Food shop advice please

[Pinkdollblonde]

First time writing a thread on here.
So my food shop has crept up from what used to be around 110 pound a week to 158 pound a week for 2 adults and 2 children. I have always shopped at Tescos online but thinking about trying somewhere cheaper as I know if I reduce what's on my list me or my partner will end up going to the local shops mid week and spend to get top ups. Has anyone got any advice of where is better Lidl, Aldi, Asdas? Thankyou Xx

Milk can be frozen

i use soya as I prefer it on my porridge & in coffee but it also has a linger shelf life

writing a two week meal plan and shopping fortnightly is cheaper than shopping weekly. Double up on meals and use freezer. For example make chicken casserole, chilli con carne, chickpea & sweet potato curry, beef enchilada, vegetable pasta bake, all made in slow cooker and double quantities and freeze half for following week. Pop in microwave to reheat. Then classic jct potatoes with tuna and bake beans twice, leek and potato soup with crusty bread (can be made in slow cooker)

not only do you save money, you only have to cook the first week as you’ve got your own ready meals the second week

chicken thighs are £2.49 in Aldi skin on, but if you cook in slow cooker the skin comes of anyway.

buying the ingredients once to make 8 portions is cheaper than buying twice to make 4 portions.

Meal plan ruthlessly.
I shop in Aldi, and very occasionally go to morrisons for branded ketchup or ice cream.
Otherwise we use Aldi brand stuff
I find Aldi fruit and veg lasts well and the meat is better quality than Morrisons

I use Bother or Dizzie for online bulk buying once a month (check the unit price) then we have a weekly Sainsburys or Lidl shop for fresh stuff to fit round our meal plan.
We have a chest freezer so I always buy extra milk/bread, which means we don't do a top up shop.
2 adults, 2 children, 2 cats and aim to spend £100 a week or less.

We do Tesco & Lidl, Lidl have increased their prices, so for things like butter, veg oil are cheaper at Tesco, fruit and veg are also better quality from Tesco. But Lidl is cheaper for hand wash, laundry liquid, shower gel etc.

I go to aldi. I was using tesco as they deliver and it was convenient as we both work full time and have 3 small chn. However - even though aldi prices have gone up - it’s still 20-30 pound a week cheaper than the equivalent tesco shop so it’s worth the hassle. I do occasionally have to pop into tesco for more obscure things but not often. Fruit and veg is much better than it was a few years ago and on a par with the quality of tesco similar priced stuff. I spend between 100-120 a week for the 5 of us which includes booze. We don’t eat meat but the kids eat chicken/sausages. I meal plan and batch cook

I use Asda at the moment, but I do also use Lidl sometimes (I do like their Christmas ranges so I imagine I will do a shop there in the next few weeks). I have taken my weekly spend down from around 150-160 to 120 but I think that’s from very careful meal planning and brand switching rather than the shop being cheaper. I find Asda meat and veg to be better quality than Lidl, we would frequently open meat and it be off inside, well within date, at Lidl. However, I do go to lidl to stock up on lunchbox items (cereal bars etc), cereal, coffee, santitary towels and toiletries etc.and cleaning products as I find them cheaper and better quality. I also like the reward card at Asda, I know they are gimmicks really but I cannot abide the farce of the Tesco pricing now their club card has changed. I have nearly £30 in my Asda rewards and I am going to save it for something nice (eg. Some new towels or bedding) in January sales.

I like Tesco but it's never been cheap. That's a decent budget I would try spend £90 in Aldi and £30 at Asda.

Morrison’s @ Amazon are offering £15 off a £50 shop for your next 3 shops which is an amazing saving. I’ve started getting my shopping delivered by two different Supermarkets to try and get the best savings at both, might be worth a go.