Grocery Shopping budget thread

A question about : Grocery Shopping budget thread

Hi there! We're having a lot of threads asking about budgets for grocery shopping. Until now, Pink-winged and I have merged these into the current Grocery Challenge thread. However, I'm aware that they can become lost there, so in future, they'll be added to this thread, so that people who ask about how much others spend on groceries can be directed here.

When talking about your budget, please can you indicate how many (adults, children, pets ) you're catering for, and whether your budget includes extras such as wine and cleaning materials.

Thanks, Penny. x

Best answers:

• Great idea guys!
  There are 3 of us (2 adults + 1 14yr DD) and we allocate Ј75pw. This includes all food, diesel for the car and cleaning/washing materials. Approx Ј45 each week on groceries, Ј25 pw diesel then we go to Makros every 3 months and stock up on loo rolls, washing powder, lenor, nescafe, t-bags, cleaning stuff etc.
  We do mealplan. I know if we needed too we could drop this to about Ј30pw for food but are buying better quailty items and hardly throwing anything away. A coupld of meals each week are very basic Egg & Chips or Soup & Roll etc but this means we can buy a nicer chicken or meat.
  I withdraw Ј300 every 4 weeks and place in a seperate purse and only use that for everything.
  Will update when I think of anything else.
  HTH
  PP
  xx
• Hi all
  My family consists of 2 adults and 3 children under 5 i budget 240 mth for groceries which is around 60 wk but really only spend about 40 wk. Laundry and cleaning is around Ј8mth and toiletries Ј8mth.
  I cook all meals os style and make own bread and i am currently holding a sample of soapnuts to try and am now using white vinegar as a fabric conditioner (converted!) so laundry/cleaning should come down a bit
• Good idea to have a separate thread for this.
  My budget is Ј80 a month, that's for me, and includes food, cleaning, laundry and toiletries. I have no pets, no car and I don't drink; what an exciting life I lead . I include my occasional chippy meal in this but not the very occasional Chinese takeout, that's a special treat
  I like to keep my cupboards and freezer full, and I'll happily go over budget if I see good offers but this balances out as I'll sometimes have a month when I spend very much less than budget. I keep a list of what I have in the cupboards and rotate my stock. I meal plan and shop to my meal list and this, more than anything else, has helped me to reduce my spending from the old levels of about Ј50 a week .
• My budget is currently Ј160 a month that's for me, dh, ds 3, and dd 6months - I would love to get this lower though. This includes all food, toiletries and cleaning products.
  I don't include stuff for dd as her nappies,formula,infacol stay pretty much the same - i have about Ј60 per month for that. I also don't include going out for lunch with ds (unless I've made a packed lunch) as dh and I hardly ever go out it would come out of our entertainment budget
• my budget is Ј40pw for myself and 3 children, this is for food shopping etc
  i dont need a tolitries budget this year as i have enough washing powder, cleaning stuff, and tolitries for well into 2010, ds2 and ds3 get there tolitries on prescription
  i do buy woopsies when i see them for the freezer/store cupboard so dont worry if i go a little over
  ds1 also gets a free school dinnner on school days
  we eat no ready meals, and have the very occasional takeaway, my freezer mainly consists of meat, bread and frozen veg along with 1 tub of dairy free ice cream
  the only thing i dont include in my budget is milkshakes for ds2 and 3 as these are soyal milk ones and required for pre school snack time (in place of normal milk)
• We are three at the moment , Me, DH, DS. My DD isn't here right now, she's vegetarian.
  I find that the amount I spend on food doesn't go down when she isn't here, as we eat more meat when she isn't here. WHen she's here, we eat more veggie meals as a family.
  Last year was the last year that I kept to a budget. I spent less than Ј200 per month on Food. Wine and cleaning materials not on this budget. Before the beginning of the year I had no real idea of what I was spending and the Ј200 was a starting point.
