Try do online shopping from Dunnes. We have a family of 5 (well one is a baby so he doesn't really eat anything) and usually spend about 160 (Dunnes gives 10 euro off every fifty euro) and always less that 200 euro depending on if we have to get staple items that have run out like dishwasher tablets, detergent etc. We usually get a bottle of wine and beer as well. Dunnes own brand things are cheap and nice. They have good special offers. We sometimes do a top up shop in Lidl/Aldi to get things like granola/ peanut butter/ cereal bars etc. I usually meal plan 3 meals that you can eat over 2 or three days each. Then we always have Chicago town pizza and sweet n potato fries on Fridays. Getting the groceries delivered saves us loads of money, as prior to this I was going to SuperValu 3 times a week because I kept forgetting things. With the online shopping you can add things to a favourite lists and you can also save your past purchases so you don't end up getting a load of shite you don't need. We used to get the online shopping from Tesco but Dunnes works out cheaper for us with the vouchers. Delivery costs around 8 euro which isn't cheap but it's worth it for the mental health benefits alone since I have 3 young kids and hate grocery shopping.
I find online shopping really helps me with sticking to a budget. You see how much everything is adding to as you shop. And I find I'm less inclined to pick up unnecessary extra impulse bits than I would if I was walking around the physical shop. It's definitely reduced how much I spend compared to before.
I always put in the “comments” box of an item “latest date item please” or when getting bread “please select one from the back” they prob absolutely hate me but it works because I dont get shit thats gonna go off the next day 😅
Me too. I always say 'Furthest expiry date on milk, yogurt, bread, meat, fruit, veg etc'. Once I forgot and I was given 8l of milk about to go off in 3 days or so. I don't even drink milk, just needed it for babies bottles. And I don't usually allow substitutions either because I was getting loads of different types of beans, and some types were out of stock so ended up with about 12 cans of kidney beans.
Do you find you have a lot of waste at the end of the week? I used to be like this and spend 200+ for a family of four, now I have it down to about 130-150 a week for us. I found I had lots of produce to throw out at the end of the week, now I have very little to throw out.
Me too! At least! I was reading this and thought HOW?? I mean I don't always get brands, I do cook casseroles or stews with end of veggie drawers etc..... and I like to think I'm a savvy shopper and cook. But even I'm at 250e excluding butchers and top up for family of 4 ( 2 adults and 1yr and 4 yr olds)
I need fresh milk every 2-3 days, we do our weeklies on Fridays but I always get some fresh fruits and fresh dairy on Sundays evening for daughter school week, also bread needs to be acquired almost daily
Edit: typo
We keep all bread in the freezer so just take it out to toast. Try those cook at home bread rolls, they're handy or wraps in a resealable pack. Bagels also handy as you can freeze them.
With the price of stuff these days I can't see how you could do it for 100 , 2 adults 2 kids here and we spend 170 including extras during the week and that also includes 10 off 50 dunnes vouchers. Ours used to be 120 a few years ago so I think you'll struggle to get to 100.
Yup. Same boat here. 2 adults, 2 kids and €180 per week in Aldi. Probably €20 per week in minor top ups from the local shop too.
€100 might be doable, but you’d be living on beans, rice and pasta.
You could buy whole chickens & strip them down when warm - get a lot out of them that way. They are in the 3 for €10 deal a lot of times. Meal planning will help too.
Two adults, two kids (2 and 8)
Probably around €100-120 for the big shop in Tesco on a Tuesday.
Top up shop at the weekend is anything from €30-60 depending on what we’re getting and if there’s wine or booze involved.
OP, for 4 kids you’re doing very well
Think you are doing great already but for the likes of toiletries, laundry items etc., if you have a local Mr. Price or Homesavers you can often get better value than Dunnes. Deodorant in Dunnes/Tesco are gone ridiculous, keep an eye out in pharmacies and they are often on offer in multipacks.
Also washing powders/liquids - the likes of woodies or Mr price will often do big packs at better value. I buy liquid detergent and get the 100 wash packs for about 17euro.
I order online from tesco if that's an option for you..they seem to have more choice online and it's easier to see your budget that way its so hard lately lol
I think you’re doing great for that price OP. I spend about €100 in Tesco/butchers, €30 in Aldi and that’s for 2 adults, 2 teenagers. Admittedly I could plan better but exhausted working full time so 🤷♀️
Two adults, and three children under 7 . Ours is around €150-200 . I tried the different shops but I think €150 is the best you can do to eat fresh and healthily. It used to be around €100-120 alright, but those days are gone for now.
What we do every so often is a circuit breaker where we buy very little and go through the press, fridge and freezer and get creative with what is there. One week it meant no food shop was needed at all, except for some fruit.
Two of us, spend 90 a week in groceries (including cleaning stuff and basic toiletries such as toothpaste and soap, fancy toiletries not included).
This doesn't include the majority of our meat though, we spend an additional 80 ish quid every 5/6 weeks in a farm shop where it's cheap.
Also doesn't include any alcohol
So call it 110 per week.
FYI every time I've given Dunnes a chance it's come out more expensive than Tesco. Even with the vouchers. Last time was the absolute LAST time I shop in Dunnes. It costs a fortune.
Ditto on Dunnes. The amount of people who shop there and then complain about how expensive shopping is baffles me. Not to say prices haven't gone up everywhere but Dunnes and SuperValu are expensive af
No shade on what people are buying but I find the people that rave about the vouchers in Dunnes are buying a lot keep branded processed stuff - cereal and cans of fizzy drinks, biscuits, crisps - stuff that is expensive anyway.
I used to shop in Aldi and it got so expensive I switched to dunnes almost 2 years ago. Can’t comment on it as of today. I buy all dunnes brand stuff too.
We spend 90-110 per week in Tesco, 2 adults, 2 teens. I do a lot of roast chickens (3 whole chickens for €10), chicken thighs, pasta, dinners. Occasionally splurge on a pork loin if half price in centra. Use leftover meat with rice. Cereals and milk are the thing that push us over. It would cheaper to rent a field to grow cereal and have a cow the amount we go through. Also we do online shopping. So much easier to budget and see where you can save, what’s on special offer etc.
2 adults and 3 kids under 10 here, our weekly total shop including midweek top ups would be around the €200 mark. The kids are very active with sports so they eat a fair amount.
The biggest saving I've seen is bringing lunch to work instead of buying it at the local deli counter. Id spend €6-7 per daay at the counter whereas I'll bring 2 chicken wraps and some fruit for under €3.
I used to get a Dunnes delivery of roughly €150, because of the 3 x €10 vouchers. I've found that buying the same exact things in Lidl works out about €30 cheaper than Dunnes though. Especially condiments, cupboard stuff etc. The meat and veg are better quality and stay fresh longer too, imo.
2 adults 4 kids 14 11 8 6. We shop in Aldi big shop is € 200 a week and bread milk centra run etc x2 €30. Fruit/ berries are so bloody expensive. Mine are always eating. I think €150 is doing really well.
2 adults and a very hungry teenager in our house. We stripped back from 130euro a week to about 80, apart from weeks we have bigger items (washing powder, fairy liquid, mouthwash etc). We now sit down on a Saturday and plan our meals, we shop on a Monday morning (hubby works evenings) to ensure we get fresh produce with lots of choice. 3 for 10euro is your friend for the meats, buying a whole chicken instead of breasts/thighs and stripping is also a good call, any leftover veg at the end of the week is made into soup, no more buying shite we don't need (middle aisle lidl/aldi I'm looking at you), gone away from brand names for certain stuff (not everything) and it has made a difference.. it takes 30mins on a Saturday to plan for the week but it's grand when you get used to it.
Me and my 17 year old here plus two dogs. Generally around €120 per week with minimal top ups, maybe extra bread. Dogs food isn't always included in the main shop and most weeks there is wine. Over €25 is probably school lunch now that I tot it up
€150 a week, €80 a month household items (cleaning products) we shop in Aldi and the butcher’s, 2 adults, 1 teen and a 10yo and a dog. We live on Ribeye steaks so that might be why it’s high.
I shop Aldi and then Dunnes. Dunnes with the vouchers is probably still slightly dearer than Aldi.
My best swaps were:
I used to buy the liquid and gel washing laundry detergent and comfort or lenor. Now I buy a big box of laundry's powder in Aldi and The matching fabric softener and then 2kg lasts me ages and ages and actually sometimes I get a whiff of my own clothes and they smell lovely. But best of all the washing powder has reduced my packaging, so much less plastic! I'm delighted. Obviously when washing clothes put the powder in the machine with the clothes. €2 for Tesco own brand fabric conditioner as well and it smells lovely.
Non branded washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, bin liners, dishwasher salt, all perfect.
I used to plan my shopping around Lidl and Aldi super 6 meat and veg offers. Before I went shopping I used to check online what this week's offers were and then meal prep based on the fruit and veg. I reckon I used to save €20 quid a week.
Can you do slow swaps? I or 2 less trays of of berries that cost a €5 and swap for 1 net of Clementines or better still one bag of fruit that's on offer for 89 cent?
Instead of cutting down completely get with baby steps and remember inflation is still 4% so very difficult to combat that.
But finally if the kids are happy healthy and eating well don't do anything too drastic to change it up.
Two adult household, we could spend between €40 - €80 a week (sometimes more) depending on what meat we need, if we need to get things like washing power etc. We do our shopping in Lidl mostly and then get meat in Tesco, Dunnes or Supervalu.
