$$ spend on food etc each week
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Topic: $$ spend on food etc each week
Posted By: blossombaby
Subject: $$ spend on food etc each week
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:27pm
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we are expecting number one in aug and tryed to work out a little budget for when she/he arrives. and worked out currently we are spending about $300 per week on the weekly shop/ buying lunch/drinks at work and having a take away once a week!!
is this normal because to me it seems awfully huge for 2 people! and theres no way we can afford it once we are down 1 income. what do you guys spend a week on your weekly shop etc? what are some ways i could cut down?? 
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Replies:
Posted By: ?Lolly?
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:31pm
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We spend between 170 and 200 a week for 2 adults, and three kids. (+1 large dog and 2 small cats) I'd say 300 seems rather a lot for 2 people. Maybe start making lunches? That's what we do. ------------- Captain Chaos (5) & the Trouble Monsters (2!) 
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Posted By: floss
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:32pm
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Wow $300 is alot, we have a family of 5 and on average our weekly shopping bill for food is $180 which includes nappies, I would say we probably spend maybe $20 per week on lunches and maybe if we have takeway that is about $30.
I found the best way to cut down was to write a menu for the week and only buy that stuff you need for that, obviously taking your lunches to work ------------- My beautiful big girl Sienna 15.04.06 Double the trouble double the fun Noah & Lola 10/11/07 |
Posted By: ginger
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:32pm
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We spend about that with the 2 of us - I try to keep to around $1000/month, but I'm usually over by around $100-$200, which gives a figure of about $300/week. I count in absolutely everything though - extra bread and milk, that sort of thing. We found that we cut down on spending going to a fortnightly shop and buying veges from the local vege place and meat from the local butcher.
We actually took to doing groceries online at Foodtown for a couple of months which completely got us out of the habit of picking up extras (eg. Ooooh! Lets grab a lemonade ... Yuuummm ... chips ... etc etc) , and sticking to basics, as well as getting us used to not having those things around - effectively breaking all those eating habits as well. Then we went back to the supermarket, and found that we spent a lot less. FOodtown is an expensive place to shop, but it didn't actually cost us a lot more than our grocery bills were as we weren't buying the extras we were going to the supermarket ... if that makes sense!  ------------- Cuinn Lachlan 23.1.09 - 22:00 Antonia Helene 4.8.11 - 09:41 |
Posted By: blossombaby
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:36pm
| thanks will try the online shopping .. i know its seem alot our big shop is usally around $200, and then $100 spent through the week on things like bread, milk nipping back to the supermarket and most likely buying things we don't really need, we try and take lunches to work but df likes something hot for lunch and doesnt always have access to a mirowave |
Posted By: Daizy
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:41pm
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We spend (for about 4 of us) $100 a week. We shop at 4 square.
Atcually it is not that bad, our meat is cheaper than the supermarket and when stuff is on special it is very comparable to the supermarkets, we save on petrol too 
For me the 4 square is good because I am put off buying the stuff I don't really need, and when I am buying exactly what I do need we are wasting a whole lot less. Every few weeks we will head to the supermarket to stock up on the basics. We shop at woolworths and pretty much only buy HomeBrand - They do make some pretty good food and its cheap! I actually prefer a lot of their stuff to the more expensive brands. ------------- 
 
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Posted By: Nikki
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:44pm
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We used to spend about that on just groceries. It was really hard to work out what we were spending as we'd do 300-400+ shops but not every week, then smaller ones in between. Now we spend about 200/wk (2 adults, toddler, baby and 2 cats) as I'm shopping weekly the last couple of months. I write a list of what we really need that we've run out of, and apart from that I'm just trying to buy less junk (to lose the baby weight not save $s really), and we do the odd shop at the butcher to stock up on meat or one big shop a month to stock up on meat on sale. We have an extra freezer downstairs to store it. Every few weeks I try to do a smaller shop too, and then just pick up extra fruit/veges/milk/bread at the fruit shop. We try to buy more home brand stuff now too.
That doesn't include DH's lunch money or my coffee / snack / lunch money or takeaways / dinners out - so we would probably spend 300/wk too altogether. ------------- DS (5yrs) and DD (3yrs) |
Posted By: Caro07
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:46pm
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We spend about $70/week at Countdown and then an extra $50/week on milk,bread,fruit,meat etc. That is for 2 adults and 1 child. We use cloth nappies so don't have the added expense of nappies and wipes.
