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...).
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.
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