Just counted how many times I've been to the supermarket in the last month!!!

[Beamine]

I've just been looking at my bank account and have logged how many times between us (dh and I) have been to a supermarket/food shop in the last month and I counted 39 transactions!! Amounting to 475.00 approx. So although that's not a huge amount to spend on food in a month, we are obviously very disorganised! So I'm aiming this month to go a lot less and hoping to cut the cost.

How many times a month do you go food shopping?

I have a 4 week food plan spreadsheet....it random so it gives me a different meal for every day of the month based on what we like to eat. I have a look at that to plan my big monthly shop after pay day, then just do a once a week top up shop for fresh things and sometimes snacky bits for the kids if they run out. Doing the meal plan was a game changer x

We get a delivery once a week (£80-110) then most weeks there'll be a quick pop in to nearby small co op for bread and other small bits (max £20). Family of 3.

During first lockdown we managed with a delivery every 10 days or so but I hated the level of planning we needed to do to achieve that. I'm happier with the balance we have now. I plan a couple of evening meals that need specific ingredients then stock up on veg and staples plus some chicken and beef mince the figure out the rest as we go along.

We've just had a weekly shop once a week since last year. I only do an in-person top-up a few times a month, usually for specific ingredients I've forgotten. But to be honest we could usually manage without it. We vary what we eat through the week so we eat stuff like salad soon after the delivery, and avocados (which need time to ripen) later. We get filtered milk and seeded bread which lasts the week, and freeze meat if it's not being used until later in the week.

@Beamine

After reading your OP I took everything out of the cupboards, fridge and freezer and made a list of what we have. Was ashamed to find out of date items either unopened. And surprised to find some things I didn't know we had. Also went though bank statements and I'd spend £500 on food in a month - DH has probably spent similar. This is only for a family of four and doesn't count cash transactions at the shop.

Anyway, I made a five day meal planner around what was in the cupboards and did a £80 (including lunches) shop getting only what was on the list including household items. Apart from getting milk and bread we have been pretty good this week, though DH has succumbed to a beer and snacks shop on Friday.

Would really like to keep to this but it relies on being very organised and for both DH and I keeping to the food planner. I will look up Evernote as someone mentioned up-thread.

Before this pandemic I was a lot more organised.
I used to go 2 Lidl shops of around £35-40 per shop and then a Tesco and H&B shop for cat food/vegan meals etc. About £100-£110 per week.

Now because work is so erratic and we don’t know from one day to the next if we have work and need lunches or lunch will be provided or who will be in or out we can’t plan. We don’t have a particularly big kitchen and only have 3 drawers in our freezer.

I can think I have everything for the next day then someone will get a call to go somewhere for work and then they need stuff they can take with them
I will go out and get that then come back and 5minutes later someone else finds they have work.
Can’t wait for this pandemic to be over

You will save a lot of money by limiting how often you shop. It also helps to get into the mindset that 1 weekly shop or 1 weekly shop plus perhaps 1 top-up is all there can be and when things from those shops have gone, you just have to eat other stuff that’s in the house and can’t buy more. Also, that you always eat what’s in the shop and or top-up and if you suddenly fancy something else, you have to wait until the next shop to get it....so no nipping out because you fancy some popcorn (and then Spending £15) or no nipping out for some bananas because the ones you had gave run out, but instead making yourself eat the apples that are there.

It’s good to look at how many times someone nipped to the shops and the total spend. Many families should be shocked at the amount of trips and how £12 each time on the car adds up when it’s every other day.

We have 1 delivery per week. In normal times, I might do 1 top-up too of max £15, but during Covid we stuck to the one delivery.

We have a blackboard and if we run out if women think g or there’s something we fancy it is written in the board. Then it is included with the next shop and in the intervening period we just go without that thing or wait until the next order. It has meant more careful planning and making sure everyone in the family knows how it works and not to use up half a load on a whim without telling anyone. We are now back to one top up shop too which gives a bit of flex, but I don’t want to do more than 1 of those per week.

It’s particularly tricky I think if you live very near a corner shop or Tesco Exoress etc and can easily pop in, and even worse if 2 adults are both prone to popping in. When either or both are also prone to just fancying something and going in, or almost shopping in a daily basis.

I think Op you could save close to £100 per month by reigning it in. To be most effective you need to talk to DH and both be on board with reducing the trips and planning ahead more. How about starting with the main shop and then each only has one other pop-in during week. Try to blackboard idea for jotting down what’s needed/wanted and also accepting that it doesn’t hurt to make yourself wait a couple of days until the next shop when you fancy something. It will only work well if you’re both on board.

The other way to stop yourself doing this so much is to have a food budget and get the money in cash. Then, anything bought at the food shop must be paid for in cash.

Quick payments of a pop-in shop of £17 or similar on a card, doesn’t feel like lots. If you pay cash it feels more real, plus if it’s a pot that 2 adults use, it’s much easier to see the amount dropping and dropping regularly.

Another way would be to keep a notebook and each card spend in food is jotted down with the date. You’ll see how many times per week it’s happening.

Personally, I look to spend between £60 and £80 on a weekly supermarket delivery. If my sound goes over £80 I remove items from the online basket until I’m back within budget, or I switch around and replace some items with cheaper ones. We know at the treat items tend to get eastern fairly quickly and by day 3 or 4 might be gone. So we might have strawberries and raspberries in day 1 and 2 and by day 4 be eating bananas and apples. We might still fancy strawberries but don’t pop out to get more and they have to wait until the next food shop. Instead, we eat the less popular apples because they are there. There is always a bottle of wine or some beers, but if it’s gone, we don’t tend to pop out for more, but wait until next delivery. The only items we tend to pop out for would be milk or bread..and usually we can manage for the week, but sometimes need to get some extras.

The other time I might do a top up , which isn’t really a top up, is if we are hosting a meal and I didn’t plan ahead and include the stuff in the weekly shop, so might need to go and buy the stuff for the meal and the drink. Similar could happen if we are going to a friends for a meal and I want to get wine or crocs or flowers...but I usually have chops and wine in the cupboard so don’t need to do that.

Honestly, I think there’s scope for saving vast amounts of money without the little shops, plus probably easier to eat healthily and lose weight too if you want to do that without popping to shops. It’s just a habit but can be broken.