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?

Try buying cheaper toilet rolls, cleaning stuff and detergents. I buy Asda's own make of all of those things, including shampoo, washing powder, shower gels, etc. I wouldn't dream of paying for branded products

I will be honest. 100 a week all including non food items is absolutely fine and normal...
As long as you can afford it I wouldn't push for lower.
Many cheap things are false economy. Eg cheap washing up liquid simply never lasted as long as Fairy. Cheaper packets of things are usually smaller so often come up per 100g same or pricier even. Some things are great unbranded! But it's quite a test to find what exactly works.

Using the full amount of washing powder just causes a build up on your clothes and in the machine. Half works fine.

So £4.75 at Tesco, 80 washes, is 6p per wash. Not a significant difference to a budget unless you need it right before payday and you are living paycheck to paycheck.

Try buying cheaper toilet rolls, cleaning stuff and detergents. I buy Asda's own make of all of those things, including shampoo, washing powder, shower gels, etc. I wouldn't dream of paying for branded products
Find a good own brand and use it carefully.
Really cheap bog roll is usually a false economy as you need to use twice as much, but the ones like Nicky are good. Lidl W5 WUL and Formil WP are fine, as are the Cien toiletries. Shower gel and handwash can be replaced by soap - less packaging and you're not paying for the water in them.

How I managed to cut back on my grocery spending, I probably spend £20 twice a week in Aldi, £10 in the butchers, and £5 - 10 once a fortnight in Morrisons (mostly yellow sticker stuff). Two people, pets not included, as their food bought separately.

Laundry detergent - big box of powder from Aldi/Lidl. Use a bit less than recommended until you find it less effective. Could cut it further with soda crystals.
Fabric conditioner - unnecessary, don't use. Could use some white vinegar bought in large container from Chinese supermarket, the smell dissipates as the laundry dries.
Cleaning products - just need bicarbonate of soda, white vinegar and Stardrops or WUL diluted in an old spray bottle.
Bleach or toilet cleaner (own brand), use a tiny amount on a daily basis, then a deeper clean once a week.
Kitchen paper - I mostly only use this for cleaning up pet sick/accidents, for cleaning and wiping I use microfibre cloths, old raggy facecloths or tea towels.
Tin foil - only buy this about once every five to ten years, I just put things straight onto a baking tray. Can be washed and reused. Use tupperware for storage/taking sandwiches.
Firelighters - I use a piece of kitchen paper to wipe a greasy frying pan, then keep in a tub. Save and dry citrus peel. Also collect pinecones and kindling on dog walks.
Shampoo - I use a Faith in Nature shampoo bar, lasts well over a year, wash my hair once a week.
Conditioner - I use a cheap bottle of Alberto Balsam coconut. A little goes a long way.
Toothpaste - use a dried pea size squeeze of supermarket value range. My dentist said that was fine as they've all got standard amounts of fluoride in.
Deodorant - put a few spoonfuls of bicarb in a clean shaker container, mix in a few drops of lavender essential oil. Shake a small amount onto a damp facecloth and apply to armpits.
Shower/body wash products - I only buy cheap bar soap, eg 4 for 60p in Aldi. One bar lasts for months. Keep it firm by storing it on a dry folded facecloth or slatted holder over the sink. Save up the scraps, grate finely, put in a suitable mould, eg small squattish yoghurt pot, mix in a little hot water to dissolve, then leave to dry out in the airing cupboard for a few weeks.
Moisturiser - use coconut oil or tallow.
Make up - only use occasionally and Aldi own brand, punches above its weight in terms of value/quality.
Vitamins and healthy food - a basic but good quality D3 costs about £8 for a year's supply on Amazon (I recommend Nutravita 4000 iu). I do a sensible amount of midday sunbathing in summer for natural vitamin D (monitored with the D-Minder app). Vegans should deffo add K2 and B12. Otherwise I eat a healthy diet of daily fruit and veg (much of it frozen, to avoid waste and cut costs, eg berries and spinach), cheap fresh options such as bananas, apples, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, onions etc rather than exotic/delicate/out of season expensive stuff, meat most days, and liver/oily fish a few times a month, which is really cheap for the nutrients it provides. I eat vegan a couple of days, and usually have something like Thai butter bean curry, yellow split pea dhal, chickpea curry, borlotti bean chilli etc. I try and cook up dried beans, but even a tin is around 50p for two portions in Aldi.
Thai curry paste - a huge 1 kg tub is just over a fiver on Amazon and lasts about a year in the fridge.
Breakfast - have water based porridge. For toppings I add chia seeds, walnuts and raisins (Aldi), diced apple (use up windfalls when I can), speckley bananas etc.
Yoghurt - just buy a big tub of Greek yoghurt from Aldi and add my own honey/frozen berries. Intending to start making my own in Instant Pot.

