# Average grocery spend



## paulocon

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of stats on average shopping spends for families of various sizes?


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## Marietta

Mine is approximately €100- family of 4 + 2 dogs

Maybe you could get your stats here if all posters contribute.


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## celine00

Hi Mine is approx €130 - €150 per week, family of 6 + dogs etc,.


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## Pat Bateman

Marietta said:


> Mine is approximately €100- family of 4 + 2 dogs
> 
> Maybe you could get your stats here if all posters contribute.


 
That's per week, yes?

Should stuff like nappies, Mach 3 blades, cosmetics etc be included?


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## Marietta

Yes it is per week- doubt a family of 4 could eat on €100 a month

I would expect the OP is looking for everything one would buy in the weekly shop.


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## Pat Bateman

Marietta said:


> Yes it is per week- doubt a family of 4 could eat on €100 a month
> 
> I would expect the OP is looking for everything one would buy in the weekly shop.


 
Things have definitely got cheaper recently.

We shop in Superquinn and they've had to cut their prices due to competition.  You can get (say) a packet of chicken breasts, a packet of pork chops and a packet of mince for €10.

I'd estimate that we spend €350 - 400 per month (there's 2 of us).

It's hard to tell though 'cause sometimes you'll have weeks/months where you have to buy the expensive stuff (toiletries/washing powder/dishwasher stuff).

I think the above is high and we could reduce it.


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## Subtitle

On average 150 euro a week for 4 adults during the week and 5 at the weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun)
I shop around locally- Lidls, supermarket for brands that Lidl don't stock but I like, local veggy shop and local butcher.


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## Marietta

Your bill is quite high for two people.   I have teenagers who often go off to get a chinese etc but they pay themselves from p/time jobs so I guess the cost does vary from family to family.


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## truthseeker

I estimate 100 a week - 2 of us - we could be cheaper but we like meat and buy expensive cuts like sirloin steak and turkey mince weekly.
We usually have 1 week a month where we spend almost 200, 1 week where we spend (almost)nothing and the other 2 around 100ish. (1 big shop a month).

Also the freezer has a lot in it and every 2  or 3 months or so I insist we finish whats in it before buying anything for it again so that would be a cheaper month meat-wise. It can lead to some boring weeks of chicken fillets and pork chops though!


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## ali1971

That sounds good.  Our food bill is usually €120 a week.  2 adults and I child (in nappies).  I shop mainly Supervalu, Tesco for some deals and local butcher.  Must look at it more closely now!


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## Subtitle

Had a quick peek beekeeper and they look good.
Ah but I live in a rural area and my craft butcher is high quality and wonderful value, the beef is reared locally. 
Mr S positively salivates every time we drive past that field.


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## Subtitle

Ali from what I remember (fado fado),nappies were a killer in the weekly shop. You will notice a massive drop when you don't have to buy them anymore.


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## paulocon

Thanks for the info guys and I should have been clearer with my question. Looking at the total shop inclusive of stuff like detergents, cosmetics etc..

Amazed to see EUR150 per week for 4 adults.. EUR600 is very good for that amount of people..


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## mumsy

about 150-200 a week depends on what toiletries/nappies etc are needed I bulk buy non perishable items when on offer, we have 6mouths to feed and a dog....which reminds me I better go feed the dog


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## Subtitle

E 600 a week for 4?? I dont believe we have that much left over once we pay our bills
One wage, one on BTEA, one full time homemaker, a student and a weekender who eats with family, or eats out with friends at own expense.
E 150 pp per week is a lot in my opinion, and we eat well. No trash or 'pretend' meat' just good cuts of beef.
Mind you we were spending a hundred more 2 years ago, but I believe we shop better now because we put a bit more thought into it.


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## niceoneted

I'm down to one in the house at the moment. I bring all lunches to work, and rarely eat out now compared to few times a week previously. 
I always watch out for specials on household stuff, toiletries, washing powders etc. I rarely have to buy them at full price and when there are a lot on special I only get very basics in shopping relying on store press.
I also go once every 10 days to 2 weeks now as opposed to weekly and find a saving, hit aldi for fruit and vey weekly but spend about 10 euro. 
spend about 250 monthly this includes alcohol too - few bottles wine.


