Weekly food shop… AIBU or is it still costing more?

[Foodshopthoughts]

Can’t get it under £100 for two of us. We shop at one of the cheapest supermarkets. That does include every meal though, and all toiletries etc. I don’t eat meat and DH rarely. Family of 3 but baby won’t be adding to the cost us for a while due to breastfeeding. I thought prices were supposed to be coming down yet it seems to be going up and up?!

Insane isn't it. Can't believe how expensive good stock pots are now. We had to get Oxo cubes and stock and spent almost a tenner on those two items!!

48 bamboo 370 sheet toilet rolls are £48

I spend £40 a week at Sainsbury's with offers and looking for protein rich food which means I can get away with less food

Around £160/week on 2 adults and a child. That includes everything - toiletries, kitchen essentials like clingfilm, some alcohol.

I could definitely do it cheaper (I remember years 20 years back where I'd have to feed myself and a toddler on £20/ week), but we eat a fair bit of meat, I homemake lunches and I include a lot of fresh produce and only buy frozen if it's out of season veg, much cheaper (like spinach - the amount you get from frozen compared to fresh is insane) or would otherwise not keep, and I insist on weekly seafood, which is far too expensive given we're on an island surrounded by the stuff.

But yes, OP, two years ago that weekly shop was £100, and even a year ago I'd only have spent around £130 on a very expensive week. Sometimes I question whether the inflationary measures are realistic; prices do still seem to climb up far more than the 2% we're being told they are. I'm dreading the October budget.

Yes, so expensive. As soon as you have to buy household supplies or free from stuff etc the price goes through the roof. I do find that shopping at lidl / aldi helps but it's a pain as I then have to go to another supermarket for free from food.

Kallo organic stock cubes are on offer in Waitrose for £1.50/8 atm
I don't think stock pots are any different and are overpriced.

It just flavours the soup

I know our food shop has definitely doubled in 10 years.

I’d switch supermarkets. The budget ones are awful value for money. Their prices are just as high as the other shops but less product and poorer quality.

2% inflation is the average across a 'basket' of goods. Food inflation can be higher than 2% (and is, I'd say). I imagine inflation will rise next time it's announced, due to gas / electricity prices going up this week.

We (me, DH, teen DC) do survive on quite a bit less than some of you are spending, but I don't think the actual individual budget is what's most relevant - it's that there have been and still are consistent price hikes, directly as in cost and indirectly with decreasing package size, across a whole range of products and at a whole range of budget/price levels!

Regarding our situation, to keep costs down I meal plan, sometimes cook enough one day for next (not quite batch cooking but same idea), hubby takes smaller leftovers for lunch, have more veggie dinner days and less meat dinner days, shop mostly in Lidl (we only have Tesco, Lidl, Coop, very small Asda, mostly extortionate local on our island), buy fruit in season, me and DH both use soap in shower (own bars - I am still sometlmes using a little nice scented shower gel as using stuff up/sometimes like a little scent).

I find the Lidl washing powder (Bio one with scent) decent and use that and a little of their stain remover fairly sparingly - enough to wash but not smell overpowering. It's as good as bold/Daz (though I'd buy the Daz cherry one if any local shops ever sold it as it smells divine). Their cleaners, washing liquid etc are fine too (though I also sometimes get the Tesco anti bac one).

Lidl own brand soft drinks are fine too, for the odd DC treat, and are much cheaper than branded.

Lidl is actually still cheaper for what we buy, however we only have limited other options due to location.

I'm very surprised you say that, I mean obviously it depends on what you buy but lots of things are cheaper at Aldi than other supermarkets, what's an example of something that's more expensive for less and worse quality?

I use more than one supermarket and of course some things are the same price but I almost never see anything that's more expensive for the same in Aldi. I don't go to lidl so can't comment on that

I think we all know that the soft fruits can be poor value for money but in general I really don't find that

I know, but if the average is a 2% rise and food price inflation is higher (which I, too, would definitely argue it is, though how much of that is now profiteering is a different matter), then it stands to reason that other costs in that imaginary basket are shrinking. Fuel has come down a bit after it emerged just how much fuel suppliers were profiteering a few months back, but other than that I only see prices increasing everywhere I look. And, arguably, lower fuel prices should also lead to lower prices across the board. The supply shortages we're expecting this year due to the abysmal weather have not yet fully begun given we're in peak harvesting season for a lot of produce.

It'll be interesting to see how the BoE react to inflation increasing again. Maybe I'll be glad to have had to fix my mortgage for 5 years when interest rates were at their peak after all.

The only reason I spend £80 on myself, dog and cat is that I have multiple food issues and can't eat so many things, and what I can eat is much more expensive. Otherwise I'd shop at Lidl.

This is what people seem to misunderstand

That.

Inflation doesn’t reflect in your plate immediately because there is no time for price battles in between shops.
plus prices of non food items are continuing to grow or bottle/pack to shrink 🫣

Generally speaking. Inflation is another taxe except that everyone pays that one the same.

There are 3 adults and a 14 yo here and we spend £110 a week usually plus a takeaway for around £30. That's from Tesco

i was less than £100 last Friday, feeding an extra 6 adults Friday & Saturday and the rest of our meals for 4 people..we still have food left. Top up was milk & bread through the week.
are you meal planning? Do you throw food away?
for 2 people I’d say you can definitely reduce that amount per week 😬

That's my thoughts food should be enjoyed not ensured.
If I've cooked something,I want to say after eating,that was fine not that wasn't good and it's cost money.

I meal plan and we shop for all meals. Most weeks (including cat food and litter) we are under £100 because I will batch cook and freeze down to supplement other weeks when I can’t be bothered to cook, but every 4th week we end up at £140 as we need to top up on staples that have run low on this method. So, yes, technically we are always over £100 when you even it out overall… and, whilst I won’t compromise on some branded bits (tea we have a brand we love and, despite trying, haven’t found better), many staples are the cheapest we can buy (own brand) rather than better brands now, whereas before I wouldn’t have really thought about it so much. I am always conscious of how those on minimum wages of close to survive these days!

Endured not ensured.

Your last sentence sums it up perfectly !!!!

Everything is going up (apart from wages )

I’m seriously considering moving abroad for a few years to save a bit of money (rent my house out )
Bir really through choice but necessity !!!!

Not through choice

2 adults 2 kids, all vegetarian, no alcohol, don’t buy many brands, mostly cook from scratch. Kids have lunch at school. £200 a week at least and we mostly shop at Aldi.

What on earth do you buy?