We only supermarket shop once every 5 weeks though - that minimises temptations and we only buy the basics, cook from first principles etc. I try to homebake rather than buy biscuits/treats. there was a long thread on here not too long ago (started by Jazzy I think) on how to spend less on groceries and being thrifty. Well worth a read  ------------- Caroline, SAHM to 2 boys, S (4 years old) and J (2 years old) 
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Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:50pm
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Our budget is $170 per week for 2 adults and 2 kids for everything (general groceries, lunches, dinners, meat, fruit...everything). I tend to cook for other families on average once a week and that comes within that too. I don't like to skimp on food and think we eat a lot & very well. ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:51pm
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We have a budget of $165 for groceries and that includes 'sposies for 2 kids.
If you meal plan, write lists and avoid impulse buys, shop at green grocers for the fruit and veg and mad butcher or the like for the meat you should be able to reduce your spend by heaps. Also we used to budget $25/week for takeaways which was basically 1 night off cooking. -------------  
 
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Posted By: Mrs_B
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 8:57pm
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Wow $300 is a lot! Oh the joys of being a DINK couple with disposable income, I remember those days fondly...
I am now Mrs Frugal. We spend around a total of $160-180 a fortnight for 2 adults and one baby - nappies but no formula as he is BF. We very rarely buy lunch, maybe a couple of times a month. We only eat takeaways once a fortnight if that and I buy milk and bread in bulk and freeze it so I don't have to go back to the supermarket and be tempted to buy other things we don't need. I also buy meat in bulk when it is on special and freeze. DH makes homebrew so we save a small fortune on beer and probably only have one bottle of wine a week (although this would probably be more if I wasn't BF'ing!) We buy veges from the local greengrocer which is much cheaper than the supermarket plus we grow our own cucumbers and tomatoes. Oh and we have 3 chickens so don't need to buy eggs. Oh and write a list and stick to it! |
Posted By: Lulu
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 9:02pm
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We spend $270 per fortnight on groceries, and about $80 per fortnight on meat. I would go to the vege shop 3 x per week and spend $20 each time. So about $235 per week and that is for 2 adults 1 child. Does not include wine or cat food as the cat is on medicated food from the vet and our stupid supermarket is in a dry zone so does not sell wine! ------------- Lou http://www.babysfirstsite.com"> 
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Posted By: kellie
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 9:02pm
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Here is the link to the thread jazzy started. It has heaps of advice. http://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=30653&PN=1&TPN=1 - money saving thread ------------- 
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Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 9:10pm
| we spend around $350 for two adults, two kids and a cat and dog. we eat really well, I think but hardly ever have takeaways - mainly cause most of the time I can make something better and quicker. I bake a LOT, and shop around. we meal-plan based on whats on special and have a "base list" of what we need in the cupboard and work around that. we buy fruit and veges at the market (around $40 a week - this is included in our grocery budget) |
Posted By: Treen
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 9:34pm
Yeah, we spend about $300 a week on just the two of us and that includes DH's packed lunches. I do the grocery shopping once a week and I stick to a shopping list. DH packs a hissy fit each week as he reckons he could shop cheaper. We both have expensive taste, though. Eye fillet, lamb racks, corn fed chicken, free range bacon... I bought one of those food budgeting magazines just recently but tossed it in the bin when DH turned his nose up at the recipes – a lot of tomato based pastas, tuna bakes and shepherd's pie.  I sooo want one of those Pak n' Save Shop n' Go thingies up here in Auckland. I should buy that Destitute Gourmet recipe book, too.------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 9:53pm
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I shop every 4wks and budget $400 at the supermarket, $90 at the butcher and $50 at the fruit and vege weekly which incls bread and milk, so $170 per week for 2 adults, toddler, baby and 2 cats. DH takes his lunch every day and I am trying to buy takeaways maybe once or twice a month max ------------- Lindsey 
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 21 March 2010 at 9:59pm
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We spend $300 a fortnight for 2 adults + Toddler + baby . Thats everything meat vege etc. I am also Coeliac so cereal bread pasta etc is at a lot more expensive. We get our eggs from a fruit shop cause they were 1/2 the price of the supermarket ones and we shop @ Foodtownand buy homebrand stuff too. We get more items for the same amount than we did @ Pak'n'save . Dh takes hislunch every day and we have takeaways once a fortnight $10 chinese takeaway. '
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Posted By: MyLilSquishy
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 3:28am