We are gluten free and our shop is approx £100 per week for a family of four, however we don't buy any free from products. We use potato's, rice, quinoa, buckwheat and oats for carbs. Breakfast is porridge or homemade granola. Kids have homemade flapjacks, meranges, fruit with yogurt, honey and chocolate or rice puddings for treats/lunchboxes. We make homemade stock. All this makes things cheaper although more time consuming.

Two adult household. I spend about £70.00 a week on food including cat food. Obviously more if I need to top up cleaning products/toiletries which shouldn't be necessary every week. Breakfast is toast and cereal or porridge, lunch is a sandwich with cheese/egg/tuna & mayo or cold cuts from leftover roast. Examples of evening meals are homemade chilli with flat bread & soured cream, jacket spuds with beans & cheese, chickpea curry with rice, cauliflower cheese & chips, homemade vegetable chow mein, mashed potato with breaded fish, peas & parsley sauce, homemade soup with crusty bread, spaghetti with ragu. I buy yoghurts for dessert. On Sundays I do a roast (pork or chicken) with homemade stuffing and I make a pudding. There is always fresh fruit, homemade cake and crisps available to snack on. I never buy anything like ready made sauces and always use the cheapest tins of chopped tomatoes. I don't buy ready cooked rice or sandwich spreads or anything "convenience" at all. Obviously I don't have to cater for gluten free - are you both coeliacs?

I just did what felt like a big shop in Aldi - we had just come back from holiday so cupboards were empty. Bought washing powder & fabric softener too, although no cat food. Household is 2 adults, 3 Dses aged 9-14. Came to just over £70. I also picked up a few bits in Co-OP yesterday for £8 & I don't think I'll have to do a big shop next week, just top up of fruit & veg, milk & lunchbox fillers, totalling maybe £30.

For context, this is all breakfasts, most lunches (DH eats at work 2 days per week) & dinner for 6 nights (my mum feeds the DC one night, so DH & I had takeaway rare treat).

To keep costs down, I buy cheaper fruit- apples, bananas, plums etc & veg carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, frozen peas etc. 3 packs of meat eg mince for spaghetti bolognese/cottage pie, sausages & chicken drum fillets for curry or casserole. Fishfingers for the freezer. Then veg pasta 1 meal, often risotto for another, eggs for another. Burger/hot dog & hm wedges for Saturday nights or occasionally pizza.

I don't buy any brands, nor alcohol (we brought back a few 5 euro bottles from France but only drink once a week or so anyway). One bottle of fizzy drink for weekend. It really helps that none of my kids are fussy & we don't have any allergies. But apart from Christmas, I have never spent more than £100 on a weekly shop!

Another big tip is try to go in the evening & get reduced price items, especially if they will freeze. This was largely what my Co-OP haul was last night & will save us a lot (pack diced chicken, pork chops, 2 fish in breadcrumbs, loaf of bread, pack of fairy cakes, pack of cookies, cucumber, pack of burger rolls, oven chips, all just over £8). Then I will plan some meals around that so next week we'll have curry 1 night (hm), pork with mash potatoes & veg, DH & I can have fish & oven chips when boys eat with my mum. So almost half of dinners covered, which will probably include a pasta & a risotto.

Do you buy ready meals, or ultra processed foods? Eg pizza, breaded fillets, or something like that? A ready made lasagne…I find that those are not only unhealthy, but also expensive. Do you go through multiple boxes of cereals? There are alternatives…

I menu plan each week and they’re largely simple, home made meals. I use lots of lentils and pulses and veggies.

We are a family of 4 and our shop is around £60-80 in Aldi then another £15-20 in sainsburys for the branded stuff and loose fruit/veg we can’t get in Aldi. We meal plan and only buy ingredients for said meals, no snacks. Kids are both at nursery FT and I often buy lunch at work, mind you. Be clever with meal planning and vouchers. Use Ocado for a few weeks if you never have before - you’ll get 4-5 weeks of 20ish% off your shop, then get husband to set up an account and do the same. Sign up to every reward scheme. Nectar and club card prices are good. If you can use someone’s or get your own Costco membership, that’s great for cleaning products, dry food etc, we do that bi-monthly. Sign up to Too Good to Go too!!

Just me and the cat, and I try to keep the monthly budget to under £100, spent more this month as had to defrost the freezer last month so that needed refilling. The only things not included in that are cat litter and dried cat food, which I buy in bulk every few months.
It's definitely possible to lower your bill, but it also depends on how much time you have. I do a once a month tesco online shop, and then an aldi one for anything I know is cheaper there.

