how much do you spend on your weekly shop

[thegardener]

my dh & i have 1 child and are trying to cut back a bit on our weekly shop after a few expensive months which have caught up with us. We currently spend about £65 a week & maybe a bit extra for things we've ran out of from local shop.(making a start having one less bottle of wine a week)

Just wondered what other people spend on their weekly shops and any tips on where we could cut back please before dh has a fit!

We spend £18.00 a weel on a small veg and small fruit box from Riverford, plus we add bananas salad and apples to that. The rest includes everything, and we do like our food in this house as its the nearest we have to a social life these days so a typcal shop contains a bottle of wine for a fiver and the stuff to make a nice meal in for DH and I one night.

2 years ago we could get the cost down to £45 but there's no way now, ds1's eating does have some leeway (he can eat our staple broke food which is a chickpea and bean casserole for example) but I suppose the lowest we could realistically get it to regularly (and this would be Lidl or Aldi which in itself is a no-no in the holidays coz of the boys) is £80

Peachy, never tried the chick pea number, do you have a recipe?

thanks for your messages, dh & i have decided we can cut back alittle bit more by buying a chicken that will last three meals - roast & salad 1 day, curry & homemade naan bread(made in breadmaker)2nd day, chicken & veg pasta the next also with ds's meals aswell, if we buy a standard packet of mince that will do 2 meals and then a homemade pizza(made in breadmaker) and omelette or wedges & egg the next.
Also we are growing our own veg - potatoes, broadbeans, beetroot, toms, peppers etc so that should help too. We also shop online @asda which is great for saving money, like someone else mentioned you aren,t enticed by all the yummy things down the aisles!

It is difficult when you're tring to cut back but it's also a challenge too and you can have the occasional treats of course

I think the only way I could really cut down is to not by wine ( I never spend more than £5 on a bottle) and not buy B&J ice cream. But as I hardly ever go out, I count these as my weekend entertainment.

thegardener,

I bought a 250gram packet of lean mince (asda), did Spag bog for me,dh,dd did us dinner that night and i have frozen half for another meal. I baulk it out with mushrooms some chopped finely so dd eats them. I serve with either pasta, and garlic bread or jacket potatoes.

When we have the other half i may add chillies and kidney beans to make chilli con carne and serve with rice.

Have you tried searching for menu planning it may give you some ideas for some inexpensive meal ideals.

tena we don't have a set recipe, but I put chickpeas (I have a tub of ones amde up from dried in the freezer at all times LOL), a can of black eyed peas, a can of lentil, 2 carrots, an onion, tin of tomatoes and whatever other veg we have in a cassrole and just cooka way- adding whatever herbs we might have handy. That just gets served with nce bread- uber healthy, uber cheap.

(oh and you can add a tin of baked bans too- kids love that! we are forever using them to make up amounts n shepherds pie etc)

I agree you spend what you have,, I'm a student and on enough of a low income that we get an additional grant (yep they dtill exist LOL!) but its because we follow a strict diet with ds1 and choose to use his disability allowance for theis purpose, I'm a big food police type 9within limits, theyc an for example buy sweets with pasta money) and we also have a nutritionist on call if needed (not utilised much) as a result of ds1 and ds3's therapy

thanks, i'll try putting menu planning into search engine for more ideas.

recipe for naan bread in the bread machine:
1/2(half)tsp yeast
250g/9oz strong white flour
1tsp sugar
1/2tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1tbsp veg oil
2tbsp natural yoghurt
100ml water
(use basic dough option - ours takes 45mins)
divide dough into 4 balls and roll into oval shapes 25cmx10cm, place on greased tray.
Bake under preheated grill 2-3mins each until brown and well puffed.
Next time we're going to put dessicated coconut & sultanas into the mix rather than scattered on the top as it all falls off!
Made this yesterday, very easy & totally scrummy

Really good idea with the baken beans, i'll try that too thanks

sigh< I think we eat too much, we could never make a chicken last three days (2 adults, 2 children). If I buy a really big chicken we'll get a roast and soup out of it, maybe at a push DS1 will get a little chicken in a sandwich for his packed lunch.

