To not be able to food shop for cheaper?

[cheesetriangles]

I’ve tried all the supermarkets possible but can’t manage to get our weekly food shop for less than £100.

(£100 is inclusive of all food, toiletries, cleaning products, detergent, vitamins, kitchen/loo roll, tin foil etc)

It’s only two adults eating but we do have to buy some free from products in that. We don’t buy alcohol. I’ve been to all the supermarkets and just can’t do it for cheaper at any. We eat very little meat, maybe the weekly shop includes two meat products that’s it. I wish I could save on this but maybe that’s just not practical with the cost of living? AIBU?

don't know how people shop for cheaper than that. My last shop was £180 for me and a teenager. I buy own brand everything. Some meat substitutes.
£180pw for 2 ppl?? of course that can be reduced, same with the PP with £100 for one adult and 4 yr old.
If you had a lower income you'd have no choice but to shop cheaper.

I spend less than that (just) for 2 of us and I am gluten intolerant and do virtually my whole shop at M&S or Waitrose and a bit at butchers . Mean this not in a doubting way but I don't quite get it -maybe you buy vast amounts more cleaning stuff than I do etc or mountains of expensive berries or something., I buy very little 'free from' - I simply stopped eating gluten free bread - most of its horrible- and I don't eat GF biscuits or cake etc - I do eat GF crispbread and oatcakes.

Maybe post up what you would buy on an average week because I'm having trouble mentally envisaging struggling with this this kind of spend for 2 - even if one is GF. Maybe then I can share the differences with mine as we are in a similar position

Some tips.
Use powdered skim milk instead of fresh. It tasts like full cream regular milk. Make up in a jug every morning.
Buy unprocessed as much as possible - like rolled oats and Weetbix for breakfasts.
Buy large jar of peanut butter
Buy day old bread and use quickly or freeze.
Buy dried lentils, barley etc.
Grow your own green vegies - zucchini, broccoli, silverbeet
Eat sausages or minced steak or chicken
Make up your own cleaning products
Buy long roll loo paper
Frozen vegies
Buy seconds fruit and vegies direct from markets
Accept windfalls from people's fruit trees
Buy packet cakes and make
Buy 1/2 doz eggs. Do you have a couple of chooks?
Buy cheese, canned tomatoes, tuna, pasta, and other pantry items when on special.

"Use powdered skim milk instead of fresh. It tastes like full cream regular milk. Make up in a jug every morning.
Buy unprocessed as much as possible"
This is a massive contradiction ( powdered milk is massively processed)

I’m struggling to see why you can’t get it to under £100 for two people.
When you do your next shop or when you’re planning for it would love to see what you are buying.
We spend half that.

You will make yourself ill by filling up on cheap carbs and sugar. If you’re eating healthy and buying green veg and meat or fish, cheese etc, then yes it will cost that much.

I probably spend less than £15 per month on cleaning products ie dishwasher and laundry tablets!

I buy extras of things we use regularly, when they are on offer. I keep bread in the freezer, so I never throw any away. We have egg and chips once a week. If I do spaghetti bolognaise or shepherds pie, I blitz loads of veg to bulk out the meat.

I think if you're including free from products like Gluten Free, vitamins and cleaning products it's unrealistic. Look into a subscription for GF food if you are coeliac and make everything other than bread and crackers from scratch. Is there a reasonably priced gluten free flour mix?

You have fresh veggies/fruit? Consider frozen ones too.

I don't include my vitamins in my grocery budget. And buy cheap cleaning products or use homemade ones/basic detergent/vinegar/baking soda to save $ there.

It'll be the none food items. Just £1 a meal X3 a day X2 adults is £42 per week.

Toiletries - use up everything you have, buy bars of soap instead of shower gel or hand wash (Dove Sensitive is very moisturising and can buy a multi pack on offer), and then Boots or Superdrug own brand shampoo, conditioner and skin care. If you suffer from eczema see if you're better off getting stuff on prescription

Cleaning products- all you need is white vinegar (huge bottle) and bleach, mix up a diluted spray bottle of each (not both mixed together!). Can add lemon peel or an essential oil for scent and anti-bacterial properties (orange is very good value).

