £57 for the week, that's for 10 breakfasts, 5 lunches (for me as daughter at school) and 10 dinners and some snacks. This included two bottles of wine (£10) and two cat foods (£8) so I suppose these could be ignored.

However, I still think it's an excessive amount for the amount just the two of us. Is that a lot or pretty average?

I'd halve the wine before I'd cut the food shop though.

Of that shop, only £40 was spent on food? I'd say that's cheap for 10 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 10 dinners and snacks!

That’s very cheap. Ours averages £120 per week for a family of 4. That’s without pet food, alcohol and 2 kids lunches during the week (we pay separately for school dinners). It does include cleaning stuff and basic toiletries though.

This feels like a stealth boast thread but I can’t work out what the OP is actually boasting about. Very strange.

That sounds low to me

especially without the cat food and wine

@ZoyaTheDestroyer

I agree.

@uhohhereweego what are you trying to get from this post?

Not the point of the thread but are you working? I ask because you’ve said you’re shopping daily with a school age child. If you’re working, how do you find the time? Shopping in bulk won’t be great for things like avocados that can go off totally randomly it seems but you might get marginally better value doing a weekly or even bulk shop at Aldi or Lidl. I say marginally because your shop is really cheap already.

If you’re not working then could you pick up at least some part time work to offset shopping costs. If your margins are so small you’re stressing over an already cheap £39 per week shop then any further price rises could have a big impact.

Average I think. I'm also a single parent of an 8 year old. I probably spend around £40-£50 a week and DS has school dinners which is an additional £11.

£40 was my grocery budget 30 years ago when I got my first house. I'd say I spend around £80+ nowadays.

So for 5 days not a week. How much do you spend at the weekend?

All these people boasting their really cheap weekly shop but don’t include the big shop for all the store cupboard stuff earlier in the month or the midweek top ups, school lunches, takeaways

I think that sounds about right. I spend about £150 a week for 5 of us and I have a teenager included in that. I have to top up with fruit/milk etc part way through the week.

I think it is low . Am I the only one who would love to see the till receipt and items listed? I love looking in other peoples trolleys 🛒 to see what they buy 😊

Just two of us here and we probably spend about £120 - 150 a week between us, that includes some alcohol but not loads, but doesn't include pet food / treats as I get it online, that prob comes to another say £20 pw. We don't eat meat either (but do buy fish - maybe one or two portions a week each).

I'd consider your shop a bargain, especially if it has all the things you wanted in it!

Sounds completely normal to me. For me and ds, I spend £45 without wine or cat food (Tesco).

Very cheap!

Can you tell us what you eat for that op?

I spend £65-£70 pw for me and one dc. So that is amazingly cheap.

That’s absolutely ridiculously cheap I have an 11-year-old and I would say on average we spend 110 I try and keep it down to £90 including cat and dog food. I’ve never achieved that though.

Being on a low income is not boasting 🙄, and my food budget is just that, all inclusive. Stocking up on store cupboard food is included, no top ups, no school lunches, no takeaways.

I spent 120 this week but that’s for 3 adults plus DS GF has dinner with us once a week. This doesn’t include any alcohol.

The actual meals for a week look lacking. You put pasta with mozzarella, is that literally it?

I think that sounds reasonable

That is cheap. I spend the equivalent of £35 that for one adult only, at least. But I prioritise natural juice instead of concentrate, I have fresh veg every day, 2-3 pieces of fruit a day (albeit in season) so it does go up. I could do it cheaper if I needed to, and have in the past, but I'd be having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, instead of veg noodles, tomato salad and fresh nectarines for desert for example. Cheap + healthy and nutritious is hard to achieve as a combination.

Asda is expensive compared to Lidl or Aldi but I really don’t think your shopping bill is that bad.
(although I do have hollow teens and husband).

surely if you think it’s too much you would have put the wine back?

I spend a lot more than that and we are 2 adults, a baby, 2 dogs & 2 cats! If you remove the £18 i think that’s pretty good!!

What 'big shop'? I've already got rice in my cupboard, that hardly counts as me stocking up 3 weeks ago. I don't pay for school lunches or take aways and I don't do mid week top ups. Your snide comment just goes to show how much some smug people know about real life budgeting.