£800 pm on groceries for a family

[popsickle555]

recently had a conversation with my DM (lighthearted) but I explained our weekly shop is now around £200 for a family of 2 adults and two teenage children during summer school holidays. She said she thought me ‘overspending’.

Anyway here’s what we spend:

£150 ish weekly shop (has to be weekly during the holidays as they eat so much)
£50 on top up shops fruit and veg and occasional extras eg wash powder and such things. This also includes cat food (1 cat on cheap food).

this includes lunches for me and DH (wfh) and also packed lunch stuff for DC’s who have been on a drama camp.

AIBU to think it’s actually quite hard to eat reasonably well (I do cook most days and I am buying decent ish ingredients but also plenty of ‘basic’ range options) for less than this sort of price now for 4 full portion people eating 3 meals a day? We hardly ever eat out unless on holiday.

For reference my DM hardly eats a lot now she’s older and when she does it’s really simple and generally quite boring stuff eg omelette, jacket potato etc. My DH and DCs needs more protein than that as are all very active.

I just came away feeling like I’m wasting money but genuinely can’t see how I can do it for much less without really scrimping on ingredients and protein.

Yep, I spend about that, and I'm constantly penny pinching to try and not let it go up any more!
£7.19 I was charged for minced beef last week... I was like, I remember a fiver being the budget for a family meal

Do you have a decent sized fridge/s and freezer?

Between our two nectar apps we pretty much get our staples on offer at least once a fortnight - so we get 30% off their Greek yoghurt plus points. Recently it was only 55p in store! So we buy in bulk. Likewise buy the berries when they do 3 for 2 on frozen fruit & veg👌this is 30% off your regularly purchased items.

Most of us can get discounted gift cards (via employer / insurance provider / blue light card etc) for a further 5% off everything - it really does all add up & make a difference.

I spend around £550 on three adults and a teenager, 3 cats, a dog and all household consumables and toiletries.

I transfer £800 a month to our grocery shopping debit card, and always end up running out at end of month. So I definitely think that’s reasonable, food prices are ridiculous now.

A friend was over from the USA last year. She said shopping was cheaper here than back home.

2 adults, 2 teens, and a cat here. Around £200
per week in Aldi only which includes
household bits and toiletries and cat food. I often batch cook and we have meat 1-2 a week, but have one pescatarian so will also have salmon or
prawns once a week too. Basic ranges I think we would struggle to spend less than £150 week on food even if we cut back.

We (2 adults 2 teens) spend less than £450 a month. I’m vegan and the kids don’t each much meat. We get eggs from my mums chickens which saves a bit of money. I do a massive shop at aldi or Lidl once a month which costs about £130. Then might go to home bargains or b&m for cleaning stuff that I can’t get in aldi or Lidl, or to Iceland for branded stuff. I’ll go to Asda or Tesco to get things I can’t get in Lidl. We often run out of stuff and if money is tight at the end of the month everyone eats a lot of pasta or whatever I can’t find in the cupboards…

Wow now i truly feel poor spending a max of £300 a month to feed three of us and three cats, I was just thinking earlier that everything I buy is own brand.

We spent that and more too.

I do wonder how much the big companies are responsible for this though because Tesco, for example, makes billions in profit every year.

https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2025/04/10/tesco-profits-top-3-billion/

Profiteering and capitalism wins again.

I spend that on 2 adults and 2 children (10 and 6). And a dog (she doesn't cost that much tbh).

2 adults, a teen, a pre teen and a dog and we’re £500 a month max. DH cooks pretty much everything from scratch.

It’s really not. It’s pretty average if you’re feeding hollow teens!

Can you substantiate this with the average costs of a weekly supermarket shop in France and across the EU in 2019 compared to 2025? Where’s your evidence?

Where do you think the increased costs of Brexit have gone, if they haven’t caused food price inflation?

I spend same for 2 teenagers and 2 adults. I reckon it includes about £50 pw non-essential treats (crisps, Diet Pepsi etc, favourite shampoo rather than basic), but the same shop 4years ago was ~£140- 150.

I spend same for 2 teenagers and 2 adults. I reckon it includes about £50 pw non-essential treats (crisps, Diet Pepsi etc, favourite shampoo rather than basic), but the same shop 4years ago was ~£140- 150.

Two adults, child and a cat and we spend around £130 each week including top-ups. It can be more if we run out of things all at the same time eg oils or toiletries or vitamins, or of I need to buy a lot of extra fresh stuff. So I'm totally with you.

Average salaries in the US are substantially higher than here, and housing costs are on average a lot lower.

Our fruit and veg shop is significantly cheaper than price gouging Tesco now.

Food has rocketed but so have tesco profits.

We spend £450 for three and 2 cats but vegetarian again and I cook everything from scratch which is very time consuming.

Our currency has devalued after Brexit relative to the Euro, so of course we find the shops expensive!

M&S bigger blocks of extra mature Cheddar work out at £7.27 a kilo and are really tasty. Tins of Italian tomatoes at 50p a tin are excellent quality, as are their baked beans, also 50p a tin.

I couldn’t even contemplate spending that much on cheese and tinned tomatoes.

Its when I see posts like this, I realise although I struggle with costs of food, being a family of 3 adults, we have it easy

I have the grandchildren come to stay a week and the food bill will double because they have food stuffs that arent on our radar

( I actually get embarrassed when I hit the supermarket for the extras that the grandkid eat)

Mostly for 3 adults I can get away with £50 a week - we do eat meat When the kids/grandkids come - double at least But those generations behind me have grown up with ready meals and take out - not something my generation had

I was talking today with a single woman who was admitting she was struggling to feed herself - in her late 20's. I said her age I did 3 jobs to make everything meet, and I also said Im now in my 60's, I feel dreadfulul that Im still struggling, Im having to juggle so we can get through the month and eat as best we can

For those seriously struggling to feed the family , find where your community fridge is and sign up for notifications
Download Olio and Toogoodtoogo

Ask for a food bank referral if £20/30 is going to pay the electric so no surcharges

Look at veggie reciepies , you dont need meat, pulses are just as high in protein and twice as filling

Buy yellow sticker .

Do enlighten us.

It wasn’t a criti criticism. I simply can’t afford o spend that much on basics.

Extra mature cheddar £4.99/kilo costco
tinned tomatoes 33tin usually farm foods or home bargains