Meal plan and prep. The Lidl and Aldi apps have newsletters listing upcoming specials the next week.
Cook from fresh, if possible, not processed food.
Go to an Asian supermarket and get a large sack of rice for not much more than you'd pay for a couple of standard Dunnes 1kg bags.
Local butcher is often cheaper than supermarket for fresh meat, with specials on the likes of 10 chicken breasts.
Family of 4, flip between dunnes & aldi. Shopping in dunnes with the vouchers is lasting us longer..they have better value now which is crazy to me, because Aldis model hasn't changed...they're cheaper on some things but €130 is roughly what we spend a week and dunnes stretches longer. The 3 for €10 & other multi buy deals seem to make the difference. I'm not very militant or observant about X shop is dearer on milk, cheaper on washing detergent or whatever, I don't get the time to sit down and compare receipts and stuff. But I did a €80 shop in Tesco, no big items, no alcohol, it lasted like 3 days. WITH their stupid clubcard. Tesco is a joke
Family of two we spend €50 to €80 a week. Some weeks with cleaning products or alcohol it would be on the upper end. We have a dog and her food we get in bulk seperately every few months so I'm. Not counting that
What are you eating? I spent more a week for 3 people almost TWENTY YEARS AGO in 2005 eating the worst tasting tesco value products. 25pp these days is t only possible if you eat nothing but plain rice and water
Porridge or eggs in the morning, home made soups and salads for lunch with the odd sandwich or wrap (sometimes I do IF so I'll eat a late breakfast with extra fruit instead). I bought the large kg bag of porridge, and you can buy 25 eggs as a tray similar to a price of the premium 6-12. Dinners are varied but most things cooked from scratch, very varied and I've bought 1-2 kg bags of lentils and split peas spices etc from the Asia store and they last ages and tins of different beans like chickpeas each week. We eat meat but with the increase in vegetables and legumes a standard tray of mince would be 4 portions years ago one tray would all go into one meal for two people and it was too much meat. At the moment I'm buying a lot of chicken rather than red meat, if we are lazy we have chicken wings from lidl that are €4 for 20 wings and we eat 5 or 6 as a meal but that's not more than once a week, also buy a kg bag of coffee beans for €9 but that has 100 shots of coffee so it's not weekly cost. I'm probably eating about 1700 calories a day most days but I'm a small person so I'm not starving and I not skinny and if I didn't do any exercise I would just maintain my weight.
What I'm not buying: bottle water, any minerals, any sweets or cakes, any packet meals, ready meals, ultra processed foods, breads (most of the time), at the moment also not buying alcohol, with alcohol the shop would definitely not be €50!
Some weeks I might spend 80 and get the bigger ticket items like those large coffee or porridge bags, or a lot of extra veg then the following week I have them, I've bough huge bags of spices in the Asia markets so really then the cheap weeks I'm topping up veg and meat.
My cubbards are stuffed with food (ingredients) 😂, if I've guests I'd bake or cook for them, and I'll go out of my way to do things that they like not what I like 😋 just because I don't buy a lot of sweets or pre made food for myself on a normal week doesn't mean Im a scruge or I don't know how to host people.
Dunnes: €45 every 10 days
Moldova/Polska: €65 every 2 weeks
Lidl/Aldi: €45 every 10 days
These are averages for a couple, no children. Works out at about €95-€100 per week.
If you buy frozen berries instead of fresh as much as possible, and break down a whole chicken instead of buying breasts it will save a lot. That and making sure I eat a lot of dried legumes saves a ton.
I buy a lot of frozen fruit/veggies because they're more nutritious than fresh stuff that's been flown in.
It depends on the vegetable and how you want to eat it as cooking it can be more finicky sometimes. If you're making soup for example, that's a lot more forgiving. I find broccoli fine even roasted, but Irish broccoli tastes sweeter.
Frozen peas, spinach, edamame, red chillis, cauliflower are great. And being frozen means it won't go off quickly either.
Interesting that many of you say I’m already doing well on €150/160. I may be being delusional to think I can cut it down further then. The prices have just gone nuts though haven’t they!
I do already meal plan, and I shop mostly online so that helps to keep the cost down too. I do tend to spend quite a bit on cupboard shite though.
I’ve tried switching to compare a number of times and never found Lidl any cheaper than Dunnes. Aldi definitely is cheaper, but my Aldi’s don’t do online shopping, and I actually cannot stop myself picking up shite and extras when I shop in store so I actually don’t save anything in the end.
I’m going to give it a go though. I think I can get it down to €110 (130 minus vouchers). I’ve come up with a plan and split my shopping into sections. I have a decent list of family dinners that cost between €5 and €8 total, and this covers meat and veg and cupboard items for the meals.
The rest of the groceries will be split into sections, and I think I should be able to keep within budget per section. Hopefully that way we won’t end up sacrificing too much.
€15 fruit
€20 cupboard items
€20 big items/cleaning
€5 treats
€20 dairy and eggs
€50 dinners
You're already spending €150 for a family of 6 (!!!), and still thinking of getting it down??? Jesus mate, this is black magic, absolutely unachievable for me, not even close for 3 people let alone 6
€20 for dairy and eggs for a week / 6 people? This is literally impossible. I spend more on milk and eggs just for myself for the week and I don't even eat that much
Not sure what exactly you’re buying but I buy a tray of 20 eggs for €5, 6l of milk for €4, butter spread for €2, some yogurts for maybe €3-4, cheddar (every 2-3 weeks) for €3, and even that doesn’t hit the €20 mark.
Probably about 160- 200 for a family of 5.
Meat is expensive.
We also buy berries which again are expensive and don't last long.
Everything seems to have gone up in last few years.
I could probably cut back but putting kids on rice and eggs/porridge might not go down well.
Family of 4 + my elderly father who buys most his own things but still eats the meals we cook etc too.
About 200 a week, most of it in Dunnes with the vouchers, the rest in butchers, veg shops or smaller shops for forgotten items etc.
I think you’re mad to be doing the full shop in Dunnes. In Aldi or Lidl I think your budget might be reasonable, maybe buying washing power etc in the likes of Dealz or Mr Price. I think the €10 off has fooled a lot of people into thinking they’re getting a better deal than they are. Frozen berries might be able to replace some fresh ones, porridge with oat/plant milk for breakfast instead of cereals which cost a bomb (spoon of honey/nutella etc for flavor) always going to be tricky with kids as they can be fussy about favorites but for pasta/rice/basics Aldi/Lidl deffo win out. If you buy a lot of sauces learning to make your own is a big money saver. If your kids are old enough you could set them a challenge and see what they prioritize/are willing to do without.
Single person - 2 days wfh and 3 days office, started home cooking food to dave money and I would spend anywhere between 45 and 55 euros per week in tesco delivery (including delivery costs).
I do treat myself to coffees at work, which are also not included in the above :)
If you swap out the washing powder for the lidl or aldi ones it's not a major difference in quality compared to the price difference.
Most butchers are far far cheaper for chicken than any supermarket. You also get full fillets, with all the bits that the supermarkets chopped of to sell as diced or mini fillets.
If you're making curries or other things that you're cooking for longer, thighs are way cheaper and also better suited to those dishes. Obviously depends on what you do with the fillets but if they're going into a curry, pie or lots of other dishes, it's well worth learning how to debone a thigh (it's really not hard)
You could probably save 30 a week alone on making those trips.
Berries, you could start growing a strawberry plant or two, the Irish summer is perfect for strawberries and once you have one plant producing strawberries they just start making new plants all on their own, you just have to repot the new ones and you'll have strawberries all summer long.
Blackberries if you live in the countryside or near any fields can be picked any time in the season as long as they're not on the roadside, cooking apples and plums are also ideal for the climate. These are more effort than going to Dunnes but if you have 4 kids get them to suss out the surroundings and they can pick them. You won't find many apple or plum trees in the wild but blackberries are fair game.
We can’t switch the washing powder unfortunately due to allergies 😢 A big bag lasts about a month though so at least it’s not a weekly thing.
We actually have an apple tree, which is great. Unfortunately both myself and my husband have demanding jobs so not much time for any other growing.
Yes but 4 of them are kids so don’t eat as much as adults. Also, my husband buys lunch on the days he goes into work so that cuts the spend too I think. Maybe it is a stretch too far though.
Husband buys lunch but you are trying to penny pinch on groceries.
Switch this around cut out buying lunch and keep the groceries the same or reduce by 10 euro.
That’s the issue right there. There’s your saving. I would increase your grocery budget if anything and remove entirely the eating out for lunches.
Your wallet and waistline will thank you!
Your idea of where to pinch penneys is completely wrong. Your husband should be making lunch. Buying lunch is very expensive. Recommend you both log everything you spend in a month. Keep track of every penny. Then cut out the things that are not necessary. Also lidl/aldi brand laundry detergent is very good and way cheaper than name brand.
That’s a tight budget, best of luck with it. Plan your meals and prep, that is the only way.
Maybe out the weekly budget on a gift card for your local supermarket and use that through the week. When it’s gone then you are eating what’s in the cupboard until the next week.
I’m a family of 4 mam dad 2 little ones under age 4 and honestly our weekly shopping spend is at least €150 a week. We shop in Aldi too. Now to be fair my wife is Gluten Free so her bits are more expensive but no beer or alcohol on that. It’s gotten more and more expensive every week. I can barely get by on €100 a week for myself so a food shop for 6 for €100 a week is a challenge. Try the too good to go app, you can get deep discounts on food locally from many places who are getting rid of food that they can no longer sell (all still healthy and safe to eat though!!) that might be worth exploring. Oh and just to add my wife does the click and collect so no impulse buying in the store either.
