Dreaded food shop!!

[Mumofboysteamginge]

Hey!

We are a family of 6, we have 4 boys that seam to never be full!

So our monthly food bill is coming out around £950 per month and it just isn’t feasible anymore!

We normally shop at Aldi for the majority of our food but go to farmfoods and home bargains for the bits we can’t get in Aldi. I go weekly and spend about £200 then we spend about £30 per week on bread and milk and top up stuff.

My boys are 10,9,4&2 but they have large appetites. We cook as mush homemade meals meat and veg as we can and the kids love their fruit!!!

Just wondering where people shop, where do you find is the best value and how much you spend roughly per month!

Seriously I must be doing something wrong 😂🤦‍♀️

Hit me with your ideas!

It sounds (and is!) a huge amount of money but there are 6 of you and food isn't cheap. I spend around £100 on 2 adults.

What you spend sounds about average to me

I buy the large 1kg tubs of proper Greek yogurt. It’s really thick and not sour.

decant into little tea cups or glasses depending on ages and add honey and granola ontop for cheap snack or breakfast.

also pancakes. Everyone loves pancakes. Either crepes or thicker American type we do at least one breakfast every weekend. Means less vats of cereal

Would shopping at Costco or Amazon be a reasonable thought? If you have a freezer and cupboard space some of the bulk purchases can be a really good deal - if you don't mind putting in the legwork first!
If you have Amazon Prime - then multiple deliveries whenever you need them can make the initial outlay a worthwhile investment plus you can watch films etc.
For what it's worth I don't think your shopping bill is expensive (although I realise you feel differently) but we do use a wholesale butcher for meat which you could consider. I am waiting for a meat order to be delivered which potentially contains upwards of 25-30 protein meals for two people for £75 and includes at least two joints. The sizing is appropriate for us but you could look at the bundles and tweak it to your family needs - a search on google will bring up a butcher near you - their overheads are usually less as they don't run a shop on the high street which could mean that their meat is better value for you.

Lots of helpful advice on here which I’m greatful for!

We are just trying to find ways of cutting back a little bit. Only my husband working at the min and I think he’s feeling the pressure. I’m currently studying and volunteering in the school in the hope of a role at the end of it.

I’ve been buying larger size items which seems to be working out better value, so instead of a medium size block of cheese each week I’ve been getting a 900g block which lasts us 2 weeks but isn’t much more expensive than the smaller block I used to buy, same with ham and other meats, I buy the largest packed of chicken thighs etc. also I’ve been buying an extra large whole chicken and typically I can get 2 meals out of this and the bits that are left are used for a curry that I bulk out with veg then put into portions to freeze. We also have a few meals with mince meat which again, I bulk out with veg and freeze any left over portions.

These small changes have made my food shop go further and although I have a more expensive food shop at the start of the month (after pay day), my other weekly food shops are cheaper because I usually have some bits left over from the first shop.

I also try to use up what’s in my freezer before buying more.

The way I do it is I do a meal plan often based on some bits we already have in. So for example this week I’m doing a curry because I already have a curry paste and a tin of coconut milk in the cupboard. So once I’ve planned my meals I go through the online shop and add in all the ingredients I need for the meals. Then I go through my favourites list and add in the regular items, these are usually for breakfast and lunch such as milk, bread, cheese etc as well as what I would call “basic” fruit and veg that is not for meals ie apples, bananas, cucumber, tomato’s. Then I add on any toiletries or laundry/household products needed. Then I see where I’m at and how far I am from my maximum budget which is usually £120 for me, DH and DCs 5 and 3 (plus baby so we also sometimes buy nappies and wipes. I then add snacks/treats, wine and “luxury” fruits like strawberries/blueberries until I reach my budget. If I’ve done an expensive main shop then that means we don’t buy any treats that week. If I’ve managed to do a cheap shop then I’ll add a few treats plus some extras of whatever is on offer to stock up for another week. But I never go over my budget, if my main shop is over budget then I go through and start taking stuff out (eg if I’d added sour cream for fajitas then I’d remove it and just make do with Greek yoghurt which we buy anyway).

Or worst case scenario is I swap an expensive meal for beans on toast!
stuff is so expensive these days that unless you stick to a budget you can spend a fortune. I honestly think I could easily spend £250 a week if I had the money once you add in all meals, snacks, treats, household, toiletries, wine, etc.

I have 3 constantly hungry people living with me so I feel your anguish. I make extra portions of our evening meal eg bulk out the mince for lasagne with lots of veg (chopped pepper, mushrooms, courgettes, onions, carrots, celery) and put the left overs into individual tubs in the fridge. There is always a hefty snack for them to have. I also cook the small gammon joints (about £5) and thinly slice when cooled. You can get a lot of slices and freeze them in batches. They are great for sandwiches for filling up on. Jam butties are also popular too! Home made hummus is cheap with breadsticks.

