Can we talk about groceries please

I've been quite interested in this thread and have a couple of quick questions. 

Do you make lunches and baby food at home or do you buy out or bottles?

In terms of nappies, do you get the name brand ones or the store brand ones? I've read a lot of reviews online in prep for nappy buying and have heard good things about sainsbury's and boots.

Thanks!

I wasn't a big fan of UK baby food. Especially for the early days when you tend to just want to try them on one food at a time (apples, apricots, that kind of thing). I bought some of the baby food 'meals' but DS had an aversion to red pepper and that seemed to show up in a lot of the meals. Whenever possible, I made home made baby food.

I also bought store -brand diapers for the most part when I used them (my oldest was in cloth for some time). Store brands don't work for all babies so YMMV.

Pengi...I can answer some of your questions too...

I only buy Pampers, I have tried store brands and for us, they are no comparison for Pampers Active Fit. At Asda they are normally two big boxes for £18, and you can get vouchers for £1 off on a pretty regular basis. I sign up for anything that gives me free stuff, trawl the internet for this.

I make a HECK of a lot of babyfood, and I also use jars when we are out and about. If I only made babyfood,  I would be a slave to the rocket blender (oh yes, I find those invaluable for making babyfood) I think that the Hipp Organic jars are excellent, really good quality and my little girls loves them (mind you, she loves pretty much anything)

I also LOVE Costcos Kirkland Wipes, they are probably quite average prices imo (about £1 a pack) I find the quality amazing. And, I breastfeed, which is the cheapest babyfood around!

I am not going to lie, I never go to the supermarket and think "Today Matthew, I am going to be saving money" I go to the supermarket and buy what I want, I do make meal plans, but once I fall off the meal planning wagon, I find it hard to get back on. I thought my freezer was really full, but I cleaned it out this morning (I have been up since 5.30 due to a poorly child) and it really only has babyfood in it...I'm not unhappy with the amount I spend, but I am toying with the idea of not returning to work (shhhhhhh) and I just wonder if our spending habits are normal. My husband makes a nice living, we never worry about money, but I wanted to throw this out there to see if we were spending the normal amount. Amongst my group of girlfriends, £100 a week seems to be the norm...

Jon and I realised we were spending a ridiculous amount of money on food. Most of it ends up going bad and thrown out. So we've begun to take a conscious decision to stop this. Although reading this doesn't make me feel so bad. We're spending about £200 a month. This does not include the girls formula. It's £7.42 a tin and they go through about 2.5 a week. Thank god for Costco.

We take advantage of everyones parenting/baby groups for coupons and deals. Everytime Asda has a baby event on we go down to stock up on diapers and wipes. I prefer Asda wipes. They're still cheap but they have the lid which I have found a must.

Jon and I realised we were spending a ridiculous amount of money on food. Most of it ends up going bad and thrown out. So we've begun to take a conscious decision to stop this. Although reading this doesn't make me feel so bad. We're spending about £200 a month. This does not include the girls formula. It's £7.42 a tin and they go through about 2.5 a week. Thank god for Costco.

Can you imagine that in the states formula costs $25 a tin! Isn't that unreal!

Can you imagine that in the states formula costs $25 a tin! Isn't that unreal!

Holy crap. Is it like a massive tin? It better be for that price.

Holy crap. Is it like a massive tin? It better be for that price.

Unfortunately they're not.   And the price isn't comparative with the 'little' tins either.   



Racheeee - good luck, no matter what you decide.  Take the time with the kiddies if you have the opportunity and you'll be happy (and keep your sanity).   

Late to the game on this thread but I've been away from UKY for ages! 

It's sad that I don't even know how much we spend! Way too much I'm sure.  I keep saying I'm going to start meal planning but never do!  We recently moved and have a fantastic greengrocer and butcher so I've started shopping daily.  I'll go to Costco/Sainsbury's for all my non food items.  I've also recently discovered a shop called QualitySave and they have really good deals on toilet paper (haven't mustered up the courage to buy 100 rolls of toilet paper yet at Costco!), paper towels, shampoo etc...

I do need to reign in my spending as the house we bought is a huge project and I need to save money in order to fix it up!  I'd love to know what sites you guys go to for the coupons/deals.

