How much does your family spend on grocery shopping per week?

[Colourworld]

At the moment we have tough times (only the DH works) and try to spend no more than £80.00/week. We have two kids under the age of 6. Usually we shop at ASDA or Tesco. I remember the times when we shopped at Waitrose. Since the time we bought a car we have been left almost with nothing. Hardly any money is left to spend on food, clothes as we are still paying off the car.

Our ideal spending would be between £70-80/week but sometimes we have to top up with nappies and other things. I wonder whether we spend just all right, too little or too much for the family of four (two big eaters only). How much do you spend?

Shop with Ocado, about £50-£60 per week for 2 adults, 15yo and 4yo. I am a real tightwad though and buy the cheapest stuff possible. Nothing organic other than eggs, value range as far as I can. No nappies. Lunches are bought separately.

£65-£80 at Sainsburys for 4 of us (children: 14 mts-big eater and 11 yrs-small eater) so nappies included in this. Usually also spend £5-£10 to top up on milk/ eggs etc. Packed lunches are included in this- no money spent at work. Not a tight wad but dont buy much alcohol and I avoid the non food areas of the supermarket. We are pretty unfussy food wise and I go for stuff which I know we will eat which is on offer. I dont buy much convenience food but make dishes out of mince/braising steak/whole chicken etc. Always compare prices on different sizes of goods eg- loo rolls in packs of 4 were cheaper than packs of 9 for the same type today so big is not always chaper. I shop once a week and roughly menu plan. Also I waste almost nothing- a few manky grapes in the bottom of the fruit bowl is the limit. A big bag of spuds and similar of onions is a massive saving from local 'farm' type shop.

£50-£60 a week is wow!
I think some of the things we buy are quite expensive:
salmon - we try to buy it every week; I cook a fish soup so the kids could get the nutrients.
mascarpone - I would buy the soft cheese instead but it is salted. I have not seen unsalted soft cheese
fromage and choc mousse for kids
cheddar - is there a cheap cheddar as good as Cathedral? We buy it from time to time
Parsley/dill - every week. I hope to see herbs in our back garden soon! It should save us some money.
Baby wipes - we buy Tesco value
Nappies - Asda range
fruits and veg - usually nothing expensive
Meat - turkey or chicken
Eggs - ussually a big pack for two weeks to make omeletes.

DH and DS take lunch boxes.

We love chocolate so buy it every week. Also I bake brownies (with cocoa powder) so not that costly. In comparison to you guys we look like big eaters.

We don't drink alcohol, so that cuts out a lot of expense. All food is planned and cooked from scratch. I always spend a lot more when I go into a supermarket, hence Ocado. I also find their food lasts longer, meaning less waste. Fruit is always apples/bananas rather than raspberries.

Why don't you go the fishmonger and buy a side of salmon or a whole one, ask him to portion it up and freeze. Or if you're only making soup with it, just use the tail bits. Same with meat, if you can buy whole chickens and ask the butcher to portion them up it saves a fortune. Does the Philly not have a lower salt content? I know mascarpone has very high fat content, but maybe a light philly? I'm not sure on that - I do give that to DD3 two or 3 times a week as part of her lunch. Should be able to grow herbs year round on a window sill that gets sun. My mum has a whole load including Basil literally all year and grow like crazy.

YY to fishmonger - our local one does a fish pie mix that's really reasonable, and I pick out some of the mini chunks and freeze them seperately, so can give DD mini fish pie or steamed salmon etc without breaking the bank.

Am currently battling to reduce our weekly bill. Meal planning, buying only what's on the list and then not entering the shops again is my current method. A, also trying to do more vegetarian meals with eggs/pulses as the protein. I get milk delivered by milkman which stops the need to return a few times in the week. DH gets lovely eggs via a smalholder at work.

Also, have you tried Lidl or Aldi - plenty of good quality stuff for a lot cheaper, particularly staples like tinned toms and kidney beans etc.

I think when it comes to fish then the nearest shop would be either Tesco or Asda (we need to check Sainsburys as well). My DH works in the town and there is a Loch Fyne nearby. I will ask him to pop in and check which fish is available for sale.
Bying fish tails for soup is a good idea. The soup will taste even better. The only thing that I think Asda fish is all the same. I would not say it is great.
As for mascarpone we like the taste of it (unsalted taste) and the kids love eating cooked pasta shapes with a bit of mascarpone. About a month ago it was just over £1.00 and now it costs more than £1.20.
Aldi and Lidl are too far from us; they sell so many varieties of chocolates, hmm. They do not take credit cards which is ashame.
We do not buy alchohol! That saves a lot indeed.
I think the cereals cost a lot. I wonder whether it would be cheaper to make own muesli: raisins, oats, barley, dried fruits and etc. I like the ones from Jordans.
I see how it goes this weekend but fishmonger is a very good idea. Do not know where is the nearest one yet.
We still have to buy a few things to grow in our little garden. It is nice to have green onions, yeah?
Many thanks for the ideas!

I always make my own muesli, just cos it tastes so much nicer! And when I remember I soak it in apple juice before bed and top it up in the morning - v. nice and I feel quite saintly eating it!

If you can find a decent fishmonger, then it is definitely worth stocking up on bits and portioning up - you can probably save £20 there, and the same with meat too and chicken. Also, once you are a regular with fish man/butcher, they usually throw in some end bits with your shop too, which can add up to a whole meal anyway! And bones any time for either fish/meat, then you always have a soup base for emergencies...