Weekly food shop

A question about : Weekly food shop

Hi,

I'm new to money saving and have just done my first food shop on a budget. I have made a meal plan for the week including lunches and snacks and stuck to the list exactly.

I downgraded each item i could and completely left out sweets and treats (if nothing else, being skint will get us healthier!). My online shop from Asda cost Ј147 including delivery, for the week. That's seven dinners, seven lunches and snacks for 5 people. It also includes things like toilet roll, 2 tins of baby milk, nappies for 3 children and baby wipes.

As I usually buy what i want, i'd normally spend Ј200 on average per week and that wouldn't cover meals every night - we'd usually get at least 2 take aways during the week. So i have saved money but i've no idea if this is a 'good price' or if i need to try harder? I went through my 'trolley' at the end and double checked there was nothing there i could do without etc.

All opinions will be greatfully received!

Best answers:

• If it is a good price is only something you can see after the week is over (also very individual answer). When the first week is over, ask yourself: How was it tastewise? Did it last the entire week? Did you need to top up, if so what did you buy? etc.
  Also, the phrase "try harder" depends on what your goal is? You have saved Ј53 which is good but if your goal was to save 60, well then you failed. Maybe you can go cheaper but it depends on what you already purchased in terms of brands etc. it is a difficult question to answer for an outsider.
• I didn't think of it like that, sorry for the daft question!
• Any saving is good and a start. To bring costs down further you may have to shop around at different supermarkets, including Lidl/aldi the food there is excellent. Another thing to consider if you're using nappies for 3 is amazon they do discounts on nappies etc delivered, saving when buying large quantities. We just have the one in nappies and use aldi pull-ups which we consider very good.
• savings are great, but it's really an individual answer because the point is : was it worth it to you ? Otherwise you probably won't keep it up, regardless of the saving. And the actual saving is such a personal thing, depending on your financial situation, which I'm sure you want to keep private!
• As snowday says the savings have to be doable!
  Its no good someone recommending you use free newspapers instead of toilet paper to save money if you couldn't do it. (that is an extreme example btw)
  Look at the dearest things you buy and see if you can downsize or swap to an alternative.
  Look at the items you buy 'because you always have' and see if you need them or its just habit.
  Keep a 'float' so when long life items are on very low offer prices you can get a sensible stock to tide you through to the next discount, eg. washing liquid, powder, toilet paper, soap, hair stuff etc.
• what sort of things did you buy ? what sort of meals do your family like to eat ? i think that is an excellent saving that you made
• I agree with what others have said, whether you've achieved a 'good price' or not depends on what you bought (ie are you meat eaters or veggie, do you cook from scratch or eat prepared foods) and your budget - if you need to make more savings, then you should consider shopping around for the best prices on different products rather than getting everything from one place. Also, there are lots of recipes online (including some on the OS board here) for inexpensive family meals.
• I find cooking from scratch makes things a lot cheaper but I imagine you are probably doing that already. Would help to write down your purchases, people here might be able to offer some further advice.
• Hello again!
  Will done for posting. On the face of it I think that seems reasonable for 6 of you. It may be a good idea to post the details of your receipt here and the meal plan. People are great at looking to see if you can do things in a more cost effective way so although it is painstaking to do It may be worthwhile.
• See to me i could never spend that amount mine comes to Ј80 with a cat 2 dogs and 2 dragons. Once i managed to spend Ј93 but even that was a struggle. and theres 4 of us.
• I shop around and struggle to spend Ј25 per week for 3 of us and a dog however it takes time and effort which is not possible for everyone and not desirable to most. My Sister for example lives to her budget of Ј80 for her and her Husband but she doesn't have time to shop around and prefers many brands to supermarket own products.
  Another tactic I use is to cook in bulk and freeze another meal. It often saves on waste and can be cheaper to buy in larger quantities. It also encourages me to trim down our portions a little to stretch out another meals worth. I always check out the reduced section and have an extra freezer for special offers I pick up. I have a budget I like to stick to per head per meal and stick to that 98% of the time. I always use the most perishable fresh produce first work the evening meal around that.
  All in all it's what you want to spend, save and how much effort you want to put in that matters. Well done for getting such a dramatic saving on your first shop.
• WELL DONE! Ј53 is a considerable saving! look on it as a 'start'. at the end of the week have a look at what you actually used and what is 'wasted'. then do another weekly menu plan - if you can use what wasn't used last week then that's a saving. IYKWIM? if you had to bin something - then did you NEED to buy it last week? could it be left out of this weeks shop?
  being 'mindful' of how much you spend and what you need to buy is essential to saving money. you are on the right road, so don't beat yourself up because you haven't saved Ј!%0!
• I'd say you've made an excellent start but there's room for improvement depending on your circumstances. As your children are young they won't be eating adult portions which is why I think you could save more. But to do that you'd have to do a bit of shopping around, cooking from scratch, maybe cut down on meat. I shop in Aldi with some storecupboard bits from elsewhere but if you have delivery because of children/lack of transport then that may not be for you.
  meant to askon't you have breakfast?