Daily shopping endless cycle

[conflictedmum82]

Hi, is anybody else stuck in this ridiculous cycle? I do a weekly shop yet I'm still buying top ups and additional items every single day!!

Has anybody been here and found a good way out of the cycle? Any advice appreciated

We one one big shop a month and top up shops probably 2/3 times a month for things like fresh fruit/veg, milk...etc.

Are you shopping every day because you've forgotten or run out of something during your weekly shop or is it impulsive purchases?

Meal plan every meal and shopping lists that are added to.
Keep a stock of batch cooked foods in the freezer, plus a supply of your essential items. I am disabled so used on line delivery every 10 days and have an ultra organised routine now. So when you finish an item and open the next you order that item again so you always have a spare. I bulk buy rice, pasta etc so always have a good supply. Have some emergency uht milk (as well a some frozen milk). Also a loaf of frozen bread. l buy herbs, spices in large containers, always have some passata, onions, peppers and chicken breast in freezer so always able to make a main meal. Plus always have baked beans on toast and cereals in. I think the initial work of organising a system that works for you is worth it in terms of time and money saved. It does however take effort.

Meal plan and shopping lists
Make good use of your freezer, frozen veg is a godsend mid week
As @Mikejohnpambobemma , I have a stock of the basics, I have a a spare of practically every tin or jar I use, so a tomato sauce in use, one in the cupboard under the stairs, when I get that one out, tomato sauce goes on the list

I actually run two shopping lists. - one is the ingredients I actually need to buy that week, and my store cupboard one which isn't urgent - so its there and I buy when I see the best price

The only thing I have to lift during the week is more fresh veg perhaps and milk

Every time you go to a shop you are spending money because you never just go in for one thing - the supermarkets know this - which is why they lay out the stores the way they do - milk and bread at opposite ends of the store - you have to walk past all their end gondoliers with their special offers enticing you to impulse buy. So not going in keeps you wealthier

And if I really don't have something, we do without till I go to the shops for the main shop

What are you having to go for the shops for? I do weekly shop and rarely need to shop again unless I unexpectedly run out of things.

I do meal plan, have a list of things I buy every week eg milk, yoghurt, cucumbers, peppers and for things like jam and peanut butter I also have a spare one in the cupboard and when I open the last one I add another one to my Alexa shopping list.

What are you buying daily?

I have an extra freezer in the garage with bread, cheese, ham and other items we use regularly. I have a stock cupboard with tins, UHT milk, tea bags, coffee, cleaning supplies etc.

What are you buying daily that you can't add to the weekly shop?

Yes I'm the same op... every time I do a big shop and think we're good, I suddenly remember something else we are running out of. It's endless!

Are you lacking storage space?

Space in the freezer for an extra week’s bread and milk? Frozen vegetables and fish? Batch cooking and leftovers?

Space in the fridge for a full week of fresh stuff?

Cupboard space for a month’s worth of tea, coffee, olive oil, tinned tomatoes / fish / flour / whatever?

I’d suggest grocery deliveries rather than shopping in person - it’s much easier to be organised. And factor in different sources - so you maybe have three deliveries a week of different food types. That way you not only don’t run out, you don’t get bored with what’s in the house.

As others have said meal plan and buy what you need, then stick to it. I will not do top ups and I am prepared to go without until the next shop. Also start adding up all the top ups, it can get surprisingly expensive and cost even more than the weekly shop itself!

As long as you're not wasting things, or buying extras that you don't need, it doesn't have to be more expensive to shop more often and indeed can be cheaper as you can have the pick of yellow stickers, shop around for offers etc.

Or is it a time thing or just frustration that you have to go to the shop again. I have the latter, sometimes I've remembered I need something that wasn't on the list just after I've paid for the things I went in for.

I find a full larder the greatest comfort. It’s incredibly frustrating to want to prepare something and discover I don’t have what’s needed. And having sufficient variety on the shelves prompts me to experiment and enjoy being in the kitchen.

And I would be discombobulated and ashamed to ever have to ‘run out for milk’.

Do you neal plan?

Do you have a car and plenty of storage space?

If so, then you need to meal plan properly - including every meal and snacks, and checking if the incidental things you don't use very often need topping up. Put some emergency items in the freezer. Adapt your meal plan so that the stuff that needs eating first factors into meals at the beginning of the week.

Finally, simply don't do top up shops. If you have to make do with what you have in the cupboard, if will both make you more inventive and make you think more carefully the next week about what goes on the shopping list.

If you don't have a car and/or storage space, then I'd suggest doing the above but with 2 or 3 trips in a week depending on amount of food needed.

but with 2 or 3 trips in a week

Surely a weekly delivery would be more time and cost efficient than this?

I'm in the same cycle, OP.

I try to be sensible with the weekly shop but inevitably miss things or under buy.

In the last week I've had to pop in 4 times: Berries/ bananas as we ran out, bread as we ran out, some chocolate as I fancied a treat, and then another excursion for wet wipes and kitchen towels.

I've also got into a terrible habit of going to the local big supermarket to grab a coffee and have a browse with DD, as she's 15 months and is in that "fussy at all times, must be carried phase", but is quite settled in a trolley. Inevitably, things are put in the trolley, and I end up coming home with random stuff that seems like a good idea at the time.

Potentially.
I was thinking about situations where the shop was walking distance away (but you'd need to restrict your shopping to what you could carry home) or near work, so you weren't paying any extra for transport as you were already getting the bus (or whatever) home.

If you're getting a taxi both ways specifically then agree delivery would be cheaper.
Although this relies on delivery being available at convenient times, so again depends on where you live.

I've never found delivery saves me money - I've often found being in shop means I can swap out previous plans for something on offer that is either yellow stickered or an offer I wasn't aware of, and it helps me remember things I'd forgotten as I can see what's in my trolley (pictues on screen not the same!) plus I don't find it saves me time as I vary my menus too much so it takes as long to put in a week's food as just go round the shop. But that's just me and definitely a good shout for consideration.

Although I guess if OP is going to the shop every day currently then just cutting down to 2 or 3 times a week is probably an improvement regardless.

Hmm …

I pay £8.99 per month for unlimited Ocado deliveries at any time of day. Generally I fill up my trolley over the course of a week and order a day or two in advance, but it’s also possible to get same day delivery if you order early enough in the morning.

That covers most non-fresh produce - tinned tomatoes and oil and tea and huge tubs of peanut butter, laundry, toothpaste and cleaning stuff.

Then I have a separate weekly veg box from another source - no delivery fee, fantastic produce.

Separate weekly coffee bean sub. Small local delivery fee if I don’t feel like picking it up at the roaster’s.

Separate wholefoods order around every two or three months as needed. I buy in the largest bulk sizes that are feasible for my household plans - and to meet the threshold for free delivery.

Separate (admittedly extravagant) tinned fish delivery every couple of months. Small delivery charge.

I am actually well served with local supermarkets and bakeries and artisan foodie places - but I find popping into endless shops is the quickest way to put on horrendous amounts of weight. Far easier to be disciplined via a screen.

I find that keeping a running tally of spending helps me focus even when I have to do top ups. I also realise that I enjoy the top up shops and so I allow for that in the budget. I find it easier to set my budget at 10 day intervals as this means I can buy wholesale size products such as large packs of chicken or lentils etc Meal planning is useful but also if you want to relax that method it can be fun to be flexible and work out recipes from the ingredients you have available. So in summary I would say that having a budget and keeping a tally works for me as you still have a sense of control even if you do too ups and don’t manage to meal plan all the time