Sick to death of grocery costs (1k/ month)

[Icannotbudget]

Our grocery bill has slowly increased and is now around 1k per month. This is for two adults, two very active teenage boys, and two dogs. This includes everything you would get from a supermarket eg personal care and laundry/ cleaning stuff.
Both kids are neurodivergent one in particular is very fussy and would rather go hungry than eat ‘cheap’ food. The older one just seems to need constant protein.
I am vege and pretty unfussy but don’t like freezer food. No alcohol and i shop at Aldi as much as poss but do use other supermarkets too.
DH works long hours and Ive just gone back full time and really struggling its impossible to cook from scratch every night.
Not sure if I want sympathy or strategies to be honest, its crippling me and im feeling really down.

I don’t have any tips but I’m sending solidarity.

Food costs are crippling, out of all the CoL increases this is definitely the one I’m feeling the most.

That is a lot particularly with no alcohol in a shop.
But I can see if you have to buy branded things how it could be this much. I am very much non brand stuff.
i try to batch cook as much as possible and plan the weekly meals.

That’s a lot to be spending each month OP. If you and DH are both full time then this is both of your problem to solve, not just yours. It sounds like the current spend level is not affordable for you so you need to put your heads together and come up with a solution and a new budget.

I get that ND is tricky but it’s not unreasonable to put limits on what they can eat, within reason. I have watched my 17yo DNephew eat an entire pack of bacon and 4 eggs for his breakfast; if you let them then boys at this age will just keep eating as if it’s in endless supply. Talk with him about how much is reasonable and WHY you can’t just eat £££ of food whenever you fancy it. Talk about what else you might need to cut down on if you don’t reduce the food spend - that might give him some motivation!

Given you’re working long hours I’d have easy quick meals during the week but nothing particularly fancy. Have at least one night of jacket potatoes/something on toast and one pasta night per week.

I struggle to keep the weekly shop under £250.

This is excessive. I shop in M and S and local butchers and don’t spend as much as this for a family of four!

What type of “cheap” food can’t your child can’t eat?

For the protein the older child wants/needs maybe eggs and beans/lentils could that work?

I’ve cutted down with things like laundry detergent, none for dark clothes and towels. I use soda crystals instead of fabric conditioner.

We are a family of 4, max I spend a week is £80, can't afford any more!
Meal planning and batch cooking works for us. Yes it's a pain but it means meals can be quickly reheated on weekdays. We freeze a lot of things to avoid any waste e.g cheese. Any veg leftover at the end of the week is made into a soup that will do for lunches at the weekend.

is the child who is in your words very fussy able to understand budgeting or start to understand. If so I would involve him in choosing his own food within reason within a budget.
re the teenager wanting lots of protein, some of this will need to be the cheaper options perhaps? Full fat dairy, eggs, nuts, nut butter. Some meat - for example I stopped buying ham mainly as it’s so £££ and you get very little. I cook several chicken breasts and slice up for wraps/sandwiches etc. tins of tuna and other tinned fish such as pilchards. Not as cheap as they used to be.

£250 a week is far too much. You say you shop at Aldi but then say your son won’t eat cheap food. Even buying brands I really struggle to see how you’re spending that much. You need to plan and budget. If your children want certain food they can get jobs to pay for it.

Hi. What doesn’t mean that your ND child won’t eat ‘cheap’ food? Do you mean he only eats specific foods that cost a lot? Asking because I’m ND too and there are certain foods I won’t touch and certain foods I love eating, but I’ve found it’s possible to eat on the cheap without having to eat stuff I find disgusting or deprive myself. ;)

We usually do one biggish shop at ALDI every 2 weeks, portion and freeze the meat. Their large trays are pretty good value per kg. We get veg and fruit from there too and top up with coop as it’s local and some fruit is better from there.

Also do farmfoods for snacks, lunch box fillers, cleaning products and frozen stuff. Less than once a month. They have online vouchers where you get a bit £ back if you spend above a certain amount.