100 a week, or a month??

We spend about 100 for 2 adults , 1 child and a dog. (Not dog food but dog treats)

I shop at Asda on line

YANBU - my shop is often £130 a week and, on the weeks where I have to buy dog food, baby food, and kitchen roll etc (usually this week in the month), it's often kicking on for £200. I get deliveries so I don’t have the panic of 'how much will this all be at the checkout?' Or 'what can I put back to reduce the cost?' If I'm using the zappers. Like you, I average one meat or fish product a week and usually some ham. Everything is just so so so expensive!

Whoops! A week! I'd be a hero to feed us for £100 month 😂

I think it depends on the actual store too
I was never keen on Aldi and I tried again and the only thing I don't like is their salad dressing
I get the Wagamama one from Morrisons now when I go to get my prescriptions

This might help someone so I'll post it!
Soft drinks - they do a copy of the Fanta lemon which is lovely and the san pelligrino fruit cans
Yoghurts - 10% Greek yoghurt and the specially selected glass jars are really good
Condiment wise I like their mayo but the middle aisle has various branded anyway, got some sweet rays bbq sauce this week

Oh and for shampoo and condition, the Aldi volume one is decent plus has protein in if you are curly girl

Washing powder I use persil which is 130 washes for £20

I dunno. Ours is that for 2 adults and 2 children. We cook practically everything from scratch and have started doing our own bread in the beeadmaker. I tend to just buy what we/want need as am fortunate enough not to have to worry too much about cost. That doesn't include my DS school dinners which are £12.55 a week. DD is in infants so hers are free.

We spend around £70 a week, I’m vegetarian, my partner eats meat and toddler eats whatever we have. Today I bought chicken legs on offer in the butcher stashed 2/3 in the freezer. Last week bought a large pack of mince and made bolognaise, lasagne and cottage pie- got 4 adult portions of each and toddler will only eat about a 1/3 of a portion so I freeze his in tiny pots. For mine I use dried pulses, cheap root veg or whatever is on offer. I make soup out of whatever veg is left in the fridge. If buying a whole chicken I’m sure to make bouillon and soup out of leftovers. Do you have a slow cooker? This can help cut back on the amount of cooking you have to do.

Grains like bulgur and buckwheat and lots of pulses can be bought cheaper in Middle Eastern supermarkets, likewise their fruit, veg and fresh herbs are a good price too. Buy large packs of loo roll so you’re not buying each week. Use old socks, t-shirts for cleaning so you don’t need to buy kitchen roll. If you’re drying your salad with kitchen roll buy a salad spinner. Use facecloths for drying fruit and veg and keep these in the kitchen.

I know free-from can be expensive. I buy Latvian rye from an Eastern European shop and it’s not the cheapest but preferable in nutrition to what’s in Tesco. We also buy a lot of soft fruit for our toddler which is probably the biggest cost. Best of luck with your budget.

Buy as much produce at a market if you have one nearby. They are cheaper than any supermarket and quality loads better. At our local market there’s a butcher as well who does amazing deals. Grow your own fruit veg if you have space. Don’t know if you’re rural or not but we used to swap fruit and veg for pigeon or rabbit in the pub. I’m veggie now but this still goes on in the local pubs.
Did you know you can make detergent out of conkers? Sounds ridiculous but it works.
I know it all sounds terribly bumpkin but even if you can cut out £5 from your shop that’s 2.5 ‘free’ shops a year.

Two adults here. We make 1 meal for 4, then eat it over 2 evenings.

Much cheaper plus less washing, cooking , cleaning and thinking of recipes.

Example: Sunday cottage pie, Monday leftovers. Tuesday fish and potatoes Wednesday leftovers and so on.

Try signing up for olio app. There will be likely be local volunteers in your area that pick up the food that is close to use by date from all the local supermarkets, and post it on there. Great way to get a bit of free food and stop it from going to waste.

i usually go for yellow label, eg asda, tescos, morrisons etc its a mix as to whats available but most can be frozen, i only buy milk, butter, and bread fresh, eveything else i try to either get if its on offer or if its yellow label

I don't know if the poster has IBS, but I do, and there are a number of fruits and veg I can't eat as they upset my stomach, so I need vitamin tablets. Also, as a coeliac, we don't absorb vitamins and minerals as efficiently as 'normal ' people, so really need vitamin tablets.

Having paid £3.25 for a loaf of gluten free bread and £2.10 for lacto free milk at our tesco express earlier I understand the struggle