Food shopping is expensive, help?

I've started cooking all my meals from scratch and normally get al my veg fruit and meat from Tescos and Sainsburys. Ive only been at uni for a week and already Ive spent around £40-50 on food shopping :/

Any tips on how to save money? I don't want to end up spending 100s of £ on food every month!

from Tescos and Sainsburys.

x

Thanks for your detailed reply, and you are right, brands aren't going to make much of a difference when its all in my tummy but the steep effect on finances will remain. I'll look around for those stores

Thanks for your detailed reply, and you are right, brands aren't going to make much of a difference when its all in my tummy but the steep effect on finances will remain. I'll look around for those stores

ALDI. Most of their fruit and veg is less than 60p.

Buy more fresh produce where you can. Shop at Lidl, Aldi and Farmfoods. They have cheaper items

Well there's part of your problem.

Giving up or moderating meat. Good way to spend less money. In fact the rise in people eating meat in developing countries ("the new middle classes" is actually one of if not the chief driver of high food prices. It's inefficient (particularly beef) as it drains food away from humans to cows/pigs etc.

Also Dark Chocolate. 90% Dark Chocolate is often at Tescos for 100g 1£. On the back it says 596 calories, so that's good value as well as being healthy. I eat about 1 per day!!! Also never waste any money on sweets or fizzy drinks just buy proper food.

I agree with general responses, for a cheaper shop. You're shopping at the wrong places. It may be more convenient for you, but if you're not willing to put in a bit more time and sacrifice you aren't going to save money. Different shops are better for different things in terms of prices.

Feel free to give me a break down of your shopping list and I'd be happy to offer pointers.

here is a response I made in another thread of how I can quite easily have a well balanced and varied diet at around £20-£25 a week. It shows what I buy, where I buy and how often I generally buy items. As well as a few meal ideas related to the list.

Frequent purchases (every two weeks).

Meat

Whole medium/large chicken (lidl) £4 (and no it’s not rubbish meat, it’s actually free range british chicken.)
British beef mince (lidl)£3.49
2 kipper fillets (lidl) £0.99
Tuna (Homebargains) 3 cans for £1.50
Sardines in tomato sauce (lidl) x 2 £0.98
6 pack Pork and apple sausages (lidl) £1.99

Fruit and vegetablesFrozen mixed berries 500g (iceland) £1.50
Carrots (lidl) £0.89
Oranges (lidl) £1
Apples (lidl) £0.892
leeks (lidl) £0.89
bean sprouts 370g (tesco) £0.60
Mixed salad (lidl) £0.89
celery (lidl) £0.89
mushrooms £0.89


Other
Greek yoghurt (lidl) x2 £1.10
Fajitas spice mix (home bargains) £0.39
Trail mix (lidl) £1
Chocolate raisins (lidl) £0.89
eggs 6 pack (lidl) £1
tortilla wraps (lidl) £0.89
Stir fry sauces x 4 (home bargains) £1.20
bread (lidl) £0.55
Bologna sauce (lidl) £0.89
pasta sauce (lidl) £0.89

= £31.08/ 2 = £15.54 per week
Cupboard staples (infrequent, every 3 or so weeks)

4 x light coconut milk (home bargains) £1.16
500g red lentils (lidl) £1
2 x 5 pack ramen noodles (home bargains) £2
4 x canned chopped tomatoes (home bargain) £1.28
Spaghetti 500g (lidl) £0.49
Chicken stock 4 pack (home bargains) £0.99
3 large sweet potatoes (lidl) £1
udon noodles 3 pack (home bargains) £1

=£8.92 /3 = £2.97 a week
Infrequent purchases (every 4 weeks or longer)

Meat220g bag of prawns £3

Fruits and vegGreen beans 900g (iceland) £0.89
Onions 650g (iceland) £0.89
Peas 900g (Iceland) £0.89
sweetcorn 900g (Iceland) £0.89
Mixed bell peppers 650g (iceland) £0.89
bag XXL potatoes (lidl) £3

Other900g cheddar block (lidl) £4.89

Butter (lidl) £1

mayonnaise (lidl) £0.60

=£16.94 / 4 = £4.24 per week

Every 4 months or so
Rice 3kg (lidl) £3
Pasta (3kg (tesco) £3.20
3 x garlic bulbs (lidl) £0.89

=£7.98 x 3 /52 = £0.46 per week.

Rarely bought cupboard staples Mustards and dressings
Curry powders
salt
vinegar
seasoning and herbs

Bought at start of the year, last most of the year and cost about a few pence a week.

Total shopping cost per week = £23.21

Breakfast options
veggie omelette.
tuna pasta salad
sardines on toast
sausage, egg and toast with chopped tomatoes and mushrooms


Lunch options
Tuna veggie wrap
fajita wrap
chicken veg and salad wrap
Chicken/tuna/sausage sandwiches
noodles
pasta salad
rice and curry

Dinner options
Roast dinner
chicken soup
bolognese
stir fry
chicken curry
prawn curry
Kippers and sweet potato fries or mash with veg
etc

Snack and dessert options
Chocolate raisins and yoghurt
Fruit
Frozen fruit and yoghurt blended up to make sorbet


Edit: Just spotted a previous thread of yours "scared to shop in aldi" and a couple of your responses . It's very clear now your food bill is so high because you're a brand snob. And I don't mean that in a nasty way, it's just very clearly true. You'll never save money until you get it into your head that the brands you are used to and the stuff in the prettier packaging is rarely any better than the non branded or lower brand stuff...and it's really not worth the extra money. It's illogical spending.

I eat fair bit f meat to hit my protein goals for fitness so Im not sure I can reduce it :/

lol and here's my list:

Monday:
Pizza hut
Tuesday:
Pizza hut
Wednesday:
Pizza hut
Thursday:
Pizza hut
Friday:
Pizza hut
Saturday:
Pizza hut
Sunday:
Overdraft

Well if you wanna play rugby or something then animal protein is the single most expensive thing (as well as greatest contributor of foods to deforestation and global warming).

Lentils. Soybeans. Natural, healthy and cheap sources of protein.

But pizza hut is so expensive.

Can you manage my expenditures please. I'll pay you. You can motivate me to cook too.

Hahaha, paying someone to save you money? Pretty ironic.

I mean, must end up cheaper than pizza hut everyday tho amri8 ?