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Is £150/£160 per week too much for shopping for a family of 4 (2 adults, 4 year old and 1 year old and 2 dogs)?

111 replies

Biosblbay · 11/07/2026 09:51

My husband thinks that I spend too much on food shopping, this is including absolutely everything, toiletries, formula, nappies, dog food, food, wine etc. I’ve worked out in average we do about £150-£160 a week on food shopping, so works out about £650 a month. I always shop at Asda and I get online delivery as I work full time and have 2 young children and my husband is rarely home so it just saves me so much time. He reckons if he shops at Lidl and gets the named brand stuff we get like the formula and nappies from Morrisons that he can save us a ton of money but I don’t think he will. I think most places are expensive these days and this is an average amount.

Curious to know what people think and how much other families with children spend per week/ month on shopping.

OP posts:
Growlybear83 · 12/07/2026 00:26

I don’t think that’s much for a family of four, plus pets. I spend more than that on two of us and a cat, and dont have the OP’s extra costs for things like nappies.

ThestoriesIcouldtellyou · 12/07/2026 08:04

It's not an unreasonable amount but maybe your husband is stressed about money. If he is working a 12 hour day including commute and you have more time for shopping and do the cooking, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for him to do it. You could make a list from your last shop, and as you do your shopping next time at Lidl and Morrisons, write down the prices and do a comparison. I agree though that I'm the difference is not going to be mega bucks, maybe a fiver at best.

Rocknrollstar · 12/07/2026 09:35

DH used to tell me that vegetables and fruit would be cheaper in a local market. We both worked full time so I suggested to him that he could go to the market every Saturday morning. It never happened. It doesn’t sound to me as if you are over spending. Lidl might be cheaper but they never have everything I want.

MiaKulper · 12/07/2026 10:26

@Jopo12 The Aldi near me is far worse at not having what I want in stock than Lidl.
I went to Aldi yesterday and stopped in Tesco on the way home to fill the gaps. I was driving past anyway but it added more time to the trip and I made an impulse buy (which I'm looking forward to eating later Smile).
The freezers in Aldi were not working.

I could have come home via Lidl but that would have been a detour.

I noticed that the 'Aldi Price Match' claim in Tesco wasn't true, and the prices were higher.

oneoffname · 12/07/2026 16:13

Our supermarket shop averages around £125-£130 weekly. That's for 2 adults and 1 cat. We also have our dgc between 1 and 5 times a week depending on their parents shifts. When we have dgc, we give them breakfast and dinner as well as lunch for the toddler. Most of our meat, fish, household sundries such as toilet paper, washing powder etc, come from Costco, which is around £75 per month and I buy toiletries from Amazon. We don't eat 'cheap', fortunately we are at a stage where we can afford to buy 'finest' version of a lot of food, rarely buy branded goods. I think your weekly spend sounds excellent, especially when you factor in formula and nappies etc.

Clarabell77 · 13/07/2026 08:25

Definitely not unreasonable - can’t wait to hear how your husband gets on, although from experience of men what he’s doing here is wanting you to take yourself to Lidl for the shop. Agree with others that he has to do it for a couple of months to make sure things even out, as things need replenished at different times. Enjoy handing over the mental load of this OP.

Danikm151 · 13/07/2026 20:03

Asda can be more expensive- especially for frozen items and cupboard staples.
try Iceland delivery for frozen goods then asda for fresh stuff.
see if that saves you much

Alternatively- he pops to Lidl on his way home to do a weekly shop… he’ll soon get bored of it 😂

MiaKulper · 13/07/2026 20:47

Iceland is great for frozen food.

Biosblbay · Yesterday 19:52

@Danikm151 he is there as we speak doing a small top up shop… he won’t be home until 8:30, he will have to do a bigger shop at the weekend. He will need to do this twice a week, I can’t see it lasting due to how late he gets home from work! I also can’t see him doing it any cheaper! But he says he is doing it from now, going to keep all receipt until end of August and add it all up. I can’t wait 😝

I hadn’t thought of Iceland to be fair!

OP posts:
MiaKulper · Yesterday 19:55

Online Food Shopping | Iceland Groceries

Swissmeringue · Yesterday 20:22

Biosblbay · Yesterday 19:52

@Danikm151 he is there as we speak doing a small top up shop… he won’t be home until 8:30, he will have to do a bigger shop at the weekend. He will need to do this twice a week, I can’t see it lasting due to how late he gets home from work! I also can’t see him doing it any cheaper! But he says he is doing it from now, going to keep all receipt until end of August and add it all up. I can’t wait 😝

I hadn’t thought of Iceland to be fair!

Honestly I'd just enjoy the break from doing the shopping. It's win/win really, if he's right you save money, if he's wrong you get to graciously accept his admission of defeat........

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