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## TheBlock

€250 a forthnight covers two adults and two kids. Just finished with formula but Nappies are a killer and I tend to pick them up in large quantities when they are on special. I also second the Dublin Meat Company reccomendation €10 for 10 Chicken Breasts €5 for 4 Pork Chops and plenty of specials. Use Tesco Online as it tends to keep you focused and not get "Trolly Tipsy" and load up on crap you don't need.


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## fizzelina

We spend about €55 a week for 2 adults, including all shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorants, laundry detergents & softener, this is about €35 in Aldi and €20 in Tesco. My boyfriend would eat lunch every day in work and evening dinner in work a few days a week and there would not be much meat in that shopping amount. It includes lunch for me to bring to work every day. I buy lots of fruit and veg in Aldi esp the 79 cent offers.


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## ali

I'm a bit sick reading the above amounts. I seem to spend €38 everytime I go into Superquinn for bread and milk! I went to my local Lidl last Friday for the first time and was very impressed. I was told they don't take cards so I asked the guyto keep sub totalling and let me know when he got to €130 as that's all the cash I had. Whole shop came to €92!!! About seven bags of groceries. I had to get over myself a bit with picking some of the stuff like cold meats as I didn't know the brands but I got Irish organic mince for €3.89 for 380g. 

I'm a convert now and have to say the fruit and veg are the big success. Oh tomatoes that don't taste of water and apricots and cherries and their broccoli. My main problem at the moment is with the kids off school they seem to graze all day long - I can't keep them fed ( 3 boys) so I seem to be shopping daily. But I'm determined to get a handle on it after reading what others are spending.

A.


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## RMCF

This topic got me thinking about a couple of things re: groceries

1) How many people have switched from the like sof M&S, Dunnes etc to Aldi/Lidl over the last year or two?

2) What % of all these groceries are thrown out compared to the 'good old days'? I remember once hearing that we used to throw out 25% of our food.


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## ali

RMCF said:


> This topic got me thinking about a couple of things re: groceries
> 
> 1) How many people have switched from the like sof M&S, Dunnes etc to Aldi/Lidl over the last year or two?
> 
> 2) What % of all these groceries are thrown out compared to the 'good old days'? I remember once hearing that we used to throw out 25% of our food.


 
I always shopped in Superquinn and M&S. Frequently threw out / wasted food but funnily enough almost never with M&S. Maybe because their food tends to be more portioned than sold in bulk or large quantities. And I've never brought home their fruit / veg and found something dodgy or tired looking or mouldy and just binned it.

A.


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## musicfan

OMG this thread has got me wondering about our food bills!!!

2 adults and we spend anything between 100-150 euro a week on food bills, normally buy toiletries seperately but sometimes included in grocery bill. Would always have food in the presses or freezer so the odd week would not have to buy much maybe bread and milk (but thats only the odd week!).......must definately be doing something wrong!!!!

Then some weeks when food is running low, could spend between 200-300 euro.....!!


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## hfp

I'm in the north, but spend about £100 sterling at the start of the month for all the basics for the month, and then maybe about £20 a week on fresh stuff and things I run out of.  Mainly feeding just me, but also sometimes feeding the boyfriend with a huge appetite.  Used to spend about £120, but trying to economise, so buying more value products, and less snacks!!


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## HidieHo

spend €65 a week for 2 adults, baby in nappies and on forumula and a dog. I'm not working so our overall budget is tight but I find planning my weekly menu based on the special offers on around saves loads and adds variety. I generally make a list of the special offers that take my fancy from the tesco, dunnes, aldi and lidl websites and then google recipes.

In the beginning it was a struggle to keep to the budget but now I actually think we're eating way better than during the boom years. I generally spend under this budget so I have a little 'pot' for buying mach 3 blades or nappies in bulk when on special offer.


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## Featherhead

I usually do one big shop once a month where i head to tesco and lidl and spend about 120- 150 euro on two of us. We then pick up bits and pieces in the local shop as we need them. We get the likes of the houshold stuff and some of teh meat in lidl and other specific brands in tesco.

