Shopping Bills

[Chinchilla]

Long story, but dh and I are having to make cut backs in our monthly expenditure. We realised that I was spending far too much while shopping, because I make several trips to various supermarkets, and get a few extra things that can sometimes add up to £30 a time, on top of the weekly shop. OK, so we decided to stop having take-aways at the weekend, going out for pizza, and for me to make only one visit to the supermarket, unless I need milk or bread (and then I must only buy those items). No problem there, and last week, I managed to spend 'only' £75 in two trips (one for milk only!) However, today I went for the weekly shop, and managed to spend £110. Before you all gasp in horror, I have ds's 2nd birthday party next Monday, and a lot of the shop involved fizzy drinks, wine, squash etc. Also, there were a lot of toiletries involved this week. In addition, wherever possible, I bought BOGOF items and 'two for £xxx' offers.

Also found this

"Boil 4 litres of water in a large pan (stock pots are ideal). When it boils, turn off the heat and add one grated bar of unscented soap (Morrison's do one for 25p). When this has dissolved add 1 cup of soda crystals (52p for 1kg). Allow to cool slightly then add 20-40 drops of essential oil (lavendar is a good all rounder, tea tree a good germ killer and geranium is a nice smell but you can use any 'safe' oils). Pour the solution into a suitable lidded container (ice cream tubs are excellent). The solution sets into a sort of gel which can be liquified by whisking it or using a potato masher to make it easier to transfer into the washing machine. Use about 1/2 a cupful straight in the drum and rub a little into any particularly dirty marks."

From an earlier discussion on money saving

I use gloop and it's great. I tend to use a tiny bit of washing powder with it, just to help get the stains out.

You can also use white vinegar as fabric softener (although it smells vile, I obviously bought the wrong type - I'm sure there is one that doesn't!)

I've also just switched to a mooncup and cloth pads!

emsiewill, that's gloop!

Sorry, should have said, that's a recipe for gloop from an earlier thread. And should have credited PamT for bothering to type it (rather than cut and paste as I did )

Anais that is so interesting, thanks. Can you post the link for gloop?

oops, sorry, should I refreshed before I posted...

Our weekly food shopping budget is £50. Sometimes I spend all of that sometimes slightly less. I do plan a menu for the week although sometimes I don't always stick to it. Dh works most evenings so I don't always have to feed him. We shop at Asda because it's cheap and it's right across the road from our house and since we don't drive we are able to walk there and back. We also make use of the offers form Safeways that we get through the door. if I take the leaflet to Asda with me I get the same product for the price that Safeway are offering. Don't do this every week but if there is a good deal on I'll do it. Our budget feeds 3 adults and 1 child.

Tried home-made pizzas. I got comments to the effect of 'why make it when it is so much better bought'. I actually think that my pizzas are nice, but he doesn't!

I have been a bit of a shopping spendthrift in the past, as we have had the money to do so. However, although I totally support the cut-backs, I am more concerned about his attitude towards me lately. I'm sure that the real issue is the job front (difficult, hence the cut-backs). However, it breaks my heart, because we should be able to pull together on this. I tried keeping my cool when explaining how the bill had got so high. It seemed that he realised that I was trying to be fair, and then turned the argument into, 'Well, don't you think that you should have warned me, before you went, that the shopping would be high this week?' Er...why? CONTROL issues I think?

But isn't money the #1 thing that couples argue about? So you're not alone. I guess if work is an issue that he's worried about then it's easier to look for someone else to blame.

The thing is, who knows what is bugging him. He would swear that it was something I had done, rather than analyse what could actually be the problem. Today I got a blasting because I gave him lasagne for lunch instead of the left-over sausage and mash that I did last night. Once he said that he wanted that, I mistakenly thought that he could have it for dinner. But no, it wasn't enough for a full meal. So, I did more sausages to go with it, and got told off because he had apparently told me that there was not enough mash on the plate, and he didn't want to eat a plateful of sausages. Apparently he is fed up of talking to himself! Perhaps I just shut my ears down once he started moaning at me!

I don't know, sorry to moan! I just can't seem to do anything right at the moment.

(((hugs))) chinchilla. I don't think, whatever it is that's bothering him, that it's anything to do with you, don't take it personally (tough I know).