I don't know exactly what we spend (my head is firmly in the sand about it) but it is at least £120 a week.

Homemade soup with bread is incredibly cheap and easy and quick!

any veg+pot+stock. yum yum. fav at the mo are sweetpot and red pepper, and butternut squash

Josie, your soup sounds delish, do you have a specific recipe for that or do you just throw it all together?

Do you roast the peppers first?

i agree with you about spending what you can afford, if we had more money i would have a field day buying rump steak, dover sole, monkfish, champagne, the nicest organic veg, loads of scrummy ready made deserts maybe from m&s as they're advert always make me feel hungry!
I didn't want anyone to feel guilty about what they spend, if you have the money you should enjoy it, i would too

josie, i think your soup sounds really yummy too, can i have the recipe aswell pls.

thegardener - what you have to remember is that - even though times may be tough now - things improve over the years.

When we had ds1 I gave up work and by the time ds2 came along we had about £70 a week left after paying all our bills - to feed & clothe 4 people, run the car etc. Admittedly that was 11 years ago, but even allowing for inflation at 2-3% per annum, it wasn't a lot.

These days I spend more than that on food. I'm sure the same applies to a lot of people. Those first years with a family can be tough, but after a while things start to improve.

It's varied over the years depending on our income. I remember when we had our first and not much money being muc more careful. We never bought orange juice for example because it was too expensive etc.

We get a chicken and it lasts a few days once a week but probabl yonly lasts beyond the first meal for my lunch next day, daughter's sandwiches and may be picking off the bits left that evening for one person.

At the moment it is basically 3 adults (that includes 2 student children) and 2 children and it was around £100 a week (we never eat out and I work at home most days) but it's nearer £150 since daughter 1 moved back home or may be prices have gone up. It could be much less if we were shorter of money. We certainly buy some value brands, never bother with organic, try to buy large quantities and special offers, all the usual stuff. I suppose if I were cutting back I'd have us drink only tap water and be buying lots of cheap things like carrots, rice, potatoes in bulk.

I bought 6 tubs of Philly Light yesterday because it was half price. Still gives me a happy little warm feeling to grab a bargain! How sad am I?

1000 euros a month for everything except coffee, wine and cosmetics. There are two adults and one toddler (2.6) all the time and two boys (12, 9) half the time. The boys eat more than the three of us though, and we have people round for meals quite a lot.

I could spend a lot less, but we're really into food. I buy lots of things like sea urchins, clams, San Daniele ham, cherry vine tomatoes that really bump up the overall bill.

I went to Tesco (sorry ) yesterday with this thread in mind, but also a very clear shopping list and menu plan for the next 7 days. My baby is due next week and I have written a rolling three week menu planner with attached shopping lists [control freak emoticon] to use for the forseeable future, remembering how hard it was last time to eat properly, keep my strength up etc, and not having another child then to worry about either.

I stick (mostly) to the list, but I did buy organic/good quality meat, Fairtrade where available and a couple of BOGOFs. I did not buy toilet paper, kitchen towel, alcohol or nappies, as they are Costco monthly purchases. Total cost: £80 (but as I had Points vouchers, in actual fact £71.50) That's for two adults, one five year old. It sounds a lot, but it is literally for everything apart from the above, and we all eat from home for every meal (ds packed lunch including Innocent smoothie drink and organic yoghurt, as well as sandwich, cheese, fruit)

I can't get my shop down below £130. There's six of us. DS1 (14.5) DS2(12.5) DSS1 (10.5) and DSS2(8) and me adn my DH

I do tend to bulk buy certain items, especially when there are BOGOF's on...and I always hope it'll save me money down the line as I won't need to buy it the next week, IYKWIM....nope, costs me roughly the same every week.

And the 4 DC all stay for school meals too