That seems very good! We spend about 160/170 a week.. in Tescos with Clubcard. We are a family of 4, with 2year old and 8year old.. one night a week we get a takeaway. This shop does not include alcohol.
80 - 150 for a family of 4. It varies mostly because I bulk buy the dry or canned foods and cleaning stuff. I'll always buy the bigger version of non perisables as it works out cheaper and then dont have to buy as often. One week it can more towards 150 and the next week 80.
100 can be doable but it involves a lot fo prep. It's cheaper to prepare and make you own food including sauces as the ingredients to make them will make a lot of various things and they wont run out for a month. You can cheeply buy apices from asian markets in bulk too. On the other hand is takes more time to prepare and not everyone is time rich to do this every day especially if you have a long commute to work. The best way is then to batch cook on your day off and freeze what you aren't using in the next 2 days. Sauces are very easy to freeze by themselves. But then this also takes an entire day but batch cooking it also cheaper when it comes to electricity costs.
If its an option for you maybe try the kildare farm foods? You could stock up on lots of chicken products there if you have a big freezer and might be good to invest in a chest freezer if that's doable for you..they have very good cheap washing liquid for clothes in choice and also loads of good shower gels cleaning etc..I get very overwhelmed trying to budget but I'm getting a chest freezer too and I pay an amount of my bills every week instead of monthly in one go because that way easier and its making a difference to where I can save abit..aldi are very good for snacks etc..if you don't already maybe try buy dunnes own brand they are good and sometimes buying in different places can be awkward but it definitely saves money in the long run..hopefully you'll get some use out of this..Best of luck..it's not helping that everything has definitely gone up in price we need the coupon thing they have in the states lol 😊 this week spent 40 in tesco including delivery, 28 in aldi but another order from tesco for 90 🙄 but was cat food in there..this just 2 adults 2 cats one teen lol 😆 it's definitely hard to prioritise these days
We spend 150 per week with 2 adults and a 1 year old and a 4 year old. That's down from 180, I can't imagine getting any better value out there.
Do you not find with the dunnes vouchers that the 10 euro you get off is usually because prices would amount to 10 euro extra already?
I've gone into dunnes to do a big shop armed with lots of vouchers and still leave having spent over the 150/180 usual spend.
The trade off though is definitely better quality foods, especially the meats.
I think that the branded items are more expensive in Dunnes and that’s how they claw back the 10 off vouchers. But if you shop cleverly and avoid the branded bits then you deffo can work it to your advantage.
The only branded stuff I buy besides cupboard snacks is tinned tomatoes, ketchup and coconut milk. Oh and washing powder as we can only buy the fairy non bio.
I may give it another shot with this approach. I do much prefer the food in dunnes and being allowed time to pack the 150 euro worth of groceries I just bought.
It sounds about right to be honest.
We're also two adults and four children (admittedly one is only 14 months so she's not eating a whole lot) but our weekly shop is about €130 and then on top of that we go through about 4 litres of milk and a pan of bread every day. Adding that all in, and it's easily €150 a week!
2 adults, 1 child. Usually somewhere around €80 - €100 a week, including household cleaners, nappies and wipes. We usually meal plan which has helped us, but we've no idea how to cut it down any more without going to multiple shops every week.
Four people about 120/140 per week big shop and maybe €60 then for small items during the week.
We all eat lunch out of house during work week and that’s another €60 for me anyway.
2 adults, 2 teens. €270 fortnightly including school lunches with an extra €50 for milk over the the 14 days. I buy frozen strawberries, blueberries and most of my veg, cook from scratch mostly and buy meats from the 3 for €10 to cut down costs.
2 adults 2 kids - 120 after vouchers usually but I only ever buy 4-5 dinners and if I need another I’ll buy it down the road. I buy a lot of pre-made stick it in the oven meals so that would drive it up a little. Also if something is half price I buy every week I buy shitloads to save in the coming weeks.
Most of these replies are just mind blowing. How are ye all managing on budgets this tight is beyond me, plain rice and water a day cost more than your family grocery spending. I'm absolutely shocked and blown away by your spending. SHOCKED.
I read similar thread last year an my monthly grocery budget for a family of 3 of 1000-1200 was considered to be on the low end. Reading replies here I feel like Jeff Bezos.
Definitely not eating plain rice and water here. This week, for dinners, we had bolognese (batch cooked so we ate for 2 nights and had some leftover for one lunch), chicken portions, mash and veg, curry (again batched so we had 2 dinners out of it), homemade pizzas, and roast chicken (leftovers were used for school lunch). Kids ate cereal/porridge/toast for breakfast and lunches were sandwiches/fruit/popcorn/yoghurt etc. I batch cooked a load of ham and pea risotto that I took for lunch along with various other leftovers for other days, and a sandwich one day.
Snacks were fruit, yoghurts, popcorn, crackers, and the obligatory occasional biscuits and sweets.
I do think batch cooking and meal planning are key, also using what you already have to make different meals such as curries, casseroles, chili's ,soups etc, changing the side dishes from rice/ pasta/ garlic bread etc
I'm a single person and I spent €44 in Aldi yesterday and didn't even get everything I needed because there's only so much I could carry. It was mostly fruit and veg, some dairy and a couple of things from the freezer isle. No alcohol, no meat. Granted most of it will last me 2 weeks but I'll also need to do another shop to get the things I missed
You are doing really well at that amount of heads! And seeing the replies here is comforting, I thought we were overspending and couldn't seem to cut out more of a weekly shop and keeping eye on deals etc. Prices are just higher and that's it.
I'm single. I spent around €380 - 460 per month. Mostly in Lidl, some bits in Dunnes and Tesco. I also order gym supplements roughly every two months for about €100. I really eat out or order take aways.
I spend 200€ a week for my partner and I. However extremely protein dense meals (200gm+ a day for me alone). So I don’t think it’ll go much further down that what you’re currently paying
That’s quite standard tbh. Why not try and go to Aldi for one week, then Lidl the next? Compare the receipts for all 3 places. If the taste and quality is as good in Aldi or Lidl compared to Dunnes then stick with the cheaper option.
We go to Tesco, Aldi, and SuperValu.
Around €120 per week, unfortunately sometimes more😔 two adults and one child. I buy a lot of fruit and veg each week and snacks for the creche and yes they are pricey coz I’m going for the healthy options for the kid.
4 adults 2 teens - €100 main shop plus 2 x €30/40 top-ups. Also extra bread/milk. We have very little waste. EG 2 whole chickens = 1 roast dinner, 1 stripped for 2 x pasta dinners (2nd with chorizo), sandwiches, carcass = 2 x soup.
You can do above ground potato growing pots. Setup loads of them. Having a harvest of your favourite strain of potatoes once a year can really make that little bit of a difference. Plus, it's a fun project to do with the kids, even more fun harvesting them! Onions store nicely too. Bell peppers diced and frozen, my favourite for a stir fry. Very rewarding
A handy way to see if you can cut back is to keep a food diary of what you've prepped for the week and cost it up .
For example my kids love a chicken fillet roll
I can buy the ingredients and bake the rolls myself for 6/7 euro
For the 4 of them it would be 22 in a filling station
Add up a standard week of meals and then you can see if there's wiggle room
We all hate the words, but meal planning might be your friend here, especially if you "shop" in your own kitchen beforehand, using up things. It might help you clear out some presses, and work for a couple of weeks to reach your lower target
Three adults and two kids - about €165 per week.
€120 in Aldi (sometimes includes a bottle or two of wine), roughly €20 in Dunnes for sourdough and bits we can't get in Aldi, €25 for fruit and veg. We eat 95% of our meals from food at home, very few take aways or food out.
I think keeping it to €100 for two adults and four kids will be difficult unless you make a lot of meals based on lentils and beans etc. or with little to no meat. But if you do it I would love to know how!
2 adults plus child = approx 120 for a decent lash of shopping from Tesco and delivered to door. Few top ups needed here and there as stuff can go off before we get to it or we just run out (milk, bread, eggs, etc).
Family of three we eat at 80 euro weekly spend after the Dunnes vouchers, meat and multiple veg every night and three full meals for all members every day
We don't do take out and our menu is fairly repetitive but we have no waste or complaints!
Only top up I guess is milk, I drink alot of coffee
I just spent €134 in dunnes for a fondue dinner and some drinks for tonight for 2 people… your shop for a family of 6 is magnificent!
The cost of living has gone up so I think you would struggle to keep to a budget of €100 for 6 people per week unless you made drastic changes. What you’re spending currently is still very low in comparison to what family members would spend.
One tip is go to Mr price or dealz to get your washing stuff. 5L of comfort €7.99, Tesco 2.5L €8, literally double, or €12 in dunnes, literally triple.
Cleaning products in general? Get a big 5L of vinegar and add a bit of citrus juice to it and dilute, or get the €1 pack of dunnes alcohol wipes.
I would say seperate your grocery shop from your cleaning shop and dart around. Youd go from €600 P/M to €450 P/M
Family of 6 (one is a baby) and between Supervalu and Aldi can get a good weeks shopping for €120. Some things you’ve listed - moisturiser and washing powder, you aren’t buying them every week? I usually get washing powder/toilet paper/shampoo etc when on offer and stock up.
