Monthly grocery spending—what’s normal?

[PracticalMum1]

We usually spend around £350–£400 per month on groceries for our household of 3. I try to plan meals and stick to a budget, but snacks and fresh fruit always push the total higher than expected. There’s always something extra: a chocolate bar here, a loaf of bread there… it all adds up!
Mostly Tesco for weekly shops, occasionally Asda for big stock-ups. I do a bit of online shopping too, which saves time, but sometimes you end up adding more than planned.
I’d love to hear how other people manage it. Do you meal plan strictly, or just buy what looks good that week? Any clever ways to save money without feeling like you’re missing out?

Household of 4-5 depending on dss. My budget is £500 but I can easily go above that 😭. I shop at Aldi too

family of 3 - c.£500 a month. Try to buy organic where possible whilst also looking out for nectar deals and not over shopping. This includes food and household items (dishwasher tabs etc) Crazy times.

I’m trying to to keep the grocery (food) shop at £120 a week for 4 people no pets. It used to be £80…

Inclusive of ‘odds and sods’ like kitchen roll, new scouters, bubble bath etc, we have an upper limit to the overall budget of £650 a month.

We spend about a grand a month as a household of between 4-6!
there are actually 5 of us officially but the older 2 are in and out and if out the other one will often have a partner round!
We cook from scratch, there are meals out and a couple of takeaways too which don’t come out of the food shopping budget.
We eat a lot of meat and usually do a whole joint. Meat is from the butchers, most other stuff from tescos.
Could cut down but don’t need to, dh does all the cooking and enjoys spending a few hours in the evening making family dinners, we are a food motivated family and it brings us all together once a day, it’s my favorite time of the day!

£90-£95 a week here. We have a list, meal plan and there's 3 of us, all adult.

We all eat the same thing for breakfast... granola, dried fruit, with milk... orange juice and tea.

Lunch is a sandwich - meat/fish/cheese and salad (made at home, taken to work). DD gets lunch provided at work.

Dinner is meat/fish with potato/rice/pasta and a couple of veg.
Roast on Sunday, Pizza (homemade) on Friday.

Snack, if needed is an apple - they keep well.

Food is fuel now really. I had to change my attitude to "treats" after a health scare.

I shop once a week now, online - easy to not overorder when you see the total price ticking up.

We literally have a holiday every year paid by reducing our food shop by £50 to £60 a week.

You’ll find plenty who say they spend £200/month for a family of six. I spend about what you do and there’s only two of us. I do have three pets - that alone is £20/week. Add in a bottle of wine and already at £120/month before any actual food! I do plan our meals but I would get Tesco Finest over Tesco value, with the odd foray into Waitrose. I also like to keep a good supply of cupboard products like pasta sauce and pasta, beans, tins of tuna etc - we could probably eat out of our cupboards for a week if pushed (very samey meals but we wouldn’t starve)! So no tips. We eat well and enjoy every bite!

You’ll find plenty who say they spend £200/month for a family of six. I spend about what you do and there’s only two of us. I do have three pets - that alone is £20/week. Add in a bottle of wine and already at £120/month before any actual food! I do plan our meals but I would get Tesco Finest over Tesco value, with the odd foray into Waitrose. I also like to keep a good supply of cupboard products like pasta sauce and pasta, beans, tins of tuna etc - we could probably eat out of our cupboards for a week if pushed (very samey meals but we wouldn’t starve)! So no tips. We eat well and enjoy every bite!

Trying to delete multiple posts but can’t!

Ok that’s embarrassing…

Between 40 and 60 a week for three of us

Mum has three meals a day, DH will have two, I eat sometimes twice a day sometimes just once - not because we cant afford to eat, just work patterns

I yellow sticker shop and what I haven't picked up for very little Yellow stickered , I buy from lidl.