I went to M & S last week as I wanted to pick up a bottle of the bellini fizz stuff and took a look at the food as I was there. I was really surprised to see that the prices have really gone down since last time I was in there a few years back. They had packets of cooked meats and pastries at 3 for 7 euro which were lovely and another italian deal where you got two meals and a garlic bread and a salad for a few euro. I'd never do a full shop there but It encouraged me to go back and pick up a few bits. 

I nip into superquinn purely for the sausages - nothing beats them


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## Delboy

250 a month for 2 adults and that covers us for lunches to work most days also


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## fobs

We spend around €500-550 a month for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids,none in nappies). do our shoppin in either Lidl,Aldi,Supervalu or Dunnes with Tesco the odd time. Lidl/Aldi definately the cheapest but like some branded goods. This total would include beer/wine.


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## Chris

Our household has 2 adults one baby in nappies and formula. We set a budget of €500 per month, which includes 4 good bottles of wine from the Wine Buff (€60), and 2-3 take aways (€40) too.
Switched to Lidl nappies recently; not only are they substantially cheaper than the brand names, but we find them a lot, lot better. 




RMCF said:


> This topic got me thinking about a couple of things re: groceries
> 
> 1) How many people have switched from the like sof M&S, Dunnes etc to Aldi/Lidl over the last year or two?
> 
> 2) What % of all these groceries are thrown out compared to the 'good old days'? I remember once hearing that we used to throw out 25% of our food.



1) We've been shopping in Lidl since about 2003. At the start we still did the odd shop in Dunnes, but we found the price difference rediculuous.
2) I think we deffinitely pay more attention to how much fresh fruit and veg we now buy, and therefore throw out less. This has mainly to do with the fact that we have a fruit and veg shop close by, so it is convenient to pick up stuff every couple of days.

As others have mentioned, we have noticed considerable reductions in prices. I was in a Lidl in Germany about 5 years ago, and comparing prices was easy as they stock more or less the same stuff. At the time I saw about a 20 - 30% difference (not looking at wine) to what was charged in Ireland. Was in Germany again last year, and found there almost no difference at all, and Germany certainly hasn't suffered any significant price increases in the last few years.


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## SparkRite

Mrs Sparkrite does the weekly shop in Dunnes/Tesco for a family of 3 adults and 3 female teens.

Comes to an average of €300- €320. That also includes all toiletries and cleaning tablets/powder etc. for the week.

However we are at times going to the local shop during the week for milk/bread/eggs...........


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## Caveat

That seems like a lot to me Sparkrite


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## SparkRite

Caveat said:


> That seems like a lot to me Sparkrite



Couldn't agree more Caveat, tell me about it!!

Herself will go between Tesco and Dunnes each week looking for the "Specials"
To be fair that total includes a €21 box of wine and €14 euro on the lotto, but nevertheless reading this thread €320 seems excessive.

I'll have to get her to read this thread


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## micheller

Probably 5-600 a month for 2 adults, 2 kids in nappies.
Spend is all between Lidl and Aldi, bi-mnthly trip to Dunnes for small shop.


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## Boyd

SparkRite said:


> .....€14 euro on the lotto,



 that's alot each week on the lotto!


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## SparkRite

username123 said:


> that's alot each week on the lotto!



4 lines QP lotto+ = €8

2 lines QP Euromillions+ = €6


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## Boyd

SparkRite said:


> 4 lines QP lotto+ = €8
> 
> 2 lines QP Euromillions+ = €6



Each week => €14 * 52 = €728.

Also, why do people do more than one line (or whatever the minimum cost one is) - if you're luck is in its in, making your chances of winning 2 in a billion rather than 1 in a billion isnt going to make much difference!


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## niceoneted

Sparkrite, You could buy prize bonds with that €728, every year and be in weekly and monthly draws up to €1million. That is what I did. You always have the money then. 
Also the shop is very high, should be able to get away with 250 for the 6 of you. IS your wife buying the specials on top of everything else? Is there much waste on food? IS there a lot of luxury buying in that.