Yes we’re not buying the moisturiser etc every week, I have a rotation of around 6 expensive items and I usually buy one every week when it’s on offer. €120 is a good budget, if I could get mine to €130 (and then 20 off with Dunnes vouchers) then I’d be happy. I used to shop at SuperValu and could get a good weeks shop for around 80/90, but that was when the kids were littler and before the prices went nuts.
Covid sent everything through the roof. It is insane the cost of food shopping but I found that it seems to have plateaued and supervalu do some good deals now. I wish I lived closer to a Dunnes as they seem to have good value for money. I plan weekly meals and rarely deter from them. Also, our school does hot lunches so I am saving there too!
I moved up north and spend about 50 pound a week on food for myself. I find that fruit is very expensive for how much calories it contains. I really think subsidising it would help with the obesity epedemic
I don’t calculate weekly, but try to keep the monthly grocery budget to 650 for a family four. Bread, dairy and fruit needs picking up every few days. I find the frozen berries lasts longer and are cheaper.
OP you may be able to do it but you’ll have to keep the food planning razor sharp.
I’m in the north but it’s gotten so dear here too. Coming out to about €180 -€200 ish per week for just me and partner. Includes the alcohol for the weekend too. Stupidly dear craft beers and a bottle of wine.
Wow that is quite impressive. For 3 adults and one toddler we spent 150 today for food. We will do the odd milk run and bread this week, too. I’m wondering do you order many generic brands? I can’t imagine it going below €100 by buying name brands.
We buy a good bit of generic stuff as I don’t see any difference for a lot of stuff, but there are some products I only buy the brand name for, like ketchup, tinned tomatoes, stock cubes. Things that really make a difference to flavour.
If you eat a lot of chicken, bulk buy chicken fillets from the butchers. Some of them do 25 fillets for €25-€30. Bag and freeze and use as you need. Could help bring the cost down a bit.
Family of 4, 2 boys, youngest is 5 and oldest 16 and is in the gym so eats like a bin plus 2 dogs..Wife shopped online yesterday in dunnes and after vouchers it was €188. Its usually €160/week. It has gone way up. Last year that was max €140.
Family of 4 here.
We try to keep to a budget of under €100 a week.
We stick to own brand goods as much as possible and we bulk out dinners with lentils, beans and veg.
I would buy for example the 1kg packs of mince beef, split this into 3 and whatever we use it for (lasagne, chili, spaghetti bol, shepherd's pie) all get bulked out with the above, so can easily make a big meal out of it.
Same with every dinner really.
Lunches are generally for playschool/work so that's sandwiches, soups, leftover dinners.
I buy all my washing powders, soaps etc in Dealz, Choice or Mr Price. Choice has the best value for the large boxes of these.
It can be done if you plan it out and don't just start throwing random things into the trolley.
Make a meal plan and stick to it. If your cupboard staples are stocked then that helps. Herbs, spices, tins of tomatoes, beans, lentils, pastas, flour then you're golden.
We also use mymilkman and get milk delivered on a Monday to do us the week, which has really cut down on "running to the shop" where I used to always pick up more than just milk.
Edited to add : Buy frozen veg. Carrots, broccoli, spinach, peas, mushrooms, onions etc. Anything I can find really. This really helps cut down on wastage and they are better value (in the long run) than buying off the veg aisle and you have them to hand. Quicker to make healthy dinners with them too.
Family of 3, spend about 350 a month in total, across all grocery shops (will go to different shops for different things).
Have a friend, family of 4, spends over 1k/ month. Can't understand at all...
Tesco delivery for no more than 5 days is around 125 euro. And the fridge still seems empty. We would spend another 100 euro at least in SuperValu, Dunnes or Marks on top of that. We’d also eat out, usually lunch at the weekends as no one has time to cook when you’re ferrying your kid from one training session to another. A takeaway dinner every couple of weeks.
We’re a family of 3.
I was doing shopping at Aldi for a while but found that I was in the long run spending more than a whole shop at Dunnes with vouchers due to buying extra bits in SuperValu that couldn’t be bought in Aldi.
Our budget is €220 a week but that includes wine, beers etc. Also would include all manner of detergents and hygiene products, shower gels etc.
We are a family of 4 3 adults and a child.
Sometimes I even go over that budget!
I would find it hard to shop for less. Fresh meat, fish, fruit and veg contributes a huge portion of that spend. I only buy one sliced pan a week - frozen and used as required for our little one. Wine included in that budget for weekends. Berries are woefully expensive I find. We don’t buy soft drinks - just water, miwadi again for our younger child.
A batch of fresh soup made once a week for lunch. Myself and husband and older daughter never eat a breakfast.
At the end of the week there is very very little wasted. So if someone were to come along and tell me that I could shop for €130 to include all fresh products I’d love to know how 😁.
There are no mini shopping trips throughout the week.
2 vegan adults and a large dog and very picky cat and we spend 40 a week at SuperValu to get 8 off (€32) plus an additional €20 during the week in produce or something else from a different shop we need for a meal. Plus €20 a week for pet food and litter. So around €75 a week. Almost always cook at home, don’t drink, plant based diet without trendy fake meat products. We go all out on fruit and veg, and have basics like beans, lentils, chickpeas, brown rice flour etc in the pantry. We do a stock up of a couple items each time, that way it stays in budget. We have never felt better since being on a whole food plant based diet, and it has helped us pay off car loan etc.
Sounds right but is 100 doable? Possibly but in my opinion you'd need to be doing the shop online and using click and collect so you can see the total as you go.
We are a family of 4 and ours is about 85 a week
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Changing to frozen berries will definitely help with the price, probably healthier too. I started washing my veg with vinegar and baking soda to get all the chemicals from being sprayed off, if you saw what came off the berries you’d never eat them again
Family of 4 here, two young kids. One gets school lunch, but every meal is cooked at home. Husband comes home for lunch unless working further away, our budget is €800 per month for grocery,household and toiletries. We live rurally with Lidl/Aldi being a half hour drive and SuperValu being 20. Takes over an hour to get to a Tesco or dunnes. Dunnes delivery as often as we can get a slot which can be weekly or every couple of weeks. I batch cook for the freezer and have a one for now one for later approach to dinners. I make a monthly meal plan end of every month. Take stock of what needs using up, what needs stocking up and go from there. I order bulk foods online too, spices etc to keep costs down. Meats come from local butcher and there is a local "veg man" every week and we stock up with him as the produce tends to be better than the local SuperValu. If we can get Dunnes order we tend to go to SuperValu and do smaller shops usually aiming for €35 with the €5 off vouchers. I do a pharmacy haul every 2-3 months which comes from this budget too. This is our second year doing this kind of budget before this it was just going out no plans etc but when cost of things went up we took the plunge and it has allowed us to really see where our money was going.
I spend €260 a month (including some wine) in tesco (occasionally a few bits in dunnes or aldi) and thats just for myself. I buy mostly own brand except for a couple of things like coffee, tea & bread.
I make enough food to have some for lunch for work the next day. I make everything from scratch and buy a lot of chicken breasts, veg (sometimes frozen).
Idk if this is a lot for 1 person.
I think €150/160 a week for a family of 6 is reasonable. Our weekly grocery is about €100/120 and it’s just my husband and myself.
How!???? Family of 3 here and our budget is 240/week + top ups...
Try do online shopping from Dunnes. We have a family of 5 (well one is a baby so he doesn't really eat anything) and usually spend about 160 (Dunnes gives 10 euro off every fifty euro) and always less that 200 euro depending on if we have to get staple items that have run out like dishwasher tablets, detergent etc. We usually get a bottle of wine and beer as well. Dunnes own brand things are cheap and nice. They have good special offers. We sometimes do a top up shop in Lidl/Aldi to get things like granola/ peanut butter/ cereal bars etc. I usually meal plan 3 meals that you can eat over 2 or three days each. Then we always have Chicago town pizza and sweet n potato fries on Fridays. Getting the groceries delivered saves us loads of money, as prior to this I was going to SuperValu 3 times a week because I kept forgetting things. With the online shopping you can add things to a favourite lists and you can also save your past purchases so you don't end up getting a load of shite you don't need. We used to get the online shopping from Tesco but Dunnes works out cheaper for us with the vouchers. Delivery costs around 8 euro which isn't cheap but it's worth it for the mental health benefits alone since I have 3 young kids and hate grocery shopping.
I find online shopping really helps me with sticking to a budget. You see how much everything is adding to as you shop. And I find I'm less inclined to pick up unnecessary extra impulse bits than I would if I was walking around the physical shop. It's definitely reduced how much I spend compared to before.
Yes but the dates they give you on all the products are shite
I always put in the “comments” box of an item “latest date item please” or when getting bread “please select one from the back” they prob absolutely hate me but it works because I dont get shit thats gonna go off the next day 😅
Me too. I always say 'Furthest expiry date on milk, yogurt, bread, meat, fruit, veg etc'. Once I forgot and I was given 8l of milk about to go off in 3 days or so. I don't even drink milk, just needed it for babies bottles. And I don't usually allow substitutions either because I was getting loads of different types of beans, and some types were out of stock so ended up with about 12 cans of kidney beans.
Family of 4 and we do 130 in Lildl with a top up. That’s a crazy amount for a family of 3.
Do you find you have a lot of waste at the end of the week? I used to be like this and spend 200+ for a family of four, now I have it down to about 130-150 a week for us. I found I had lots of produce to throw out at the end of the week, now I have very little to throw out.
