How much does YOUR family spend a week on food?

[MickeyMixer]

How much do you spend each week on food and cleaning products? We are a family of five and I'm really very organised with detailed lists and recipes etc. We don't have any waste at all either but I still seem to spend a lot. What's normal?? Do I have to resort to LIDL or ALDI?

On reflection, it's probably the fish eating us out of house and home

Not read all thread (just got on here this evening) but for two adults, a teenager nd a child about £200 a week

I reckon Posh lives down the road from Daylesford. I saw a ornamental wicker chicken there once. Thought it was quite nice - perhaps £70 or so (yeah, expensive thing to put in your garden, but it was Daylesford). Saw the price. It was £1500

We spend about £60 as I've said and yeah we're a small family but I don't cut back, we have organic veg box and we eat good meat or fish every day. We never buy processed or frozen food. Not even sausages. We have organic milk etc.

But we never buy cleaning products (make my own) tampons or pads (use cloth pads) nappies (used cloth nappies) baby wipes (used cloth wipes! Are you seeing the theme ) baby food (BLW) I don't buy toiletries/soap/shampoo/conditioner...

Basically I don't buy anything but food apart from dog food and toilet roll. Tend to pick up big packs of bog roll in the pound shop when I'm there and stock the cupboard so even that purchase is rare.

About £120 a week for 2 adults, 2 children and 1 dog. Includes cleaning, toiletries etc.

But we tend to have people over about 3 times a month for lunch or supper and that works out about £50 each time for that.

£70-£120 a week. Usually near the top end over the last few weeks. I used to spend £50 a week on food last summer. We have now got ourselves an allotment and when things start to grow then hopefully it will mean the bills will come down. I do meal plan and use the slow cooker a lot.

I also do the odd shop at Approved Foods if I have managed to keep the normal shop down.

Sounds about right for around £25 per person. At least we know we are singing from that same hymn sheet.

About £60 a week for 2 adults, 4 children (7,5,3 18mths), 3 cats and 3 dogs including cleaning stuff, washing powder, nappies etc. BUT we live on a farm so don't but meat, milk, eggs veggies etc so keeps the cost down. Don't know how we would afford it if we didn't produce so much of our own

sorry that should have read "buy" not "but"

I have done all the online shops and have always found Tescos the cheapest but it depends how long you want to spend doing a shop online and what you want. I tend to look on the special offers 1st then work the meals around them. My mam has always done a sainsburys online and tried tesco this week. She couldnt believe how much extra she got. After your 1st tesco delivery you can start a shop then add to it all week which i think helps. I do my online on a Tue approx £100 2adults 3 kids n 2 dogs then get all the offers in Netto on a weekend to top up when all three kids in at weekend (Netto meats not good)!

Just done the week's shop for £83-00.

Sorry meant to say that I shop for a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 children)

£30 a week, 2 Adults

Torcherqueenie - can I just ask..how do you cope about snacks? and if you have someone who never stops eating ..wha do they eat between meals?

Normality when you say you don't buy any toiletries including soap and shampoo - do you just not bother or do you make those as well? What about washing the dishes etc?

Dropdeadfred I love the name I bake a lot of food, Theres always ready prepared meals in the freezer, tins/dried and frozen fruit and basics yogurts. I bulk out all of my meals with a hell of a lot of veg and usually freeze at least half.

Thanks Torcherqueenie - that's interesting about your baking etc....i do think we spend too much on food but my dd aged 16 seems to do nothing but graze every moment she is in the house....and fruit is expensive..and the cos of good cheese seems to have risen alot recently...where do yu get your reduced meat from by the way?

6 of us and two big dogs
about £160 a week, more if we are entertaining. It used to be around £130, I've noticed costs have gone up when what we are buying hasn't. That is waitrose/ocado, organic milk and mainly organic meat.

I usually budget £130 a week. There are 2 adults and 3 DCs.
Have to say it doesn't always cover everything.
I tend to do a big shop at Asda on the weekend then a top up shop at Iceland midweek.
Would love to shop at Waitrose but far too pricey, even with their essentials range.
Just read in Which? magazine today the Waitrose was voted best supermarket in their poll, followed by M and S and in third place was....Aldi!!
I must make more of an effort to go to Aldi, have read so many good things about it.

Tesco's usually by about 12:30 they have dropped it all to half price. Over new years we picked up 3 free range organic chickens for £2 each and several packs of finest sausages for 52p a pack among others.

We have a lot of cheap shops round here I managed to get 2 packs of white choc chips around 400g a pack fo r£1.

Moneysavingexperts Oldstyle forums has a lot of cheap baking recipes on. You could perhaps make cakes and corned beef pies for your DD to graze on?

Apart from that my best reccomendation is going to the supermarkets a few hours before closing and browsing the reduced section most of it can be frozen. Fresh veg can be used to make soup which you could freeze in 1pt milk containers.

Two adults, one toddler and one cat. I am to keep it under £100. I used to aim for £80 but that's not so easy any more. This week's bill was £93.

2 adults, 2 DC, 2 cats, all meals, all toiletries and all cleaning stuff. We spend around £300 a month (£70pw) at the moment, was £400 but we're cutting back - it helps that DS is now nappy free in the day!

We have a couple of veggie days each week where we use leftovers from the fridge or stuff that's previously been leftover and has been frozen - so something like risotto with veg and h/m stock or frittata or soup.

We bulk buy stuff on offer, chop and freeze in portions. Have also started buying cheap tinned fruit.

I try not to set foot in the supermarket as i cannot resist picking up extras so have shop delivered every week. Meal plan starting with meat and seeing what's on offer then building plan around that. Also get through a lot of smoked salmon offcuts and pollock as super cheap.

Friend somehow manages to do it all for £250 but I don't know how!

Thanks for all your answers - it is nice to know I'm not a totally extravagant and useless housekeeper!

I spent £720 in December in supermarkets, ASDA, Tesco and Waitrose. That doesn't include petrol or clothes but does include Christmas and boxing day for 10 people. (although the guests brought things with them as well)

It also involved lots of cooking from scratch to save money, but my weakness is high welfare meat from Waitrose. and organic milk

Family of 2 adults 2 teenagers 2 cats

2 adults, 3 kids and a puppy

Usual shop is £80 a week.

Last week was £53, tomorrows online is £160!

The £160 will stock us up big time and so the following 3 weeks shops should be in the £40-50 range.

Overall for a month, about £400