Do you food shop in one place or shop around?

[Atomsaway]

Just that really…

I have just totalled up how much we spent on food this month and gasped!

Do you shop around or in just one place? For example, meat in one place, fruit and veg elsewhere, etc?

Please share your tips!

If you use a Tesco clubcard then go onto the app, into favorites then filter by special offers. Shows things you actually buy that are on offer rather than a load of random crap you don't. Of course it won't show a different brand you would consider but have never bought but it's a start.

If there's a few things I need on offer I go to Tesco for those and others I notice while I'm there. I also buy anything else that is a similar price to Lidl if I need it now. I go to Lidl for the rest.

i have Aldi, Sainsbury & M&S right next to each other with Lidl & Morrison 1/8 miles from them

so I shop at Aldi and know what costs what in Sainsbury so can buy the cheaper products but do buy some brands

I've tried shopping around but with Tesco Clubcard plus (£7.99 a month) I spend less there than anywhere. I buy as many things as possible on offer. You get 10% off any Tesco branded thing and then two 10% off your total bill vouchers each month.

I shop around but only because I have the luxury of Asda , Tesco , Lidl , Aldi , Morrison’s and M & S , Iceland within a 1.5 mile radius.
I’d say mostly Lidl / Tesco / Aldi though.
Go go Iceland for their freezer filler promos.

Partly due to necessity (disabled) partly due to budget (disability benefits) I do one online shop every 8 days and meal plan every meal to make sure I don't run out.
I have down graded brands as much as possible. Have 2 asd dc with afrid and one with coeliac. I bulk buy pasta, rice etc batch cook and have a couple of very cheap meal days (beans /egg on toast etc).

How much did you spend in a month out of curiosity and for how many?

I have a Tesco delivery pass which I use for a delivery every 5 pr 6 days, and once a month I go to Aldi to stock up on stuff I just bring myself to pay Tesco prices for. It's a balance of saving time vs saving money.

Shop around, always have.

Buy from a mix of Aldi/Lidl, M&S for anything that's reduced or sensibly priced (their basic bread, milk, cheese, some veg and eggs are cheaper than most other supermarkets) with the odd trip to Costco and Home Bargains or similar.

Probably average 2 small to medium shops a week to buy what we need/is good value from wherever we go, so it's similar to doing a big weekly shop and a top up for fresh stuff, but cheaper and less waste.

To reduce the cost, don't waste anything, don't buy brands (mostly) or at least get them on offer and don't buy week to week, but to keep a stock in so you can always get it on offer or from a cheap shop. For example, don't buy one tin of beans each week, buy a 4 pack once a month. Same for tomatoes, toilet roll, petfood etc. Saves loads.

I only buy in two shops. Lidl and Asda. Apparently buying veg from farmers etc. works out cheaper, but I would spend the difference on petrol driving around different places, we live quite far away from different markets or shops. The only shop within walking distance is Nisa local. Others are at least 5 miles away.

Thank you very much!

I do have a Tesco club card. It didn’t cross my mind to filter by special offers, so that’s a great idea.

I normally shop in Tesco and Aldi but actually spoilt for choice with supermarkets close by. The very closest, and most convenient is Waitrose, which obviously isn’t the best for just ‘a few bits’. End up spending £40 every time I go in on next to nothing.

Oh, I spent nearly £700 on two adults and two teen boys. Plus two labradors. Eek!

Delivery with Sainsbury’s. It's not worth the small time going between Aldi Lidl and Tesco and none of them are actually much cheaper

I shop around. Local shopping park with Tesco, Aldi, and Asda which I go to each week. There's also Lidl, home bargains. Food warehouse and B&M. I tend to go in food warehouse near birthdays and Christmas and the others around Christmas only.

I shop offers, have an idea of how much things are in each shop. I also have clubcard plus as majority of shopping is from Tesco - I do a monthly shop for basics and use one of the two 10% off vouchers then.

I shop in all of the shops. I have an addiction it seems to grocery shopping. I love a good walk around every single aisle in tesco or aldi, the odd time it will be lidl or M&S and during the week any of the local stores. All of them and I spend waaaaaaaaaay too much on groceries.

No I don't shop around, I do one shop online a week (or try to...) I don't have time to be popping in to other shops on the off chance I save a few £s.

That's probably around average given all the price rises.

You could get it cheaper if you needed to, but it would mean avoiding more expensive choices like brands where a cheaper own brand item is available, fewer 'extras' like drinks, snacks and a large range of cleaning products, less meat and fish and sticking to the cheaper fruit and veg rather than fresh berries, asparagus, sprouting broccoli etc.

People will tell you that's a tiny amount because teen boys spend their entire waking hours inhaling chicken breasts, boxes of cereal,bowls of fruit, washed down with milk and orange juice by the gallon but it doesn't have to be like that but depends on what you can afford and what else you want and need the household budget to cover.

We do a Sainsbury’s online shop each week plus M&S. I tend to go to local farm shop for top up fresh food or Tesco. So really a mix! DH used to drive by a huge Morrisons after work so he would nip in there.

I stick to Aldi unless it's something they don't stock, like tahini or something, in which case I'll go somewhere with more choice for just that one item

If you want to shop in Aldi/Lidl but occasionally need something that they don't have (which has become a much shorter list over the last few years, their ranges have increased a lot, especially Aldi) and it's a non perishable item, you can reduce the amount of times you need to go elsewhere by keeping a stock in.

So don't wait until you've run out, when it's getting low, put it on the list/make a note that you need the item and then aim to pick it up when you're out and about and passing near somewhere that sells it rather than making a special trip to buy it.

I shop around but only because I prefer certain items from certain shops. I mainly shop in Sainsbury's and Aldi, then Tesco, occasionally Morrisons, Lidl, and Iceland, and Costco.

I have a small M &S nearby . They do great reductions at the end of the day and I buy and freeze nearly all our meat and fish from there . Some full prices items are similar or cheaper than Tesco or Sainsbury . I do an online order monthly from Tesco for pet food and cleaning products and pick up a few items from Aldi most weeks . I am retired so have time to cook from scratch and also batch cook and freeze .
I spend £60-£70 per week and we eat very well . Having a huge freezer helps .

• Just me and DH at home , plus x2 pets .

I get deliveries from Sainsbury's and Iceland and I also go to my local community shop.

I usually order a shop to be delivered on Tuesday but on Monday I go tot he community shop and anything I can get there I take of the delivery.

I order my food from Amazon. It's cheaper here

Thanks all. Some good ideas. Never thought about ordering food from Amazon!