£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 we’re about the same as you. Slightly more possibly because our kids are now adults
but we shop in Lidl so it really helps

I posted here a few weeks back and mentioned I spend around £850pm on food and groceries (literally everything, including household and beauty stuff) for 4 adults, and got absolutely fucking roasted! Funny how it's ok for some to spend this but not others. 🤔

We’re two adults and three small kids (4/2/baby) and spend about that, plus dog and cat food on top - it’s astonishing how much food prices have risen, I’m already dreading keeping them fed as teenagers!

Random thought download in no particular order-

Dried pulses

dried lentils

huge bags of rice

huge bags of potatoes which are cooked various ways

we grow herbs

we make a lot of things like chilli’s and curries and I chuck in whatever needs using up

dried soya chunks (rehydrated with braggs liquid seasoning and hot water then fried in very hot oil till crispy - amazing)

I buy the cheapest pasta

kids have porridge a lot for breakfast or homemade pancakes, no pricey cereals

wonky fruit and veg

we have a soda stream

I don’t buy individually wrapped biscuits or anything like that - they get plainer ones wrapped in tin foil for snack a school

i do buy crisps but cheaper ones or special
offer only

Cheap adaptable ingredients - plain yoghurt, chickpeas etc. things that can be made into many meals / sides with different seasoning and techniques

we have a huge stock of dried ingredients and condiments in general, I would never buy a ready made pasta sauce for example

I buy frozen chopped onions, garlic and ginger for speed as they last for ages in freezer

Two adults and 1 teen here, and our spend is roughly the same. Also no alcohol. Your DM is way out of touch with current prices.
Also want to see the M&S receipt!

Yes we spend the same. I can’t stand this instance that if you “just shopped at aldi” or “cooked from scratch“ you could get it right down. It’s not a race to the bottom.

Easy done. Three adults here, three DC (two teens). Go through cartons and cartons of milk. Full fat milk. Oh the boxes of cereal!😱 and the biscuits and fruits etc. Not even getting started on the main meals....must spend well over £200 per week.

I’ve just had a check at our bank account and we’ve spent £990 in Tesco this month and looking back that’s fairly average for us - dh, me, adult dd and Ds aged 13, and a cat (who is like yours and only likes cheap cat food, felix etc)! So that works out about £240 a week. Food etc is SO expensive now. I remember the days of managing to get a full shop at Aldi for £70!

I also find shopping online helps although the delivery costs a few quid. Can get it for 2/3 quid though and I live rurally so driving to shops costs money. If I go into a supermarket (esp with kids) I am more likely to browse and pick up all sorts of shite. I didn’t need. When I’m buying it online it’s a lot more clear cut and I often shop and change my basket a lot based on what we really need, what is on offer, I don’t buy anything that isn’t needed! I’m not saying it’s fun, it’s not, and a lot of the time I really cannot be bothered to cook. If I had more money, I would be buying more pre-prepared for food for sure!

Sorry to sound like a stuck record, but it’s Brexit

Everyone with older parents etc on this thread who can’t believe the increase in food costs for families, have you asked them if they voted for Brexit?

It’s noticeable that people who don’t need to do as much food shopping for growing families largely voted as a generation for all our basic food / commodity prices to become more expensive.

The EU is our main trading partner for food. Brexit (inevitably) made food much more expensive, including the labour costs of us producing and harvesting our own food. If you know anyone who thought Brexit was a good idea, have you tried asking them if they regret it now that we are seeing the economic effects?

It’s nothing to do with agricultural land. It’s Brexit!

Spend what you are comfortable with OP, if you can afford it, that’s fine, no point scraping by.

Just funny that everyone saying your spending is about right when someone else posted that she spent that on shopping, and there was a pile on saying she was overspending and must be rich to be able to afford to do that each month. Mumsnet is a weird place

Honestly i actually do a lot of this, the main difference is we eat meat / fish so im assuming if I add up what im spending there thats going to be a fair bit.

i do everything you’ve said except for the huge bags of stuff , we definitely could do that. We grow herbs, have all the spices, buy ‘plain’ and make it interesting. I’m not dismissing by the way as I think it’s all good stuff, but feel a bit better to know I’m doing much of it already. Actually we don’t do wonky veg so could do that too - thank you.

It's not an unreasonable amount to spend, but equally it's possible to spend less if you have to/want to.

aldi - always go here for our top ups, don’t for my main shop as I don’t like the meat

Why don’t you try doing your main shop (and top ups) from Aldi and just buy the meat elsewhere and see how much cheaper it is

1 adult, 1 teen, 1 tween and a dog. I easily spend £800 a month. What adds up is the top up shops. My eldest eats fruit and veg in its droves. I did an £80 Tesco shop 2 days ago, and had to top up the fruit and veg again today as its all gone. In another couple of days I'll have to do ot again. Friends of mine say once its gone they don't replace until the following big shop. But I want to encourage rhe love of fruit and veg, so happy to pay the extra.

You could look at Suma for hugs sacks of dried stuff, if they deliver to you :) before we moved we were part of a small community group (very informal) that ordered. It says wholese but anyone can order really.

No judgement here. The truly wasteful spends are on food which gets thrown out unused. Buying adequate quantities of the good you enjoy is getting the best value from your shopping. Everything is rising in price. We are a household of two adults, no pets. We spend under £250 a month on groceries as that is all our budget allows. Our diet is basic and repetative but we have the time and space to grow fruit and veg which helps. If I had a larger budget, I would spend it on fresh fish instead of canned/frozen and a greater variety of fruit.

£800pm is ridiculous and I’m someone who really likes good quality food.

would you be willing to share what meals you would typically make with this?

Yes we have done this and it is cheaper, it’s just convenience to be honest because I do the shopping and Aldi is a bit of a trek for us (so I get it delivered) but I think going back to that and the butchers (although that’s extortionate but good) is an option.

We spend similar for similar size family but with minimal meat - teens eat so much

I spend more than that now for two adults and a cat.