CatsCube Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Im currently trying to work out if we can afford to give up on supermarkets and instead Get organic meat and fruit and veg boxes delievered, Then I can just walk to my local co-op to get other bits and pieces. Im trying to work out if Im going to be able to afford it with our current shopping budget. we are a family of 4 (although Dylan eats just pureed leftovers and Noah is only 2) And we currently have a shopping budget of £75 a week. This also has to cover baby formula, basic toiletries, washing powder etc. I have managed to cook a lot healthier food recently at a smaller cost, so Im wondering how do able it is, when OH has a huge appetite. Could you tell me a bit about your food shop habbits, what your weekly spend is and how many of you that has to be shared between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I go to the supermarket once a week for a big shop (usually £75-£90) and pop in for a few extras once or twice more a week. Our weekly bill is about £100 (2 adults/2 teenagers). I used to use Tesco but haven't been there since Hugh/Jamie - I now mainly use Waitrose which definitely costs more . It will be less from now on though as I've just received my first organic fruit & veg box for £15 which seems good value ~ see the post here ~. I thought I might do an online shop to get an idea what the same would have cost me in the supermarket. I'll let you know how that goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I'm not very good at budgets so I set up a separate bank account which has £450 a month in it to help me. There are 5 or 6 of us living off this, so about £100 a week. I spend £48 a month on a box of organic meat from DevonRose I spend £23 a week on a large vegetable box and 8 litres of milk from Riverford. I spend most of the rest on a monthly shop at Sainsbury. I always cook from scratch, make all my own bread goods and yoghurt. I have to buy more fruit about half way through the month. I'm sure that buying organic meat and vegetables is not more expensive. Plus they are delivered to my door which makes life easier for me. Also we have learnt to be much more adventurous with our food. I'm sure I wouldn't (possibly couldn't!) buy half the stuff in a supermarket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I spend about £100-£120 a week. Three of us. Son eats for Britain. Older son at home at the mo and is constantly grazing too. You just can't fill 'em up! I buy my meat at a local butcher (not cheap!) , some fruit and veg at a greengrocer, grow a bit if my own, and everything else is from Waitrose. I usually make my own bread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 See Ginette my thoughts are the same. I think my cooking would be more adventurous and it will be a fun way of trying new things. plus its more fun to pop out witht he boys on little local food shopping trips for the extras than hauling round a crowded supermarket at the weekends. Plus I would feel a lot better about shopping at a shop like co-op than tesco or asda. One thing though, do you find a £48 meat box does you for a month? A lot that I have looked at dont look like the contain a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I've just priced up my fruit/veg box (as best I could) on Waitrose online shopping. It was £5 more - I thought it would be a bit more ,... but as I'm typing, I've just remembered that my box is organic . Darn it. It would definitely be more if I'd gone for the organic option, although they wouldn't have half the stuff I've got. I like the no packaging except brown paper bags in my box though . I quite fancy a meat delivery too but I'd have to buy a freezer first . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura & CTB Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I've just had my first meatbox delivery from Riverford - just the small one and everything fits onto one freezer shelf (except the whole chicken)! Now one and only son is at uni we should be saving some money from the £150 per week the shopping used to cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clur Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 We're a family of 4 and I tend to buy fruit and veg from a local farm shop (not a fancy one, and it costs less than Tesco overall and lasts longer). We get our meat from Farmers Choice online and spent £50 per month. Other things we need we do pop to Tesco as it's close, and I am now trying to get to Makro once every 6 weeks to buy washing powder etc. I work full time, so sometimes we do more at Tesco, but I don't tend to buy meat from there. Our overall shopping budget is around £90 per week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 We are seriously skint at the moment Our budget for this last month including everything was £275 this was to feed 5 (ds1 eats more than me and dh and ds2 will eat the same as me if hes in the mood, little one eats same as us but about half the amount) and included the milk bill of 45 quid alone. Its getting towards the end of the payment month now and I'm having to be really inventive as to what we eat. It does help that DH has been away for almost two weeks of it as he insist on having meat with everything and thats what puts the cost