Just you take it easy on yourself, give yourself some (cheap!) treats to make yourself feel better.

Dear Chinchilla

I think that the problem is definitely not just about money. I think that your husband is using this as a way to take out whatever anger he is feeling about his job situation, and the shopping situation is something he has focussed on.

The other thing is that my husband often has a panic about the amount of money we spend on shopping, but I know if we do the shopping together, we spend double the amount as he puts all the things he fancies trying and only remembers when the smell from the fridge starts to hit him! I have to say I found I saved lots of money by switching to online supermarket shopping, which took away the temptation factor, plus I also planned my meals for the week. I am not saying that is the right way, but it works for me!

Hope this helps!

Wow this thread is sooooo appropriate! DH and I have been having similar discussions this weekend. I have managed to wangle a raise (I'm SAHM who gets housekeeping). From £76 per week to £82, this is for all food, alcohol, cleaning products, toiletries etc for two adults, one four year old, a one year old and a cat, we are all big eaters. I like to cook and we like good food, most of what we eat is homemade, although I am impressed what can be done in a Kenwood Chef Anais, I'll need to go and wipe the dust off mine, you've given me some inspiration.

Will need to show DH this thread.

Clarenen that is so true, if DH comes with me to the supermarket he thinks nothing of dropping whatever he fancies into the trolly.

chinchilla, perhaps it's time your dh got round to doing some shopping and cooking himself! good luck with the economy drive and hope he is in a better mood soon.

How much do I spend. I tend to do a monthly shop for things like soap powder, bog rolls etc etc. trouble is I have an asda just up the road, so a trip for a few bits usually end up costing £20 or something. Probably about £100 a week, although I am a sahm I get £500 a month for food and stuff.

We also shop in Asda because Sainsburys is so much more expensive. However our local asda branch has the worst selection of fruit and veg - poor stock and poor quality so I'm going to aim to get that from our local market instead - way cheaper.
We do our shopping fortnightly - probably in the region of £80.
I save my Boots points and only buy make-up/luxury items if I've got enough.
dh uses Quicken (budgeting programme for PC) so we always know what we have to spend on everything each month. It does mean though that i have to keep track of all my receipts down to the last mars bar, as we can't afford not to be careful.
If we're good though (we're making all our own bread now/washing nappies etc.) then it usually means we can treat ourselves at the end of the month.
Re takeaways - we now only buy the ready made bags (chinese/curry/mexican etc) from the supermarket for oven heating - usually just as nice and only about £7!

We spend about £50 - £70 on the main shop each week depending on what we need and which supermarket I go to (Sainsburys is dearest here but I often get vouchers; ASDA cheapest). I then tend to do the odd bit for milk and bread, but often get other things I don't really need. At the weekend we nearly always eat out so this is for just 5 days mostly.

Now I have it written down it seems quite a lot! There is only me, DH and 15 month old DD. As soon as the house move goes through I am planning on going back to Internet shopping again as I seemed to spend less - less attractions of special offers, etc. that I don't reallly need.

What I find helps me is

(a) try to plan your meals in advance and only buy what is on the list (I did this whilst DH and me were on diets and it did work)

(b) go to a local shop for bread and milk during the week rather than the supermarket. I know they are dearer there but your scope for buying other 'special offers' are reduced a lot, so maybe cheaper in long run.

Agree with what others say too - send Dh to do the shop and see how it gets on. My Dh dioesn't think twice about it when he is the one shopping. I don't let him go on his one much though as we never seem to get a week's worth of food, just beer and curry type of things

Another vote for Lidl - especially for non-food, things like loo rolls, tissues, paper napkins, washing up liquid, bin liners, shampoo, shower gel, batteries. (But the food is good too.)

I don't know how much I spend on housekeeping - I do a lot of smallish shops - I'd have to sit down with receipts and add it all up.

Chinchilla, agree with the others that something else is bugging your DH - is there no way you can get him to sit down (pref when he's not in a bad mood) and discuss it with you? It's not fair, if he's worried about something, a) not to share it with you and b) to take it out on you the way he is doing. Good luck!