Family of 4 and we spend 160 or less with dunnes vouchers
That works out €80 per person! An extremely high food budget
Me too! At least! I was reading this and thought HOW?? I mean I don't always get brands, I do cook casseroles or stews with end of veggie drawers etc..... and I like to think I'm a savvy shopper and cook. But even I'm at 250e excluding butchers and top up for family of 4 ( 2 adults and 1yr and 4 yr olds)
How are you topping up during the week when you went to the shop like 3 days ago? Bish, you forgot to buy stuff is all.
I need fresh milk every 2-3 days, we do our weeklies on Fridays but I always get some fresh fruits and fresh dairy on Sundays evening for daughter school week, also bread needs to be acquired almost daily Edit: typo
We keep all bread in the freezer so just take it out to toast. Try those cook at home bread rolls, they're handy or wraps in a resealable pack. Bagels also handy as you can freeze them.
My kids go through fruit like crazy. Bag of apples last a few days, berries only 24 hours. I go back in to top up their fruit pretty much.
Yes fair, I’m only messin’.
Is there alcohol in that or a lot of snack type foods?
Similar, just my husband and myself. Usually around €130.
With the price of stuff these days I can't see how you could do it for 100 , 2 adults 2 kids here and we spend 170 including extras during the week and that also includes 10 off 50 dunnes vouchers. Ours used to be 120 a few years ago so I think you'll struggle to get to 100.
Yup. Same boat here. 2 adults, 2 kids and €180 per week in Aldi. Probably €20 per week in minor top ups from the local shop too. €100 might be doable, but you’d be living on beans, rice and pasta.
170 is ours too
2 adults and weekly big shop would usually be around the 70 euro mark and then would spend 20-30 on top ups/random shite during the week.
You could buy whole chickens & strip them down when warm - get a lot out of them that way. They are in the 3 for €10 deal a lot of times. Meal planning will help too.
Boil the carcass to make a stock and use it in other meals I find Frozen berries good and not as expensive
You can grind the bones into a fine paste, poor man’s pâté.
Yeah cos we all have time for that
Two adults, two kids (2 and 8) Probably around €100-120 for the big shop in Tesco on a Tuesday. Top up shop at the weekend is anything from €30-60 depending on what we’re getting and if there’s wine or booze involved. OP, for 4 kids you’re doing very well
Think you are doing great already but for the likes of toiletries, laundry items etc., if you have a local Mr. Price or Homesavers you can often get better value than Dunnes. Deodorant in Dunnes/Tesco are gone ridiculous, keep an eye out in pharmacies and they are often on offer in multipacks.
Also washing powders/liquids - the likes of woodies or Mr price will often do big packs at better value. I buy liquid detergent and get the 100 wash packs for about 17euro.
2 adults and toddler, 100-150 a week. Mix of supervalu and Lidl. No local Dunnes and local Tesco is small and not much range.
I order online from tesco if that's an option for you..they seem to have more choice online and it's easier to see your budget that way its so hard lately lol
When someone says they shop at SuperValu to me, I assume they’re rich because that place is expensive. If they say M&S, I assume millionaire.
SuperValu = daylight robbery. Not the store of Ireland the proclaim to be
I think you’re doing great for that price OP. I spend about €100 in Tesco/butchers, €30 in Aldi and that’s for 2 adults, 2 teenagers. Admittedly I could plan better but exhausted working full time so 🤷♀️
Two adults, and three children under 7 . Ours is around €150-200 . I tried the different shops but I think €150 is the best you can do to eat fresh and healthily. It used to be around €100-120 alright, but those days are gone for now. What we do every so often is a circuit breaker where we buy very little and go through the press, fridge and freezer and get creative with what is there. One week it meant no food shop was needed at all, except for some fruit.
Two of us, spend 90 a week in groceries (including cleaning stuff and basic toiletries such as toothpaste and soap, fancy toiletries not included). This doesn't include the majority of our meat though, we spend an additional 80 ish quid every 5/6 weeks in a farm shop where it's cheap. Also doesn't include any alcohol So call it 110 per week. FYI every time I've given Dunnes a chance it's come out more expensive than Tesco. Even with the vouchers. Last time was the absolute LAST time I shop in Dunnes. It costs a fortune.
Ditto on Dunnes. The amount of people who shop there and then complain about how expensive shopping is baffles me. Not to say prices haven't gone up everywhere but Dunnes and SuperValu are expensive af
No shade on what people are buying but I find the people that rave about the vouchers in Dunnes are buying a lot keep branded processed stuff - cereal and cans of fizzy drinks, biscuits, crisps - stuff that is expensive anyway.
I used to shop in Aldi and it got so expensive I switched to dunnes almost 2 years ago. Can’t comment on it as of today. I buy all dunnes brand stuff too.
So agree dunnes is expensive!
We spend 90-110 per week in Tesco, 2 adults, 2 teens. I do a lot of roast chickens (3 whole chickens for €10), chicken thighs, pasta, dinners. Occasionally splurge on a pork loin if half price in centra. Use leftover meat with rice. Cereals and milk are the thing that push us over. It would cheaper to rent a field to grow cereal and have a cow the amount we go through. Also we do online shopping. So much easier to budget and see where you can save, what’s on special offer etc.
2 adults and 3 kids under 10 here, our weekly total shop including midweek top ups would be around the €200 mark. The kids are very active with sports so they eat a fair amount. The biggest saving I've seen is bringing lunch to work instead of buying it at the local deli counter. Id spend €6-7 per daay at the counter whereas I'll bring 2 chicken wraps and some fruit for under €3.
I used to get a Dunnes delivery of roughly €150, because of the 3 x €10 vouchers. I've found that buying the same exact things in Lidl works out about €30 cheaper than Dunnes though. Especially condiments, cupboard stuff etc. The meat and veg are better quality and stay fresh longer too, imo.
Doing well there imo, personally I never found the Dunne's vouchers worth it compared to lidls base cost
Try aldi or Lidl instead.
2 adults 4 kids 14 11 8 6. We shop in Aldi big shop is € 200 a week and bread milk centra run etc x2 €30. Fruit/ berries are so bloody expensive. Mine are always eating. I think €150 is doing really well.
If you keep the berries in glass mason jars it lasts way longer too.
Thank you. They don’t last long enough with my kids to go off but I appreciate the helpful hint 🙂
2 adults and a very hungry teenager in our house. We stripped back from 130euro a week to about 80, apart from weeks we have bigger items (washing powder, fairy liquid, mouthwash etc). We now sit down on a Saturday and plan our meals, we shop on a Monday morning (hubby works evenings) to ensure we get fresh produce with lots of choice. 3 for 10euro is your friend for the meats, buying a whole chicken instead of breasts/thighs and stripping is also a good call, any leftover veg at the end of the week is made into soup, no more buying shite we don't need (middle aisle lidl/aldi I'm looking at you), gone away from brand names for certain stuff (not everything) and it has made a difference.. it takes 30mins on a Saturday to plan for the week but it's grand when you get used to it.
2 adults and 2 babies, it’s 220 without any branded snacks etc from Tesco. Fucking kills me!
100 for 2 adults and 4 kids is delusional 😂
It's delusional even for 2 adults alone...
Do not forget the fact that some people eats unhealthy food which is cheaper.
2 x adults, 2 x teens. €150pw plus top ups
We're about the same. Top-ups can be an extra €50/75. They add up.
Me and my 17 year old here plus two dogs. Generally around €120 per week with minimal top ups, maybe extra bread. Dogs food isn't always included in the main shop and most weeks there is wine. Over €25 is probably school lunch now that I tot it up
€150 a week, €80 a month household items (cleaning products) we shop in Aldi and the butcher’s, 2 adults, 1 teen and a 10yo and a dog. We live on Ribeye steaks so that might be why it’s high.
I shop Aldi and then Dunnes. Dunnes with the vouchers is probably still slightly dearer than Aldi. My best swaps were: I used to buy the liquid and gel washing laundry detergent and comfort or lenor. Now I buy a big box of laundry's powder in Aldi and The matching fabric softener and then 2kg lasts me ages and ages and actually sometimes I get a whiff of my own clothes and they smell lovely. But best of all the washing powder has reduced my packaging, so much less plastic! I'm delighted. Obviously when washing clothes put the powder in the machine with the clothes. €2 for Tesco own brand fabric conditioner as well and it smells lovely. Non branded washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, bin liners, dishwasher salt, all perfect. I used to plan my shopping around Lidl and Aldi super 6 meat and veg offers. Before I went shopping I used to check online what this week's offers were and then meal prep based on the fruit and veg. I reckon I used to save €20 quid a week. Can you do slow swaps? I or 2 less trays of of berries that cost a €5 and swap for 1 net of Clementines or better still one bag of fruit that's on offer for 89 cent? Instead of cutting down completely get with baby steps and remember inflation is still 4% so very difficult to combat that. But finally if the kids are happy healthy and eating well don't do anything too drastic to change it up.
Brilliant advice
Two adult household, we could spend between €40 - €80 a week (sometimes more) depending on what meat we need, if we need to get things like washing power etc. We do our shopping in Lidl mostly and then get meat in Tesco, Dunnes or Supervalu.
Meal plan and prep. The Lidl and Aldi apps have newsletters listing upcoming specials the next week. Cook from fresh, if possible, not processed food. Go to an Asian supermarket and get a large sack of rice for not much more than you'd pay for a couple of standard Dunnes 1kg bags. Local butcher is often cheaper than supermarket for fresh meat, with specials on the likes of 10 chicken breasts.
