# What is average family shop for 4 all over 18



## dodo

Just wondering what is the average weekly shop for a family of 4 all over 18.


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## vandriver

We spend about 200 a week.


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## Cervelo

If it's any help we're a couple with no kids and spend on average about €80 per week 
But that doesn't included any alcohol bar the odd bottle of wine 
On a side note, I have noticed that since Dunnes started the €10 off €50 our trips to the shops have gone from once a week
to multiple trips as we only spend the amount on the voucher or a close to it as we can get it


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## niceoneted

a bit away from your question but I have been doing our shopping on line and getting delivery every 6 days ie 5 shops a month. our shopping has reduced significantly over the year. considering we are eating all our meals at home I actually cannot believe how well we have done. Maybe one convenience meal a week other than that it is all cooked from scratch. Includes treats, wine, beer etc.this time last year we were paying €1400 now around €700.


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## Peanuts20

Not quite the answer to your question but family of 4, 2 kids, 14 and 10 and a dog, for us around €140 a week including Saturday and Sunday papers. That's in a country down and not going anywhere near Lidl or Aldi. The odd week it might be a bit higher for wine, toiletries or once offs.


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## Pugmister

I started tracking this in January for our family of 3 with one child age 6. Our food spend from 25/01/2021 to 25/02/2021 is likely to be between €850 and €900. We use Aldi for the majority of our shop and go to a good butcher for our meats for Saturday and Sunday meals.


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## Buddyboy

Is it a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question?  
Like Cervelo, we are a couple with no kids.  I'm a vegetarian as well, so it actually works out cheaper. 
Because we cook most things from scratch, and normally enough for 4 or 5 portions (no point in using 1/2 can of tomatoes/lentils/chickpeas etc.) We freeze portions  so a meal costing around a fiver in ingredients can provide 4 dinners.
Whereas, if we were buying meat, and processed food, e.g ready meals, frozen pizzas etc, the weekly shop could double in price or more.
We've also gotten much better in reducing waste food since lock-down.  Any veg that's on the way out, makes a 3ltr pot of minestrone soup, which does for the week.

I can see a weekly shop for 4, especially if two are in their twenties (assumption on my part) being a completely different animal.


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## Ceist Beag

Been doing the weekly shop for the past year, since lockdown and because I pay by credit card each week I have built up a good picture of our average weekly spend. Family of 5 (children are 10, 12 and 15) and our average weekly spend is around €160. Throw in the odd takeaway and it probably rounds to about €750 per month.


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## huskerdu

There are 5 of us, 4 adults and a 12 year old. Spending about €200 a week, including a few bottles of wine and beer. It could be lower if we tried or had to cut the bills, but its not a big deal for us. 

You'd have to be very careful when looking at averages to make sure you are not comparing apples to oranges. 

You can only compare if alcohol is removed and all shopping for the week is added up, including all trips to Centra etc. 
Pre-Covid , I knew people who claimed their weeking shopping bill is low, but didn't include lunches at work and eating out at weekends, so it was only a fraction of their actual food bill.


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## PGF2016

€200 per week approx from supermarket, butcher and green grocer for family of 5. Kids under 5 years old. Little or no alcohol consumed.


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## shweeney

depends what you include. We're a family of 5, kids are all teens so eating like starved horses. Weekly shop is probably between 150 and 200 (of which about 50% is cereal and milk ). It has probably increased a bit during the pandemic because we're mostly using Tesco to reduce the number of shopping trips, whereas previously we alternated between Tesco, Lidl and Aldi.


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## dodo

niceoneted said:


> a bit away from your question but I have been doing our shopping on line and getting delivery every 6 days ie 5 shops a month. our shopping has reduced significantly over the year. considering we are eating all our meals at home I actually cannot believe how well we have done. Maybe one convenience meal a week other than that it is all cooked from scratch. Includes treats, wine, beer etc.this time last year we were paying €1400 now around €700.


How many people is shop for?


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## dodo

vandriver said:


> We spend about 200 a week.


For how many people


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## niceoneted

dodo said:


> How many people is shop for?


2 adults and 2 kids full time and we have 2 adult children that are included for certain things in the month too


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## Freelance

2 adults, no children. Shopping once weekly in Dunnes since start of lockdown apart from a couple of trips to a fishmonger. All paid by credit card so have good visibility. About €200 per week, including fish excluding alcohol. Some premium ingredients as we are both foodies. Almost all meals prepared from scratch. Definitely spending less by being organised with a full list made the night before shopping and being strict about not dropping into shops at other times.