I have to buy what's affordable , not what we would always like , Lamb is only bought at Christmas and I stock the freezer up

We eat a lot of turkey , chicken and pork and we eat lots of vegetables. I use a lot of pulses

I dont buy "snack foods' unless the grandkids are here, then my shopping bill doubles Anyone wants chocolate or crisps or biscuits - it comes out of their personal spends - even mum - she goes to the shop once a week and buys her lottery, sweets cakes and biscuits

Im a good cook , cook from scratch and can make something out of nothing

We eat a variety of meals - curries , Chinese ( DH is great with a wok ) kebabs, Mexican, pizzas etc as well as stews, roasts etc - just its all home cooked from scratch rather then a ready meal or takeaway

Im also lucky to live near a chicken factory and get very cheap chicken - all that goes to M&S/Waitrose etc is produced there and they have a shop open to the public where they sell the underweight/overweight , miss cut and over runs cheap . I can pay the same price for organic chicken in there that Id be paying for a lidl chicken

We eat well , pretty healthy , but cheaply

In terms of meal planning I have a rough plan which I then adjust to account for things in the fridge I need to use up, things that might be on special offer or simply not fancying what I had planned. I usually make extra casserole, chilli or whatever so have a stock of freezer meals if need be. I use a lot of frozen veg and fruit for breakfasts.

In the region of £80 per week for 4 adults (2 adults, 2 adult sized teens). Husband and I eat out once a week, whuvhbisnt included, kids pay for their own food if out with friends.
I find online shopping works as I can remove items I dont really need. We've started buying more frozen fruit and veg, as well as more canned goods like pulses.
I freeze left overs and save for when I cant be bothered to cook. Then about once every 6 weeks I run everything down/empty freezer so that will be a low spend week.
My biggest tip would be to not run out of stuff. It's usually the corner shop dash that adds to the bill. Especially things like toiletries, loo roll, washing powder etc. You cant buy the cheap ones in our local shop, so it always costs more.then you add on the extra temptations and bingo, there goes the budget.

I don’t know how people are feeling 4 adults on £80 a week. I went to Tesco earlier and spent £78 on 3 smallish bags - granted in there was some shampoo (Tresemme on offer so big bottle for £3), deodorant and some hand wash, no meat or fake meat (veggie family), just a few bits that will only last a few days. I cook from scratch and don’t buy packets of anything. Two tubs of Greek yogurt is £8 ffs, some seeds/dried fruit is £3.50, some granola is £3, some veg and a loaf of half-decent bread and it’s all gone. Those of you spending £80 a week, is that truly all you spend? No extra trips etc? Are you living off gruel? I don’t understand how anyone does it that cheaply any more.

No idea really. 2 of us...I meal plan every 4 days. Dh takes a packed lunch to work. Depends if I buy wine, toiletries etc.we eat well and mainly veggie...and eat about 3 to 4 times a month.
So maybe £600 at supermarket.

around £100-120 a week for 2 of us

I budget £500 a month. 3 of us, shop online, like a pp plan to never run out of anything so don't have to buy the overpriced version in the local shop. I meal plan and we stick to the same meals on rotation. We have quite a lot of veggie meals and also some simple meals once or twice a week like a jacket potato, pasta. The budget includes some alcohol, treat food, washing powder, shampoo etc. It's crazy how much prices have gone up!

I used to know down to the nearest pound, but I have taken my eye off the ball over the last couple of years, so I honestly don't know, which is bad when I think about it 🤔

There's mainly just 2 adults, occasionally a 3rd, and I like to cook for others, so I regularly host family for dinners.
We also have a lot of pets (6 indoor ones), and about 50 fish, which all cost a bloody fortune to feed, and probably eat better than we do 😂

I'd say I spend approx £100-£120 per month on the indoor pets, and around £80 a month on the fish food. That includes treats as well as their normal foods.

I cook mostly from scratch, and we eat meat 3-5 times a week, with other meals being vegetarian/vegan (no fake meat, though). We like Asian, Mediterranean, Indian and many other cuisines, so we eat a wide range of things.

I shop mostly in Aldi and then Asda, although we also use Tesco, but not as regularly.

I do buy what's on offer and am not interested in big brands, except for maybe 1 or 2 items, which I think taste nicer, and they're not things we buy very often (eg, Branston pickle or Coca-Cola).

I make my own bread, and rolls, etc. We don't eat out very often, maybe twice a year, and we rarely have a takeaway (probably less than once a year), as we're always disappointed because my cooking tastes better 😂

I try to buy meat from the butcher where I can, and always buy only free range eggs.

I'd estimate that our monthly shopping bill, including all household stuff and not just food, is around £400/month.

Not gruel. Porridge.

