Groceries: How Much Do You Spend Per Week

[Peach*]

We spend between $90 and $100 at coles then around $15-$20 at the markets for fruit and veg, but then we have pizza tues nights which is $11.
So around $130 pw thats for me and DP(DD still BF)

[SophieRose]

$100 bucks for Dp and I. Thats based on us going shopping once a month, and we spend about $400 a month. So it works out to $100 a week.

[Oorki Galoorki]

we have a limit of $200... it is usually 140-180
any spare i buy a gift card with so we have a stash for a tight week..

[LaDeeDa]

Ours is normally 170-200 pw for groceries plus $30 for nappies / wipes

there is just the 2 of us and the dog as DS is still a booby baby

[ACJ]

Okay I just did my first online coles order and it came to $199.35 and that included a $45 box of fruit that I am going to split with my mum and SIL so it worked out cheaper then normally going in....YAY!! Going to go to a super butcher here in Yatala with mum on monday and buy some bulk meat with her and start saving there as well. I am getting all excited...Lol!!

[Jessy555]

Okay I just did my first online coles order and it came to $199.35 and that included a $45 box of fruit that I am going to split with my mum and SIL so it worked out cheaper then normally going in....YAY!! Going to go to a super butcher here in Yatala with mum on monday and buy some bulk meat with her and start saving there as well. I am getting all excited...Lol!!

I really want to go to that super butcher, do you recommend it or not? I have to drive from the centre of Brisbane so am not sure if it would be worth it?

[mzcatieboo]

i wish we had Coles online up here i really do i HATE food shopping.. we used to be spending $400 a f/n but im sick of it being such a waste.

We have changed to Weekly shopping but 1 week i buy all the meat and everything to go with meals besides Veg . i started that Today we spend $210 i got a f/n meat. everything that we need as in snacks for 2 weeks for DS. all i need to get is Fruit,Veg,Milk,Bread,Yoghurt & Possibly Toiletries next week and we are set..im hoping that comes too $90 that way we are $100 down from what we would usually spend a f/n

[ttcanxiety]

thats a good idea buying a gift card with the left overs!!!! (also works well when a birthday is coming up u can either give them the gift voucher or shop at store on the card and get a nice gift!

[Indadhanu]

We spend between $100-120 a week, and thats $60-$80 at the supermarket, $15-20 at the butcher, and then extras we get from The Warehouse or Crazy Clarks (like soap, washing powder, dishwashing powder, fabric softener, dishwashing liquid etc).

We go to the butcher every 6 weeks, and end up with 40-50 nights meat for $100-120. Our freezer is REALLY handy. It's a bulk butcher, low prices and a 2kg minimum, plus if you spend over $50 you get three loaves of bread. We get mince, steak, sausages, chicken, roasts, seafood and even kiev or parmagiana filos!

Shel takes her own lunches and drinks, and I only eat at home. We could definately pull the meat tighter, and make about 60-70 dinner meals, but we usually cook double and have left-overs for lunch, or freeze them for lazy-nights. I bake snacks - muffins, pikelets, mini quiches and pies, and freeze it all for snacks so the only "snack food" we buy during groceries is chocolate (hehehe), sometimes some crackers or biscuits if they're on special (woot, In A BisKit on special at Coles this week!) and maybe some ice-cream too if its on special. We love enchilada and taco kits but I only buy when they're $5 each, and that special comes around once every 4-6 weeks.

Plus Jazz just eats what we eat, or I make her food fresh, not the 'baby food' stuff, and cloth nappies and wipes make it cheaper still.

[numa]

Just wondering if anyone out there buys primarily organic/eco friedly products? DH has been suggesting I tighten the purse strings a little, and I realised I had no idea what an average household grocery bill is. We spend about $300 per week (for everything, food, toiletries, baby stuff etc). I split my shop between Woolies and an organic store for fruit and veges. There is DH, myself and our 10 month old son (who eats a lot!) plus 2 cats. I know it would save me a packet to use cloth nappies, but with all good intentions I haven't yet managed to get around to it. I use the semi-biodegradable ones. Also against all plans, DS was weaned onto formula (also organic) recently as we needed to get started IVF for baby #2 because of my age and fertility history.

