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?

I have really reduced the number of cleaning products I buy - mostly use a dish soap and vinegar spray for cleaning everything - so no separate cleaners.

I've worked to cut down the amount of toiletries I was buying to save money and reduce plastics. No face wipes, one mascara at a time etc.

And things like paper towel, Ziploc bags, foil etc, they have all been replaced by reusable options. I'd look in those areas for savings.

Asda Free From

If anyone does want reasonable priced vitamins, try here
Multivitamins are £5 for a year supply
https://sealions.com/products/multivitamin-iron

Kitchen roll is not necessary. Use cloths and wash them. I haven't bought it in years because it's such a waste.
Vitamins are under £1 for a month's supply if you buy the basic ones - are they even needed?

How much in the way of cleaning product and detergent do you really buy? I get through a massive Lidl washing up liquid every few months, I use about one spray bottle of mould and mildew every two months (and I use it a lot), then everything else is either hot soapy water or Zoflora type stuff which is highly concentrated and lasts months.
Loo roll - Lidl own brand is better than Andrex IMO - it pills less on your arse, so don't bother paying big money for it.

Food - what's the "Free From" that you need? Gluten, dairy, egg etc?

Why are you eating beans on toast every lunch time? Is that necessarily the best use of money / diet?

Big meals can be cheap and tasty. I've started to use sausages a lot more - chopped up into pasta bakes, sausages and mash, sausage butties etc. I buy big bags of frozen Richmond because they are the same price as a small but fresh packet, and you cook from frozen in about the same time really.

My Olio app always has lots of free from bread products. Might be worth checking out

You really don’t know that (about vitamins).
some people have health conditions were they DO require vitamins and quite a lot of them.

I spend that for 2 adults and 2 kids, I don't buy from the free from range though. Use cloths instead of kitchen roll then chuck them in the washing machine. Buy a bottle of flash for £1 and dilute it instead of buying cleaning sprays etc.

Some are. Everyone should be taking vitamin d at this time of year. I have to take high dose all year round

I'm the colour of skimmed milk and walk outside so I don't bother with D. Most people should though. I also mostly eat LCHF so a lot of oily fish, eggs, mushrooms and similar. Most people are deficient.

What free from stuff do you need? It's usually much cheaper to do work arounds

I think you could if you needed to. I try to only shop every 10 days, spend less than £70 in school holidays and £60 term time. For 1 adult, 3 teenagers. 1 coeliac and 2 with afrid.
I don't have a choice as I'm on disability benefits.
I online shop and meal plan every meal. We eat meat most days but it's bulked out so 2 chicken breast between 4 of us in a curry with lots of veg.
Breakfast is basic cereal, porridge, toast, yoghurt and fruit.
Lunch a sandwich, beans/egg/tomatoes on toast or leftovers, homemade pizza.
Teas Curry, chilli, spaghetti bolognaise, jacket potato, marinated meat with wedges and vegetables, Jambalaya, pasta and sauce.
Snacks are fruit, crackers, yoghurt, rice cakes, homemade biscuits or flapjack.
I make everything homemade and bulk out with beans, vegetables, lentils etc. I don't impulse buy because I do it online. I buy own brand. Bulk buy rice, pasta etc. When the shopping comes I check use by dates and swap the meal plan around to reduce waste. I also will chop extra peppers and onions and freeze to save waste. We often don't eat what we fancy, more what we have in and what is cheap and healthy however we don't have a choice but I think once you get out of that mind set of 'I fancy x so I'll have x, even though y will go to waste' it get easier.

People are fixated on this. Yes, some people need to supplement. But a lot of people don't really. Or should just eat better, or stop drinking alcohol, or should stop eating beige shit.

People are aware that for millions of years people existed without them. The Swiss and Swedish aren't known for their poor health outcomes and consume MASSIVELY fewer vitamins than the Chinese and Americans. Who have notably poor health outcomes.

I try to only shop every 10 days,

This definitely helps me. So does eating out of the cupboards and freezer for a week, And surely the cleaning products aren't every week?

It's crazy ridiculous. I spent £52 today and basically have fuck all to show for it. That didn't even include household products. At one point I could fill my cupboard, fridge and freezer for around £60 my fridge today has got 2 packs of fruit, some reduced beef slices, gf puff pastry, a tin of squirty cream and some pumpkin spiced cold brew and some veg, no cupboard staples apart from some cappuccinos. No frozen stuff either. Oh and a mega expensive pack of stewing beef which is in my slow cooker. I've already had to bin pieces cos it's that fatty even after being slow cooked for hours

Do you cook from scratch?