  The freezer and cupboards are fuller now than they were at the beginning of last year and more in the cupboards too. I will start on next month's food budget if I can get reduced price or good value items. My original plan was to keep less food in the house, but it seems to me, it's easier to eat low cost if you buy stuff when it's on good price.
  We eat happy chicken (but not as often as we used to eat the other stuff), free range eggs, locally farmed lamb.
  As the OP says, we have a couple of cheapy meals that are enjoyed by the family (egg, beans and toast or Jacket potatoes with beans, cheese, coleslaw or tuna/sweetcorn.)
• We are 2 adults and 2 children (12 & 8) and I aim for Ј200 per month for groceries (food, toiletries, cleaning stuff), although I often spend over that. :rolleyes: I know it seems quite low but it gives me a challenge, which some months I succeed at.
  I keep my cupboards and the freezer pretty full, shop for bargains, meal plan and cook most stuff from scratch when I can. I shop at Aldi, Home Bargains, Asda, Tesco and anywhere else that I can bag a bargain.
• We are 2 adults and 2 boys 16 and 12 - so 4 adult portions then!
  I try to keep to a budget of around Ј250 per month, but I will go over if there are good bargains to stock up on. This covers all food, DS2's school lunches (he just started high school in August and all his new pals have school dinners :rolleyes: ), packed lunches for the others, toiletries and loo rolls, washing powder and cleaning supplies.
  Since finding the OS forum I find my freezer is mostly full and I have enough meat, frozen veg and carbs (rice pasta noodles etc) to last us at least 3 weeks although it might get a bit boring after then, but I can't resist a bargain so the stocks rarely go low .
• My budget is for myself,dh,ds1 and ds2 at the moment I'm trying for Ј240 a month,this is for all food,cleaning stuff and toiletries as you can see not much left but am learning.The food also covers pack ups x3.I don't have very big freezer but do some batch cooking.
• My budget is Ј300 pm
  This is for all food, washing powder, cleaning products, toiletries, rabbit food, etc basically anything you can buy in MrsS superstore!
  There is me, hubby, DD...18 and 4 out of 7 days DD's BF!!....DS..28 full time student in his own flat and I make home made ready meals and take them to him and basic food items as he has been made redundant from part time job.
  Covers packed lunches for 3, dinners for 4-5 and breakfast for 4. All cleaning products for 2 homes.
  I could scale down a bit if needed but I'm OK with this level.
• My Budget is Ј70 a week for 2 adults, 4 kids (6,11,11,13) and the cat.
  This includes toiletries, washing powder, cleaning and food.
  5 x pack lunches 5 days a week, and cook for extra one on saturdays as step son is here.
  Im quite happy with this amount but finding it hard past few months to not go over budget, so hoping to maybe cut down slightly with more bulk buying ect.
• My budget at the moment is Ј340pm, this is for 2 adults 2 children aged 6 & 8, 2 cats and a big dog (Labrador x Newfoundland). This amount includes all groceries, cleaning products, toiletries and pet food....
  I am in the process of changing over so that I will bulk buy the pet food and flea treatments, so I will have a separate pet budget for this. Although with a baby due in less than 7wks any money saved will probably go on nappies/formula!!
  We have also just started a separate 'pocket money' budget which I will set aside monthly, for lunches out or take-aways, so none of these come out of the main grocery budget. I am hoping to reduce my Grocery budget to somewhere between Ј250-Ј300pm
  Mel x
• Hello everyone, my budget for myself, DS1 5 and DS2 10 (who eats from the minute he gets out of bed until the minute he gets back in it and looks like a stick!!) is Ј120 per month for groceries and Ј15 per month for cleaning stuff, washing powder and toiletries. I grow a good amount of my own veg but I am going to increase that dramatically this year and even more once I finally get an allotment which will reduce my grocery budget significantly I hope. Over time I have managed to train myself so that if we have enough food in I can go into a supermarket purely to look at whoopsies if I am passing without spending Ј20 I really don't need to! I also allow myself Ј10 per month for alcohol as my treat but I do make homemade wine so sometimes use this allowance for a take-away instead.
• Hi Everyone,