@Bringonthesunforthewashing can I ask how you make your gammon for using in sandwiches. Can't believe I've never considered this before!

I boil it for about 30 minutes then pop it in the oven (180 degrees)for 10-15 minutes after smothering it in honey and mustard. Let it completely cool before slicing so you can get really thin slices. I cut it in half into 2 semi circles, put the cut side down on the chopping board and then slice.

Cost the pack lunches and compare them to school dinners.

Have you looked at Jamie’s 1£ meals.

There is an amazing spag Bol all costed out for £10 and it will give you two portions each.

There are various ways to cut back

Firstly you can buy pots/tubs and make them Jelly

You can make your own flap Jack using only a few ingredients

Crisps - you could buy large and you can get those little bag sealers from Amazon where you can put your own crisps/popcorn in the bag and seal it.

you can buy refillable pouches, Greek yoghurt, blend with strawberries and there you have a healthy cheaper option

You can buy carrots and peel it in the morning and give a large one each.

You can also buy thermoflasks. They are great little things - I used to put beans in and send ds with toast in foil ready for dipping or you can put soup in and give a slice of bread.

In your shoes I’d lean that way to cut out all the snacks required for their pack lunches

You can also put noodles/pasta/flavoured rice/curry with rice mixed in) in the flask too

for treat drinks you can buy nesquik powdered milkshake

or diluting juice but serve with Aldi sparkling water as a fizzy juice treat

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermos-Stainless-King-Flask-Midnight/dp/B001ET6P9Q/ref=asc_df_B001ET6P9Q/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=256170371706&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16355375450562276342&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046836&hvtargid=pla-422669873935&psc=1&mcid=8cf16e95242330adb4a017d06ae21df0&th=1&psc=1

I think I would also recommend bulk buying of non-perishable items if you have the space, or maybe even some perishables like fruits etc if you absolutely know you're going to get through it. For example, i'm sure buying apples by the crate is going to be cheaper per apple than buying them in bags from Aldi...and provided everyone likes apples this should be a win all-round.

Tesco have a clubcard plus subscription, it's £8 a month but you get 10% off two shops a month (up to £40 off) and 10% off f&f stuff all the time (brilliant for clothes). When my husband and I went shopping we saved so much money with this. We saved a lot on our son's clothing too. We now get our food shop delivered as it's easier (toddler + I'm disabled), so we stopped using it. They also price match Aldi a lot too, so it might work out cheaper.

You could look at cashback apps/sites too (and your bank may have cashback offers).

Also, see what you can buy in bulk on Amazon/from Costco as this will save money too! We spend £20 on toilet roll every 6 months and £20 on coffee every 6 months. It is just me drinking coffee and just me and my husband using toilet roll, so if you have more family members then it won't last as long but may still work out cheaper. Only worthwhile if you have the space to store it though.

It is a lot of money, but there are 6 of you. Does this also include things like cleaning products, laundry, toiletries and nappies etc? If it does it sounds about right to me with current costs. I tried to cut my bill by forgoing things like garlic bread with pasta, naan with curry etc. I also try and by big where I can.

I forgot to mention to buy fruit as singles and weigh them, it works out cheaper than buying the bags and you can choose what you want. When I was at uni I'd get ripe bananas and ones that needed a few more days to ripen so they'd last me the week.

2 dishes I might suggest are soup ( minestrone/ leek and potato/ spicy lentil) and rissoto both filling and cheap.

I was going to suggest these tubs too- either Lidl or aldi. Great for thick smoothies too.
And loads of bananas- they really are cheap for what they are.
Porridge?
Honestly I can't see you're doing much wrong, can you grow some food like raspberries or new potatoes?

When our youngest 2 DC are home from Ini we spend around £200 a week
Shop at Tesco,don’t have time to go round lots of different shops

When mine were teenagers with hollow legs I used to make huge bowls of pasta for snacks when they got in.

On version was bag of pasta, pack of smoked mackerel, juice of half a lemon, spring onions finely chopped, huge dollop of mayo, black pepper twist. Cook and cool the pasta then let everything cool.

The other was softened chopped onion, two tins of plum tomatoes, squirt of puree, handful of basil leaves, pack of panettone fried off. Combine with the pasta and refrigerate.

It did fill-ups when they got home from school and lasted about 3 days. I'm sure you could eke it to 2/3 days as yours are younger.

Then they had dinner. It was healthier than snacks and I'm sure would be cheaper.

Gosh what a nasty thing to say. Food produce has gone up in price hugely over the last two years

I guess you expect the Op to have been clever enough to predict that?!

Id rather have four well raised lovely children contributing to a lovely society than two dysfunctional ones raised by an ogre! Using all the welfare state/ resources when they grow up

Luckily it’s been deleted, but what is wrong with people? This is clearly a support and ideas thread.