I need an intervention!! UK

[ericwn]

We buy most of our grocery at Costco. My two boys eat like adults. Perhaps, that is why it is expensive.

Yeah I might not have anticipated the appetite of kids at some stages. Doesn’t get much cheaper than the Kirkland bulk material in Canada I guess.

 

[JamesMay82]

I think this is a common problem for couples in the UK, especially those with young children.

My wife and I certainly have this issue and ours friends are the same. We’re all in roughly the same position - with one or two young children.

We’re moving house soon and will tackle this issue head on when we do because we know how financially wasteful it is.

As to the causes - I think there’s a few reasons so many have found themselves in this position.

All of us work full time quite demanding jobs, which means we’ve all got a decent amount of disposable income but very little time to properly plan and prepare meals.

I noticed too a big difference during covid and it never really went away. Suddenly every single restaurant became easily available on the apps and it was much easier than masking up and going to the shops.

My wife and I used to grab groceries we needed on our way home from work but now we both work from home, so we’ve become lazy and stopped going to the shops as much as we should to prepare cost effective meals.

Another issue we have is we feel we’ve been in limbo with our house situation for almost a year now. We should move next month but it’s been going on a long time, and we’ve fallen into the trap of not correcting bad habits in the present and instead making detailed plans of how we’ll correct them when we move.

We’ll sort our lifestyle when we move next month, I’ve no doubt. I think many people will be in the process of reflecting as the financial landscape continues to change in the UK.

Thanks for all the comments and tips guys. To our American friends, I recently had friends visit from the states and they couldn't get over how much cheaper things are. This historically wasn't always the case but they confirmed they spend the same as you guys.

@James3000 Good to know I'm not alone! We work busy jobs like you and with picking kids up etc from school and other activities its easier to just swing by the co-op (convenience store) for the evening meal and supplies. As another shameful example my wife was buying the dog food there at £2 a tin when you can buy from Asda at 90p.

These are just bad habits we've picked up and I'd maybe say due to the covid lockdowns as were avoiding the bigger stores and maybe fell into the trap of going to the co -op.

@Ruggy yes I'm using it to spur my health improvements. I'm 40 and overweight which I put on from mid 20's after always been healthy as a kid till 25ish. Just done our food shop which is now loads of fruit and chicken and rice and salmon etc. I've been capable of losing weight in the past when my mindset is focuses which with the financial changes is making me realise we need to big lifestyle and financial changes.

 

[ducknalddon]

The BBC has some great budget recipes:

Budget recipes and advice

If you're trying to save money but still want to eat well, get the best budget recipes and advice on BBC Food

www.bbc.co.uk