How to save at supermarket purchases? I´m new in the city, need advices...

[ShiftLD]

I need some advices because I think I´m spending too much for a family of 3, about 1000 GBP monthly for a couple and a 2yrs kid, including milk and nappies. Any tips are very welcome, best market chain, seasonal products, cheaper places to by meat, chicken, eggs (supermarket or butcher´s shop)? What about fresh vegetables and fruits?

are breaking us, I´m sure that there are some ways to get better prices. Anyone?

You're spending around £250 a week for a couple and a toddler? What on earth are you buying?

Sue Ocado, Tesco, butcher shop, some M&S.. and I´m including Boots purchases because of the milk and nappies. How do you save?

At 2 you shouldn't need formula, regular cows' milk should be fine now. Nappies may well be cheaper in Tesco, Lidl etc but you need to shop around for deals and maybe buy in bulk. Butchers may be lovely but £££ in comparison to supermarket. Decide where you can compromise. Even so am shocked you so easily can spend £250 between the three of you!

I have 2 adults and 4 kids, a big dog and guinea pigs and we spend half that!!

Blimey.

Well, Lidl or Aldi for basics. For example, I use Lidl dishwasher tabs at about £1.25 a box - the premium brands are four times that. I can't tell the difference. The nappies are supposed to be great.

Work out what you can economise on and what you won't - I wouldn't buy battery eggs or cheap coffee. Make your savings on the stuff that doesn't matter to you.

Have you looked at the thrifty living threads on here, and on Money Saving Expert?

Cut out Ocado/Boots/butchers/M&S and get everything in Tesco.

Meal plan and buy the ingredients you need for the weeks meals.

Yes, we get shocked too when we made the sum. I need desperately reduce it. We included the lunch of DH, maybe thats why we reach 1000.

Maybe he needs a cheaper lunch! Even if he spends £10 a day that is still £200 on general shopping. Unless you're eating fillet steak every night then there must be room for manoeuvre. If you still want organic/butcher's meat then buy less of it and balance with more veg.

What's the research for, OP?

What about meat, chicken, fish, eggs? What is the best price x quality? How to buy chicken to get better prices? And fish, any other so good but cheaper than salmon (I don´t know the other UK fishes, so I´m always buying salmon). Please I´m here for some advices, I have been enough criticized at home .

Maybe you'd be better off getting a simple meal-planning cookery book and working through it to find what you like.

lisaro for me.
SuePurblybilt do you know some with very cheap choices?

Go out with a budget per meal in mind.
Fish - you can buy irregular shapes in supermarkets for less or use coley instead of cod and so on. You could easily make a fish pie for under £5 with a mixture of cuts/types.
Think you can still buy a Tesco chicken for under £3 - whether you want to bearing in mind the water content and conditions they are raised in is another matter.

Even organic mince is less than £3.50 a pack in most supermarkets for shepherds' pie, bolgnese or lasagne. Freeze leftovers for your toddler or reheat for his lunch.
Buy non perishables like tins of tomatoes or tuna or packs of dried pasta only when on offer.

here. look at what other people bought at the bottm of the page - loads of books there. Or go to the library, it's free!

Good God. There are four of us including two teenagers and I DO NOT stint and buy plenty of beer and wine, scented candles and other luxuries. Also I hit the supermarket for everything, including toiletries and cleaning stuff. I reckon I spend about £800 pcm (sometimes more if we are entertaining) although have been flamed for claiming to be careful. Waitrose/Sainsburys usually.

What on earth are you buying. Let's have a typical weekly shopping list.

This is not about living in the city really. Where on earth have you been until now, what did you use to spend and what has changed ?

there are 5 of us and we always squeeze the weekly shop into less than 120 with max 30 of extra food spending for DH. Waitrose and Ocado.

We: don't have chicken that often
Have quite a few veggie meals
Don't eat ready meals
Buy own brand stuff
Get nappies from Lidl or Aldi
Eat quite a few meals made with mince or braising steak
Don't have salmon very much - usually tuna, coley or haddock.
Take advantage of special offers.
Don't buy too much crap (although there's always a bit that sneaks in).

Meal plan- makes a huge difference. Loads of meal plannning threads on here.

I checked again the numbers with DH and included weedends lunchs. Supermkt are about 400. Do you think I can reduce it anyway. We simply cut the food out of home since last weekend.

Can you give us your weekly shop, then we can suggest few changes?

Put my all my weekly list will be a little boring for you... but I can clearly identify that meat, chicken, fish, eggs, beans (dry grain) and cheese form the main spending.

No, no, I love a full list. You need to share - I can see where I make my real economies then.

Tonight I bought: 4 stellas, 1 slimline tonic, one loaf, 6 soft white rolls, 1 Orange juice, 2 mozzarellas (light), 1 feta (light), 1 pack 6 toms, 1 cucumber, 1 pack mint, 1 pack basil, 1 tin of black olives, 1 pckt cherry toms, 1 pckt penne, 4 chocolate eclairs, 6 eggs, 6 sultana scones, 1 pckt Herta jumbo frankfurters, 1 Felix Marinades, pckt 8 scented candles. Was in Waitrose. It came to £38.00 and I hope it will last until Friday morning/lunchtime.

Come on OP, let us see what you buy.

..And a big five a day fruit platter as a snacking treat for dd.

one slimline tonic but no gin, married? Did you forget or shoplift the bottle?