| we spend about $100 for a months worth of meat from thr butcher and sbout $100-$150 for 2 weeks worth of groceries for 2 adults and do take out once a week (DP plaays futsal and i dnt fancy cooking at 9pm when we get home lol) |
Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 7:48am
| Our budget is $150, but we more often than not spend $200 a week. That includes nappies and formula for two babies. We eat quite well (lamb fillets, roasts, chicken breasts, sirloin steak etc) and DH takes his lunch most days...he is happy with sandwiches though, which makes life easier. |
Posted By: LouD
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 8:09am
How do you manage $10 on chinese takeaways?? IM dying to know.......even our fish n chips for 2adults and one child comes to at least $20.....and chinese about the same for two dishes (one combination chowmein and one sweetnsour pork and rice)...... Do you get maybe a $10 smorgasboard and all share it?? |
misscheeky wrote:Posted By: clover
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 8:22am
I'm interested to know that too, we spent $26 on Chinese on Friday... |
Posted By: jaz
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 8:43am
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You could get one large dish plus a few dollars worth of chips to share I guess. That would work out to about $10. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: _SMS_
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 9:26am
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We spend $300 a fortnight for 2 adults & a baby. That includes nappies & wipes.
Some times it can get as high as $360 a fortnight but i buy good quality foods. good cuts of meat etc. It doesnt help that the cost of food has gone up so much :( -------------  
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Posted By: flakesitchyfeet
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 9:53am
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We're on 260 a f/n, but our toddler eats what we do now and she's in cloth. We are rural and shop at the closest New World, sticking to the budget brands where we can, and the milk/bread runs really are milk and bread runs. We have 20 a f/n to treat ourselves. it's normally 50, but we both purchased ipod touches on interest free hp and are paying them off ourselves rather than out of savings
I hate meal planning, so I have a list of 25 favourite meals and pick 14/15 each shop to prepare for, then choose on the day -------------  http://lilypie.com"> |
Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 9:56am
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We spent $$250-$300 a week for 2 adults and 2 toddlers. That includes nappies, wipes, along with Gluten and Dairy free products.
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Posted By: Raspberryjam
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 10:18am
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We were the same , if not more actually, before babies. Make lunches, only have wine in the weekends, eat more chicken than steak, buy a plunger / espresso and not have morning coffee at work
Actually if you start now its quite amazing how much you will save! ------------- http://lilypie.com] 
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 12:18pm
We just get one dish and share, it does me DH and dd. I am getting into portion control cause both Dh and I have preggie weight to lose
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Posted By: Kalimirella
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 4:01pm
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We have 275 budgeted for groceries a week that does between 4 and 6 adults for the week. Def do made lunches, we have a fortnightly meal plan that we can mix and change so not boring. This is b4 baby but we will use cloth so the only extras will be liners and maybe wipes. ------------- Kiara is 3 and Teagan is 2, now we're expecting our long awaited 3rd! http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 4:07pm
| Kailimirella try using cloth wipes, they get the poo off heaps better and you just chuck em in with the nappies. Flannels are a good size. And if you're brave enough you could use reusable fleece liners too . |
Posted By: blossombaby
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 8:26pm
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wow interesting thread, thanks guys.
might try the fornight shop seems people spend less .. i guess in saying that we do have alot of waste, have started buying nappies wipes etc weekly so we don't feel it when bubs is here, will check back on that other post. might take cash next shop so i have to put back what we don't need haha insted of just swiping eftpos!! |
Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 22 March 2010 at 9:21pm
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With the wipes. We use chux cloths cut into squares and then just do a cold rinse with them only before the main wash to get any poo off. They last for ages.
Both my girls get really rashy when using disposable wipes even the sensitive ones. Just make sure you get the plain chux cloths and not 'infused' ones. -------------
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Posted By: LG
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 10:57am
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We've been talking about this a lot lately, we spend about $250 - $300 a week for 2 adults & 1 toddler. K eats pretty much the same food we do although i buy her a lot of her own snacky foods (yoghurts, fruit bread etc that just she eats). I meal plan but also stock up on things that are on special. I think we must have expensive tastes or something because it seems expensive too me.
