Could I be spending less on food?

[jugodenaranja]

I spend about £65-70 a week on food for me and one 4yo DD.
Bin bags, dish soap, Dog food, toilet roll and other toiletries not included in the amount.
if I include treats I go over budget.
breakfast is porridge and a banana and lunch is usually a sandwich and soup. for dinner I make things like curry, sausage casserole, and pasta.
Is it possible to still eat healthily for less or are we doing ok

Where do you shop? Lidl or Aldi are definitely cheaper for everyday items than the other supermarkets. Also do you have a market with pound bowls of fresh fruit and veg?

Tesco

Tesco price match to Aldi so as long as you buy the absolute cheapest version if whatever it is in Tesco it should come out about the same as Aldi anyway. Where Tesco will get you is on the nicer bits, though, so you just have to be very focused to not get sucked in to buying those. I do an online shop which helps because then I just don't see the fancy stuff.

I'd say you're doing pretty okay - my spend for a similar family setup is probably about that when I'm being sensible (£50ish on a main shop plus some bits through the week). But are you asking whether this seems about average, or saying you really need to shave a bit off the bill right now?

That sounds reasonable tbh. Food is so expensive atm. We spend 180ish but that's 2 adults and 2 teens so more than double the food, and household bits like cleaning stuff/loo roll etc.

I’m not spending that much on food for 2 adults and includes shower gel, loo roll.

we eat a lot of fresh, fruit and vegetables though, mostly cooked meals, not jars if sauce etc.

chickpea curry
split pea dal
smoked haddock & vegetables
spaghetti carbonara
mushroom stroganoff
slow cooker casseroles
chicken kebabs

breakFast is soaked oats & frozen fruit or egg, weekends frozen croissants popped in air fryer

lunch is often a filled bagel, soup or left overs, plenty of fruit for dessert

i shop at Aldi and Sainsbury, usually comes in at £50/55

no dog food but everything else is in the shop

I shop at Tesco, and feed myself & teen ds for about £60 per week. I don't buy alcohol. I do buy lots of fruit & veg, we eat meat or fish most days, I cook from scratch.

A four year old can be tricky, especially if you have a fussy eater. I think you're doing ok. You probably could bring it down a little but not much.

Acording to this you are about average, you probrably have a slightly smaller than average household.

do you utilize your freezer,
cook portions and freeze
that might help

That's ok unless you go for bigger batch cooking. Freeze food.

You're doing pretty well, I would say.

You probably could shave off a little bit of cost if you need to - I would look to do that by bulking out your dinners/soups with things like dried lentils, potatoes, cabbage, tinned tomatoes. All things that keep your food healthy but make it go further

We have 2 adults and 2 children in nappies, 1 still on formula and the other with asd and very fussy. I spend approx 75 a week and eat very well. We can afford to bulk buy which helps but with just 2 of you that could easily be reduced.

You just need to think what could left overs be used for and if can afford to then bulk buy. Id say my family eats very well

Sounds about right. I spend that on my weekly Tesco delivery for 2 adults and 2 DC but it's topped up as well from Lidl through the week. Perhaps £30, so I probably spend £100 a week on food plus £10 a week on SimplyCook boxes which is what DH and I use for our meals.
Aldi and Lidl are always talked about on MN as being cheaper but I'm not sure that's the case anymore. I compare everything and although there are a few gems at Lidl, most things now come in the same.

I'd say you were doing very well. We've got 2adults and 1dc still in nappies and we spend about £125 a week. Though I'm trying to do more from scratch to bring that down. Honestly £65 sounds good to me

@Heatherbell1978 I agree about Aldi, I seem to have a higher bill when I go there, suppose I save on the clubcard deals

Try going either to Aldi or Lidl for one week because I think you could shave off about £10 off your bill. Tesco only price matches with Aldi for a minority of items and their Clubcard prices - always on branded items which you can get cheaper equivelants for at Aldi or Lidl - aren't always bargains: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-12517823/Sainsburys-Tesco-use-potentially-dodgy-tactics-loyalty-card-prices-claims.html

Asda is quite good with its reward scheme

The issue with Tesco price matching , it’s not only the few items but the size of items. For example only the 80g Palma ham is price matched and the economy pack is more expensive per gram, for Yorkshire T bags it’s the large 250 bag size that is price matched. The smaller sized T bag boxes are currently on club card offer but the larger pack is still better value per T bag. I would suggest if you have one, try out a Lidl or Aldi for a month. I mentioned markets. as they are often significantly cheaper for fruit and veg and can be for meat and fish.

I think if you are low on monet , then that's quite a lot for an adult and small child. Do you buy brand names or supermarket brands?

I think if you are needing to save you can definitely shave money off that. I can spend that on two adults and a five year old if I’m having a good week.

Quite a lot but if you do not plan then it can just go on bits and bobs
Try taking out 70 a week in cash and see how it goes Ditch the cards for a while Get your favourites when they are on offer and freeze

You have to watch Lidl with their veg They are cheaper but they do not keep for very long so not such a bargain always

I’d say it seems high. Can you batch cook and freeze small portions as that saves us a lot of money and time.

Soak and cook dried beans, a lot of them, then make a big batch of chilli with them. Bulk out home made shepherd's pie type bulk cooking with them too. Freeze portions.

Ive 2dc around 10yo and only 2 haircuts between them.
The nit stuff the one time we've had them was £25.
Possibly kids using a lot of shampoo might eat up any hair cut savings?
But dp also cuts his own hair.

Its not really pizza vs casserole it would be frequency of each.
If a family live on processed foods thats really expensive and would never be recommended anyway.
Beans and toast
Or egg and toast
Sandwiches (esp if kid has cooked school lunch)
Soup (can be pretty expensive if heinz etc)
Cheese toasty in microwave
Jacket potatoes
You could have pasta and cream cheese

But its not an issue for most of uk to skip a few meals.
I never eat breakfast. And considering cereals are about £3 a week per person..

Tbf strawberries dont change much now out of season theyre always £2-3 everywhere.

Growing veg can be expensive but -- potatoes in a container often do well.
Or lettuce

The problem is imo that i could choose to eat a pack of lidl chocolate and nothing else for the day. Less than £1 probably 65p.

When you eat out in uk or abroad at uk destinations often everything comes with chips. So assume many add chips at home to everything..