On a mission to bring down food cost.

[Lovethesummerrain]

We’re a family of 2 adults and DS who’s in preschool. We spend £100 weekly (including any top up) on our food shop. This is also including cleaning stuff/basic toiletries. It seems like a lot for just the 3 of us, in an ideal world I’d like to get this down to £75.

Anyone out there who is already keeping foodshop this low who can share some tips? Meal plans? I like the idea of batch cooking so pls throw your favourite cheap meals this way!

We eat most things, no allergies.

I’d like to follow this to see if you get good ideas. We are 2 adults two primary age kids and do a weekly online shop at a mid range supermarket which is averaging £130 per week. So to me, £100 on 3 of you seems pretty good … but £130 is so so much higher than we used to spend. I can remember when it rarely got over £100, and normally £80, but those days are long gone sadly.

I think you'd be hard pressed to get it down to £75 including toiletries, set realistic goals or youll feel like crap if you cant achieve them

Shop at Aldi/Lidl

Jamies £1 meals

or buy a meat pack from your local butcher (roughly 20/25£ pw)

Spaghetti bol,
Pork chops, vegetables and potatoes,
fishcakes with wedges and peas,
chilli and jacket potato/rice,
Chicken pasta
Curry and rice
casserole
Homemade pizza
Fajita
Jambalaya
Pan fried chicken, veg and wedges
Chicken breast with salad in a baguette
Beans and cheese /egg/tomatoes on toast.

Just some of our meals (2 adults, 2 teens), 2 with afrid, asd and coeliac. I'm a single parent who lives on disability benefits so very tight budget we spend £50 every 8 days (including cleaning and hygiene products).
Pudding only occasionally tends to be fruit, yoghurt or custard. I menu plan, cook mostly from scratch, batch cook, buy rice/pasta etc in bulk. Buy items we use regularly when on offer. Buy cheapest brands we can tolerate, bulk meals with beans, veg etc. Freeze everything milk, cheese, Peppers, onion, bread, etc. This week we wanted a treat so dd made a chocolate cake which is an activity as well as a treat. We don't throw food away, if something comes with a short date I rejig my meal plan. I order online because I can't shop instore but this also means I spent less because I can see the total. The subscription is worth it because I save more than I would impulse buying/being able to swap meal plan around if something is unavailable.

I’ve been struggling to get it down too, budget is £50 per week but I can’t get it below £60. That’s 2 adults 2 children but not including shampoo/shower gel.

My tips are, I’ll usually do a roast lunch on Sunday and use leftovers on the Monday for paella/risotto/pie/chicken fried rice etc. Sometimes I’ll buy a larger chicken, cut the legs off and freeze and once I’ve got 4 legs I can make something more meat heavy like tandoori chicken or piri piri chicken with wedges and coleslaw. One day a week I’ll make either jacket potatoes or toasties and fries. I shop at Aldi and if Aldi doesn’t sell it then we generally don’t have it. If you live near a farm shop this time of year you can get hold of a sack of potatoes (usually 25kgs) for about £5 (probably £6 now 🙄) and they will be fine until February/March. It’s worth popping to heron or farmfoods if you have one near, they have a wall of very cheap items that are usually close to their best before date. These can be treats, drinks, jarred sauces so good to stock up with.

My issue is packed lunches- they seem to bump costs up lots.

@Popskipiekin i fully accept that I may be aiming for the fairies here 😅 £130 for the 4 of you sound fine as they need school lunches etc thrown in and they’re bigger! I’ve found that snacks for him bring the cost up a fair bit.

Bulk out with veg/beans/veg wherever possible to double your volume (also healthier).

@sparkleshin You’re probably right, I could take out toiletries out of the food budget! It’d still be a hefty reduction but some more room to manoeuvre.

The best way I've found is to make good use of your freezer by buying up reduced or on offer meat and cheese. Also shopping in several different shops to take advantage of the offers each week.
Root veg to bulk out meals, also buying dried pulses and have them soaking overnight ready to be used.
The problem is that a lot of the money saving options cost more in time, which not everyone has.

Ooh also buying reduced veg and cooking and freezing it as sauces or soup or stews.

Basically buy whatever is cheap and use it to make a meal - if you don't need to eat it right away, freeze it!