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## dodo

Freelance said:


> 2 adults, no children. Shopping once weekly in Dunnes since start of lockdown apart from a couple of trips to a fishmonger. All paid by credit card so have good visibility. About €200 per week, including fish excluding alcohol. Some premium ingredients as we are both foodies. Almost all meals prepared from scratch. Definitely spending less by being organised with a full list made the night before shopping and being strict about not dropping into shops at other times.


Curious how much of the 200E is alcohol as looking for food shop information not alcohol


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## Laughahalla

2 adults and two kids under 10.
About 550 euro per month on all groceries. Almost zero food waste and eat very well for that. 
Occasional takeaway - about twice a month


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## DublinHead54

We are two adults and our weekly shop is 120 eur a week from Aldi. Our shop usually includes, salmon, mince, chicken, fresh meats etc and those add up in price quickly.


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## Marsha25

3 adults, a teen, a child and 2 cats - I'd spend about €170 per week. I don't buy alcohol, husband would buy his own so it's not included in the €170. Do all shopping in SuperValu for now as it's very near us.  The odd time I'd go to lidl I'd still end up spending as much as I'll inevitably end up buying stuff I don't need in the weekly offers aisle.  I decide what dinners we'll have for 4-5 days and will make a list accordingly. Majority of the time I will stick to the list and not buy anything extra (unless it's in Lidl  )


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## dereko1969

dodo said:


> Just wondering what is the average weekly shop for a family of 4 all over 18.


What's yours?


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## Ceist Beag

dodo said:


> Curious how much of the 200E is alcohol as looking for food shop information not alcohol


They stated the 200E excluded alcohol


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## Gordon Gekko

2 adults and 2 children - €250 a week


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## Laughahalla

Gordon Gekko said:


> 2 adults and 2 children - €250 a week


Do you have much food waste with that? 
I'm guessing the two children are two teenage boys.
We spend about half that per week.


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## Gordon Gekko

Laughahalla said:


> Do you have much food waste with that?
> I'm guessing the two children are two teenage boys.
> We spend about half that per week.



No, very little if any waste and, no, they’re small children.


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## PebbleBeach2020

200 a week. Two adults, three kids under 6..


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## vandriver

dodo said:


> For how many people


2 adults,2 teenagers


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## Delboy

2 Adults, 4 kids (from 12 to 6) .....1 big shop a week in Lidl/Aldi and a couple of top ups in local Tesco express. €170 a week


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## DeeKie

2 adults, 2 children (not teens) about 210 to 230 a week. No alcohol, cook meals from scratch but buy whatever we fancy. Milk is delivered separately and we’d buy bread once or twice separately.


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## Cervelo

DeeKie said:


> we’d buy bread once or twice separately.



What, you buy bread I thought everybody was baking their own bread now since Covid took hold of our lives


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## bish123

Around 200 per week including booze. Family of four (2 adults  2 kids). Shop weekly mainly LIDL and Tesco as these are near.


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## Freelance

dodo said:


> Curious how much of the 200E is alcohol as looking for food shop information not alcohol



None. My original post would have been clearer had I worded it as follows: “About €200 per week, including fish *but* excluding alcohol.


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## garbanzo

Family of four. €150 in Dunnes and €50in Aldi weekly usually works for us.


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## nest egg

Two adults, two young kids and we spent €11,440 in 2020 in grocery stores, so €220 a week. That figure includes a limited amount of alcohol. All spend is tracked and includes misc. items in convenience stores, trips to M&S etc.


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## Purple

When I had to, when money was tight, I would quite easily get out of Lidl for €80 a week for a family of one adult and 4 children. That includes toiletries etc.
I now spend a net €160 a week in Dunnes (after the 20% off vouchers). 

That doesn't include alcohol. I don't drink much but have expensive taste; wine under €15 a bottle is strictly for cooking, whiskey (the "e" is important) needs to be 18 years old and beers need to be of the Craft variety.


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## Ceist Beag

So OP, many of us have provided you with answers. What's your average spend?


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## Gordon Gekko

I went to help out the other day and was blamed for pushing it up to €305 

Zero booze before anyone asks.


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## michaelm

Purple said:


> whiskey (the "e" is important)


Does the absence of the "e" not just indicate that it's Scottish?


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## Purple

michaelm said:


> Does the absence of the "e" not just indicate that it's Scottish?


Yes. Irish Whiskey is a much better product.


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## NY_Resident

Family of 2 adults and 3 kids (under 10 yrs)....averages approx €230 per week over course of a year. Includes most toiletries, cleaning products and some very limited alcohol (2 bottles beer per week). Mix of Lidl and an overpriced SV shop.


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## Bronte

There is no right answer to this question, if I had to, and when I had to, I could live frugally (spaghetti hoops on toast being a dinner !) . I consider food one of the joys of life and I haven't a notion of living frugally.  The older I get and particularly due to Covid that is my view.  Our actual food bill is higher due to Covid but we are saving a fortune on dining out.  And we dined out very well indeed.  

