[~*Twilight~Zone*...]

Not sure where to place this but thought I'll try here.

I was hoping some of you lovelies could give me an idea what you spend on Groceries per week or fortnight (I do fortnight) and what you actually buy.

There are the 3 of us (Me, DD 16yrs and DS 11yrs) I also have two dogs and two cats.

I'm cutting my budget to the bone everywhere and need some ideas how to cut it down further so I can actually start saving some money instead of living pay to pay and then panicking when something I haven't accounted for comes up.

Any ideas will be a tremendous help.

Thanks

[Lyra]

I set aside $200/week for food. That covers two adults and two children and two cats. Some weeks we go over and some under but it roughly evens out. Things that we do are

* bulk shop at Costco
* go to a wholesale butcher where we can get a kg of mince for $5
* buy fruit and veg from a greengrocer. Just recently I went to coles (because it was just easier) and I tallied up how much I spent and I was gobsmacked it was almost twice what I pay! I can usually get enough fruit and veges for the week from $25 - 30. And it is often closer to the $20 mark
* I menu plan so there is no waste
* We also eat vegetarian 3 - 4 times a week

HTH

[~*Erica*~]

Do you have markets where you can buy your fruit and veg?

Are you able to do a bulk meat order. I used to do this and I could get six months of meat for $5.50 per kilo. You need a big freezer for this though. The butcher used to give me the offcuts for the dogs too.

I'm no help because I live in a remote area and our food bills are astronomical.

Sorry, I'm not much help.

[~*Twilight~Zone*...]

Unfortunately I don't have a butcher or fruit and Veg shop where I shop.

I can travel to one and check it out though.

Do you do price comparisions before going? IE: check what the prices are like at Coles and Woolies then go to the butcher and fruit and veg?

[paddyboo]

I spend $150 a week on 2 adults and 1 toddler. I recently had to cut back as I was overspending so I started buying more homebrands on things like milk, margarine, juice, etc. I also only buy the general pantry items and fruit from the supermarket on the weekend then I go on my cooking days to buy the things I need to make that recipe. Eg if I am making a casserole that will last 3 days, I go buy what I need to make it and the veges to go with it then I will go back in 3 days. This way I have no spoilage.
Also, look at meal servings. If a meal should serve 4 but your or DH thinks it isn;t enough, add more veges, not meat.

I have a sludge fund so I also buy bulk where I can but if you don't have this available it can be tricky.

[jorgo]

we have 200 a fortnight on food
+ 100 a fortnight on a large dog and 2 cats ( who are picky and will only eat the stuff thats 1.20 a can for 80g lol)

and that feeds two adults, but also does his lunches every day( and often needs a decent lot of food when he's doing the physical stuff... that and he's a big guy) , and mine most of the time so basically every dinner feeds atleast four... we often feed mum too who lives downstairs. It also ofen covers grabbing lunch or dinner out atleast a few times in the 2 weeks ( not tlaking flashy stuff here just the local food court and local club meals)

we arent really careful with what we buy and fit in the $200 and usually only go over if there is some kind of meat on good sale and we bought extras, we decide to have some kind of unplanned large bbq ( more then 3 or 4 ppl besides us) or some kind of emergency something ( ya know some moron knocks out an entire shelf in the pantry and everythign breaks LOL)

and i dont meal plan because its impossible with dh's non sheduled shift working .... so i never know more then an evening ahead if i'm going to need leftovers for his work or LOTS of leftovers cause he's doing a 12 hour shift.... or none cause he'll be home and we might go grab food out

[L&E]

Between $250 and $300 per fortnight for 2 adults, 2 kids (10 and 2) and 1 dog. I buy what I can from Aldi (usually around $170-$200) and the rest from Coles/butcher/fruit and veg.

Meal planning is the key. Choose meals where you can buy bulk amounts of meat /f&v. Plan to useful use all ingredients (ie, beef strong and burritos in same week to use all sour cream).

