Grocery Expenses

[LindaKay]

Hi

I was just wondering how much everyone is spending on groceries. I am trying to make up a budget a stick to it ( I promise this time I will). I'm not sure what a reasonable amount is. There is just the three of us myself, my partner and 22mnth old son. At the moment I seem to be struggleing to keep the grocery bill for a fortnight under $200. Any tips on how to get everything I need but still eat good food because I love to cook?

Thanks
Linda

[jas]

OMG we dont eat fancy or anything but i always seem to have trouble sticking to our $200 a week budget..i dont know why either, dh hates it, so i really need tips too!! but i dont like no name products, i like what like, i did save a bit though by changing getting the fruit and veg from coles, to going to the fruit shop, they are HEAPS cheaper!!! i found just going to the supermarket twice a week helps to, i plan for 3 meals in advance, but i still need some more changes!

[JnA]

Meal Plan.. sit down once a week and plan what you are going to eat each night, even lunch.

Write a list. (There are two clauses that go with this tip 1 - take it with you 2. stick to it!)


Often 'no name' brands are exactly the same as name brands. For example there is a no name brand of cheese that is Wasonia cheddar.. but cheaper.. exactly the same!
There is probably a website that lists the 'no name' products and their exact branded product.



that's all I have. Good Luck

[jamb]

good luck, our weekly food bill is $200-250, which includes disposable nappies. I agree with fruit and veg from the fruit shop- much cheaper and fresher. I think meat is sooo expensive but prefer better cuts and that adds up. I also cook from scratch and dont like using premade sauces/sachets as we are anti preservative here, and again that adds up.

Sorry I havent helped much, your doing well keeping a food bill to anywhere near $200 a fortnight!!

[SilverStarfish]

Often 'no name' brands are exactly the same as name brands.

Yup that's true. DH is a food tech for a national food company, they make their own brand, plus the Woolies generic brand & a few others. It's EXACTLY the same product made with the same machines and put into the same bottles. It's just the lables that are different.

[Oscar's mum]

We usually spend around $90 a week on groceries. I plan every meal and snack for the week in advance and stick to it! It's the only way we can keep to that type of budget;)

[FourAngelKisses]

For 5 of us, I spend about $180 a week. I use cloth nappies, so a pack of disposables from Aldi will last me almost 2mths. Shopping at Aldi saves me about $100 a week IMO. I spend about $120 there and $60 at Coles/Woolies each week.
If I pick something up, I will always ask myself if we REALLY need it.

[Rainbowbrite]

I'm another Aldi convert :yes: I spend about $200 a fortnight on food for the 3 of us.

[TwoBoysOnly]

I shop at Coles once a week and spend about $180 a week....that includes drynites for night time....I have two small growing boys that eat ALL THE TIME and one big growing man that always eats and we seem to do fine on that budget and We eat only the expensive cuts of meat...I really should try Aldi

[Pixie]

I plan our meals for the fortnight, I spend around $300 including household items, nappies etc.
An Aldi has opened near me so I am going to check them out soon!

[jessgray]

we spend about $100-$180 a week it varies. i love going to shop slike NQR and aldis :D and Bilo. if i could i would probably put all 3 shops next to each other and spend all day shopping lmao

[missmum05]

We used to budget $200 a fortnight on grocerys but I still found myself going over that every time it always ends up around $250 per fornight.
But when I have enough time and feel like saving money I go to aldi and but everything ( no cold things ) there like pasta and sauces and all the things that I like from there. and I spend about $80 then I go to coles and buy the rest our usual stuff ( we buy alot of weight watcher products which aldi doesnt sell) and sometimes I can make it for $200 but then sometimes I just dont feel like going all the way to aldi its a fair drive for me and then having to do 2 shops so I just do everything at coles.
I just budget $250 now and if I get away with it cheaper I just spend the extra money on stocking up on nappies or something when they are cheap.
There is only 3 of us and dd is 11 months old so I buy formula too.