Detergent - buy powder for washing machine and dish washer, skip fabric conditioner or replace with vinegar and few drops of essential oil.

Vitamins - consider skipping, overwise Boots own brand is best value and quality same for any over the counter meds

Kitchen/loo roll - skip kitchen roll unless for fried food, have a stash of washable tea towels and rags

Tin foil etc.- again try to skip or reduce, wash out containers for leftovers, use a Dutch oven if you have one for cooking instead

Do you mean £100 a week?

I don’t think that’s unreasonable, that’s what I spend on an adult and two children each week including all lunches, we eat more meat then you but I also don’t buy vitamins/cleaning/tin foil/kitchen roll every week.

generlaly i spend £87 a week for 2
do you have to have free from, can't you just change your diet?

What are you buying?

I’m a vegan and for just me I’ll usually do one “big” shop at the beginning of the month for about £50 (depending on what’s already in) then do £10 - £15 weekly top ups throughout the month. I’ll maybe get some snacks in 1 of the top up shops and stick to basics for lunch, and usually a lot of veg for tea.

I shop around at Aldi / b&m / home bargains.

My DC are coeliac and it makes me
so angry that we have to pay thru the nose for GF foods. An example; a tiny box of GF nutribix (wheat-free weetabix) is £4.75, GF coco pops are £1.75, a decent load of GF bread £3+, GF biscuits, £2+…. And these will only last a couple of days each. Our food bill is usually £150 a week for 4 with a few top ups (milk etc).

@MyCircumference - your comment is so ridiculous!!! As if some people can just not buy the free from - it’s not a CHOICE. If my DC eat gluten it makes them so poorly and leads to cancers etc. It’s not a lifestyle or dietary choice. If OP needs to buy from that section there is probably a good reason - not a dietary one. FFS.

Iceland rarely gets a mention on MN but I popped in for just one thing about an hour before closing time and was startled to see packs of fresh chicken thighs and drumsticks reduced by such a massive amount that I bought 5 packs and froze them. The usual price was £3.99 and they were reduced to £1.50.

My other tip is that places like Poundland and Poundstretcher also sell food in tins and jars really cheaply.

I've not got pernicious anemia, I have an absorption issue, so I don't need injections. My GP told me to buy supplements when I was first diagnosed. When they checked up it still wasn't high enough, so they prescribed me a three month supply. After that check they were happy, so now they have left me to it - but because it's an absorption issue I can't get enough from my diet, so I still need to supplement.

It helps because it's the most problematic symptom I get when my B12 is low. It seems like it's not a terribly common symptom though, because it took two years to find out the issue - and that was because of an entirely new symptom showing up after all that time.

So I guess I am 'self-medicating' - but in the circumstances it's my best option.

@Poppsidoppsi
i obviously didnt mean eat the fucking gluten but there are other foods

Omnivorous couple here. I shop in Sainsbury's and Lidl and my weekly shop is around £80, which appals me. No alcohol, no Free From. We can't eat out due to DH's mobility issues, buy coffee out once in a blue moon. We eat well, with a few treats, especially this time of year.

I use mine to wrap half used fruit or veg so it takes a second to wipe and put away. I have containers but they take up more space in the fridge.

I assumed they meant to eat more naturally gluten free grains and starchy foods that don't have the 'free from' markup.

Ask your GP for a prescription.

Having a list of what you’re buying would help as it seems strange you can’t get it under £100, even with free from food. What is the allergy?
I have 2 adults and 4 children in the house and can occasionally go into £100-10 territory if I need to buy cleaning products/washing detergent but generally I can get a weeks shop for £80-100. Biggest part of my shop is supplying my 3 year olds berry & melon addiction 😂