Ive got my "£60 food list" which was done a month ago and was carefully planned to feed 2 adults plus 2 kids. Its based on sainsburys prices as its the only store near by. There's meat in most of the meals but not much eg 1 chicken breast across 4 people. There's baking ingredients to make biscuits or cakes included. If you could get loo rolls & toiletries etc down to £20 a week you might shave it down to £80 but i really don't think £100 is awful.

It relies on:
Eating porridge for breakfast every day made with 30g oats, 120ml milk 30ml water per person
Having v boring/basic lunches eg cheese/ham/egg sandwich, serving of yoghurt, bit of salad & an apple.
Making bread (breadmaker).

The meals are curry, spag bol, bacon risotto, chicken & tomato pasta, homemade pizza, fry up (sausage egg beans etc), cottage pie

List:
1kg oats
8 pts whole milk
1kg red lentils
8 tins chopped toms
800g Frozen beef mince
3 onions
300g chicken breast
1kg carrots
6 sticks celery
2 tins chick peas
250g block butter
1 sachet curry seasoning
500g white rice
500g pudding rice instead of risotto
1kg fusili pasta
600g cheese
12 eggs
12 chipolatas
1 tin baked beans
500g sugar
500g plain flour
1 tub bicarbonate of soda
Bread flour 3kg
Yeast 1 box 6 sachets
1kg broccoli
1kg apples
4 pears
910g peas
300g bacon
2kg potatoes
2 cucumbers
2 red peppers
1 pack charcuterie
2 large tubs yoghurt
Box tea bags

The offenders don't visit Pedants' Corner.

For just 2 of you, you would be better off utilising the freezer more (veg, premade meals, yellow sticker meat etc) and do a big shop once a month and then top up shops each week for fresh stuff.
I manage to get shopping for around £200 a month that way.
whenever you do a shop get a cheap bag of pasta, a few tins etc and get a little stockpile going. 🙂

Missing the point of the thread but I need to take folate, iron and D3 so I don't A) faint and B) suffer even worse from seasonal depression than I already do. I buy them from savers and they're the cheapest I can find. Also before people say to get folate & iron through diet, I've tried! However they're not a very regular expense and barely contribute to my budget as they last for ages.

OP I live alone and shop at Lidl as much as possible, batch cook, I tend to have soup for lunch and make big pots from cheap ingredients. Bulk out meals with lots of veg and cheap carbs. Cleaning supplies from savers/home bargains etc.

Tin foil lasts me forever, cloths and tea towels instead of paper towels, bulk buy laundry detergent in powder

The only cleaning products I buy these days are basic laundry liquid, washing up liquid, bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar (large bottle that I dilute at home). You can clean everything satisfactorily with those 4 products. You might save a bit there.

I'm incredibly pale so avoid sun. I eat loads of eggs and mushrooms as well
My level was 9 in 2020 and I ended up on a prescription dose. Took that, and been taking 4000IU daily since then and I'm now at 66 so still more to go!

That sounds very expensive for 2 people. I shop for 3 of us and it costs about £60 a week. Why do you need to buy cleaning products every week? I find a bottle of polish, floor cleaner, cream cleaner and anti-bac spray lasts months, and I clean one room per day.
Instead of buying tin foil, get some reusable sandwich bags and tuppaware to store food.
Buy things that are about to go past their use by date and freeze them.
For laundry powder, get one of those huge boxes of powder, not the little capsules which are more expensive.

I spend under £100 a week for 3 adults and a teenager. One adult eats lunches out and the teens lunches are £15 pw. We eat meat most days. I imagine buying the free from adds quite a bit for you.

Do you ever try and get items from the reduced section or use apps like olio and toogoodtogo. I also grow my own herbs and use a lot more freezer products.

I spend less a week and we are a family of 5. Surely you don't need to buy toiletries every week?

I spend between 70 and 80 a week on 2 adults and 2 children at aldi, including nappies and wipea for the toddler. We have meat most days. Buy wonky fruit and veg. Own brand pasta, sauces, tinned stuff. Own brand bread, bagels, crumpets, thins, yoghurts etc.

I spend virtually nothing on foil, kitchen roll and cleaning products. They're certainly not things I buy even monthly.