(edit title) What's your weekly food bill? And how many are you feeding? Options

[Solith]

And where are you?

I'm trying to see if I can cut back on my food expenses - I spend around 700sek in the supermarket then perhaps 80-150sek each week eating lunch at the cafe at work (most days I take lunch with me). That seems rather a lot for one person...

[Mb 65]

Yes that is too much for one person. Is this because you buy ready made meals?

[Solith]

No, I buy fresh veg and meat and cook from scratch. I try to buy reduced price meat and freeze it rather than pay full price.

[corduroykid]

We pay something like 500 to 700 a week for 2 people, we are also in Uppsala and my sambo generally eats enough for 2! We get all the advertising from the supermarkets and buy all the stuff on offers every week, then cook everything from scratch and freeze it. If you're already doing that, not sure how your food bills are so high, unless you're regularly buying lamb and prawns and stuff like that. We get a lot of chicken and minced beef/pork when it's 35kr a kilo and make as many varied dishes as we can so we don't bore ourselves to death. We also buy in bulk when we can, 20kg bags of rice and pasta etc.

Could be an idea to try growing some veggies, we're in the process of doing that now since I seriously grudge getting charged 30kr for a small bag of spinach etc.

[byke]

Weekly food bill?
Usually duck.

[Solith]

Har har.

Thanks for the (useful!) answers. I wonder where I'm going wrong. Are there any sites which list food prices or compare shops?

[entry]

We get a lot of chicken and minced beef/pork when it's 35kr a kilo and make as many varied dishes as we can so we don't bore ourselves to death. We also buy in bulk wh ... (show full quote)

We get a lot of chicken and minced beef/pork when it's 35kr a kilo and make as many varied dishes as we can so we don't bore ourselves to death. We also buy in bulk when we can, 20kg bags of rice and pasta etc. ... (hide full quote)

35SEK/kg for mince meat is a good price. We buy it in bulk divide it and freeze it when it is available at 39SEK/kg.

Potato 5.90SEK-6.50SEK/kg, onions about the same, Bell Peppers(green, red and freaky orange) I like to purchase at 18SEK/kg but during the winter will pay 22-24SEK/kg.

The bulk pasta is always a good deal. We also purchase #10 cans(3 kilos and I probably have 4 or five of them in the cabinet) of pizza sauce which is the closest thing I have found to reasonably priced tomato paste to use as a base for a basic pasta sauce which can also be used on top of meat, in lasagna, eggplant Parmesan, etc. We also purchase dried beans, they generally take 24 hours of soaking but you can make a world of different dishes and soups/stews with them.

My basic shopping list contains onions, potato, eggs, butter*, milk, bulk cheese generally Gouda is available at 49SEK/kg but this past week other varieties were available at a comparable price. The cheese we slice with a poorly nanny safe electric slicer - skärmaskin and also grate it to use in sauces and on homemade pizza & 'hippie rolls'.

Salt is purchased in 1kg boxes, flour in 5kg bags, yeast pkg of 2 50g for about 6SEK, sugar in 2kg bags, all purchased in bulk when prices appear to be the best. Rape seed oil is purchased in 10L bottles and transferred to glass bottles. I think I picked up one this past week for less than 169SEK but I remember just a few years ago the same 10L bottle sold for 99SEK. I plan on stocking up as I have read about tremendous Rape crop losses due to the harsh winter months(Russia).

Butter is now selling at about 26-28SEK for 500g in a brick or a tub. I would like to see it back down at 22-23SEK/500g but I do not see it happening.

Coffee is currently only consumed by the misses as I am pissed off at the price. I liked purchasing coffee at 22-24SEK/500g kok-kaffe we cook it on the stove top because we have gone through five or six automatic percolators(and 5 M'n'Fing microwave ovens) due to what I perceive to be a flawed household electric supply.

I spend around 700sek in the supermarket then perhaps 80-150sek each week eating lunch at the cafe at work (most days I take lunch with me). That seems rather a lot for one person...

80-150SEK per week for lunch sort of sounds like a good deal but then you say you brown bag it so I cannot tell. One person 700SEK does not sound extremely high but for one person I would question the brands and types of foods you are purchasing.

[Puffin]

You can look at Konsumentverkets averages that come out between 350-450 per week for a woman depending on age and whether you eat lunch at home
http://www.konsumentverket.se/privatekonom...ngar-livsmedel/

[Darwinder]

My wife and I spend 800 to 1000 for the 2 of us and 1 baby(almost 2 years old), and that includes diapers and all things like that.

We started tracking about a year ago to see how much we were spending because some friends were doing it and we kinda just never stopped, we write on the calendar every week when we go shopping, same thing for gas.

[byke]

Without wanting to sound like a snob or a critic, I would like to ask what the nutritional value is in the weekly shops to those that worry about overheads compared to those who are less frugal?

So do the pennypinchers believe they achieve a well balanced diet, compared with those who may have a less stringent budget?

Our family spends a fair bit on food, I won't lie.
This isn't because we use it as a luxury, but more so find that the standards of food quality we expect carries a much higher price tag than that of other nations due to the abundance of "Korv and pasta" that seems to drive a nation. Basically put, it's one of the areas we haven't succumbed to.

The flip side is that we don't generally drink anymore or have other high luxury costs.
So this allows us to use these savings on things like food.
We also import allot of our luxuries such as cakes, drinks and self raising flour ;p on an average of once a month.

So my question is, while many may be concerned with costs and savings.
What would actually be a fair budget for a well balanced diet that doesn't consist of processed meats and frozen long life meals etc.?

[Svensksmith]

I would rather spend a little more for good, healthy food than to be a skinflint, eat poor quality crap like falukorv, and pay later at the doctor's office.

We probably spend about $120 USD a week for food for 4 and I raise a lot of our own.

[Gamla Hälsingebock]

I think it would be fun if we told what our alcohol bills were.

There are weeks/months when mine are 0...I reserve the right not to incriminate myself...so I take "the fifth"...but not literally!

[Rick Methven]

Nosh telling

[*Trowbridge H. Ford*]

I will work out how much I spend on food and drink if anyone wants to know, but I am a retired person who pays no attention to suc conerns as eating is not a thing I skimp on.

It's not that I have all that much money. It's just a pleasure that I want, and deserve.

[corduroykid]

We have a what I think is a low food bill, but we don't eat rubbish - we eat things like yoghurt, fruit, porridge etc for breakfast, lunches are often baked potatoes, home made burgers or salads, and dinners are proper homemade Indian curries, stews etc. We eat well, with lots of veggies, and we don't usually bother with cakes, biscuits, or other junk food.

We are trying to save money on eating, but my sambo is unemployed and I just started a business so we have no choice. But considering how much we spend I think we eat a very nutritionally balanced diet.

As I said, we are also growing some veggies to help out, which is a great way to cut down your shopping costs.