I second the wipes advice as kaelin reacted to wipes. I still use the cut up chux cloths now, they do last for ages and are cheap to replace -------------  Angel Baby Aug '12, Feb '13 |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 11:03am
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We spend $100 a week for 2 adults, we don't buy expensive cuts of meat, mostly mince, sausages and chicken.
No baby yet, plan to BF and use cloth nappies. To reduce the weekly shop. Might look at shopping at the local fruit and vege rather than the supermarket, the mad butcher is too far away to make it worth the savings. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: Joesie
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 11:13am
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We spend between 180 and 200 a week for 2 adults, 1 toddler, one baby a dog and a cat. I really try to stick to my shopping list every time .
I would love to buy more different fresh fruits and veges but they are often way to expensive. ------------- Clarisse and Chloe, our two little princesses |
Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 11:20am
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I don't think I've ever spent $300 a week on groceries...
Funnily enough since we've moved up here, our grocery bill has reduced by $100+ a week... when we lived in Onehunga we spent between $200 - $260 a week now that we live up here, our most expensive has been todays shop of $185.. our cheapest has been $115. That's for the 5 of us, includes meat and vege... Try buying supermarket brands over the well known ones. Make a list. Buy an extra loaf of bread and bottle of milk and stick it in the freezer. If there are good specials eg: 2 for $? buy those so you have got extras in the cupboard that you won't have to buy the next time. If you are buying your fruit and vege at the supermarket, stop doing that and buy from your local F&V shop instead. Pay attention to the supermarket junk mail.... look for things on special and get those when you can... ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3) 
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Posted By: Two_of_each
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 11:20am
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We are a family of 6 with 2 in nappies. We use a couple of cut up cloth nappies as reusable wipes for when we are at home and spend about $250 per week in total. We cut out chips and biscuits in an effort to get healthy and were amazed how much that saved us.
Planning the meals helps a lot but our biggest expense would be bread and milk so we travel to find the cheapest milk and bread that we can. Baby is breast fed so we don't have formula to worry about and we make our own baby food out of whatever we have been eating ourselves |
Posted By: ItchyFeet
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 12:13pm
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I buy the UHT trim milk - once refridgerated you can't taste the difference between that and fresh milk. I never run out of milk so don't have to get top ups during the week, and because it's only in 1 litre packs, I never throw any out because it doesn't go off quickly. DH goes through 2 litres of lite milk a week and the supermarket brand is the cheapest at $3.20 - I usually get the 1 litre UHT packs for between $1.60-$1.70 on special, so the price is more than comparable.
We made our own delicious chicken tikka last night - buying ingredients on special meant it cost no more than $4 per serve (even allowing for electricity) and is healthier than buying as a takeaway - the same quantity bought as a takeaway would cost $9-$10 each. We buy a lot on special, bulk buy if necessary, and I've taught DH to read price stickers to work out the best value - often 2 packets of biscuits on special work out cheaper than the same two packaged as one. We eat extremely well, including expensive items like fresh salmon, have been stocking up on baby stuff in the weekly shop, and including dog food, we spend $150 per week for 2 adults and one dog. I nearly always cook extra at night so we have lunches for the next day, or re-freeze so we have meals prepared instead of having to resort to takeaways. I tend to meal plan after I check what meat I already have in the freezer - we keep a list on the side of the fridge and cross off as we go so I always know what possible meals I have left or what extra I need to buy to make a particular meal. For example, I currently have in my small freezer, 15 pre-frozen meals for 2, plus 9 different meat-based meals. That equates to more than 3 weeks of meals so any shopping I do over the next few weeks only needs topup items or buying on special to stock up, thus cutting down on wasting food I don't need or won't end up cooking. My one luxury is bought coffee (on top of the grocery budget), but I'm not buying it daily while I'm on parental leave because it has to come out of my own pocket money. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Mama2two
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 2:54pm
Where are you shopping! Man that is so good! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 3:22pm
Countdown Orewa!! If I'd known we'd save so much I would have moved sooner!!! ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3)
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Posted By: Mama2two
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 3:41pm
That's it - I am going to start shopping in Orewa from now on ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 4:10pm
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Hmm I wonder if that would be worth the petrol. Takapuna to Orewa...... -------------
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Posted By: Hunnybunny
Date Posted: 23 March 2010 at 4:36pm
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I don't really know how much we spend on food each week. I think our last lot of grocerys had been over a month since the previous shop!! We generally just go when everything is getting low! I think it cost just on $300 last time. We had topped up a couple of times with bread and milk and fresh fruit, but wouldn't do that more than once a week.