[~mia&ryan~]

I have 20 meals on a rotation system, that way I always know what I need to have in the pantry/fridge. One night a week (friday) DF can pick anything he wants for dinner he just has to tell me in advance. I buy everything in bulk, except fruit and veg milk etc. I shop every month. I get f & v and milk as we need it so that there is no wastage. I shop at bi-lo mostly and buy a mix of brandname and bi-lo brand my DF is a manager there so I find out what is the good stuff :D :laughing: plus he gets me all the good fruit & veg and meat etc. Plus the bonus of staff discount! I buy up big on nappies, wipes etc. when they are on sale. We spends around $250 at each monthly shop and around $50p/w on fresh food, nappies, formula etc.

[EskimoMumma]

family of 4, with no organizational skills, we are lucky to spend UNDER 300 a fortnight :laughing:

[grubindi]

family of 6 we spend nothing under $300 PER WEEK.

[qldgirl6]

I budget for between $200-$250 a fortnight. I get all my fruit and vege at the markets - much cheaper (spend around $25 a fortnight)., do normal shopping at Aldi and bilo, and get all my meat from a meat factory (much cheaper, eg. chicken breasts $7.99kg, t-bones $12.99kg. Most of the meat is packaged in bulk. We end up spending about $150 every 2-3 months on meat. Also, I agree with the meal planning - I write up a planner for the following fortnight trying to come up with recipes that I already have the ingredients for.
Hope that helps.
Oh, and also, I buy things like washing powder, cling wrap etc in bulk from Big W. My cling wrap has lasted me for 6 months so far and washing powder about 3 months 10kg - $18!

[1+1=5]

we spend about $150 a fortnight on groceries for the three of us and that used to include disposable nappies and formula (when DS was on it). thank God for toilets! we save $20 to $30 a fortnight just because DS is toilet trained. sometimes its less than $150, it depends on petrol (if DH gets night shifts, he can't catch the train so he has to drive) and anything else that we have to pay for that was not accounted for like parking fines (DH is great at accumulating those).
i plan EVERY meal in advance and then make a list of the ingredients and stick to them. i buy nothing that is not on the list so we never have junk food in the house. you have to ask yourself DO I REALLY NEED THAT.
i buy what ever is on sale or cheap, i don't even notice the brand that i am buying.
i also shop at the fruit and veg shop, then i go to the butcher and what ever else is left, i buy from the supermarket.

[2prettygirls]

Our grocery budget is $200 a week and i have trouble sticking to that! I I should take the money all out of the bank instead of just bits. Its hard to stay on budget but you just have to plan your list and stick to it!! ( I should take that advice too!)

[jasminesmum]

Ours is at least $200 a week.
I have a 16 yr old son who eats more than my DH.
I do try and meal plan too though. It does help if you can stick to it.

[CJJHRA]

family of 8 here. a box of huggies every 2-3 weeks, and drynites for one of the twins.. all extras and everything I would say $220 a week, including school snacks and takeaway once a week! We dont eat much meat at all, lots of vegies and pastas.

[Zada]

we used to budget $150 p/w now with new bubba im trying to get away with $170p/w. love to know how to spend $100 a week instead. we dont have big butchers or vege shops here only supermarket. wat sort of things do people have on their meal planner?

[QTB]

i spend 200 a fortnight, 2 adults and ds eats as much as me!

we got to aldi, then woolys then fruit and vege shop.... i get bulk meat when its on special

we must have about 100 sausages in the freezer at the moment, cos they were $2 a kg a few weeks ago... this week boneless chicken is on special so i will get about 5 kg of that... once my system built up, i now only have to buy one lot of meat a fortnight and we have heaps of different meat to choose from....

[Amberlea]

Theres only me and two kids and I spend around $100 a week at the supermarket.
Thats probably the minimum amount Id spend.
I dont go shopping on a set day once a week.. Im lazy because I cant be bothered after work so I go whenever I need something - I do a major shop once a month and spend around $250 then.
So all up I probably spend around $550 a month on shopping.. but thats not just food.. thats including all cleaning products as well etc.

I could cut it down by going to a butcher and aldi - but I just dont have the energy or time... I try to go to Bilo when I can - but the closest one to me is in the middle of a major shopping centre and I hate the crowds.

I do go to a fruit shop though instead of the supermarket.. because I get triple the amount of fruit and vege for half the price of a supermarket.

[mumofcaleb]

We spend about $150 - $200 on groceries per week for the 3 of us.