Lindy

Not sure how much we spend on average but we get milk, eggs, and a veggie box delivered weekly plus I do a butcher freezer order about every six weeks.  Getting those seems to help reduce trips (and thus impulse purchases).  We shop at a mix of stores and sometimes get delivered (which also helps cut down impulse).

Ok, yeah, I feel like we're spending a ton now, too. We're a family of three (one meateater, one vegetarian, and one infant who is still breastfeeding...oh, and a 100-lb dog). We spend about £65 every 10 days on groceries, and we also do a big Costco shop once per month.
I will only buy nappies at Costco now. Pampers are the only thing that work for the baby, and they are ridiculously cheaper there. I got 145 nappies for £13, whereas you can only get about 78 nappies for £11 at Tesco or Asda, it seems. DH buys mince and chicken breasts in bulk at Costco and separates them into freezer bags. But that is about all we can fit in our freezer...it's tiny tiny. I wish I could buy more in bulk and freeze. If we owned out house, I'd get a separate freezer for the garage, but no point right now.
We usually buy other groceries at Ocado. They seem to send me 15% off coupons by email if I neglect to shop there for more than 10 days, so I wait for one of those. I found shopping at Ocado really helpful, because I meal plan and just get what I need. When I go to Tesco or Sainsbury's, I throw all kinds of crap in the basket (biscuits, ice cream, pre-cut fruit, crisps, etc.) and it adds up. Ocado also is very close in price to Tesco.
We never or rarely eat out, so we buy a lot of stuff. I also eat a lot of fresh veggies and fruit, and we both drink a lot of Coke Zero, which is expensive (Costco is good for soda, as well). I also don't like buying the cheapest stuff, as it seems to be worse in quality. I will pay a little more for good veggies and fruit, cheese, bread, and the like.
I should probably review what we're spending, because it seems like a lot. But I know we've gotten much better since mealplanning and using Ocado.

I will only buy nappies at Costco now. Pampers are the only thing that work for the baby, and they are ridiculously cheaper there. I got 145 nappies for £13, whereas you can only get about 78 nappies for £11 at Tesco or Asda, it seems.

I noticed that last time I was there and got really excited. £7 plus change for 140-something nappies when we usually pay around £20. Problem is that they're a bit touch and go with sizes and they only had baby dry (which we only use at night) and not Active Fit (which we use during the day). Still, super bargain.

Re baby food: we're a month into weaning the girls now and they're happily taking just about anything we give them. So now, rather than make baby food for them, we make our dinners baby friendly and just whizz those up for the girls. It's made us realise just how much salt we were cooking with because everything is now super bland but we just salt our meals at the table and everyone is happy. My pumpkin and pea risotto was a huge hit at lunch time. Plus, it takes care of too many leftovers in the fridge.

I noticed that last time I was there and got really excited. £7 plus change for 140-something nappies when we usually pay around £20. Problem is that they're a bit touch and go with sizes and they only had baby dry (which we only use at night) and not Active Fit (which we use during the day). Still, super bargain.

What is the difference? My daughter just hit size 3, and had been in the Pampers New Baby size 3s. Costco carried Pampers size 3 and they do seem to be made of different (thicker) stuff. I don't like them as well, but they work. They certainly aren't as thick as the Tesco-own-brand...yikes! If I buy Active Fit size 3s, will they be less thick?

So, should we start a mealplanning thread?

 Not whats for dinner tonight, but one about what your meal plans are for the upcoming week???

just wanted to add that I went to the greengrocers this afternoon and spent £2.80 on...

2 apples (large)
bag of onions
bag of carrots
large parsnip
2 large potatoes
bag of sprouts

I think that's great but maybe I'm just so out of touch when it comes to grocery shopping.  I've convinced it would cost me double that at Sainsbury's!

just wanted to add that I went to the greengrocers this afternoon and spent £2.80 on...

2 apples (large)
bag of onions
bag of carrots
large parsnip
2 large potatoes
bag of sprouts

I think that's great but maybe I'm just so out of touch when it comes to grocery shopping.  I've convinced it would cost me double that at Sainsbury's!

Now yer just showing off

I love how cheap fresh veg is in the UK! That would easily have cost $10 or more here at Publix.