My Monthly Shopping Savings

 OK.

A rare glimpse into the Frugal Mummy household.

Here is what we do each month so we have enough pennies to pay everything and also put some into our savings.

Here are my (untidy and lived-with) food planning notes for this month.

I start off by chatting to Man Wonderful about the coming month (any meals out planned, anything we will be doing - visits to family, family coming to us, etc.).  

Then I make a list of meals we would both like to have this month.  I am reducing my weight so want to avoid any meals too calorie-laden.  (I'm also dairy-free and dairy alternatives can be a little pricey.)

The next thing we do is stock check the fridge, freezer and store cupboards.  I make a wee list of what we already have, and comparing this with our meals list, I write out what we need.  (N.B. Our fruit and veg comes from the local veg delivery shop - we have as much local stock as we can.  This is delivered weekly.)

I use an online app  - trolley.co.uk - that enables me to find the cheapest prices from the supermarkets I use.  The highlighter on my list is the cheapest place for what I want to buy.  I use as many 'shop's own' products as I can.

Then I plan the main meal - one meal - a day for each day.  This can be as flexible as the fresh food allows, so if we just don't fancy a moussaka that day we can change it for a different meal that week.  

(ADB = all day breakfast .. we have veg sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, fresh tomatoes and mushrooms.  Where there are two meals planned it usually means we have people (family!) here. )

Then we decide how to get the shopping.  If it is worth having a delivery or a click and collect, or whether to go to the supermarket just for those items.  The last one is hard!  Supermarkets are very clever at using psychological tricks to get people to spend money.  

This month we had a Tesco delivery (part of our order was soft drinks too).

And a Sainsbury's click and collect:

We went to Morrisons and the local Coop for the items that are cheapest there.

It is the 23rd of January today and we have shopped since only for additional items on the list - for example, Goat's cheese that has a shorter shelf life and more orange squash as I didn't budget for enough to last the month. 

We allow for errors, and when we sit down before the end of Jan to plan next month we will pick meals we like and add additional one we would like to try.  I also like to go through receipt for the month and add on anything from there that we need to increase. 

By doing this as a household task every month it honestly saves us money.

I budget a higher amount than we spend on our food shop, as a buffer if you like.  This means we have money incase we go over, or money to put in savings at the end of the month.

Can I answer any questions you might have?

FMx