We eat meat most meals, have some snack food each fortnight (chips and nice cheese) and lots I fruit and veg. You can save a lot by swapping cleaning stuff to aldi brands- good ones (IMO) are their dishwasher tablets ($10 for 40), front loader washing powder ($5 for 1.5kg) and hand soap (I buy the big refil bottles and use my original Palmolive containers on the bench).

HTH.

[librablonde]

I spend approx $200 per week for 2 adults and 5 kids, 1 large dog, 1 cat, 4 chooks and 1 duck.

Dog- gets a whole, raw chicken frame/carcass a day that I buy in bulk, $3.50 for 5, or $20 for about 25. Also gets family food scrap and veggies, an egg every day or two, and milk as a treat once a week.
Cat- dry cat food, milk dish and water dish $4.50 every fortnight.
Poultry- bulk purchase of 25kg bag layer pellets, costs $15 per month.

We are vegetarians, so eat lots of veggies, fruit, tofu, eggs and legumes. I guess I spend serious money on fancy cheeses (haloumi, goat's fetta, etc) and exxy things like sundried tomatoes/olives, and laundry supplies. I buy lots of Coles brand items, I buy in bulk or multiples when they have a "2 for the price of 1 deal", and I make almost all meals from scratch- we eat very little processed food. A big treat for us is to buy a family box of hot chips for $6.70 from the local takeaway every month or so and it will feed all 5 kids as a treat. Our freezer does not have frozen meals in it, rather just frozen spinach/frozen peas and puff pastry to make pies and quiches. I always read my supermarket catalogues and am always keeping an eye out for a bargain.

[Chaton]

We spend $140 a fortnight on groceries for two adults, a toddler, a cat and a dog. We do have to top up milk a couple of times in that week, so add another $10 for that as we get a new 3L bottle every 3 days or so. So that is $150 a fortnight.

We meal plan all dinners and take leftovers for lunch.

We do a meat shop about once a month at a wholesale butcher and spend about $80 ($40 per fortnight)

We shop for our produce at a wholesale green grocer near us and spend about $40 per fortnight for a huge box of vegies. We often stock up on whatever is on special/in season and plan our 'snacks' around this. For example this week we got whole seedless watermelons for 29c a kilo, whole kent and butternut pumpkins for 89c a kilo (so I made pumpkin pie and pumpkin spice muffins as well as incorporating pumpkin into a couple of other meals).

We shop for our groceries at ALDI first, and then duck into Coles or Woolies for the few items we can't get at ALDI (for example our cat won't eat ALDI cat food). Between the two we spend the balance of approx $60 (usually about $35 at ALDI, $25 at Woolies).

We make our own wherever possible - yoghurt, bread & rolls, pasta, pizza bases, pizza sauce, pasta sauce, mayo, stock, ice cream & icey poles, salad dressings etc.

We don't use nappies anymore, but previously used cloth nappies. I use a FemmeCup instead of pads or tampons.

There are still a couple more items I wish to trim: We have chooks that I am hoping will start supplying us with eggs soon so we can stop buying them. I'm also hoping to buy a Safety Razor shortly so that I can stop buying disposable razors and hubby can stop forking out for $10 packs of razor cartridges every couple of months.

It sounds like a lot of work, but its not really. Both hubby and I work full time. I guess its lucky I love cooking

[szj]

LIBRABLONDE WHAT AN INSPIRATION YOU ARE!!!! I do hope your Dh and family thank you for the wonderful job you are doing!!!!

As for me....
2 adults, 3 children
All meals at home, bar once a fortnight perhaps pizza/club $5 roast special
I spend about $200 a fortnight at ALDI, then once a mth $40 at Woolies for toiletries and cheese (hate ALDI cheese!!).
Meat we get from ALDI and occassional go to the butcher for more 'special' meats, about $60 every 6 wks.
Fruit and Veg mainly in the $200 from ALDI, sometimes go to the local fruit shop, find ALDI cheaper overall!!

I bake A LOT!! Dh and kids lunchboxed ALWAYS have at least 2 homemade treats in them, so CHEAP, know what's in them and I cook it with our smaller 2 kids...FUN!!