  What a great idea as I always get lost in the grocery challenge thread LOL! I buy for myself, dh, dd 16, ds 14, ds 10, 2 dogs (Big Labrador & a Beagle) and 4 cats. My budget is Ј200 to Ј250 a month and this includes all food, cleaning stuff (well Stardrops, vinegar, bleach & washing up liquid is all that I use) toiletries etc. I generally shop at Netto, the local market, Home Bargains, Wilkinsons, Poundland & Tesco for whoopsied stuff I see when going there for the concentrated juice (It really does last longer, my 3 are juice monsters & drink loads but at least they don't get dehydrated!)
  Like others I cook all meals from scratch although I buy bread. I make some of our treats & buy some also. One of the biggest OS things I do is to nearly always have a pan of soup made up for lunches. It's healthy, filling & uses up lots of veg. All three kids have lunches at college/school although when dd is on her placement (every other week) I make her lunch to take.
  We have the very occasional take away which somehow usually ends up being a disappointment & not as tasty as what I can cook even though we look forward to it. I have picked up so much help & advice from this board and that helps with the budget every single week. HTH
• were a family of 5. me, hubby, dd 5,ds 3 and ds 9 months. we also have 3 cats.( 1 of them tho thinks he is a dog, as he won't eat his food but will sit by our side while eating are dinner waiting for little bits left over. he's even been known to eat crusts froma marmite sandwich :confused: .)
  Anyway i say my budget but it isn't anything set in stone it is something i use as a guildline. It is for Ј200 a month. Having said that i have found i can only keep to it when i meal plan and work things out because i am the type of person who loves food shopping and everytime i go in a shop thats Ј30-Ј50 gone on things i could do with out.lol.when i do meal planners and keep to my budget we do eat alot better and have very little waste so it somethign i need to keep up with .
  My shopping money covers everything packed lunches, cleaning, pet things, baby formula etc. even things like if i'm in a supermarket and see a new saucepan or duvet cover etc i will use my shopping money. The one thing i don't use it for is if my daughter wants a school dinner i will pay for this seperately. having said that she has only had 3 since she started in sept.
• I just wanted to say that you are all fabulous with how little you are spending on food but eating well.
  I have been a member here for nearly 4 years and have seen many of you progress including myself and you all do an amazing job. I feel proud to be a member of this community.
  PP
  xx
• Hi, just now, i am in my own flat. However, I do time at the fiancee's. Costs mainly for my flat. Most months, I will spend about Ј60-Ј70 pounds at the start of the month. This will include all cleaning materials needed, main food items for the month, stock-up the wine rack etc. Always go with a shopping list and look for deals on the things I need. Duruing the rest of the month, i'm just topping up on milk, rolls for lunches at work, school lunch once a week etc so probabaly realistically add on anohter Ј50ish pounds.
  When cooking, always cook up a big batch and then freeze in individual portions. This came out of practical reasons rather then finanicial ones as saves time and can't be bothered cooking after a long day - but would rather eat healthy!!! As I read more of the posts on this site , am becoming more aware of what I do spend and am more conscientious when shopping / spending.
  Snowy
• My budget is just for me. It varies according to how many times I enter a supermarket so I'm trying to stop going in too often. I pay cash for all shopping so it hurts a bit to part with the actual money.
  My only spending weak spot is too much food shopping so I'm working on that. I'm inspired by how some of you feed families on less than I spend some months (although I have a very full freezer and cupboards).
• Oh and I never pay full price for a bottle of wine!!!! Always go the bottle that are nearly a tenner but reduced to half price. What Cleaning products / toiletries I need each month depend on what's left in the flat. Have not had to do a big shop this month as freezer was full from December and flat generally well stocked so am a very happy owl!!! For the first time I can rememebr I have actually have a nice wee bit of money to save at the end of January!!!!!
  Snowy Owl