up for us so I don't think we could have survived on so little. We tend to buy pretty much everything as soon as he gets paid. All meat I divide into meals and then freeze with a certain amount allocated to each week. We get two large veg boxes, one a fortnight and I make it my mission to use everything in it. We also do the big main grocery shop then and then the rest of the budget is set aside with an amount for each week so that we can buy any extras we need. Normally things like more bananas and more bread (still cant find a bread recipe that dh doesnt say is stodgy). I've really struggled to get the bill down this much and I'm still trying and I wasnt going to break it down so much but I know when I was really trying I found threads showing how other people managed really helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 One thing though, do you find a £48 meat box does you for a month? A lot that I have looked at dont look like the contain a great deal. Well, I'm vegetarian and we used not to eat meat at all at home. They now have meat every Sunday, usually a roast, (we seem to have enough) and often once during the week too - sausages or something. I think the box is really intended as a weekly thing or you could have it fortnightly. It suits us monthly (actually 4-weekly so a bit more frequent) I have added sausagemeat to the box now as I found home-made sausage rolls went down really well as packed lunches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I think my cooking would be more adventurous and it will be a fun way of trying new things. plus its more fun to pop out witht he boys on little local food shopping trips for the extras than hauling round a crowded supermarket at the weekends. Plus I would feel a lot better about shopping at a shop like co-op than tesco or asda. When my brood was younger I nagged and nagged to get a computer so that i could shop online. So much easier than dragging children around the shops. I have shopped on line for nearly 8 years now! And you are right, going to a supermarket is a pleasure not a chore. I use Waitrose mostly which has self-scanning. So I can whizz round picking up the few things I want, pay for it at the machine and go home again. DS loves Waitrose because I usually let him buy a biscuit at the Bakers, which is at the end of the store and so worked as a good bribe! Self-scanning always kept DD3 happy as she could eat grapes all the way round! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 We've just started budgeting really carefully with our food Cat, and I think we're spending about the same as you. We've just gone onto free range meat and I honestly think that it is better value. OH bought a quite small piece of free-range pork the other week, thinking that it probably wouldn't be big enough, and it did 3 of them 2 meals because it didn't shrink!!! Also, it's making us really think about using left overs and there is hardly any surplus food in our fridge at the end of a week. We buy everything from Waitrose on a Wednesday (except for fruit and veg) our Fruit and veg shop is from a local farm shop in the next village which is fabulous. It's not organic, but everything is locally sourced where it possibly can be. On a Friday night, we make a big pot of veg soup with whatever bits and bobs are left from the previous week, leaving us with lunch meals for the following week and a nice empty fridge. One thing we have found to be completely vital is doing a very careful weekly menu in our menu book. I try and do this in advance of the shop shopping day, so I don't have a mental block. It also lets us see when we last had what meal so we spread things out a bit and the kids don't get bored. We use the menu plan to work out exactly what we need to buy for the week . We also have a list of essential which we check off to see if we will need more of them during the week. This eliminates trips into town, as it's a six mile drive for us and the village shop is excellent but very expensive. We have been a lot better organised since living so far away from a supermarket actually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Well, we get by on £50-60 per week, that's for me, Rosie (who eats as much as I do) and occasionally Phil. My budget is as much on time as money; I buy all my meat free range from two local farmers' markets, as well as most of my veggies. I buy as much as I can from a local organic shop, and the rest from Te$co. I resent having to buy from them, but we don't have a Waitrose (nearest is 25 miles away) and the other supermarkets here are the pits; as i work full time, I just don't have the time to go to individual shops. I'd say that around 90% of our food is either organic or locally produced, and I cook virtually everything from scratch. Veg/meat boxes just wouldn't work for us - I'm not at home to receive them and I have a tiny freezer, so nowhere really to store anything that needs keeping for a couple of days I really like the contact that I have at the markets with the local producres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Its funny isnt it how different people have to work around in different ways. Just readin Clarets post I was thinking how nice to get to know the people who you deal with but for me