Blimey. not done a full food shop for a few weeks and am amazed at how much mine has just cost.

[IllegallyBrunette]

Considering my food bill has recently gone down a bit due to the children being at xp's for tea two nights a week, I am amazed that a shop that would of normally cost me just over £50, has just cost £62.

I didn't buy anything out of the ordinary, or anything extravegent, buy shops own of more or less everything, and only buy what I need for that week, but bloody hell.

Will have to really start watching what I am buying if it carries on like this as my budget for food each week is £60 maximum.

I started to do a weekly menu and only buy what I need for the whole week, and I do it online so I wouldn't be tempted to pick up ant extras, and the bill hasn't come down by that much.
I end up going through the list trying to see what I can do without and I've swapped qiute a few things for the value range, but still it's not what I expected.

I like to cook from scratch and give the faily meat and fresh veg and fruit, but one day a week we have beans on toast and I've become an expert in cooking with mince - though even the mince has gone up.

I hope it doesn't go up much more.

I shop at Lidl for all my basics and fruit/veg and even they have gone up over the last couple of weeks.

Likewise - I usually spend £100ish on a Tesco delivery every 3 weeks or so, and the most recent 2 have been a lot more - £134 this week!

Partly I've got some extra fruit+veg from them because I can't get out of the house, and some more ready-to-eat things for when I can't stand and cook, but so many things have gone up a lot, like bakery items in particular.

If only the bus that stopped at the end of my street was the one that stopped outside Lidl...

I'm staying out of supermarkets and it really works. One shop and that's it.

Whenever I see our cat munching another mouse she's caught, I smile and think about how she won't eat so much cat food.

Lidl all the way for me

Ive just spent £42 in sainsburys.
No cleaning stuff, no cat food, no extras.
Will need to refuel the fruit bowl on thursday I imagine and milk and bread and whatever else we have ran of by then.
Steering clear of shampoo/cleaning/not needed aisle.

I went into Lidl, last week and I didn't think it was especially cheaper than the supermarkets.
There are things that are much cheaper so you can get a good bargain, but on the whole I didn't think it was?
Is it just me that thinks this?

I spent £90 in tesco yesterday. Orginally quite pleased as supposed to be sticking to £80, but had to buy nappies and wipes etc. However on return home I realised that most of the meat for this weeks meals is all in the freezer.... likewise will have to get more milk for weekend and probably fruit. Will use bread machine, but still..

I think Lidl might be like all supermarkets. A number of brands that are low cost that lure you in. I have a friend who swears by Lidl but when I asked for more details, she doesn't spend less than me. She just spaces out the expenditure.

I find Lidl seasonal fruit/veg very cheap, and a lot of the imported dairy/deli meat/cheese is both excellent and cheap.

The UK brand names seem about the same prices as other supermarkets but I tend not to buy them anyway.

This is south London - I know people in Scotland who say their Lidls never have any decent fruit or veg, cheap or not.