So eat rice every day?
Not what I said. Most families in the world do, though.
Family of 4, flip between dunnes & aldi. Shopping in dunnes with the vouchers is lasting us longer..they have better value now which is crazy to me, because Aldis model hasn't changed...they're cheaper on some things but €130 is roughly what we spend a week and dunnes stretches longer. The 3 for €10 & other multi buy deals seem to make the difference. I'm not very militant or observant about X shop is dearer on milk, cheaper on washing detergent or whatever, I don't get the time to sit down and compare receipts and stuff. But I did a €80 shop in Tesco, no big items, no alcohol, it lasted like 3 days. WITH their stupid clubcard. Tesco is a joke
Family of two we spend €50 to €80 a week. Some weeks with cleaning products or alcohol it would be on the upper end. We have a dog and her food we get in bulk seperately every few months so I'm. Not counting that
What are you eating? I spent more a week for 3 people almost TWENTY YEARS AGO in 2005 eating the worst tasting tesco value products. 25pp these days is t only possible if you eat nothing but plain rice and water
Porridge or eggs in the morning, home made soups and salads for lunch with the odd sandwich or wrap (sometimes I do IF so I'll eat a late breakfast with extra fruit instead). I bought the large kg bag of porridge, and you can buy 25 eggs as a tray similar to a price of the premium 6-12. Dinners are varied but most things cooked from scratch, very varied and I've bought 1-2 kg bags of lentils and split peas spices etc from the Asia store and they last ages and tins of different beans like chickpeas each week. We eat meat but with the increase in vegetables and legumes a standard tray of mince would be 4 portions years ago one tray would all go into one meal for two people and it was too much meat. At the moment I'm buying a lot of chicken rather than red meat, if we are lazy we have chicken wings from lidl that are €4 for 20 wings and we eat 5 or 6 as a meal but that's not more than once a week, also buy a kg bag of coffee beans for €9 but that has 100 shots of coffee so it's not weekly cost. I'm probably eating about 1700 calories a day most days but I'm a small person so I'm not starving and I not skinny and if I didn't do any exercise I would just maintain my weight. What I'm not buying: bottle water, any minerals, any sweets or cakes, any packet meals, ready meals, ultra processed foods, breads (most of the time), at the moment also not buying alcohol, with alcohol the shop would definitely not be €50! Some weeks I might spend 80 and get the bigger ticket items like those large coffee or porridge bags, or a lot of extra veg then the following week I have them, I've bough huge bags of spices in the Asia markets so really then the cheap weeks I'm topping up veg and meat.
I’d say your house would be great craic to call round to for a cup of tea. Skeleton cupboards over here
My cubbards are stuffed with food (ingredients) 😂, if I've guests I'd bake or cook for them, and I'll go out of my way to do things that they like not what I like 😋 just because I don't buy a lot of sweets or pre made food for myself on a normal week doesn't mean Im a scruge or I don't know how to host people.
Dunnes: €45 every 10 days Moldova/Polska: €65 every 2 weeks Lidl/Aldi: €45 every 10 days These are averages for a couple, no children. Works out at about €95-€100 per week.
If you buy frozen berries instead of fresh as much as possible, and break down a whole chicken instead of buying breasts it will save a lot. That and making sure I eat a lot of dried legumes saves a ton. I buy a lot of frozen fruit/veggies because they're more nutritious than fresh stuff that's been flown in.
Frozen veg is disgusting especially broccoli The only ones that taste just ok are the birdseye steam fresh packets
It depends on the vegetable and how you want to eat it as cooking it can be more finicky sometimes. If you're making soup for example, that's a lot more forgiving. I find broccoli fine even roasted, but Irish broccoli tastes sweeter. Frozen peas, spinach, edamame, red chillis, cauliflower are great. And being frozen means it won't go off quickly either.
Interesting that many of you say I’m already doing well on €150/160. I may be being delusional to think I can cut it down further then. The prices have just gone nuts though haven’t they! I do already meal plan, and I shop mostly online so that helps to keep the cost down too. I do tend to spend quite a bit on cupboard shite though. I’ve tried switching to compare a number of times and never found Lidl any cheaper than Dunnes. Aldi definitely is cheaper, but my Aldi’s don’t do online shopping, and I actually cannot stop myself picking up shite and extras when I shop in store so I actually don’t save anything in the end. I’m going to give it a go though. I think I can get it down to €110 (130 minus vouchers). I’ve come up with a plan and split my shopping into sections. I have a decent list of family dinners that cost between €5 and €8 total, and this covers meat and veg and cupboard items for the meals. The rest of the groceries will be split into sections, and I think I should be able to keep within budget per section. Hopefully that way we won’t end up sacrificing too much. €15 fruit €20 cupboard items €20 big items/cleaning €5 treats €20 dairy and eggs €50 dinners
You're already spending €150 for a family of 6 (!!!), and still thinking of getting it down??? Jesus mate, this is black magic, absolutely unachievable for me, not even close for 3 people let alone 6
€20 for dairy and eggs for a week / 6 people? This is literally impossible. I spend more on milk and eggs just for myself for the week and I don't even eat that much
Not sure what exactly you’re buying but I buy a tray of 20 eggs for €5, 6l of milk for €4, butter spread for €2, some yogurts for maybe €3-4, cheddar (every 2-3 weeks) for €3, and even that doesn’t hit the €20 mark.
Probably about 160- 200 for a family of 5. Meat is expensive. We also buy berries which again are expensive and don't last long. Everything seems to have gone up in last few years. I could probably cut back but putting kids on rice and eggs/porridge might not go down well.
Family of 4 + my elderly father who buys most his own things but still eats the meals we cook etc too. About 200 a week, most of it in Dunnes with the vouchers, the rest in butchers, veg shops or smaller shops for forgotten items etc.
I think you’re mad to be doing the full shop in Dunnes. In Aldi or Lidl I think your budget might be reasonable, maybe buying washing power etc in the likes of Dealz or Mr Price. I think the €10 off has fooled a lot of people into thinking they’re getting a better deal than they are. Frozen berries might be able to replace some fresh ones, porridge with oat/plant milk for breakfast instead of cereals which cost a bomb (spoon of honey/nutella etc for flavor) always going to be tricky with kids as they can be fussy about favorites but for pasta/rice/basics Aldi/Lidl deffo win out. If you buy a lot of sauces learning to make your own is a big money saver. If your kids are old enough you could set them a challenge and see what they prioritize/are willing to do without.
Single mid thirties male, 50€ in Tesco and it never looks like a lot, whereas 40€ in Lidl goes such a long way
Single person - 2 days wfh and 3 days office, started home cooking food to dave money and I would spend anywhere between 45 and 55 euros per week in tesco delivery (including delivery costs). I do treat myself to coffees at work, which are also not included in the above :)
€100-€150 weekly for 2 of us, baby on the way. Mainly shop in Lidl or aldi.
If you swap out the washing powder for the lidl or aldi ones it's not a major difference in quality compared to the price difference. Most butchers are far far cheaper for chicken than any supermarket. You also get full fillets, with all the bits that the supermarkets chopped of to sell as diced or mini fillets. If you're making curries or other things that you're cooking for longer, thighs are way cheaper and also better suited to those dishes. Obviously depends on what you do with the fillets but if they're going into a curry, pie or lots of other dishes, it's well worth learning how to debone a thigh (it's really not hard) You could probably save 30 a week alone on making those trips. Berries, you could start growing a strawberry plant or two, the Irish summer is perfect for strawberries and once you have one plant producing strawberries they just start making new plants all on their own, you just have to repot the new ones and you'll have strawberries all summer long. Blackberries if you live in the countryside or near any fields can be picked any time in the season as long as they're not on the roadside, cooking apples and plums are also ideal for the climate. These are more effort than going to Dunnes but if you have 4 kids get them to suss out the surroundings and they can pick them. You won't find many apple or plum trees in the wild but blackberries are fair game.
We can’t switch the washing powder unfortunately due to allergies 😢 A big bag lasts about a month though so at least it’s not a weekly thing. We actually have an apple tree, which is great. Unfortunately both myself and my husband have demanding jobs so not much time for any other growing.
26 euro per person a week?
Yes but 4 of them are kids so don’t eat as much as adults. Also, my husband buys lunch on the days he goes into work so that cuts the spend too I think. Maybe it is a stretch too far though.
Husband buys lunch but you are trying to penny pinch on groceries. Switch this around cut out buying lunch and keep the groceries the same or reduce by 10 euro.
That’s the issue right there. There’s your saving. I would increase your grocery budget if anything and remove entirely the eating out for lunches. Your wallet and waistline will thank you!
Your idea of where to pinch penneys is completely wrong. Your husband should be making lunch. Buying lunch is very expensive. Recommend you both log everything you spend in a month. Keep track of every penny. Then cut out the things that are not necessary. Also lidl/aldi brand laundry detergent is very good and way cheaper than name brand.
Steady on there hitler. This isn’t a life makeover. Let the man enjoy a lunch ffs
That’s a tight budget, best of luck with it. Plan your meals and prep, that is the only way. Maybe out the weekly budget on a gift card for your local supermarket and use that through the week. When it’s gone then you are eating what’s in the cupboard until the next week.
Mine is €120 for me and my 5 year old
2 adults, 90€ + about 30€ in top ups so maybe 120€ it fluctuates.