Although I'm looking at buying milk to freeze, and UHT milk. Combined we should never run out of milk. And we now bulk buy bread when its on special (we got given a little chest freezer). Whenever stuffs on special, I buy heaps. EG cheese was 1kg for $8 so I went and got 4 blocks. That should keep us going for a couple of months at least! We don't eat a lot of cheese anymore. I always try to buy stuff like pasta/rice/ pasta sauce/ canned veges/ tomato paste/ juice sachets/ canned tomatoes/ frozen veges if we need it or not, (if its on special) keeps the pantry stocked with enough for us to make up a basic meal if need be! I also make a meal list of about 20 meals, and then can choose off that what to buy, so we have enough for quite a few meals. This doesn't always work. but I try!! |
Posted By: Babe
Date Posted: 10 April 2010 at 10:15pm
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Holy crap I'd love to have $300 a week to spend on food! Just reading through doing a catch-up and had to comment on this one!!
We spend a max of $120 a fortnight for 2 adults and a toddler plus 2 - 3 nights a week we have guests for dinner. I trawl recipe books for yummy, cheap bulk meals that use small amounts of meat which means 2kgs of mince can do a minimum of 6 dinners plus 6 good-size lunches for DP coz its cheaper for him to take leftovers than sandwiches. I get things like venison neck chops and make irish stews, thick soups, etc and I do at least one vegetarian meal and one fish meal a week. We use powdered milk and I double our butter by mixing in milk powder, oil and gelatine. Vege gardens are a good idea or buying veges and fruit in season when they're cheap. I buy toilet paper from warehouse - 40 rolls for like $3 I think and I make all our cleaners. Theres heaps of ways to save money good luck!-------------   
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Posted By: Raspberryjam
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 11:13am
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ok, so I want to know what you guys eat... We dont eat mince or sausages much but we dont each eye fillet much these days either, I thought we were doing quite well, but since this thread started I have been watching a bit closer..
Im still spending 300 a week, but that includes nappies and a maybe a box of beer or a couple of bottles of wine, but that is still over $200 a week for 2 adults and a midget How do I get this food bill down!! ------------- http://lilypie.com]
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Posted By: angel4
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 2:06pm
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We budget for 3 adults (two males and me) and one toddler (who eats as much as i do if not more)
We spend $100 on our groceries. This includes meat, and bread and milk for the week. I generally spend $80 at the supermarket which includes chicken and occasionally pork and then $10 for the bread and milk runs (we buy these as we need them) and the other $10 goes into the meat allowance as we buy half a cattle beast once a year. We don't buy alcohol in our weekly budget (dh buys it out of his pocket money if he wants to drink  ) however we do buy 5 bottles of coke 
Our whole budget for everything is in cash. I withdraw $210 each week to cover groceries, pocket money, petrol, kids clothing and activities. And move $70 each week in the bills account to cover power and phone. I am thoroughly enjoying being able to spend $100 on food each week. Because at one point last year we were getting by on $50 which was extremely hard Our budget works really well, because everything is accounted for. I take a calculator to the supermarket and try to leave henry at home as then i can think more clearly lol. |
Posted By: nannyabbey
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 2:10pm
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we've just been talking about this at our place because we are getting closer to bubs arriving and my income DROPPING! And cause our food bill last month was very high! i think there being five weeks in the month I ended up doing 3 (fortnight) shops which bumped it up...........but also it was all those extra trips to the supermarket to grab something we didnt have and ending up with a few more things! We at the mo are on a budget of $250 a fortnight for 2 adults and i'm a frugal girl from way back so happy to not spend that!
