How much do you spend on food?

[toofatkat]

I know this is slightly off topic but I want to know what everyone does and how much it costs?

I am feeding myself, my hubby, my son 19, daughter 18 and daughter 13. Essentially 5 adults.

Im very good with my food budget but like everyone else its been getting higher and higher over the last year or so. and to be perfectly honest its beginning to annoy me.

I always write a 2 week menu, make a list of everything I need for it and only buy that. then the only extra I need to buy is top up stuff like milk and bread and possibly some extra fresh veg. I always cook from scratch as my my kids have allergies and excema and I like to know what it going into their bodies. E numbers and preservatives are big baddies for my youngest.

I used to spend around £140-50 per fortnight. This is now around the £160-70 ish mark, which I know is not a huge amount but I could spend that money on something else.

I would love to spend a lot less than this yet still cook healthy food for my kids without using things like sauce in jars etc.

I keep reading the forum on moneysaving expert and they seem to spend £100 per month or less for families. I cant for the life of me work out how they do this properly or healthily.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this?

Am I spending a fortune?

how much does it cost you?

where do you shop and what are you cooking?

or am I being mean?

 

[Mis-behave]

Gee.. Wow.. I spend about 140-150 a week for 2 kids and 2 adults..

I buy from tesco.. Mainly

I go through 4+ bags bananas a week mainly kids.. Plus apples and satsumas.. Etc. Loads green veg Brocoli, cabbage, asparagus, carrots (2 1kgs bags a wk) lots salad stuff, cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers. Eggplants.. Baking potatoes

We eat meat most nights.. Lean pork chops, extra lean mince, roast chicken, chicken wraps.. lamb chops.. harriot beans, eggplant soup.. Spag Bol etc..

I go through 30 eggs a week.. OH breakfast.. Kids too, 7 tins beans a week minimum.. I buy value brands.. Where I can.

OH is fussy about his sandwiches Likes REAL ham slices... Plus a hunk of cucumber and a tomato + half a red pepper and 2 bits fruit every day..

Juice, Diet coke, red bull..

I find the most expensive things are meat, drinks, & cleaning products

Used to spent only 100 a week.. but since Nov/ dec last year it's been creeping up!

 

[butter_on_toast]

For the 2 oof us (me. N hubby) wwe spend 35quiid every 7-100 weeks n every 3 months do a kosher meat shop oof. A few hundred as kosher meat is stupidly expensive but as were jewish n choosse to kkeep kosher,

Sent from my iPhone so excuse the typos

 

[toofatkat]

Interesting. My lot don't go through much fruit but lots of veg so I don't complain as I'd rather they ate veg than nothing at all.
Hubby and son are carnivores so we need quite a bit of meat but me and eldest daughter particularly would be happywith a lot less meat.
The 2 girls take £2 per day for lunch money rather than a packed lunch so that will take my bill up.
I think I'm just more annoyed with the government really. Slowly pushing food prices up particularly healthy food and selling crap stuff cheap.

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

 

[Josimone]

I tend to spend about £70 per week on food thats for me and other half and older son (6) and a tin of baby milk for little one.

A lot of ours tends to be meats too fresh stuff and not many processed foods. I try to cook us all the same meals, but sometimes my lad just wants nuggets, pizza or so on. Even though he loves things like chilli, curry or anything spicy and even his sunday chicken dinners.

On home made spicy meatballs today (shopping day tomorrow).

On top of that we tend to buy milk every other day.

Most of the food i make comes from a cook book called cook yourself thin its great and if anything i think is slightly fattening a just adapt it x

 

[alongwaytogo]

Actually I don't think what you are spending is too bad really. We probably spend around £120 per week for 6 of us (2 adults, 1 18 year old, 1 14 year old and 2 x 7 year olds). The youngest take packed lunches too. My eldest daughter in a vegetarian and I usually make a variation on our "normal" meal to accommodate her. Most of our food is made from scratch too.

You are planning your menus in advance so that's a good thing and usually helps to save money. I read moneysavingexpert too and can't work out how you can feed (and feel well) so many for so little....

 

[Emmamb]

I spend about £70ish a week but can budget buy down to approx £50 if needed. There's me n hubby & 4 sons (12,9,4 n 7months) that is just on food and doesn't include toiletries,wash powder,nappies etc x