Weekly spend on food?

I really don't know how much I spend on food but this thread has made me think I will find out, and see if I can save a bit as I suspect I spend a lot. I do most of my food shopping at M&S, always with a list, very rarely waste food and plan weekly menus. I also use supermarkets, mainly for store cupboard, and non food stuff. It's an eye opener how much paper goods, toiletries etc cost.

All those fountain ! As I said before I buy store cupboard items about every 6 weeks... includes tinned & dried goods etc plus household cleaning, toileteies etc. Depending on what is happening..are we both home for meals or out and about etc.
Other than Tues/Thurs when I feed the 4 DGC tea we do not have a routine so fresh food is bought daily or every couple of days as required. We eat out at least once a week and maybe also a take away too..depending on what we are doing. I could put £xx in my purse and limit my buying to that amount. But if there was something delicious in the bakers or an offer in the fish shop or butchers it would be a shame to miss it. We usually eat approx 5 veggie/fish / chicken meals and a couple of red meat meals per week. I guess my spending would alter if we ate more/ less red meat.

I find shopping in Aldi/Lidl I don’t have to look out for special offers/bargains as things such as good quality coffee /fruit and veg /beef and chicken are always reasonably priced. Home bargains for toilet rolls cleaning stuff /bones and treats for the dog and usually Tesco for wine offers, around £70 for the two of us.

I have wondered if I could save a lot by shopping in Aldi/Lidl but consumer ratings don't look that great for quality. What do regular users think?

lazigirl we do quite a lot of our shopping at Aldi. Their ground coffee is great quality and a great price as are toiletries, loo rolls, soap powder etc. I don't buy meat anyway, but their fruit and veg are good although there is not always the vast choices as in bigger supermarkets. Their bread is very reasonable too.

My only gripe with Lidl and Aldi is the fruit and vegetables you have to be careful they are fit for keeping for some days . Their ground coffee is a great price , I refuse to buy their milk as they do not pay a fair price to the farmers which Tesco do . We probaly do 25% in one of these plus 75% in Tesco though some weeks it is less for Tesco .
Interesting to see how many people have a takeaway we just never do but I do get good deals out for lunch from Itison so we eat out once a week as inexpensivly as possible.

I mainly shop at Lidl occassionaly going into Morrisons for a few things they don't stock - like leaf tea or Pure (vegan) margerine. I buy a lot of fruit and vegetables in Lidl's and find they usually last a week.

I call in at Aldi regularly when we’re at DD’s, and love some of their offerings, but not all by any means. Also, I do enough online shops with other stores to know that they’re not always cheaper, even disregarding the offers I get elsewhere (£12 off a £60 shop with Ocado this week, plus free delivery). I went to Aldi today looking in vain for another of the “Jo Malone” perfume sets that are just like the original - how they get away with it, I don’t know! Came out with cooked meat and olives (always good), and cheap as chips custard tarts (very nice). Plus a bargain photo frame from the aisle of delights in the middle. But I checked out several other staples and found they weren’t as good value as elsewhere. It pays to be selective and not stick with any one store, imho.

Must admit I just do not use takeaways....probably because we are not in an urban environment....mind you that Panorama programme about 'Just Eat' etc was an eye opener! But also good quality Supermarket Pizzas are excellent and with some extra veges such as lashing of roast veges they are not that bad nutritionally. Same with those Supermarket Takeaway boxes of Chinese meals - they are well designed to require similar oven temps etc.
However, if we are out and about somewhere near the coast I will indulge in a proper sit down Fish and Chips.....but will need to have worked up a good appetite to do it justice!

Actually, I’ve just checked and my Ocado voucher is £15 off a £60 shop, not £12. Not bad!

OMG i really need help r shopping..i spend a fortune..i have animals and they cost alot but even without their bits i,m spending 100-120 a week for 2!! i have now decided i have to sort myself out. i will be going to aldi or lidl and i will not be buying rubbish food anymore (cakes, biscuits, chocolate) and i will be meal planning. i have to its crazy and i dont smoke or drink!!

We are lucky Hilda W in our "village" we have easy access to fish & chips, Pizza, Indian, Chinese, Thai or Turkish takeaways! I need never cook again. So if we do fancy a cook free evening it is easy!

Try shopping online, nanny 2507. You don’t have to walk past the chocolate and cake so it’s much easier to resist.

I may give Aldi a try for paper goods, toiletries, and non food items, but I tend to buy when things are on offer, so rarely pay full price anyway. M&S have been giving £5 vouchers off £35 food shop lately, to try and boost trade as they're not doing so well I think. I find Sainsbury which is near me, has lots of choice but very expensive.

PECS - I eat a plant-based diet of mostly season fruit and vegetables which keeps my spend low.

Lazigirl - I have been disappointed with Aldi's fruit and veg. Most produce in supermarkets now seems to have little taste but Aldi's is by far the poorest in my opinion. It may cost around 75% less but it's a false economy imo. Quality is going to vary region by region depending on supplier but every salad item and carrot I have ever bought there just tasted of water.

I try to take advantage of seasonal offers in farm shops and from local producers. A huge box of pumpkins and squashes won in an allotment auction last autumn for a couple of quid is still feeding me.

Thanks for that info FountainPen. I think local is definitely the way to go, if you can get it. We eat lots of veg and quality and taste is very important. Unfortunately local veg shops are becoming few and far between these days.

FountainPen I am lucky that we have several local green grocers/ farm shops/markets within easy distance so I do buy as much seasonal and local stuff as possible but I am not rigid about it. Our local deli tries to source its fresh products from within a 2 hour drive. However the farm shops/markets & deli are more expensive than supermarkets so whilst I am in a position to pay higher prices many are not and do not always have the luxury of choice. I am not vegan and do not plan to be vegan out of choice though many meals I make are.

Two of us and the average is £70. This includes washing powder toilet rolls etc. One day a week is always ham egg and chips for DH but I have salad. Another day is just salad and rolls. I make generally 2 meals from scratch and freeze half of each. The other day will use one of my earlier frozen meals. The last day might eat out or convenience meals like bought frozen fish

Too much !!
Me and 3 cats and an old stray who lives outside who will eat mashed potato and left over gravy with his dinners----the others don't/won't.

Usually between £ 40-60 a week. I may have a small on line delivery and do some top ups in the week if Ive forgotten something or gone to the farm shop ( which does the best apples and has a great deli ) I may be more if I’m catering for big family meal or have friend staying