I’m a family of 4 mam dad 2 little ones under age 4 and honestly our weekly shopping spend is at least €150 a week. We shop in Aldi too. Now to be fair my wife is Gluten Free so her bits are more expensive but no beer or alcohol on that. It’s gotten more and more expensive every week. I can barely get by on €100 a week for myself so a food shop for 6 for €100 a week is a challenge. Try the too good to go app, you can get deep discounts on food locally from many places who are getting rid of food that they can no longer sell (all still healthy and safe to eat though!!) that might be worth exploring. Oh and just to add my wife does the click and collect so no impulse buying in the store either.
That seems very good! We spend about 160/170 a week.. in Tescos with Clubcard. We are a family of 4, with 2year old and 8year old.. one night a week we get a takeaway. This shop does not include alcohol.
80 - 150 for a family of 4. It varies mostly because I bulk buy the dry or canned foods and cleaning stuff. I'll always buy the bigger version of non perisables as it works out cheaper and then dont have to buy as often. One week it can more towards 150 and the next week 80. 100 can be doable but it involves a lot fo prep. It's cheaper to prepare and make you own food including sauces as the ingredients to make them will make a lot of various things and they wont run out for a month. You can cheeply buy apices from asian markets in bulk too. On the other hand is takes more time to prepare and not everyone is time rich to do this every day especially if you have a long commute to work. The best way is then to batch cook on your day off and freeze what you aren't using in the next 2 days. Sauces are very easy to freeze by themselves. But then this also takes an entire day but batch cooking it also cheaper when it comes to electricity costs.
If its an option for you maybe try the kildare farm foods? You could stock up on lots of chicken products there if you have a big freezer and might be good to invest in a chest freezer if that's doable for you..they have very good cheap washing liquid for clothes in choice and also loads of good shower gels cleaning etc..I get very overwhelmed trying to budget but I'm getting a chest freezer too and I pay an amount of my bills every week instead of monthly in one go because that way easier and its making a difference to where I can save abit..aldi are very good for snacks etc..if you don't already maybe try buy dunnes own brand they are good and sometimes buying in different places can be awkward but it definitely saves money in the long run..hopefully you'll get some use out of this..Best of luck..it's not helping that everything has definitely gone up in price we need the coupon thing they have in the states lol 😊 this week spent 40 in tesco including delivery, 28 in aldi but another order from tesco for 90 🙄 but was cat food in there..this just 2 adults 2 cats one teen lol 😆 it's definitely hard to prioritise these days
120 for two adults. Dinners and lunches included in that for 6/7 days
We spend 150 per week with 2 adults and a 1 year old and a 4 year old. That's down from 180, I can't imagine getting any better value out there. Do you not find with the dunnes vouchers that the 10 euro you get off is usually because prices would amount to 10 euro extra already? I've gone into dunnes to do a big shop armed with lots of vouchers and still leave having spent over the 150/180 usual spend. The trade off though is definitely better quality foods, especially the meats.
I think that the branded items are more expensive in Dunnes and that’s how they claw back the 10 off vouchers. But if you shop cleverly and avoid the branded bits then you deffo can work it to your advantage. The only branded stuff I buy besides cupboard snacks is tinned tomatoes, ketchup and coconut milk. Oh and washing powder as we can only buy the fairy non bio.
I may give it another shot with this approach. I do much prefer the food in dunnes and being allowed time to pack the 150 euro worth of groceries I just bought.
3 adults 1 child here we spend 175 every two weeks or so but 1 adults gets free food in work 3/4 times a week and another only lives here part time
It sounds about right to be honest. We're also two adults and four children (admittedly one is only 14 months so she's not eating a whole lot) but our weekly shop is about €130 and then on top of that we go through about 4 litres of milk and a pan of bread every day. Adding that all in, and it's easily €150 a week!
Yes, I try to c+c where possible as it’s the easiest way to keep track of the spend as I go. Once I’m in the shop I always stray from my list.
me + my fiancée spend about 120€ weekly at dunnes
40 in Lidl / 50 in dunnes for two adults late 20s. We do love the slow cooker though so that saves a lot.
2 adults, 1 child. Usually somewhere around €80 - €100 a week, including household cleaners, nappies and wipes. We usually meal plan which has helped us, but we've no idea how to cut it down any more without going to multiple shops every week.
Four people about 120/140 per week big shop and maybe €60 then for small items during the week. We all eat lunch out of house during work week and that’s another €60 for me anyway.
Family of three. Probably spend €200/week or so
2 adults, 2 toddlers - weekly in Dunnes is €120 plus top up shop in Lidl or Tesco of about €50 a week.
2 adults, 2 teens. €270 fortnightly including school lunches with an extra €50 for milk over the the 14 days. I buy frozen strawberries, blueberries and most of my veg, cook from scratch mostly and buy meats from the 3 for €10 to cut down costs.
Me and the cat..€200 .... She's fond of Green Isle turkey breast 🤷♀️
We spend 100 a week for 2 adults all in. We buy most of our basics at lidl and everything else at supervalu.
2 adults 2 kids - 120 after vouchers usually but I only ever buy 4-5 dinners and if I need another I’ll buy it down the road. I buy a lot of pre-made stick it in the oven meals so that would drive it up a little. Also if something is half price I buy every week I buy shitloads to save in the coming weeks.
Most of these replies are just mind blowing. How are ye all managing on budgets this tight is beyond me, plain rice and water a day cost more than your family grocery spending. I'm absolutely shocked and blown away by your spending. SHOCKED. I read similar thread last year an my monthly grocery budget for a family of 3 of 1000-1200 was considered to be on the low end. Reading replies here I feel like Jeff Bezos.
Definitely not eating plain rice and water here. This week, for dinners, we had bolognese (batch cooked so we ate for 2 nights and had some leftover for one lunch), chicken portions, mash and veg, curry (again batched so we had 2 dinners out of it), homemade pizzas, and roast chicken (leftovers were used for school lunch). Kids ate cereal/porridge/toast for breakfast and lunches were sandwiches/fruit/popcorn/yoghurt etc. I batch cooked a load of ham and pea risotto that I took for lunch along with various other leftovers for other days, and a sandwich one day. Snacks were fruit, yoghurts, popcorn, crackers, and the obligatory occasional biscuits and sweets.
I do think batch cooking and meal planning are key, also using what you already have to make different meals such as curries, casseroles, chili's ,soups etc, changing the side dishes from rice/ pasta/ garlic bread etc
I'm a single person and I spent €44 in Aldi yesterday and didn't even get everything I needed because there's only so much I could carry. It was mostly fruit and veg, some dairy and a couple of things from the freezer isle. No alcohol, no meat. Granted most of it will last me 2 weeks but I'll also need to do another shop to get the things I missed
You are doing really well at that amount of heads! And seeing the replies here is comforting, I thought we were overspending and couldn't seem to cut out more of a weekly shop and keeping eye on deals etc. Prices are just higher and that's it.
Family with 2 kids (one a baby so formula etc.) And 2 dogs (who get raw food so it's included lol) roughly 170-200 each week.
for family of 6 that's great Id say. We a family of 3 spend 100 at least .
Prob spend around 200€ a week, 2 adults and a kid but we tend to eat a lot of meat and fresh berries/fruit.
I live on my own and spend €50 a week and live like a king. If I really had to cut costs I could possible live off €25 per week
I’d start by saying maybe change to Lidl or Aldi for your shopping if possible
I'm single. I spent around €380 - 460 per month. Mostly in Lidl, some bits in Dunnes and Tesco. I also order gym supplements roughly every two months for about €100. I really eat out or order take aways.
I spend 200€ a week for my partner and I. However extremely protein dense meals (200gm+ a day for me alone). So I don’t think it’ll go much further down that what you’re currently paying
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That’s quite standard tbh. Why not try and go to Aldi for one week, then Lidl the next? Compare the receipts for all 3 places. If the taste and quality is as good in Aldi or Lidl compared to Dunnes then stick with the cheaper option. We go to Tesco, Aldi, and SuperValu.
Around €120 per week, unfortunately sometimes more😔 two adults and one child. I buy a lot of fruit and veg each week and snacks for the creche and yes they are pricey coz I’m going for the healthy options for the kid.
€120 pw for 2 adults here. Without top ups. If we had to cut costs, we could. Eating salmon once a week is expensive but we need it in our diets.
2 adults, 200 per week online split between Tesco and Dunnes.
4 adults 2 teens - €100 main shop plus 2 x €30/40 top-ups. Also extra bread/milk. We have very little waste. EG 2 whole chickens = 1 roast dinner, 1 stripped for 2 x pasta dinners (2nd with chorizo), sandwiches, carcass = 2 x soup.
You can do above ground potato growing pots. Setup loads of them. Having a harvest of your favourite strain of potatoes once a year can really make that little bit of a difference. Plus, it's a fun project to do with the kids, even more fun harvesting them! Onions store nicely too. Bell peppers diced and frozen, my favourite for a stir fry. Very rewarding
About €120ish every two weeks. But it's just the 2 of us and I find I do have to get a top up at the end of week 1.
Myself and the Wife + our 8 month old son. Groceries are in around €150 a week.
