Average weekly shop

[thplinth]

11 minutes ago, hampden_loon2878 said:

We are not big drinkers and neither smoke,, ready meals is a big one when i work away,, she buys shit loads of wipes,, thays another,, just doesnt make sense to me i maybe should have said in the original post that includes  washing poweder ect,,, still too much,, im home tomorrow so the list will be written and stuck too

Nail it down by looking at what exactly it was spent on for say the last three months. That will tell you where you are being wasteful.

Or it may tell you a hundred quid a week is disappearing on god knows what. 

Edited June 9, 2016 by thplinth

[Cove_Sheep]

Maybe try and do your shop online?

Might help cut out stuff being bought because you walk past it and think it looks good?

[killiefaetheferry]

5 hours ago, Donaldo87 said:

I pop into the supermarket most nights on my way home from work just to check the reduced aisle

Often pick up reduced mince, chicken etc and just fire it in the freezer when I get home.

Another thing we often do is cook a chicken on the sunday and have a simple roast or something..then strip the chicken and make another meal for the Monday night. Can even make a stock with the carcass if you really want to get everything out of the bird.

We do this too. Use the stock to make a chicken and lentil soup which does the family about 5 soup lunches, with half the stock into the freezer for a risotto dish at some point.

[Regenmann]

Mumsnet site crashed or something?

[euan2020]

somebody will be getting a boot in the balls, if their wife ever stumbles on this site 

[Boynze]

learn to cook. a big pot of lentil soup is dirt cheap, filling and healthy and if made well very tasty. a big batch of spag bol the same. both easy to make and can be done in large batches, to put in separate containers or ziplock bags (a tip is to use these bags and lay out flat once sealed, takes up much less room in the freezer). start eating a lot of pulses and lentils, they are cheap and go far.

there's also a lot good fruit and veg that you ca get in the freezer aisle, which limits wastage too.

home made meals are tastier, healthier, cheaper than their ready made equivalents, so it's win-win-win.

 

[Mindimoo]

About £400 per calendar month for 3  but that doesn't include lunches or takeaway (which is rare).  It does include all cleaning products and toiletries though.  I recall the last time this thread came up there was someone who spent £125 per month for everything for 2 adults and 2 kids.  I still don't see how he managed it without having to buying crap food.

[ShedTA]

Family of 4 - reckon we must be about 200 a week. But Cove is right getting online deliveries does work out cheaper. Got the deal where we get as many deliveries as we want so tend to get a big shop and then some smaller ones topping up mainly on fruit and veg so we don't waste it and have to chuck it. 

[dave]

Our two boys are 6 and 4 and we spend around £100 a week. Usually £20 in the butchers on the meat for the week and then the rest in supermarket depending on what we need. 

The best advice has already been given- menu list for the week and only buy what you need. If your throwing out lots of fresh veg then buy frozen veg, frozen fish etc 

My sister feeds a family of 6 for around £150/£160 a week which includes 3 teenagers so it can be done if you are reasonably sensible. 

 

[wheres the pies]

where's the wife doing the weekly shop harrods that's some doh do be spending doon here l go into waitrose they do cracking knockdowns at the end of the day and pick up beef chickens fish for a few pounds and the freezer is jammed pack wae top notch scran friend works in marks and they do the same thing around five in the evening if you or the good lady have time give a try you will be surprised how much you will save 

 

[hampden_loon2878]

Just looked back internet banking for the last 6 months,, average weekly shop 206 pounds,, the last two months have been the most expensive for some reason,,,

i am currently making a list of things to get,, going to try and get it down to around 125 which seems reasonable 

[Mee]

2 hours ago, killiefaetheferry said:

We do this too. Use the stock to make a chicken and lentil soup which does the family about 5 soup lunches, with half the stock into the freezer for a risotto dish at some point.

I've always wondered how do you make stock?

[euan2020]

8 minutes ago, Mee said:

I've always wondered how do you make stock?

just boil bones in water effectively and marrow etc comes out  

[hunchy]

1 hour ago, Boynze said:

learn to cook. a big pot of lentil soup is dirt cheap, filling and healthy and if made well very tasty. a big batch of spag bol the same. both easy to make and can be done in large batches, to put in separate containers or ziplock bags (a tip is to use these bags and lay out flat once sealed, takes up much less room in the freezer). start eating a lot of pulses and lentils, they are cheap and go far.

there's also a lot good fruit and veg that you ca get in the freezer aisle, which limits wastage too.

home made meals are tastier, healthier, cheaper than their ready made equivalents, so it's win-win-win.