The last few months we hadn't really tracked it because i had nausea till about 24 weeks and couldn't stand alot of food - and yet looking back at it (kia ora to microsoft money) we didn't spend as much cause we were living off meat and veg! The best way i've found to save money on shopping is to get in touch with my pioneering woman side! make our own bread, add lentils to mince dishes to stretch them, soak and cook my own kidney beans etc and pretty much pretend that food like chippies, fizzy and 'instant' food doesnt exsist. Also knowing the true price of pre made foods can encourage you to spend a little more time and make it yourself - did you know you can make 6-8 yummy tortillas with a couple cups of flour, water, oil and salt! And in shops they charge you 6-8 PLUS dollars for ready made ones. I meal plan for a fortnight then write a list, then go shopping in my own pantry first before i go to pac n save/fruit and vege shop/ Mad butcher etc. And sometimes the meal plan might change depending on meat specials etc. I am also one of those weird people that carry a note book with me while shopping that has foods listed and prices so that i can really see if its a special or not. man supermarkets can fib about things! pac n save had $5 deals going on not long ago and the eggs that i usually buy went up in price even tho they were selling the idea that they were cheaper! we eat really well by being creative - its actually hard to eat out cause we are not quite satisfied after eating take outs or paying ridiculous price for something we know we could make at home a whole lot cheaper! its one of those things - it will take effort but you'll benefit from it......... |
Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 2:27pm
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Keep your eye out for specials on meat. Last week we bought a catering pack of Ingham's chicken portions $25 for 5 kgs. This is going to last us for ages.
Buy supermarket own brand stuff. Home Brand stuff isn't that much different from brand stuff. Especially when it comes to things like butter. Woolworths select nappies are better IMO than Huggies and Treasures and cheaper too. Buy pumpkins now and make lots of pumpkin soup for winter and freeze it. If you cook it up with a few bacon bits and serve it with bread it can do a hearty lunch or a light dinner. Stirfries are your friend! As are crockpots which turn tough (comparitively) cheap meat into tasty meals. We also make a big amount of mild chilli con carne in the crockpot quite often and then use it for burritos for dinners. Kids love 'build your own' dinners. The extra tortilla wraps in the pack (if you don't make your own) will keep for a while and then you can do crumbed chicken wraps with chicken breast. Our meal plan for the last week: Chicken and rice in the crockpot Pumpkin soup Fish (frozen portions) Shepherd's pie Suasages and lentils in the crockpot Burritos Couscous and winter veges -------------
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Posted By: nannyabbey
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 3:48pm
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chicken and rice in the crockpot sounds yum bobbie............is there a recipe for that or do you just chuck it all in???
mmmmmmmmm comfort winter food..............my fav! |
Posted By: sem
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 4:10pm
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I normaly budget about $400 a month on groceries.
We do have a vegie garden, and normally don't buy ready made or pre packaged food (ie pasta sauses etc), drinks, bisquits and sweets. I buy meat from the butcher, and fruit/vegies I need from the vegie shop. This budget does not include snacks, take away and lunches and eating out. We bank with Kiwibank and do most of it online. I just discovered their new feature called HEAPS. It allows you to catagoriese every amount of money you spend from your account, ie Pak'n'Save - groceries; bakery - snack; diary - snack; Burger Fuel - take away; Max - clothing, ect Then groups this into catagories like FOOD, FUN, HOME, TRAVEL and OTHERS It is very interessting to see where you actually spend your money. Last week we spend about $170 on food in total (incl. take aways, lunch and snack) Our spending is a bit out of whack at the moment as I still have MS and don't cook or eat much at all but live on rubbish food at the moment. But I think this will be a very interesting and useful feature for me in the future to keep an eye on where and how we spend our money.  Oh god! I just realised that amount of $170 did not even include a supermarket shop last week. It was all spend on snacks, take aways and other rubbish! ------------- Here we go again, another baby on it's way! 
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Posted By: angel4
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 5:25pm
| susyl - that sounds like a wonderful feature. I was saying to dh that i wish we could 'label' our money within our account. Wonder if westpac will copy. |
Posted By: blossombaby
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 5:40pm
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since i have posted this i have tried so hard to cut back and have managed a little bit but no idea how people do it for $100!!
eg buying bulker meat packs insted of the 1 meal type ones. i think our problem is we are kind of fussy etc only watties tomato sauce, i will only use eco power soap pwder, and dp like sweet snack treats. hoping to find some domesti godess in me to doing baking for a week and frezzing meals but am yet to .. looking forward to soups in winter tho!! i also hate eating left overs never have liked them so we do still waste a bit of food! i hope this has helped people as much as me and i will keep trying to cut our food bill back!!!!!! |
Posted By: Raspberryjam
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 6:10pm
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ok i did the shop today thinking i was being super tight - without nappies it was $200 an i forgot about 10 things so probably add $30 to that!!