[mum_I'm_hungry]

OMG. I am a bad person. I'd be lucky to spend under about $200 per week on groceries and there's only four of us. And one of us only eats breast milk! One thing that has saved us money -- getting a fruit and veg. box delivered once a fortnight. It's only $35 and it's a gigantic box. The veg. lasts us two weeks (I just pop everything in those special veggie bags that keep things fresh longer). The fruit probably lasts us a week as you get less of that. Plus, I don't have to lug it home from the supermarket.

[cheezelkat]

I spend about$80 a week, but I eat mainly tinned tuna and pasta :) I also buy all fruit and veg from the local fruit and veg shop. My biggest expense is usually the naughty stuff:p

[my2boyz]

WOW, some of you do a great job of saving money on
groceries.;)

We spend for the 4 of us (me, DH, 2.9 and 14 months) about $300-320 a fortnight. Thats including nappies for both at night and my 14 month old during the day, wipes, meat, fruit and veg and tolietries.

I wish I could get under this but we like our food:yes:

[Seekrit]

we spend $150/fortnight on 2 of us (the other eats at the breastaurant)

I haven't yet shopped at Aldi NOR done a weekly meal plan, but I think I will for the next one :)

Once I get more cloth nappies together I'll be able to spend even less! :smiliedance:

[Jem]

We spend anywhere between $180 and $220 a week. Not including extra milk and bread during the week.

[Mikeswifey]

I shop at Aldi for most of my shopping. What I cant get, I then shop at coles etc.

And I do some convienence shopping at foodworks/IGA when I am desperate.

Aldi has saved us at least $70 per week on our shopping bill.

So probably now, its around the $100 - $120 per week mark.

[Little_Toad]

EEEKK!!

I knew our grocery "budget" wasn't small, but now I feel bad.

No kids (yet) .. no pets. just DP and myself about $250 a week.
I make all his work lunches and we only eat out (cheaply) one meal and one breakfast a week.

I buy multiple items when they are on sale and we never waste any food.
One shop together on a weekend and then I get fruit / veg and meat each day when I decide what I'm going to make.

Once disadvantage for us is we live right in the city and I know that things are more expensive than in the suburbs. less "family packs" of items too.

We aren't extravagent with material/consumer items but we like to eat well.

[Mojogal]

I guess it depends where you live and your transport options. Little Toad I used to work in Darlinghurst and live in the middle of the city too - and day to day shopping is the way to go for meat and veg! It sux everything in the city really is more expensive - it's like they don't realise that people do live in there, it's not just workers in the day, partyheads at night. You have to head out of the city to get decent sized packages and any real specials.

We couldn't believe how much cheaper our weekly grocery bill was once we moved to Brisbane from Sydney. Everything's cheaper up here!

[Ky]

We have had a pretty hard year so far financially and up until a couple of weeks ago, my grocery budget was $40 one week and then $5 the next (milk and bread etc). This is with 2 kids still in night nappies!

I don't know how we have survived and am now finding it just as hard to do my shopping on a budget of $80 a week! Funny how it is easy to feel like you have no more money even if you have ... I guess it is an attitude thing!

We eat a lot of egg based dishes for our protein, stretch most meat dishes with rolled oats, have a lot of pasta and rice and I have found that frozen veg is cheaper and sometimes fresher than what I can get at lower prices. We don't eat a heap of meat but I will buy it is bulk when I find it on special. 250gm of meat is enough for our family for a meal.

My kids love salad and are not really interested in ready made or junk foods. Thier idea of a special treat is to eat watties spaghetti or baked beans straight from the can! ( I have one of the can openers that leaves blunt edges).

I buy multigrain bread as it fills them up quicker, have found milk for $1.89/2lt, use homebrand nappies and make my own toasted muesli and snacks.

I do however, buy an expensive laundry powder but because of this one box will last up to 6 months as you really only need a tablespoon full (not an entire scoop as provided!) per wash. I wash a couple of loads a day, so it is really economical.

Dh has been promised pay rises every time the company he works for secures a new contract and they have agreed that rather than hiring extra staff, they will extend his hours slightly to cover extra workload so that we can have the overtime instead. Things are starting to look up for us!

I am happy because I can pay all of my bills, am chipping away at our debt, our dd goes to a great private school and although my kids don't do a lot of things that others get to do in the school holidays/after school activities etc, they are happy and get to spend a lot of time playing with Mum and Dad!