Do you actually need to get it down to £75? It can definitely be done by shopping carefully, sticking to basic foods and cutting down nice-to-have fruit and veg in favour of seasonal or frozen stuff.

But that comes with an impact on standard of living, so I wouldn't do it just for frugal laughs. It's only worth it if you REALLY need to save the £25.

@TheYearOfSmallThings I know my post seem lighthearted but we do actually need to get it down from £100. Not just for “frugal laughs”! But as I’ve mentioned in PP, £75 is perhaps a little far fetched.

My budget is £100 a week for me and 5 children, including toiletries, cleaning products, nappies etc. I prefer Tesco online shopping so I can see the cost as I go. Meals are simple and we don't eat much meat. I buy very few snack type things, just what we need for the kids lunchboxes. One shop only a week, no top ups, if we run out we wait til the next shop. It's definitely possible for you to spend £75 a week.

Have you downgraded your brands to supermarket own brand?

Here are a few of our meals this week.

Chicken stir fry (cook a whole chicken every week, use it for one meal and the rest is used for sandwiches/salads for lunch and the dog gets scraps.)
Pasta arrabiata (home made sauce using tinned tomatoes and herbs/spices)
Sausage casserole (slow cooker, loads of veg)
Jacket spuds with various filings.

Sorry OP - I see it was a weird question! But there are lots of people on Mumsnet who play frugality for fun. Eg "With this cost of living crisis we really need to cut costs if we are to maintain our target of £5k a month into savings. So far I am quartering stock cubes, eating porridge for lunch (with a foraged bag leaf - bliss!), and collecting slivers of soap for an old fashioned soap-ball! Does anyone have any more wonderful ideas?"

@Lovethesummerrain take the toiletries out of the budget.. 24 toilet rolls roughly 12.50, shampoo and conditioner £2 each so £6, toothpaste £1-2 per person so lets say £8, hand soap £1-2 , antibacterial spray £1.50-3, toilet cleaner £1.50, laundry detergent £8-10 and powder roughly £10 every couple of months? new toothbrushes every few months.
You can batch cook soup and freeze bread
same with chicken curry and rice
I think the trick is to just not be very fancy with it

i agree,
also shop around
points available at asda and tesco
lidl is basic, no real points imo
make a list
dont go shopping hungrey,
go veggie more often, that means lentils not quorn

@TheYearOfSmallThings hahah did you also know that coffee grounds can be used 4 times over rather than just once?

might not go QUITE to that extreme but I do love a good money saver!

I’m noting down all of these tips - thank you so much for sharing everyone!

I spend £125 ish for two older children (one nearly teenage), including cat food, toiletries and all lunches. No school lunches on top.

we have baked potatoes once a week and usually beans or eggs on toast once. Other meals we all love that are cheaper: lentil dal with rice and pickles, make your own pickles; veggie pasta sauce; home made pizza to use up any veg in the fridge the day before shop day; kedgeree; sweet potato curry with home made chapatis. We only buy two meat things a week, this week roast chicken and also some bacon for spaghetti carbonara. We have porridge for breakfast with raisins and honey. I make a cake or banana bread and we all take a slice for school snack!

Two older children and me and Dh, if that’s not clear (it probably is…)

Meal planning. Include a couple of cheap and simple meals such as omelettes or baked potatoes.

Batch cooking.

Bulking meals out with extra veg or pulses eg mushrooms and lentils in a bolognaise.

Plus also shopping around for good prices. For example - we buy all our weekly fruit and veg on a Monday on Uber Eats Fresh Monday (50% off fruit and veg delivered from local supermarkets - ours is a choice of co-op, Sainsbury's local or Morrisons).

check the price per weight

Is there anything you can do to increase your earnings, instead of paring down costs to buy things. Especially if you find you need to visit several supermarkets, then these savings are coming at the expense of time you would otherwise spend on other things.

Thinking of it as Opportunity cost might help.

One change I have made is to buy the big bags of 'frozen white fish fillets', it's £2.50 for a bag, it's pollock so not the most flavour but it makes a great curry. I can easy feed 2 adults 2 kids two meals out of the bag (or use a whole bag if I want to be really generous) A tiny change but loads cheaper than a chicken curry or salmon.