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?

We are vegetarian , oat milk , 2 adults and 1 small dog to feed….no alcohol…inclusive of everything you buy….also includes packed lunch for partner only…do it for around 75£ …. combination of Aldi, home bargain and Tesco…. Depending on available offers that week

If u r using going to.wrap.foix in it woukd be more cost effective in the long run to buy plastic containers. I woukd try not yo buy toiletries and loo roll etc from.mainstream supermarkets. It grim.at the moment.

Using foil. Typo- sorry

The people who are saying they shop for that with 4/5/6 in the family, are you buying free from products too? Because we spend about 130 pounds (150 euro- are in Ireland!) but a week we had someone over who had intolerances and so couldn’t buy the brands we usually bought our shopping leapt up!!

I have no idea what you’re buying but last week our shop (2 adults - and I’m pregnant so eating more than I normally do) came to £27!! That covers us for the whole week. We get our TP and cleaning stuff from Costco which saves a huge amount of money.

The only cleaning products I buy these days are washing powder, washing-up liquid and white vinegar. Kitchen roll is expensive and not recyclable. Use cloths or old newspaper instead.

Same. I don't get the 'does that include toiletries and cleaning products?' when comparing food budgets. It makes little difference to mine.

Free from products for my DC add about £20 on to the food shop most weeks. I have found that the tesco club card algorithm starts offering me it cheaper for a few weeks and when it does I make sure I buy anything non perishable in huge amounts.

Yes potatos

Also spend very little on household items such as foil, toiletries and cleaning items. Probably could do more cleaning though!

Family of 4 (2 adults, 2 primary age DC) and we average about £100 a week at lidl. I’m not on a strict budget though. I could cut a fair bit if we were (although it would be depressing). Kids get school dinners, but DH and I usually eat lunch at home or take a packed lunch.

I moved house 2.5 years ago. I have still have the same roll of tin foil and I literally just used up the roll of cling film the other week as it was my DD birthday party so I’ll have to buy a new one as it is handy to have! We do have a lot of plastic boxes though and I have some reusable plastic bags for sandwiches etc.

3 adults and 7 dogs here. Main shop at Lidl and a few things they don't do from Sainsbury's choosing Nectar deals where I can. Not including dry dog food which I order online I struggle to get under £150 per week for everything. That's including £25 on fresh meat for the dogs. Used to be under £100 and feels like it's constantly creeping up

Oh I see.

🥔

Is 'free from' gluten free? Can't you just eat more things that are naturally gluten free? I eat hardly any bread as I eat more rice and potatoes.

We’re 2 adults and rarely spend more than £50 average a week. Funny you mention tin foil, that’s one thing I never buy. Never buy clingfilm either. Do all cleaning with washing up liquid and white vinegar. Buy the biggest laundry detergent on Amazon lasts forever. Buy few snacks. Batch cook.

And I’d try and avoid this free from products, all ultra processed. Try naturally gluten free foods

I don’t get why you are buying the non food items every week? Toiletries last about a month if you get large bottles of shower gel, deodorant same. Cleaning material’s definitely longer than a month (and I do clean regularly). Even vitamins usually come in bottles of 30

It'd be easier to suggest things to help if you posted a typical weeks shopping list and a week's menu.

Free from stuff is expensive and sometimes it's best to just go without.

Soup is cheap to make and you could make a huge pot with the cheapest veg and freeze it in portions for the weeks lunches for example.

Bulk buying non food items from discount stores can save money when averaged out.

I'm the same but I can't get it below £200 for 4 of us 🤦‍♂️😔

2 adults and 2 children we spend £100 a week including nappies wipes toiletries cleaning stuff and some free from/allergen free foods for DD who has multiple allergies. I do my main shop at aldi and then any specific allergen free foods I can't get like her milk I get from tescos.
I buy the smallest pack of beef mince and bulk out with tinned tomatoes, veg etc to make it stretch for 4 people. Chicken I cook and shred 2 breasts for 4 people again bulk out with veg etc.
I found I have to really meal plan a lot for each week and make sure we stick to budget but it is possible. We don't have any biscuits, fizzy drinks alcohol etc. The kids have snacks but mainly fruit and yogurt etc.

Re cleaning products - white vinegar and baking powder are a really cheap and effective alternative

I'm with you OP. I also struggle to get my shopping bill down. Its all very well saying switch from kitchen roll to a cloth but the things that push up my shop are washing powder, bin and recycling bags (yes we have to bag ours) loo roll, bleach (for the loo!) Shower gel, dishwasher tablets, toothpaste, etc etc. Yes not every single thing is needed every week but there's always something.

I actually spend very little on food, around £25-£30 for myself. Never eat lunch. But all those extras plus 2 cats who need food and litter and it's a struggle. I also genuinely don't see how I could get cheaper.

For a week? That's an insane amount for 2 people. What on earth are you buying and where from?

We bulk buy laundry detergent, cleaning stuff etc from Costco about once every 2 months, along with things like tinned goods and coffee.

I hunt for yellow stickers daily on anything freezable (Tesco express and M&S) like meat and poultry.

Cook from scratch and batch cook. Mac & cheese ready meal is £2.99 in Aldi for one portion, I make it for pennies from scratch and freeze in portions. Same with lasagne, risotto etc.

I am coeliac and try to make most bread products at home, even things like pizza bases, tortilla wraps and naan.

Super 6 at Aldi or the Lidl equivalent are also good, this week my Aldi had a bag of baking potatoes for 46p, these can be used for home made chips as well as jackets or mash.

There are also absolutely loads of videos on tiktok of people making £5 meals for a family of 4, too. Really helpful even if you adapt the recipes.

we are a family of 5, excluding alcohol our weekly shop is probably less than yours and DH and I both take lunches from home and one of the kids takes a packed lunch.

It's not easy or that convenient but it keeps costs down a lot.

This is all pointless unless op comes back with a list of what she buys and cooks each week.

But I expect the bill can be cut a fair bit by batch cooking from scratch and cutting out UPF freefrom products. They aren't necessary and aren't healthy.

Forgot to add loo roll to the Costco shop, obviously you need to store it somewhere but works out loads cheaper.