We do make some extra trips, but generally that's because I never buy pudding and the others in my house like pudding. We can definitely live without.

This week's shopping came on friday, it was £80. That included washing powder, cat food and some toiletries. I will probably have to shop again towards the end of the week because A) i had run everything down the week before and B) surprise guests on Saturday meant I used a whole chicken, and none left to make noodles with.

But generally, yes, we live off £80/90 a week.

This week we had a roast chicken, potatoes and veg. Usually I would make noodles or curry with left over chicken. I would also roasted extra veg for soup. I also popped some potatoes in to bake for lunches.

I then made beef casserole, enough for two meals. One with mash and peas, another will be with rice and extra veg. At the same time I cooked a gammon. Some used for lunches, some was used for tea tonight. A white sauce, onions, mushroom, peas and pasta.
Tomorrow will be veggie curry, Wednesday omelette, salad and sweet potato wedges.
Thursday use up the beef casserole from the freezer.

Lunches are soup, jacket potatoes, salad or wraps. With eggs, feta, beans, cheese, gammon, cottage cheese. (Not all at once!) I add lentils or beans to the soups to bulk them and make them.more filling.

Breakfasts are porridge or Greek yogurt with fruit - frozen, fresh or dried. Usually we have nuts, but I forgot this week, there is peanut butter if wanted.

I do pick up a sourdough loaf for £4.50 some weeks, and i try to support my local farm shop, so sometimes I spend around £5/10 in there, just depends on what money i have floating about.

I make my own greek yoghurt - 3 litres of Lidl semi skimmed milk @ 68p a litre and a pot of live yoghurt every few batches and it makes around 2 kilo

I make my own granola and use it as a topping - or I buy Bio and me if on offer, lasts me weeks as I use the recommended 45grms - not a bowl-full - again its more of a topping - I use frozen berries and chopped apples or pears with the yoghurt

I eat a lot of porridge as over night oats, cheap as chips. Also use them to make biscuits with the grandkids - like hob nobs

Buying dried fruit, nuts and seeds in Tesco is pricey - Home bargains or lidl - even holland and barrett when they have offers on

We dont eat out of the house now much at all, and if and when we do, that's not the grocery money - that's entertainment money

Bread, I can no longer tolerate it, mum likes a small wholemeal nimble - 1 loaf of bread a week. Sometimes Ill make a loaf or pick up some single bake rolls from lidl for a weekend sausage or bacon roll

Toiletries are a lot cheaper from Savers , own brands for most items if buying from a supermarket

I manage spending so little because we dont snack all day, crisps, chocolate, and biscuits are just not bought as a regular trolley item they are treats

I’m with you there. I live with a carnivore, he always wants meat with a meal. I don’t eat that much to be honest, never been a big eater.

My husband was away recently for a week watching golf, I only spent £30 on food just for myself, normally looking at £120 online Asda shop, we do also have 3 dogs, I buy bulk for them it works out cheaper. All the meals are from scratch and we eat really healthily.

Whilst we can afford it we’ll eat what we want. I remember our first house in the early nineties and the mortgage interest rates went through the roof, finding money for food wasn’t easy and no food banks then or Universal Credit. We now have no mortgage which is a godsend, I never want to be in that position again!

2 adults and two teenagers: 800/p month total.

2 adults, 2 children £200 a week.

We get Tesco online delivery every week and sometimes struggle to meet the £50 minimum basket, 2 adults and 8yo. I do supplement it with a local veg box delivery costing £12pw.

I bulk buy meat from Costco or online butcher twice a year and freeze it. Always make soup using the veg box, make my own steam bags of veg for freezer and focus on protein rich foods so I don't really snack, although my husband is a vegetarian and crisp fiend.

If you add on extra bi-annual trips to Costco for household supplies and the meat, we probably average out at £80 a week given or take. We are NE Scotland if that matters.

Single woman (kids both left home) spend on average £150 a month on food/ cat food / cleaning stuff. I don’t eat breakfast. Lunch is maybe soup or beans on toast. Tea jacket spud, maybe pasta or cottage pie that can last a few nights. What the kids are home it triples but I find it easy to eat cheaply as a single person.

Family of 3 and probably around £400 a month in total. Usually about £80 weekly shop but usually end up doing top ups. Feel like we don't really have that much either.