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## mtk

About 800 a month 2 adults and 1 child including cleaning materials and tolieteries etc.


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## Pat Bateman

mtk said:


> About 800 a month 2 adults and 1 child including cleaning materials and tolieteries etc.


 
That sounds very high to me.


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## MandaC

There is just me and I spend probably 120-150 per week.  Its hard to quantify though most times I put stuff like hairspray, shampoos, a bottle of wine etc in, which are expensive.

I shop in local shops, markets, local farm gate (for meat) and the rest in Superquinn, though pick up some bits in Aldi too.

Am going to try to cut my spend and save a few bob.


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## purpeller

MandaC said:


> There is just me and I spend probably 120-150 per week.  Its hard to quantify though most times I put stuff like hairspray, shampoos, a bottle of wine etc in, which are expensive.
> 
> I shop in local shops, markets, local farm gate (for meat) and the rest in Superquinn, though pick up some bits in Aldi too.
> 
> Am going to try to cut my spend and save a few bob.



Yeah, it's not cheap to shop for one.
I average €50 a week but usually do 2 lots of shopping since fruit and milk don't keep long.  I'm trying to reduce it to €40 a week by doing one bigger shop and only going to buy milk/fruit the second time.


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## Pope John 11

Pope John 11 said:


> *Shopping bill:*
> Heres an easy way to remember to keep your shopping to a limit of approx. €150/month, it works for me anyway:
> Firstly break down what you eat into the following _(my examples are in italics, but use whatever you normally eat):_
> 
> 1. Breakfast - _cereal & milk_
> 2. Fruit - _apples, oranges, bananas_
> 3. Veg - _carrots, celary, broculli_
> 4. Lunch - _Slice pan, sliced ham/turkey, Block of cheese_
> 5. Dinner - _meat & fish products_
> 6. Dinner - _Rice, pasta, spagetti, pepper/salt, flavourings etc_
> 7. Snacks - _Cream crackers, biscuits, yoghurts etc_
> 
> If you remember each of the categories above, now also remember you have a maximum spend of €5/week on each category, equating to €35/week shopping spend, €157/month spend. You will save the other €7 on categories 6 & 7, bringing it back down to the €150/month.
> 
> When you think of Category 1 - Breakfast, the next time you go to the shop, you know your limit is €5/category, you see a LIDL museli for €2.50 & 2L of milk for €1.65, its €4.15, its less than my €5 spend a week.
> 
> The major problem is everyone goes into a foodstore, *not knowing what they want*, & *not knowing what THE TOTAL COST* before the cashier tells you, 'well that will be 201 euro & 35 cents please!!!
> 
> Open to criticism or any other thoughts, my few tips & suggestions


 
This is my monthly way of shopping which I posted recently in another thread, €150/month for one person.


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## mtk

Pat Bateman said:


> That sounds very high to me.


 
just checked my guessestimate against grocery shop and supermarkets on visa bill and it was accurate 805 for june!


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## niceoneted

MTK you shoudl be able to get that down to at least 600 - if you need to that is.


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## Caveat

I'm getting very stingy in my old age. It used to be that I'd be quite choosy who I'd accept the offer of a meal off - I mean just a casual "ah sure you can pop in on the way and have lunch" type thing rather than a proper slightly more formally organised event.

Nowadays though I take anything that's going - saves on money *and* preparing/washing up. This weekend, for the second time in about 5 weeks, it has worked out that we're not doing any cooking at all!


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## Macattack

has anyone else noticed that the butcher counter in Tesco is a lot cheaper than the prepacked meat? 
eg last week i picked up a packet of 3 chicken breasts, €5. I walk across the eisle to the butcher counter, 3 chicken breasts €3.


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## Macattack

i must be doing well, i spend €220 - 250 per month for groceries for 2 people. I find going to the butcher (as previously mentioned) for meat, Tesco/Superquinn for deals & Aldi/lidl for sweets & veg is the best combo.

PS. anybody else had the breakfast pack in Superquinn? 15 Sausages, 10 rashers & pudding for €5!


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