Grocery Spend

On average, we spend £100 every two weeks (for 3 of us), but that also includes things like cleaning supplies and diapers.  We do the bulk of the shop between Iceland and Tesco, and all meats we get at the local butcher across the street from us.  The butcher is a bit more expensive, but the quality is great. He also does really great sales fairly regularly. We also plan out our meals and try very hard to just stick to a list.  Also, we do the same as Vicky, where a lot of leftovers get used for lunches the next day.

halal meat can be a lil expensive.  i think kosher meat is about the same. i know in the US like yael was saying it is more expensive.. i dont eat meat and i dont even like it in my house, nor do i touch it, i couldnt say how much the meat is... my dh buys it and cooks it himself. 

I think our weekly grocery (food & non food) shopping totals up to about £60-80 per week for 3 people, including a few luxury items but not including take aways or eating out or any alcohol we might purchase.  I've managed to cut costs down a bit lately by going to Lidl for most of our fresh produce.

Lissa you have to stop your hubs going into M&S!! Mine does that too sometimes and it gets expensive!! 

why is it when i get into the shops like asda or tesco, i just act stupid, and like i have had a massive brain fart? i always forget what i need! and end up with getting things that arent on my list, that is why dh does the shopping

I spend £80 per week (if I am being good) but thats for family of 4 including pullups and wipes everything but take outs, (I get it delivered to avoid temptation!) but I don't think we eat particularly well, not enough homemade foods and veggies etc.. then we have to go for extra bread/milk from the local store and that really adds up as I see all the BOGOF deals and have to buy them too!!  If I had more time to cook I would and I think it would save more money, I need to start thinking ahead more rather than last minute quicky meals.  I've just lacked inspiration lately!

why is it when i get into the shops like asda or tesco, i just act stupid, and like i have had a massive brain fart? i always forget what i need! and end up with getting things that arent on my list, that is why dh does the shopping

Heheh!  I have to shop with a list, especially if I have had a good month (budget for shopping is relative to how work has gone) and I could just spend a fortune otherwise.  I could spend hundreds of pounds on cheese alone!

Vicky

vicky, man im so with u, i love cheese! and i cant find american style crackers.. but its ok i have my stash my dh wouldnt let me lose in the shops.... lol i did it once, and i honestly got everything he gets weekly andi came out spending 120£ on our credit card .. he was not happy! so i dont even bother to go!

I have no idea what we spend. 

Same here.  I am thinking it's around £150-200 a month but that doesn't include eating out.  We eat out at least once a week plus I usually buy lunches at work. 

When I was living at home last year, my parent's were spending about £80-£100 per week total for a family of five (the youngest being 17 and a big eater). So that works out at about £15-20 per week each.

As a family, we can't really afford to eat out much - only restaurant meals once or twice a year for special occasions, no take aways at all (I don't think I've ever known my parents to order a take away - it's just not something they do) and fast food only when they're on the road (i.e. day trips or weekends away where there are no cooking facilities - so maybe 5-10 times a year).

The majority of my grocery expenses are for cleaning supplies and other non-food items, so the number of people in the household doesn't matter.

I wouldn't count eating out as part of the grocery budget. It's part of the "extra money saved up for special occasions" budget.

We've (the two of us) been spending around £300 pcm on groceries - this includes breakfast items, packed lunches for both DH and me, and meat-and-three-veg most every night (most of which creates a pot of leftovers for DH to take to work the next day).  We don't buy ready meals and hardly ever eat out - I think we had one pizza & one fish&chips night and I had a Sunday pub lunch and lunch out after springhaze's wedding this past month, so that's probably another £50.

We eat well for what we're spending - around £75 per week.  We also have a pretty well-stocked larder which helps with the weekly bill - for example, for the spag bol I've made tonight all I had to buy at the store yesterday was the mince and a loaf of italian bread, as we always have canned tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, angel hair pasta and butter.  And this pot of spaghetti will feed us tonight, tomorrow night and again for my tea on Tuesday - at the very least.

We could definitely cut back on fresh meat & produce and spend less, but I'm the type of person that would spend her last penny on a really awesome meal, so unless we're forced to do so, I'd rather spend money on eating well than buying clothes or gadgets.

We eat well - both eat a bit too well according to our waistlines! 

 


Vicky

I find meal planning and shopping online helps to save me money.  We are at about £430/wk for a family of four.

so unless we're forced to do so, I'd rather spend money on eating well than buying clothes or gadgets.

I feel the same.

By eating well, you are saving money in the long run by protecting your health.

And this pot of spaghetti will feed us tonight, tomorrow night and again for my tea on Tuesday - at the very least.

Thats part of my problem, we never have leftovers, hubby is a human dustbin!    And my two boys are beginning to take after him!