There's 6 of us, 2 adults and 4 children,and we shop at Asda. Usually we spend in the region of 85-100 pounds a week, but that doesn't include nappies as we have washable ones. Asda is definitely cheaper than the others, it cuts our bills by about a third. We buy a combination of what we know we need every week (like sandwich fillings for school, toilet rolls etc) and whatever is on special offer at the time. We get loads of bread and milk to freeze so we don't usually run out (we drink about 5 pints a day), and if you do it in the evening there are usually loads of reductions knocking around. We use value range for a lot of stuff, but find in some cases it's better value to pay for the standard item, like toilet paper, because you often seem to run out quicker. I used to think online shopping was better, but you often miss bargains that way, at least doing it yourself you can adjust your list according to what it cheap that day.

I think Netto is better than Lidl, they do well known brands (like Kellogs and Persil) at really cheap prices, so if you have one of those then try there. Their fruit and veg are ok too.

I do think it would be worth getting him to do the shopping one week tho Chinchilla, make sure he gets exactly what is on the list, instead of coming home saying look how cheaply I did it, then you discover half of it is missing! It does sound as though his problems lie elsewhere and you are getting the brunt of it. I hope it gets better soon.

I do a 'big shop' at somerfield once a month and spend between £80 - £100 (me, dh and dd) plus do a top up shop in between for fruit and salad etc which usually comes to £30 - £40.

These have probably all been said but my top tips when shopping have always been:
*Get as many bogof's as possible - most things can go in the freezer.
*Get things from the back of the shelf as that's where the longest sell by/use by dates usually are - a few seconds rooting around to get something from the back can mean you get a pack of ham or yoghurt(or whatever) that lasts a week or more longer.
*Not to stick to one particular brand unless you have to as where I shop prices often change between visits.
*Look at comparitive sizes/prices - eg 500g of marg costs 85p, 1kg costs £1.50 therefore by buying the 1kg you save 20p - it all adds up!

I also buy as much milk/bread/cheese etc as I can and freeze it to save me 'just nipping out'.

HTH a bit!

Another vote for Asda, dh does shopping in our house and reckons that in Asda your basket is usually £10 cheaper than you estimate but in Sainsbury's its £10 more - Asda Palma ham is £1.18 and Sainsbury's is £2.99 is just one example! He usually shops every other day for stuff, we also have a look in the fridge to see what needs using up and then have a stir fry or 'buffet style' dinner or whatever so nothing is wasted.

He also frets about money - I bought some badly needed clothes the other day and there was a few harrumphs and snide remarks going on.

It's hard going from earning more than him to doing part time - my money just covers the direct debits so now I feel like I have to 'justify' my spending .

Chinchilla - maybe its not just the shopping thats bugging him (like someone else said already), maybe clear the air with him and see whats up? Easier said than done I know, good luck. xxxxx

I'm impressed by the folk who spend £100 or more on groceries. Even when I used to buy whatever I liked, I don't think we spent more than £250/month on food (excluding some of DH's workday lunches). And we are greedy pigs who eat BIG PLATES full of food. Do you all eat a lot of convenience food, biscuits, ready-cook meals, jars, sauces, tins, tiny-yogurt pots, ice cream, etc.? We hardly ever have any of that in the house.

DH was calling me a spendthrift, so January-April I kept to a £60-£70/week budget, and kept track of every penny we spent on food & drink. DH was supposed to keep his budget to £30/week, for travel and whatever else, which he sometimes even achieved. I managed to get the entire food/drink bill down to about £58/week (2 very greedy adults & 2 equally piggy toddlers.). We still bought a lot of vegetables & fruit (on street markets, which is cheapest place of all for fruit & veg), but nearly cut out meat entirely... we are get most of our milk delivered (which is dear). WE don't run a freezer. I realised the freezer cost about £60/year to run. We could still keep to a combined £100/week budget (excludes housing & childcare costs), but DH keeps buying toys (ARRRRRRRrrrgh) like a new phone, whatever other "essential" item he thinks he needs, and wants to go off and see his family a lot (petrol, train fares, etc.)

We have certainly established who in this family is a spendthrift, that's for sure.

no I cook all our own stuff(most the time) but I do buy alot of yogurts and milk. My two are both in nappies, so thats a big chunk. 2 dogs=10 pound a week.