Maybe a better question should be how much can I get the food bill down to, for those needing to do so.  Without feeling like the family are hard done by.


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## Gordon Gekko

Bronte said:


> There is no right answer to this question, if I had to, and when I had to, I could live frugally (spaghetti hoops on toast being a dinner !) . I consider food one of the joys of life and I haven't a notion of living frugally.  The older I get and particularly due to Covid that is my view.  Our actual food bill is higher due to Covid but we are saving a fortune on dining out.  And we dined out very well indeed.
> 
> Maybe a better question should be how much can I get the food bill down to, for those needing to do so.  Without feeling like the family are hard done by.



Wise words. I remember having to keep an eye on the cost after I graduated so now I enjoy not doing that. It’s nice to be able to buy things like fillet steak and monkfish if you want to. But you could do it for much less if needs be.


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## Purple

I love cooking. I'd nearly cook for the sake of it without eating the food. It's relaxing and creative and a great life skill.
If you are willing to take the time you can cook very tasty and nourishing meals for very little cost. Cheap cuts of meat slow cooked often produce the best taste.


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## Bronte

Purple said:


> I love cooking. I'd nearly cook for the sake of it without eating the food. It's relaxing and creative and a great life skill.
> If you are willing to take the time you can cook very tasty and nourishing meals for very little cost. Cheap cuts of meat slow cooked often produce the best taste.


What I wouldn't give for a bacon, cabbage, turnip and potatoes.  For any money LOL.


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## Ceist Beag

Purple said:


> I love cooking. I'd nearly cook for the sake of it without eating the food. It's relaxing and creative and a great life skill.
> If you are willing to take the time you can cook very tasty and nourishing meals for very little cost. Cheap cuts of meat slow cooked often produce the best taste.


Agreed. Pottering about in the kitchen putting something together while listening to music is just another form of meditation to me. Gardening is another one ... but I think I'm moving away from the point of the thread! OP is still very shy to post their average spend...


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## shweeney

Purple said:


> Cheap cuts of meat slow cooked often produce the best taste.



For certain dishes sure, there's only so many slow cooked stews you can eat though. Sometimes you want a lump of meat or a steak.
Cheapest option is to go vegetarian, at least for a couple of meals a week.

At the moment, we can't go anywhere, no foreign holiday to look forward to; might as well eat and drink well.


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## Fidgety

Bronte said:


> What I wouldn't give for a bacon, cabbage, turnip and potatoes.  For any money LOL.


Don't laugh but I still cook that and corned beef ....I'm really a peasant 
2 Adults, 1 teetotaller, shop local, eat well  circa Euro 130 per week


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## Purple

shweeney said:


> Cheapest option is to go vegetarian, at least for a couple of meals a week.


I only eat meat about twice a week.


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## Bronte

shweeney said:


> For certain dishes sure, there's only so many slow cooked stews you can eat though. Sometimes you want a lump of meat or a steak.
> Cheapest option is to go vegetarian, at least for a couple of meals a week.
> 
> At the moment, we can't go anywhere, no foreign holiday to look forward to; might as well eat and drink well.


But a Roast chicken is a pretty cheap dish.  And mince dishes too, like chilli con carne, or shepard's pie.  As for vegetarian I tried out the Finnish sensation last week, the feta one with pasta, we were not impressed.  My DH thought I'd lost the plot. He's firmly maate and two veg. If he can get it from me !


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## Bronte

Fidgety said:


> Don't laugh but I still cook that and corned beef ....I'm really a peasant
> 2 Adults, 1 teetotaller, shop local, eat well  circa Euro 130 per week


How do you mean corned beef, that's what American's think we eat, but I only ever ate it in sandwiches.


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## Fidgety

Pop down to your local butcher Bronte and give it a go, you will not be disappointed. And the sandwiches are good too. Enjoy


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## Fidgety

Bronte said:


> He's firmly maate and two veg. If he can get it from me



Perfect so for the corned beef and cabbage.


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## shweeney

Bronte said:


> But a Roast chicken is a pretty cheap dish



it's disturbingly cheap TBH.


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## BeanyBoo

2 adults, 3 children. 1100 pm
800 pm on food. 300 pm on eating out


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## noproblem

Purple said:


> Yes. Irish Whiskey is a much better product.


For example, Jameson, Paddy and Powers are a completely different product to Scotch. If you like the taste of Scotch, you won't drink the 3 i've mentioned, visa versa too. Scotch is a rougher taste/texture, distilled usually twice. Irish is mild/smooth. Irish is distilled at least 3 times and usually has a higher alcohol content than the Scotch.
It was once the most popular whiskey in the world, fast becoming very, very, popular again.


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