How do I reduce how much I'm spending on a food shop!

[weescottish31]

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but I seem to spend over 50 pound almost every week on food etc for only myself and my 6yo son! I buy for school lunches for my son for school but I don't even eat lunch myself.
What things can I do to reduce how much I'm spending almost every week. I'm a single parent and most of my money seems to be going on the shopping and I'm not left with much after it.
Any advice would be appreciated!

Lidl/Aldi may not be much cheaper but every penny saved is better. Even if you reduced your bill by 10% by swapping, that would be enough to cover the cost of lunches for yourself.

I am also a single parent. I have 4 kids, 3 of them teenagers, 1 who is 11. My food budget is £60 per week. I shop at Lidl, I meal plan, I don't buy squash or fruit juice. I buy long life semi skimmed milk. My kids have packed lunches. On a weekly basis I probably spend £46 on food shopping, slightly more if I have to buy washing powder or fabric softener.
We have had this budget for the last 18 months

I think it just takes a bit of research and practise. Implement the lifestyle change and stick to it. Once you get into the swing of things, you'll be fine!

I managed to get my weekly shop this week for £35, and I had 8 cans of the own brand dark fruit cider in with that! It's actually as nice, if not nicer than, the Strongbow version and you can get 8 cans of the Aldi version for less than 50p more than 4 cans of the strongbow version!!

Good luck OP! X

Why do you buy toiletries every second shop OP? I can go for months and months - try washing hair less often or using fewer products?
Make a menu plan for the week and go to the supermarket armed with a shopping list. Don't buy anything that isn't on it
Don't buy convenience or processed foods of any sort
Batch cook - eg make up a tomato and onion sauce, use some with stock as soup, some as pasta sauce, some as pizza shopping etc
Don't let food go off. If it's getting towards the end of its life, eat it or freeze it
Don't buy alcohol or limit it a lot
Don't buy any kinds of drink for that matter - stick with water and tea
Don't buy cake, confectionery etc

2 adults and one (weaning) baby in this house. Shopping weekly (because I tend to go a bit mad otherwise), meal planning for Monday to Friday and buying general cleaning, toiletries etc around £60 per week in Aldi

I'm a single mum and I'm amaze balls at budgeting if I say so myself

I used to shop at Tesco / Asda and budget £100 a week not sure how I did that but anyway since splitting with my kid dad a few years ago I budget £40

I do dinners, lunches for me, packed lunch 4 days a week as she has dinners Fridays toilettes that's even a bottle of wine in there

Sometimes my shops less £30 something or I just admit if I chose to have something special like steak or salmon which I find expensive it can be more

Anyway Lidi is the way to go for me
Don't shop too much in bulk
Budget weekly so I only buy what I need
Don't be fooled by 3 for 2 or 2 for £2 if it's only 90 p to begin with and you only need one that week

Make a list before you go
MEAL PLAN!!! Freeze any left overs
I use jars and don't do much make from scratch which I know will be cheaper but I'm happy with my budget

Spag Bol for example I do make myself as I think it's a waste buying a jar when so easy
Then I would freeze 2 portions and have some for lunch the next day

I go to bm bargains / him bargains for snacks / drinks / crisps as it is so much cheaper!

I guarantee it would save you £20 a week if you shop around

It's time consuming yes but once you get to know prices it becomes second nature
And working 4 days a week being a single mum too I manage to find the time
I quite enjoy it
It's rewarding knowing you've saved money and worth it in my opinion
Try Lidl ( or Aldi) next week and see how much you save
Take a list, stick to it, meal plan and you will save money
X

For us the expensive things are snacks and drinks. Get DC out of the habit of snacks altogether or just give him a biscuit (44p a pack or so) rather than flapjack bars, fruit rollups, crisps etc.

Also breakfast cereals vary wildly in price. Sticking to basic ones really helps. A handful of raisins might help if you/DS is used to more sugary ones.

Be realistic about the amount of fruit you'll actually eat and don't overbuy. Tinned fruit isn't the cheapest but you know it won't go off. It's a good option to have in for the end of the week. Just buy in fruit juice not syrup, and it's not that different to fresh.

I totally agree about being careful on the 2 for £2 deals. Houmous for example, we like it but we struggle to get through 1 pot a week, let alone 2.

When I was living on £10 pw I swore by a jar of jalapenos. Just 2 or 3 chopped up added a bit of interest and depth to most meals, and I think the chilli kick helped me feel fuller.

It is a good idea to get to know which things in Lidl really are much cheaper. Lots of the fresh / chiller / dairy stuff that used to be isn’t so much now.
But:
The Cien toiletry range, really good .49p roll on deodorant, 49p Original Source copycat shower gel etc.
Formil laundry detergent
Jars of pesto, jam, herbs
Some tinned and dried goods, incl pasta.
Their own brand (Crown?) cereals.
Crumpets half the price of Tesco or Sainsbury’s.

What does your DC eat? I know it can do tricky to feed a picky eater.

If you can let us know what you normally buy then I’m sure some of us can give you some good ideas.

Thanks, he is really picky, he loves burgers/sausages but they can only be plain. He likes lasagne and spaghetti bolognese. He only likes fish if they're fish fingers and only like chicken if they're small and in batter so like chicken dippers/nuggets. That's all he really eats. He doesn't like chips or baked potatoes. He will eat spaghetti hoops, doesn't like beans. He used to eat vegetables but won't now.

Oh he won't eat sandwiches either unless they're jam. Won't touch cheese/cold meats/spreads

Could you hide veg in a lasagne/bolognaise? Does he eat homemade or does it have to be a specific shop bought one?

What I do with bolognaise is finely chop, in a food processor, onion, carrot, mushrooms and celery. That makes up half of the sauce and so I need less minced beef. I use exactly the same in a beef lasagne too. By using really finely chopped veg it just blends with the mince and canned tomatoes.

Most of the supermarkets have ridiculous incentives for first time online shops. Min spend is usually £60 but then you get £15-20 off that so worth buying heavy things in bulk to add out delivery. Most supermarkets let you be a 'new' customer multiple times with different email addresses.

Agree with lots of other comments about making things from scratch.

I have used some cashback apps and they are good but I think the apps where you take photos of your shopping are a waste of time - I did it for about 3 months and didn't even get half way to a £5 voucher.

I am more worried about a child eating no veg at all than the money side. Would he not get things like scurvy or does ht take vitamin pills?

Lol...my child eats a serious amount of fruit. Loads of children don't touch vegetables and they've grown up to be fine