To top this all off ... we are all very healthy on our diet of non-processed foods and I don't think that we need to change much any time soon!

[Little_Toad]

I guess it depends where you live and your transport options. Little Toad I used to work in Darlinghurst and live in the middle of the city too - and day to day shopping is the way to go for meat and veg! It sux everything in the city really is more expensive - it's like they don't realise that people do live in there, it's not just workers in the day, partyheads at night. You have to head out of the city to get decent sized packages and any real specials.

We couldn't believe how much cheaper our weekly grocery bill was once we moved to Brisbane from Sydney. Everything's cheaper up here!

I went to a friends house for dinner and noticed on the salmon it was $19.99 a kilo. We pay $33 a kilo in the city.. HUGE difference.

I think I can justify our food budget though, we dont have any loans, dont smoke, DP spends max $25 a week on alcohol and our fuel bill is only $25 a month.

[SassyMummy]

I spend about $200-$250 at my "big shop" fortnightly. That includes $40 on Nappies and anything else that I'd buy at Woolies (like Shampoo/razors etc).

I usually do little 're-stock' visits during the week too...to buy more bread/milk and other little items I need/forgot to get.

I usually write up a list now, with specific ingredients for specific meals I'm making. I used to just wander aimlessly and just select thing I felt I wanted/needed. Following a list is so much better.

I've even taken my calculator along many a time, to try and stick to a budget. It makes shopping take longer, but it's cheaper in the long run.

I've found that making my own stuff (rather than pre-packaged junk) is cheaper in the long run... while it might be cheaper to buy a cake mix, than to buy all the ingredients to make a cake...the ingredients will last longer...and you can probably make several cakes out of them. So in the long run, it's much more affordable.

[sandj]

well im 7months preg and starting to think about budgeting as we are going to be on a tight budget. ATM we spend $300 a fortnight for the 2 of us! But i always have the pantry stocked and would rather have extra food than less. My husband is pretty fussy and loves home cooked meals so i cant even do with baked beans on toast if i wanted to! he also loves meat. I have cut down the meat as we use to eat a lot. So now we have it about 5 nights a week (this is chicken/red meat/fish) and 2 nights a week is normally vegetarian. I too eat a lot of fruit and veg and found a great fruit and veg shop that is cheap and good quality and better than the supermarket. Also we buy our meat in bulk at the butchers sometimes we buy lamb chops at Safeway when the specials are on and stock up.

Another hint is I use tupperware. Although its expensive, there is some containers you can use in the fridge that store your fruit and veg. I have found it keeps my veg for a week or two longer hence not having to throw stuff out. In the long run this will be a lot cheaper.

Its hard to budget. we eat really well and love our food. Am also a fan of cooking from scratch so that makes it a bit more expensive.

[Becteria]

Family of three, we spend about $350 per month. I do one big shop a month and then get milk and bread every couple of days. Juice, Cold meat and cheese is a weekly thing. I dont skimp, i buy everything we like and want - including lamb...mmmmmmmmm

Also I get my fruit and vege delivered it is so much cheaper and easier - the owner goes to Flemington every morning and makes up these great boxes for $30 - INCLUDING delivery. www.sydneyfresh.com.au (http://www.sydneyfresh.com.au). That lasts me at least a fortnight.So I get 2 per month.

If I go weekly i overstock and we eat it because its there. Monthly stretches it out more.

[mum2bubba]

We spend about $200 a fortnight for the 3 of us, we but most of our stuff in bulk, meat, nappies etc so all the bulk stuff lasts a bit longer, as for smaller stuff like milk we buy 4 litters of that each fornight, we are going to try the Long Life milk next time. We get alot of our vegies and fruit from farmers markets, I bought a 10 kilo bag of potatos a few weeks ago for only $5. :eek:

[SweetSerenity]

Wow... $200 a fortnights pretty good.
I spend $150 roughly a week on our groceries!

[mum2bubba]

Wow... $200 a fortnights pretty good.
I spend $150 roughly a week on our groceries!


Yeah, that doesn't include nappies though, Grant used to work at Coles so he knows alot of bargains etc, he is actually a better shopper than me. :rolleyes: :eek:

We haven't actually been shopping in 3 weeks and we have heaps of food coz we but most things in bulk and try and freeze everything we can.