Grocery budgets!

You should be able to do it no problems.

We're like Mrs Mojo - we spend just because we can. I usually do a "big" shop once a fortnight and spend $350-$400ish. That includes a few fruit and veg, a carton of Huggies nappies for the gremlins at $40 and a bulk bag of Huggies wipes at $15. It doesn't include any meat, Willie does around $80 of meat a fortnight. I usually do a meal plan based around what meat he buys, sometimes I do one first and give him a list. I usually send the nanny to Countdown 2 - 3 times a week for fresh veges, ham and milk.

The expensive stuff in our grocery bill is mostly convenience foods - Le Snaks, fruit sticks, rice wheels, those Watties fruit pouches etc. for Maya's school lunches, and we use a lot of packet sauces, sometimes Dolmio, Chicken Tonight etc. but mostly the Maggi Cook in the Pot ones coz they work out cheaper.

When I was on maternity leave we had to tighten our belts a bit, but that mostly meant not buying chocolate biscuits etc. I have definitely seen the grocery bill go up a lot over the past few months with rising food prices, especially dairy coz our regular shop includes 1kg cheese, 2 x 6 packs of yoghurt, 2-3 tubs margarine (depending on what the bulk buy special is at the time) and 6l milk. The gremlins go thru 1l of milk a day on their own, plus another 1l for cereal, tea, cooking etc. so we get thru around 14l a week.

I buy Homebrand where we can, things like canned fruit, bread, jam, weetbix, biscuits, crackers, frozen veg, milk, cheese etc. The only things we won't buy Homebrand are spaghetti and baked beans (has to be Watties) and cleaning products coz I am ultra fussy about how things smell - Homebrand dishwashing liquid is fine but washing powder isn't lol!

When I was on a strict budget, when Maya and I were on our own and I was on the DPB and studying and paying daycare fees etc. I used to be able to feed us on $80 a fortnight.

Ha ha, I had that post on my screen for so long that lots of other people posted lol!

Def a good idea re: meat, when I was on my own that's what I used to do, I'd buy like 1kg of mince and split it into 5 meals.

I find things like cheese, butter, milk and yoghurt a killer They are so over priced and yet they are things you need...apart from yoghurt, I could live with out that, but Caden has one everyday for lunch or afternoon tea. We buy a big block of budget cheese and that lasts us quite a while, we make sure we wrap it in glad wrap after we use it so its doesn't dry out.
We buy the big 3L bottles of milk.

We budget for 2 adults and 1 child $130 a week, $100 on food $30 on tolietries/cleaning products etc. Just have started this and only spent $80 all together last week. Meal plans are good and I get cash out before I go in to the supermarket so can't spend anything else. Also helps that DH is away for two weeks at a time then back for a week so really its cheaper for us at the mo :-) Will need to relook at this budget though when bubs come along for nappies etc.

Forgot to add I have coeliacs disease and so am on a lifelong gluten free diet.  It has it's pros and cons.  On the downside gluten free foods (pasta, cereal and bread) are more expensive but on the plus side it means I don't eat takeaways because I simply can't and I make nearly all of our meals from scratch. 

I am able to get a prescription for pasta and flour but have found that as long as I buy GF pasta on special it works out a similar price and I don't need to pay the $15 prescription fee.

You need to hire Babe for a week to come and sort you out

I spent $40 this week on groceries (forgot toothpaste though) as we're going through all the stuff in the freezer. $15 of that was Daniel's food as we're away for 5 days. Usually I'm $120+ for 2+9 month old - that includes $20 on formula and at least one bottle of wine. I "scrimped" this week cos DH said we had $100 for 2 weeks - unfortunately I spent that on clothes that I then took back. Anyone want to buy credit notes for Shanton and Pagani

OMG!! I spend about $250 a fortnight on 2 adults 1 9 mth old and a 2 cats.

I probably buy nappies every second fortnight and 2 tins of formula, although Ryan has cut down to 3 bottles a day, so one tin seems be lasting us about 9 days instead of 7.

I've tried cutting down and I keep thinking to  go to pak nsavce but the hamilton ones a very erm.... tatty.

I try to write down the specials and plan my weekly meals and shop around that. But 2A, one teen and two boys mean I have to be very creative. That crockpot comes in handy - and I try not to shop with the DH. If I shop with the 9yo it's a game - how much can we save?
I do use Countdown mostly for the general stuff - it's about the same as PakNSave if I buy own brands and specials, and I get about $50 a quarter back in cash vouchers.
I did notice a rise at our vege shop - from $19 a fortnight to $22 this fortnight.