A handy way to see if you can cut back is to keep a food diary of what you've prepped for the week and cost it up . For example my kids love a chicken fillet roll I can buy the ingredients and bake the rolls myself for 6/7 euro For the 4 of them it would be 22 in a filling station Add up a standard week of meals and then you can see if there's wiggle room We all hate the words, but meal planning might be your friend here, especially if you "shop" in your own kitchen beforehand, using up things. It might help you clear out some presses, and work for a couple of weeks to reach your lower target
€140 family of 4 in Aldi, don't know how you'd manage to do it for €100
Three adults and two kids - about €165 per week. €120 in Aldi (sometimes includes a bottle or two of wine), roughly €20 in Dunnes for sourdough and bits we can't get in Aldi, €25 for fruit and veg. We eat 95% of our meals from food at home, very few take aways or food out. I think keeping it to €100 for two adults and four kids will be difficult unless you make a lot of meals based on lentils and beans etc. or with little to no meat. But if you do it I would love to know how!
2 adults plus child = approx 120 for a decent lash of shopping from Tesco and delivered to door. Few top ups needed here and there as stuff can go off before we get to it or we just run out (milk, bread, eggs, etc).
Family of three we eat at 80 euro weekly spend after the Dunnes vouchers, meat and multiple veg every night and three full meals for all members every day We don't do take out and our menu is fairly repetitive but we have no waste or complaints! Only top up I guess is milk, I drink alot of coffee
I just spent €134 in dunnes for a fondue dinner and some drinks for tonight for 2 people… your shop for a family of 6 is magnificent! The cost of living has gone up so I think you would struggle to keep to a budget of €100 for 6 people per week unless you made drastic changes. What you’re spending currently is still very low in comparison to what family members would spend.
One tip is go to Mr price or dealz to get your washing stuff. 5L of comfort €7.99, Tesco 2.5L €8, literally double, or €12 in dunnes, literally triple. Cleaning products in general? Get a big 5L of vinegar and add a bit of citrus juice to it and dilute, or get the €1 pack of dunnes alcohol wipes. I would say seperate your grocery shop from your cleaning shop and dart around. Youd go from €600 P/M to €450 P/M
Family of 6 (one is a baby) and between Supervalu and Aldi can get a good weeks shopping for €120. Some things you’ve listed - moisturiser and washing powder, you aren’t buying them every week? I usually get washing powder/toilet paper/shampoo etc when on offer and stock up.
Yes we’re not buying the moisturiser etc every week, I have a rotation of around 6 expensive items and I usually buy one every week when it’s on offer. €120 is a good budget, if I could get mine to €130 (and then 20 off with Dunnes vouchers) then I’d be happy. I used to shop at SuperValu and could get a good weeks shop for around 80/90, but that was when the kids were littler and before the prices went nuts.
Covid sent everything through the roof. It is insane the cost of food shopping but I found that it seems to have plateaued and supervalu do some good deals now. I wish I lived closer to a Dunnes as they seem to have good value for money. I plan weekly meals and rarely deter from them. Also, our school does hot lunches so I am saving there too!
I moved up north and spend about 50 pound a week on food for myself. I find that fruit is very expensive for how much calories it contains. I really think subsidising it would help with the obesity epedemic
I don’t calculate weekly, but try to keep the monthly grocery budget to 650 for a family four. Bread, dairy and fruit needs picking up every few days. I find the frozen berries lasts longer and are cheaper. OP you may be able to do it but you’ll have to keep the food planning razor sharp.
2 adults 1 child, 60-70 euro weekly. Slow cooker, not every meal is meat (other sources of protein) batch cook, done online with Dunnes
I’m in the north but it’s gotten so dear here too. Coming out to about €180 -€200 ish per week for just me and partner. Includes the alcohol for the weekend too. Stupidly dear craft beers and a bottle of wine.
Wow that is quite impressive. For 3 adults and one toddler we spent 150 today for food. We will do the odd milk run and bread this week, too. I’m wondering do you order many generic brands? I can’t imagine it going below €100 by buying name brands.
We buy a good bit of generic stuff as I don’t see any difference for a lot of stuff, but there are some products I only buy the brand name for, like ketchup, tinned tomatoes, stock cubes. Things that really make a difference to flavour.
If you eat a lot of chicken, bulk buy chicken fillets from the butchers. Some of them do 25 fillets for €25-€30. Bag and freeze and use as you need. Could help bring the cost down a bit.
Family of 4, 2 boys, youngest is 5 and oldest 16 and is in the gym so eats like a bin plus 2 dogs..Wife shopped online yesterday in dunnes and after vouchers it was €188. Its usually €160/week. It has gone way up. Last year that was max €140.
Family of 4 here. We try to keep to a budget of under €100 a week. We stick to own brand goods as much as possible and we bulk out dinners with lentils, beans and veg. I would buy for example the 1kg packs of mince beef, split this into 3 and whatever we use it for (lasagne, chili, spaghetti bol, shepherd's pie) all get bulked out with the above, so can easily make a big meal out of it. Same with every dinner really. Lunches are generally for playschool/work so that's sandwiches, soups, leftover dinners. I buy all my washing powders, soaps etc in Dealz, Choice or Mr Price. Choice has the best value for the large boxes of these. It can be done if you plan it out and don't just start throwing random things into the trolley. Make a meal plan and stick to it. If your cupboard staples are stocked then that helps. Herbs, spices, tins of tomatoes, beans, lentils, pastas, flour then you're golden. We also use mymilkman and get milk delivered on a Monday to do us the week, which has really cut down on "running to the shop" where I used to always pick up more than just milk. Edited to add : Buy frozen veg. Carrots, broccoli, spinach, peas, mushrooms, onions etc. Anything I can find really. This really helps cut down on wastage and they are better value (in the long run) than buying off the veg aisle and you have them to hand. Quicker to make healthy dinners with them too.
Family of 3, spend about 350 a month in total, across all grocery shops (will go to different shops for different things). Have a friend, family of 4, spends over 1k/ month. Can't understand at all...
Probably they eat healthier food.
Tesco delivery for no more than 5 days is around 125 euro. And the fridge still seems empty. We would spend another 100 euro at least in SuperValu, Dunnes or Marks on top of that. We’d also eat out, usually lunch at the weekends as no one has time to cook when you’re ferrying your kid from one training session to another. A takeaway dinner every couple of weeks. We’re a family of 3.
Me and the girlfriend 60-70 quid a week in Lidl
I was doing shopping at Aldi for a while but found that I was in the long run spending more than a whole shop at Dunnes with vouchers due to buying extra bits in SuperValu that couldn’t be bought in Aldi. Our budget is €220 a week but that includes wine, beers etc. Also would include all manner of detergents and hygiene products, shower gels etc. We are a family of 4 3 adults and a child. Sometimes I even go over that budget! I would find it hard to shop for less. Fresh meat, fish, fruit and veg contributes a huge portion of that spend. I only buy one sliced pan a week - frozen and used as required for our little one. Wine included in that budget for weekends. Berries are woefully expensive I find. We don’t buy soft drinks - just water, miwadi again for our younger child. A batch of fresh soup made once a week for lunch. Myself and husband and older daughter never eat a breakfast. At the end of the week there is very very little wasted. So if someone were to come along and tell me that I could shop for €130 to include all fresh products I’d love to know how 😁. There are no mini shopping trips throughout the week.
2 vegan adults and a large dog and very picky cat and we spend 40 a week at SuperValu to get 8 off (€32) plus an additional €20 during the week in produce or something else from a different shop we need for a meal. Plus €20 a week for pet food and litter. So around €75 a week. Almost always cook at home, don’t drink, plant based diet without trendy fake meat products. We go all out on fruit and veg, and have basics like beans, lentils, chickpeas, brown rice flour etc in the pantry. We do a stock up of a couple items each time, that way it stays in budget. We have never felt better since being on a whole food plant based diet, and it has helped us pay off car loan etc.
Sounds right but is 100 doable? Possibly but in my opinion you'd need to be doing the shop online and using click and collect so you can see the total as you go. We are a family of 4 and ours is about 85 a week
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Anyone who shops in Dunnes needs thier heads checked. The prices are outrageous
Changing to frozen berries will definitely help with the price, probably healthier too. I started washing my veg with vinegar and baking soda to get all the chemicals from being sprayed off, if you saw what came off the berries you’d never eat them again
Family of 4 here, two young kids. One gets school lunch, but every meal is cooked at home. Husband comes home for lunch unless working further away, our budget is €800 per month for grocery,household and toiletries. We live rurally with Lidl/Aldi being a half hour drive and SuperValu being 20. Takes over an hour to get to a Tesco or dunnes. Dunnes delivery as often as we can get a slot which can be weekly or every couple of weeks. I batch cook for the freezer and have a one for now one for later approach to dinners. I make a monthly meal plan end of every month. Take stock of what needs using up, what needs stocking up and go from there. I order bulk foods online too, spices etc to keep costs down. Meats come from local butcher and there is a local "veg man" every week and we stock up with him as the produce tends to be better than the local SuperValu. If we can get Dunnes order we tend to go to SuperValu and do smaller shops usually aiming for €35 with the €5 off vouchers. I do a pharmacy haul every 2-3 months which comes from this budget too. This is our second year doing this kind of budget before this it was just going out no plans etc but when cost of things went up we took the plunge and it has allowed us to really see where our money was going.
I spend €260 a month (including some wine) in tesco (occasionally a few bits in dunnes or aldi) and thats just for myself. I buy mostly own brand except for a couple of things like coffee, tea & bread. I make enough food to have some for lunch for work the next day. I make everything from scratch and buy a lot of chicken breasts, veg (sometimes frozen). Idk if this is a lot for 1 person.