its just not practical as I dont drive but I'm sure soem people envy me my (small) chest freezer that we got so we can store enough meat etc for a month. Horses for courses and all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairy&cake Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 We have a budget of £200 A MONTH now Ross is at Uni. I used to spend £200 a week when he was working full time We shop monthly for meat [chest freezer] im veggie and seth prefers fish anyway. I buy fruit and veg from Lidl Cheap and cheerful. They even do Organic Milk is from the farm shop. And anything else is from Asda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I'm feeling very ashamed now. I couldn't tell you what we spend on food. I hardly ever cook, and when we do, OH just goes to Tesco to buy it all there and then (although we always buy free range chook). Occasionally I'll do a big online order for cat food and bags of pasta, but that is it for organised shopping. When OH is on tour, I don't really eat dinner, so don't see the point in keeping food in. The freezer is full of cockerels, haggis and ice cream. I'm a terrible, terrible wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Don't worry Aunty e - I am spending a week the amount some are spending a month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I don't think anyone needs to feel ashamed about how they manage things. Please don't! I find it very interesting hearing what people do and sometimes I read an idea that would suit me. I am not judgemental, just interested. we all have choices and we all have the right to make them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I'm a terrible, terrible wife.You are no such thing. No two sets of family circumstances are the same and what suits one will not be right for another. You keep doing what suits you! haggis and ice cream. A combination made in heaven! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Don't worry Aunty e - I am spending a week the amount some are spending a month And I would be spending more if we had it. Our current finances are actually very stressful so if yopu can live more comfortably don't feel guilty for doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 I think its great what a lot of you spend, you all eat well. I use a baby forum and there most people are shocked by how much I spend and often spend £50 or less on a family of 4. I know a couple who has a budget of £20 a week between the two of them and live off fish fingers and beans and the like. Well I have just pulled out a load of my reciepts and totalled up what I normally spend on meat, fruit and veg, and everything else after. I think it may be do able. If I got a £60 meat box a fortnight and £15 fruit and veg box a week that leaves me with £30 a week to buy all my other bits and pieces. Once Dylan hits 1 I wont have to buy him formula anymore which will save us £8 a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 haggis and ice cream. A combination made in heaven! PLEEEAAaase, I've just had lunch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 For the 5 of us we do one big shop most weeks but sometimes we skip a week and manage on milk from the co-op ( we use about 8 litres a week ) and stuff we have frozen. We spent somewhere between £75 - £100 a week in the supermarket probably 3 weeks per month depending on when we need washing powder cat food, toilet roll etc. Then £25 - £40 per week in the butchers which is an expensive one depending on what we buy. We grow quite a bit of veg. ie we don't buy carrots onions or potatoes and just have to top up with cauliflower and broccoli in the winter and we buy fruit in the winter from the supermarket and stock up with local apples and pears in the autumn. We cook from scratch most of the time with the odd fish and chip day or a takeaway at a weekend once a month or so. We were both brought up in families where the weekly budget was very tight which i think has taught us valuable lessons in value for money which hopefully our children will take on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfamily Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 There are 3 of us (me and 2 teenagers) I have an Ocado Delivery once a fortnight (about £140 including cat food for 3 cats and houehold stuff like washing powder, loo roll, toiletries etc). I have a Riverford veg box and fruit box once a week (and a carton of riverford full fat milk as a treat on my cereal ) that's about £17 and then I top this up with a few bits and bobs each week that I can't get on Ocado (about £15 a week) I make all of my meals and can get 3 meals out of a chickenand I have found that you save a lot of money if you are able to have the time to make things. I'm lucky as I have the luxury at the mo of not having to work so I have the time to cook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I'm feeling very ashamed now. Oh, please please don't . Everyone's circumstances are totally different - you have to do what suits you. When OH is on tour, I don't really eat dinner, so don't see the point in keeping food in. You should see what I eat for lunch when I'm alone and for tea when "Ooops, word censored!"ody's here . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...