 

We do the same with chilli. Don't know if it's right or not but the chilli we freeze always seems spicier when it's reheated

[Boynze]

1 hour ago, euan2020 said:

just boil bones in water effectively and marrow etc comes out  

 

you might want to add some seasoning, herbs and some vegetables, and once made ad seived reduce to improve the flavour.

[Topcat]

I was a bit like the OP last year - added it up after seeing some baldy masterchef presenter doing a programme on monthly shopping spend - discovered that I was about £650 for 2 weeks and the wife was about £500 for her 2 weeks - a right fkin eye opener. In addition to shopping in the wrong places for the big shops, the main problem was almost daily drop-ins to get £10 here, £20 there extras throughout the month.

Out went M&S/Waitrose/Sainsburys for me and I now happily do my 2 shops at Lidl with a small trolley-full coming in about £70 and the rest gets topped up at Morrisons - have saved nearly £3k in past year if that's an incentive. Sadly the missus simply will not go to Lidl and her twice monthjly bill is the same.

Plan the meals - but what's needed and stay away from mid-week trips for extras. For the record I was buying for a family of 5.

[Parklife]

Me and the girlfriend live on somewhere between £40-£50/wk. And i'd wager i have a healthier diet than 90% of the folk on this thread. 

[neilly71]

As wanky threads go, this is actually pretty interesting! I give the wife £150 a week for messages (family of 4), she usually spends a wee bit more.

[Fish Gills Mcginty]

There's a Home Bargains  in Peterheed is there nae?  I was in the een in the Broch for the first time nae lang ago.

Its nae called Home Bargains for nothing!

[Flora MaDonald]

Has the good lady got previous for thieving?

[ShedTA]

3 hours ago, Parklife said:

Me and the girlfriend live on somewhere between £40-£50/wk. And i'd wager i have a healthier diet than 90% of the folk on this thread. 

this is a good point parkie. eating healthily needn't necessarily be expensive. fruit etc can be, but veg doesn't have to be and some healthy meat - oily fish, chicken on the bone, is cheaper, even things like turkey legs, or boiling your own ham can be done pretty cheaply compared to pre-packed stuff. we also tend to buy more than we need and then freeze leftovers for us/ the kids. works out pretty well.

[Fairbairn]

3 hours ago, Parklife said:

Me and the girlfriend live on somewhere between £40-£50/wk. And i'd wager i have a healthier diet than 90% of the folk on this thread. 

I reckon that's what we spend too (me and the wife, not me and Parkie!!).  We'll spend about £80-£100 on a monthly shop and stock the freezer with meats, fish etc and then about another £20 a week or so on fresh produce.  It's fecking great not having kids, saves a fortune.  I mean, I'll die old and alone but I can afford to go and see Belle and Sebastian on Monday night so it's all good!!

[sbcmfc]

2 minutes ago, Fairbairn said:

I'll die old and alone but I can afford to go and see Belle and Sebastian on Monday night so it's all good!!

I remember going out.

I've got going to a gig on a Monday night pencilled in for summer of 2029.

[Bristol Killie]

We spend about £70 on our big shop at Aldi every week for us and the 2 kids, that includes nappies, wipes etc. Plenty of fish on offer too, 2 sea bass fillets for £2.59 the other day. We probably top up with about £30 of other stuff throughout the week. Making a menu does help so we know exactly what we need to buy.

[Parklife]

2 hours ago, Fairbairn said:

I reckon that's what we spend too (me and the wife, not me and Parkie!!).  We'll spend about £80-£100 on a monthly shop and stock the freezer with meats, fish etc and then about another £20 a week or so on fresh produce.  It's fecking great not having kids, saves a fortune.  I mean, I'll die old and alone but I can afford to go and see Belle and Sebastian on Monday night so it's all good!!

Aye, i get a musclefood order of meat about once a month (about £60 or so) band fill the freezer, then i spend around £35 each week in Aldi. 

You're right about not having kids. This month i'm going to the Euros, Wimbledon and a stag doo in Benidorm, before a holiday in Italy later in the year.