I think perhaps it’s a bit easier for us to save as we aren’t really adventurous when it comes to food and tend to eat the same stuff (every cloud… even being ND). So it’s easy to have a meal plan for a week or two in advance. Could you perhaps try doing that? I’ve found it saves a lot, especially if you do batch cooking (I usually freeze some too).

Also, keep an eye out for offers, the Money Saving Expert is ok for these. Every now and then discount codes pop up and you can save a small fortune if you shop online.

With you op, it’s just awful. I don’t gave any advice but I feel the same & my DD isn’t even a hungry teen yet.

I eat lots of jackets, salad, eggs, beans/cheese on toast & pasta.

I buy a small gammon joint for about a fiver and cook it. Once it's cold slice it up into a plastic box. Great for lunches

I don’t have an answer for you OP, but sending solidarity.
I’m only buying groceries for me and one DS (7- but eats like a champion) and it’s easily 350-400pw all in. So I can see how 2 adults (4 really) are spending 1k.

No booze these days. No chocolate. I don’t buy much ready made or branded stuff (because it’s mostly whole foods I cook from scratch), but decent quality meat (higher welfare chicken, 98% pork sausage etc) lots of fresh veg and bloody tonnes of fruit. I am gluten free so bread is extortionate, but otherwise I just avoid gluten rather than replace with GF as much as poss (because it tends to be processed crap).

it’s just really fricking expensive to live these days. And I’m sorry you’re struggling. I’m finding it a stretch too, and sick of counting up constantly / budgeting/ saying no to everything “nice” or treat-ish. It’s miz.

We spend a lot compared to most, prob getting on for what you spend but we do buy a lot of booze.

We are a family of 5, youngest is coming up 14 so essentially 5 adults and a cat and a dog.

@FloatyBoaty · Today 23:03
I don’t have an answer for you OP, but sending solidarity.
I’m only buying groceries for me and one DS (7- but eats like a champion) and it’s easily 350-400pw all in. So I can see how 2 adults (4 really) are spending 1k.

Do you mean you are spending 350 to 400 per month? Or do you really mean per week?

Thank you all for replying.
Most quick and easy meals my youngest Son won’t eat. The ones he will are chilli con carne, bolognese done in a specific way and recently chicken wraps so we do have that each week (not me and because i honestly cannot face cooking two meals i get a ready meal). I buy plenty of fruits and yoghurts, fruit juice and bread, they will only accept lutpack butter! All the above plus pretty much all non food is Aldi.
its the other four days a week that blow the budget!

I really don't understand how anyone can spend over £150 (excluding meals out) on food. I cook from scratch for 4 adults and spend around £120 a week to cover breakfasts, evening meals and lunches for dp and I (dd and dsd sort out own lunches) and that includes wine, beer sometimes, and 3 eat meat, one is ND and veggie. We often have two extra mouths, sometimes four if non resident dd visits plus all 3's dp/boyfriends are here (complicated)

Food is not cheap but you eat within your means. Brands do not taste different in blind taste tests and the best food isn't branded anyway

And try the Lidl fake lurpak, it's still the same

Do you think you might be able to batch cook and freeze some of your son’s favourites? Might give you some more flexibility to plan what everyone else is eating if there’s always an option for him in the freezer?

Sorry you're feeling down.

COL is hitting everyone.

1k per month. This is for two adults, two very active teenage boys, and two dogs

I would never have two dogs. (I get they are precious).

Your family comes first.

1k for food from Aldi per month for 4 people? even with plenty of steaks, cannot see how it is more than £600 pm

We don’t spend more than £750 a month and that’s with a box of organic veg every week, organic meat and milk. We don’t have much meat and often have simple/cheap meals eg peanut butter on toast and salad veg like cucumber. Always plan the food and meals. 2 adults two medium aged kids.

I canot get everything I need from Aldi- I wish I could! I probably get around 1/2 of the overall shop there. Dog food for example Iv have to get brands as both digs are wheat intolerant- they have d&v if given grains which most cheap food have. So that’s £25 a week kust on them.

How much is it for good for the dogs?

Food