Saving on Groceries
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I have cut our grocery bill from around €200 a week for a family of four to between €70-80 euro a week. I feel like I could still cut it more, but am happy for now. The best way to do this is to plan. If I plan out a menu and shopping list for the week and know exactly what I am going to get where, I will stick to that and stay on or under budget. This takes me about one hour of planning per week and maybe an hour and a half shopping. I figure the savings mean I’m being paid about €40 an hour for the bit of extra effort. I order my meat monthly from sulmeat.com and this forms the basis of my weekly menu plans. My basic process is as follows.
- Quick inventory of fridge and freezer. If things need to be used up, they will appear on day one or two of the menu. Decide what meats I will be using for the week.
- Quick look at sales in the various supermarkets. Aldi Super 6 for instance might mean I can plan to use a certain fruit or vegetable more often than I normally would.
- Look through cookery books, online recipes, food blogs etc. to find recipes to cook during the week.
- Plan a menu for breakfast, lunches and dinner for the week.
- Take account of leftovers. If you will have significant leftovers, then incorporate them into lunch or a new meal the next day.
- Look at your schedule, are there certain days cooking won’t be an option? Plan to cook double the day before or use a freezer meal that was prepared on your planning day.
- Write out your shopping list.
- Start with the discount stores. Write out everything you know you will be able to get at Aldi or Lidl, then follow up with what you need to hit the big retailers for.
- Finish up with any specialty items in different shops.
- Print out any coupons from Pigsback.com or Couponmaster.ie that will save you money off brands that you will definitely buy. Keep in mind that even with a coupon, the store brand is more than likely a better deal.
- Go shopping and STICK TO YOUR LIST!
- Budget for extra milk or bread that you may need to pick up throughout the week.
Some tips to stretch your menu:
- Ground beef, sausage or pork. These are probably some of the cheapest forms of protein out there and can be enjoyed in so many recipes. Some of our favourites include Lasagne, Cannelloni, Kids Favourite Meatballs, Sour Cream Noodle Bake, Goulash, Burgers and Bobotie.
- Salad is a great and healthy way to bulk up a meal. For €2 back in April I bought 6 lettuce plants at a farmers market. I’ve had fresh salad ever since. I clip just the leaves I need for a deliciously fresh taste with no waste.
- Avoid costly “shortcuts.” Grating your own cheese takes maybe 40 seconds longer than pouring it out of a bag, but it can save you a fortune. Next time you are in the shop, compare the price of a KG block of cheddar to a 250g bag. I think you’ll be surprised, and the taste is far superior! Same goes for pre-cut vegetables and salad. Skip it, for the few minutes extra time required, you’ll save a lot!
- Beans, lentils and other pulses are a great way of getting vital protein and nutrients, yet are relatively cheap to buy. Learn about them and try cooking with them!
So those are some ideas I use. What about you? Do you have any money saving tips for grocery shopping and or cooking?
That’s pretty similar to my own shopping routine, but I must be doing something wrong coz we’d usually spend €60 -€80 a week for just two of us. I think my problem, is that I start in the Market in LK and then get whatever I can’t get there in retailers. I might have to start being more picky about what I buy in the market. And I need to try to get to Aldi/Lidl more, I tend to go to Tesco all the time as it’s near my house!! Will try to be more frugal this week and report back.
@Marian: Maz - there’s a great article here about keeping costs low while shopping at the farmers market. http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/shopping_on_a_budget_at_farmers_markets See my comment below. Can’t keep my mouth shut!
All your tips are great - i’m working on putting this into practice for the past few weeks and it’s really starting to come along (the savings I mean). Another tip is to try out a new product in Lidl/Aldi every week that is a “possible” replacement to a branded product that you like - 9/10 it sufficient! I’ve learned that 95% of what you NEED is in aldi/lidl and you get the same shoppers high from buying a trolley full for 40/50 euro in aldi as you do from having an unnecessary food WANT from tesco/superquinn. Plus there’s always extra money for the things you really want or need in life
Don’t take any “help” with you to the supermarket either - no kids/partners and you’ll find it a lot easier to stay within budget.
OK, wait, please explain to me how you have lettuce that is two months old and is still edible. I mean sure, I have two month old lettuce in my fridge but mostly I try desperately hard to ignore it and I can tell you for sure, it is NOT edible…
@Sabrina: Lettuce plants my dear. You snip off the leaves and it keeps coming back! Best €2 I ever spent.
@Margaret: So true Margaret. If the kids come with me they are grabbing things from the aisles and generally get so frustrating that you grab something just to keep them quiet. As for himself if it’s just the two of us he’s so impatient that I always miss things I need!
@omg: I love the idea of trying something new at the discounters each week. Might have to try that!
Wait, you want me to cook AND garden?!?! It’s like the war all over again!
*faints*
I am astonished that you’ve managed to reduce your shopping bill so much, there’s 2 of us and we barely come in under €80 a week and that’s before meat!! We don’t eat a lot of meat though, was telling the husbag and we’ll definitely be shopping around more after seeing this!
@Rachel@fairycakeheaven: I think the key is more the planning of meals than shopping around. Sure Aldi/Lidl they estimate you can save about 30%, but the key is sticking to the list you’ve made and not buying anything you don’t need!
I also keep my household supplies on a separate tab than groceries.
Some great tips thanks. I am terrible for impulse buying and tend to spend a fortune on weekly food even though there are only two of us in the house.
Harro! Arrived here via Thrifty. I think the most valuable lesson I should learn from you is to plan ahead - I go dashing out to the supermarket without a list and end up spending far too much money. We’ve actually been trying a few own brands and although we’ve had a couple of disasters (Tesco’s own weetabix - ew), we’ve found some bargains too. Thanks for this, I’m going to print it out and stick in on my fridge!! x
Hi, errr, the trackback there didn’t include some formating in the bit where I linked to your blog, no offense meant, I thing your site is brilliant and will be putting some of the recommendations in this post into action.
Love this stuff Debs
I’m right there with you, and have been writing it in the Limerick Independent too. I still go to the farmers market but buy veg, eggs and spuds instead of fancy rubbish, but I do get some nice breads. Lidl and Aldi are fab, P.S will get the peanut butter!!
Val
Thanks for your wonderful tips!
The only problem is that it is hard for me to stick to my shopping list. When I am in supermarket or grocery store, I am totally out of control. The result is i picked up hundreds of stuffs that I will never use in my life!
The sites you recommended are both fabulous. I am a frequent visitor of Picksback. And the new site couponmaster is wonderful.
@Jessica: I have removed your links. We welcome comments, but do not allow blatant self-promotion. Please refrain from doing so in the future.
@Val: Won’t go wrong with the Aldi peanut butter. So good!
Don’t forget that a lot of the big grocery retailers will accept coupons for products that you’re not even buying (as the cost of the coupon is usually covered by the manufacturer, not the retailer), so take as many as you can find each time you go shopping. The worst that can happen is they refuse your coupons.
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