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Original poster

Cost of weekly shop?

168 replies

flowwithit · 22/04/2012 19:40

How much is yours?
We are family of 4 dc 11 and 13yrs and ours is £150 ! I think that's too much so I must be going wrong somewhere.

OP posts:
LadySybilDeChocolate · 22/04/2012 21:17

It's just ds(13) and I. I ususually spend around £40 a week, sometimes less, sometimes more. This is for everything.

Collision · 22/04/2012 21:19

This week we are eating

Sun - Roast chicken and all the trimmings. Chicken was reduced to £1.35 in W and the Y puds were 49p in Aldi. Cabbage and carrots from Aldi. Stuffing was 34p in Aldi and was delicious.

Mon - Stuffed peppers with salad. 99p from Waitrose down from £3. Lasagne for boys. £1 down from £2.40 in Waitrose.

Tues - Pizza and salad. 4 pizzas for £3 in Waitrose down from £12.

Wed - Jacket potatoes and beans. Potatoes down from 80p to 20p in Waitrose.
Waitrose beans.

Thurs - Shepherds Pie and veg. MENU range from Waitrose. £1.20 down from £4.

Fri - School event.
Sat- Out for evening
Sun - Heston Blu lamb and coriander sausages with mash. 70p down from £3.

It does take time to shop around and I know there are a lot of ready meals here but it is good quality things and lots of extra vegetables added and the children eat it. andItGivesMeMoreTImeToMumsnet

Collision · 22/04/2012 21:21

And before you shop check what you have in the cupboard.

Half a pack couscous - use it with some veggies and chicken.

Half a pack of lasagne. Buy mince etc and make a lasagne.

Check what is in the freezer and have an eat up meal. We often do this and have some random bits and pieces. Kids love it.

Back2Two · 22/04/2012 21:22

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn due to privacy concerns

BlingBubbles · 22/04/2012 21:23

I spend anything from £80-£100, it's just my Dh, DD who is 9 months and me, of and the cat and dog. That amount includes lunches for my Dh to take to work and formula and baby food for my Dd etc. I make everything from scratch and we eat loads of fresh veg and salad. No idea how people can spend so little, I struggle to keep it to that amount.

I love cooking so don't mind spending the money Grin

blondiedollface · 22/04/2012 21:32

DH and I spend about £60 on food for both of us a week, not including when we eat out.. DD due in 7 weeks and we have been adding nappies/wipes to our cleaning product/loo roll etc shop so we've been spending about £20ish a week on that so overall maybe £80-£90 a week?

We do shop around a bit, buy milk from Iceland because it's only £1 for 4 pints, get all our fruit/veg at the local greengrocers and buy all our branded goods at Asda!

Allboxedin · 22/04/2012 21:40

I have one very picky eating husband, One 2 year old and a 6 month old.
I tend to do one big shop a week maybe at around £ 70 -80 but then I top up for bits and pieces I forgot in the week which could cost £10 ish a day.
I cook meals every day usually with fresh meat because DH won't eat any processed stuff or quick food (even though I wish he would now and again)
I am buying baby food, milk and nappies as well though.
Jajas is right - a proper meal for us would cost a tenner (meat, veg,ect)

CogitoErgoSometimes · 23/04/2012 06:43

We're a family of two and we spend about £70/week on everything from a supermarket... groceries, toiletries, cleaning products. I pay for DS's school meals on top of that. We don't eat out or get takeaways more than about once a month. £150 for four is only 'too much' if you can't afford it.

reallypissedoffhouseseller · 23/04/2012 06:53

£60-80 per week on food for two adults and a toddler, plus about £80-100 a month on a big supermarket delivery of nappies, cleaning stuff, coffee filter papers and all that kind of thing. We do all our food shopping locally and only buy organic meat (but we don't eat a huge amount of meat, so it's not financially ruinous - this week I bought sausages and a pork tenderloin, total spend on meat £8). We also eat out once or twice a week, which bumps the total up quite a lot.

eragon · 23/04/2012 14:34

£250 a week. (sob)

family of 6, my kids are 20, 18, 16, 13, so adult portions. eldest sons girlfriends and other mates pop in frequently.
9 loaves of bread last week....

also, cook from scratch, have son and daughter with food allergies, so food is only brought if safe.

this includes all toiletries and house cleaning stuff.
As i have 3 sons, i buy good quality , strong underarm stuff. with DH can add up nearly £10 worth of arm pit spray.

cant keep this up at all!