------------- http://lilypie.com]
http://lilypie.com]
http://lilypie.com]
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Posted By: _H_
Date Posted: 11 April 2010 at 7:01pm
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Wow DP and i need to start working on our food spending! we would spend about $600 a month on food but as we both work fulltime we like easy things (pre-made things not so much takeaways)
Oh and thats only for 2 of us (plus a dog and 3 cats) ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 12 April 2010 at 4:58pm
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I think if you are working full time then fair enough as the last thing I wanted to do when I got home from work was cook a whole meal.
When you're a SAHM you do (usually) have a bit of time in the day to prep the meal. I have no idea how people do it for $100 either. There are cuts of meat for example that are hard to come by in Auckland without going to specialty butchers. But my mum, who is a southerner, assures me that it is easier to get these down south. nannyabbey it was a bit of trial and error. I just threw in 2 cans of tomatoes, some herbs, a chopped onion and garlic, 1.5 cups of rice, 1 cup chicken stock (with the water just boiled) and some chicken pieces that I had browned first. Cooked for about 5.5 hours on low. If I didn't have a toddler I would have done it with spicy tomatoes or added some chilli or similar. ETA: I took a leaf out of babe's book and did crockpot porridge last night. It was wonderful this morning. I think it will be a common breakfast from now on. -------------
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Posted By: bebe01
Date Posted: 12 April 2010 at 5:29pm
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This thread is awesome! i too am expecting in August, so tried to budget what we "may" spend once bebe is a toddler.. (beign off work for a year i have to be super anal over our budget!).
You mums have got it sorted! have a few good tips already from here - wish i could just print it off and highlight all the goodies to put on our fridge to remind me! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: ?Lolly?
Date Posted: 12 April 2010 at 5:43pm
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*shock* We are short of cash at the moment so we did a bare minimum this week and spent $100. Granted we didn't need animal food or cleaning products or bread I think that is pretty bl00dy amzing!
ETA: OHH! Crock pot porridge intrigue's me! going to read back and find the recipe. Can anyone tell me where to find it? ------------- Captain Chaos (5) & the Trouble Monsters (2!)
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Posted By: Babe
Date Posted: 12 April 2010 at 6:52pm
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When I was working fulltime I just used the crockpot then too. If I had an early start I'd put dinner in the crockpot at night, cook it on low and turn it off in the morning then switch it on and high as soon as I got home. Give it about 1.5-2hrs and its hot and ready to eat. I can't eat alot of pre-made stuff (even some tinned tomatoes are a no-no!) so I didn't have any option though.
Making meals that can stretch is a good idea - a 1 kg pack of mince makes lasagne (beefed out with layers of vege) one night, meatballs (beefed out with soaked bread - almost doubles the amount) the next, cowboy casserole (beefed out with lentils) the next, then for the fourth meal we make tortillas (homemade of course ) with mince and salad-y stuff. Each meal makes atleast enough for us and a good lunch for DP the next day plus it stretches for any visitors we have. Another fave is stew - 500g of cheap meat, garlic, fresh herbs, beef stock, tomatoes, a tin or 2 of beans (I use 4 bean mix) and soy sauce served on pasta one night, made into a pie the next (I use homemade or brought if I'm in a hurry), served on jacket potatoes the night after then the last little bit gets made into a thick soup with barley, beef stock and veges.
I find it easier to cook that way anyway. Its fast and frugal and takes very little prep. -------------
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Posted By: Babe
Date Posted: 12 April 2010 at 6:58pm
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Emiloly - porridge is just made the same as on the stove. I use 2 cups of porridge and 4 cups of water with a pinch of salt (optional), switch to low on crockpot and leave. Best done last thing at night and also remember if you only make a small amount (less than 2 cups of porridge really) then do it in a bowl and put that into the crockpot coz if you put it directly into crockpot bowl then it gets hard and crusty and bleuck!! -------------
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Posted By: Hunnybunny
Date Posted: 13 April 2010 at 7:53pm
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Well we done grocerys tonight, $250. Admittedly there wasn't much meat in there (just frankfurters for soup and 2x frozen chickens). But we will get meat from the butcher for 6 trays for $25, which we split the trays in half...
Lots of veges, although we'll have to top up fresh vege/fruit and milk in a week and half/2 weeks which will probably be $30-$40 ish... Haven't done grocerys in over a month, so i didn't think that was too bad!!! |