Having read some posts I'm amazed at how little many of you spend each week! Anyone out there also buy organic, and if so what do you spend per week?

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

I am so lame with thrifty shopping, I need to meal plan. I'm in Perth and there's no Aldi or anything, and the green grocers in my area are NOT fresh at all so pretty much all of my shopping is done at coles. I waste a lot of food too, I forget about things and they go off.

[JoyMama]

hiya
great comments from everyone. I am trying to get by on $200 a week with 4 (2 adults and 2 small yet hungry boys)of us in the house.I am never able to do it!

Each week we do an aldi shop which includes 3 x breads a week, 12 x 1L soy milks (!) some cereals, sauces, a little snacks, some meat, nappies, wipes & sometimes DH's scotch and coke
Thats normally $100-$120
Then the rest - another $100-$150 is at the normal super plus the rest of the week's meat, fruit veg, toiletries and cleaning...

It always seems too much. I no longer buy much in bulk, in advance or stock up just in case as we dont have the extra dollars in the week.

What I think the secret is for us is planning more carefully for the week, including lunches, baking more treats at home and clearing out the pantry more reularly.

I would love to be getting by on $180 a week. see how i go...
will look at simple savings too, heard it is excellent
thanks again
rach
xo

[chody47]

DH and I do the bulk of our shopping once a fortnight and then go an get a few things between these shops that we have run out of (milk, bread etc). In total we would spend about $200 total a fortnight (including all food, toiletries, cleaning products and cat food/litter).

How we do it:
1. We shop for meat and fruit and veg at the markets once a fortnight. Before we go we plan our meals and make sure we have a mix of meals that range in price. We usually get quite a variety, ranging from mince to chicken to beef to pork or fish...we also usually have one vegetarian meal too (sometimes more). We tend to buy meals that will last us two nights so we cook one night and store the other one in the fridge or freezer for later in the fortnight. In total we spend $80-100 at the markets (and this usually includes eating dinner at the markets while we are there).
2. We then do a supermarket shop to get all the extras needed for the meals and our toiletries/cleaning products and cat stuff etc. To avoid all toiletries and cleaning products being needed at the same time (which always seems to happen) I have made a habit of spending $20ish (or more) on these products each fortnight (even if they aren't empty). We usually spend $70ish there.
3. We try to take a packed lunch to work as often as possible. Sometimes DH pops into coles near his work and picks up a roll to make at work as he refuses to eat bread that is not fresh (or bread that has come out of the freezer...).

[JoyMama]

Hi all
We are still trying to figure this out for us at the moment. At the moment we do weekly shops on pay day. We are a hungry family of 2 adults plus 2 boys (6 & 2)
We spend around $200 up to $250 a week on all food, groceries, nappies, meat, F&V. That also includes 90% of off lunches for the family. This is what we do:

1. I make a pretty detailed shopping list before i go, looking at what is left in house and what meals we will have. This has made a big difference with not overspending.

2. We buy about 70% of our groceries from Aldi (usually DH picks up after work on way home becuase the list is usually pretty similar each week and he gets in and out in around 20mins, much faster than me plus kids). AT Aldi we buy all our milk for the week (we go through 12L of soy milk a week!!) plus about 4 loaves of bread which we freeze.

3. Apart from extra fresh fruit and the occassional unplanned extra, we dont shop again for the week.

4. I do a supermarket & butcher shop also on the same day. I get most of my meat from the local butcher as he has good quality and the prices are comparable. I spend around $30-40 a week on meat (always mince, chicken fillets, fish & something nice to grill. I buy a roast lamb once a fortnight from Aldi). We have around 2 veggo meals & one fish dinner a week.

5. On shop day I also get all my chemist things - scripts, vitamins etc.. Separate budget, but I like to do all my errands on one day.

rach'xoxo