TheCunningStunt · 23/04/2012 14:42

We generally eat cereal for breakfast, salad/wraps for lunch and a hot meal. Kids eat a pile of fruit, I bake cakes a couple of times a week. DS takes a packed lunch and dp takes leftovers to work. Our usual shop consists of fruit, salad ,veg, noodles/rice/pasta, milk, fresh juice and meats. I have a great store cupboard with loads in it, I make my own bread. I shop in lidl. £40 a week would be a week we needed cleaning stuff a d toilet roll. We can do it cheaper. We menu plan and stick to it. Last week our shop was £25. We do go to asda/tesco late and get bargain meats. We have had lots reduced to 5p and we freeze them immediately.

Vondo · 23/04/2012 14:45

We're about £110 per week. Thats dinners & pack lunches for 2 adults and 2 children, loads of fresh fruit and veg and cleaning stuff & toiletries - oh and dog food too. I can get it down to about £70 if I am properly bargain hunting and counting as I go along.

Jajas · 23/04/2012 15:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mumtomoley · 23/04/2012 15:18

jajas it's as thecunningstunt says above. Buying reduced food makes a big difference.

If you haven't got the money you can't spend it so you get a lot more creative than just putting whatever you fancy in the trolley!

Jajas · 23/04/2012 15:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bronze · 23/04/2012 15:23

I spend £400 a month on all food and groceries (cleaning, logo roll etc)

bronze · 23/04/2012 15:23

Sorry six of us

Mumelie · 23/04/2012 17:45

Me, DH and DD (9 - eats like an adult) £140 ish, but we all take packed lunches from that - and have pets - thats pricey! I've really really cut back (no organic/finest/etc - everything on offer) but the bill still seems to be rising.

anthonytrollopesrevenge · 23/04/2012 17:51

Well, part of the reason why some people spend so little is that they can shop around, I don't have the time to do this, it's one on-line shop a week and that's it. I havn't been in a supermarket for weeks. I do occasionally top up on milk at the village shop, perhaps once a month. So, I spend my time earning money and commuting, rather than saving it by shopping around! It's all swings and roundabouts.

TheCunningStunt · 23/04/2012 17:56

See I have time to shop around...there is no right and wrong ,if I didn't have time my bill would be higher!

virgil · 23/04/2012 18:20

I spend about sixty pounds for a family of four me, DH and two DSs. It's perfectly possible to eat really well for that but I do have a big stock cupboard and so don't always have to buy every ingredient I need. I think this is the key to feeding a family cheaply. I bulk buy things when they are on offer and I buy very little that isn't on offer. I know when I go to the supermarket what I have in my fridge, freezer and cupboards and when I get there I shop the offers and bulk buy any really good bargains. Last week in our tesco the value stuff which is all being rebranded was dramatically reduced. I bought twenty five bags of pasta for three pounds seventy five and will not need to buy pasta for months and months. The week before that decent farmhouse cheddar was down from five pounds fifty to ninety pence so I bought all twenty packs in the reduced cabinet and they are now in the freezer.

TotemPole · 23/04/2012 18:37

There's a website or blog that's been posted a few times, it has menus to feed a family of 4 for £26 but I think it was just the main meals and some included ingredients like value sausages and mince which I won't buy.

There are so many variables(not just family size) that affect what you spend.

If you have Aldi/Lidl/local markets nearby and have time to shop around.
If you can get to the supermarket at the right time to pick up the seriously reduced bargains.
If you have a family that are big meat eaters.
Whether you pay for school lunches on top, get FSMs, or you have to provide 3 meals a day for the whole family out of the weekly shop.
If anyone has allergies.
Some have strong dislikes for cheap fillers such as pasta/potatoes.
How much fruit the family eats. Some have children that hate fruit, others have children that practically inhale it as soon as it's out of the bag.
If you have a decent sized freezer and can plan ahead more.

EssentialFattyAcid · 23/04/2012 18:55

About £170 to £200 a week for 3 of us - mainly organic, all menu planned and cooked from scratch, and this includes all meals and snacks at work/school as well as at home. We never eat takeaways and never have starters or puddings either. We get food deliveries twice a week and almost never throw anything away. This includes approx £15 a week on booze, and all household cleaning supplies. I could easily spend more!

It does seem a ludicrous amount to spend on food and I keep intending to make more vegetarian meals.

Original poster
flowwithit · 23/04/2012 19:36

Thanks Virgil I did not know you could freeze cheese? I would not have room to store 25 bags of pasta but good on you. I need to be more careful with my shopping and get it down somehow. Thanks for everyone's ideas this has been a really interesting thread for me. Going to Aldi tomorrow to see what's there.

OP posts:
stressedHEmum · 23/04/2012 20:00

I spend somewhere between £75 and £90 a week for 7 off us. My kids are 22, 19, 15, 12 and 9, so no little kids here. Also have a husband who is unbelievably fussy (think will eat penne but not macaroni level of fussiness) who has a list of ""won't eats" that far, far outweighs what he will eat. Cost includes all toiletries etc. and fruit and veg for 2 guinea pigs, pet food is done separately.