Supermarket spending

I don’t see how anyone can Surely it’s all indicative of what you like to eat and drink Some people might buy steak and prime cuts of meat or maybe a few bottles of wine whilst another person may buy takeaways so not spend too much on the weekly shop It’s all subjective to the people’s income and tastes

I probably average £150 pw but that doesn't include any meat which I get from the butcher.

I buy all sorts of things on my weekly shop. Yesterday I bought new frying pan, as the handle was falling off mine, and a new cruet as the bottom had fallen out of the pepper grinder.

I buy books and, just lately, nice serving bowls!

Whilst mine for one is around £30 so for two around £60-65 showing a big difference in the first two posts

Exactly - it’s a moveable feast depending on your income, tastes and cleanliness!

It all depends on your income. The average income of a pensioner household is currently around £29,500. This average is, of course, very misleading as we know there are several million pensioner households dependent on state pension and pension credit and their income is likely to be under £10,000, while there are many others, with two pensioners, both with good occupational pensions, whose pension income will be £50,000 or over. Where do you fit along this line?

One company that did research came to the conclusion that the average pensioner household spent 14% of their household income on food. But the better off pensioners probably spend less than this and poorer pensioners more.

What people buy every week also varies immensely, not just according to income but also all sorts of other factors. The importance people place on food. Two households on the same income may spend different amounts of money on food because one just wants to spend as little as possible on food and their food decisions are entirely price driven, another may have ethical or wellbeing concerns and be prepared to cut down expenditure on other things to ensure the food they buy meets their ethical and well being standards.

I do not think the figure you seek exists in any meaningful way. I doubt there is a shopping list that can be defined as representing the range of foods bought by a significant proportion of retired people, which is what I think you are looking for.

You’re absolutely right, It’s impossible to say. I’ve been googling and the answer varies for so many reasons. While OH still works we don’t need to worry about what goes into the trolley or how many times a week I go. It still feels an obscene amount of money that gets passed from us to the supermarket. I wanted to be shocked into reforming my shopping habits I think. Perhaps I need to ask myself a different set of questions...

Just wondering where that average pensioner income came from Monica. I never had that amount even whilst working. Just curious.

Mollie we've been watchina programme called eat well for less on TV...not a good idea at all.My OH is now obsessed by what it costs us for food .We eat very well BUT everything is made from scratch and we dont eat a lot of red meat so I think our spending is reasonable and I might have to ban him from the supermarket if he continues to look over my shoulder and dissect every price on every packet.Try filling a trolley on an online shopping site and see what it costs JUST for food and what you could reasonably save if you needed to,but dont be too strict and allow some of the things you enjoy.Its all relative really to what you like and can afford.Hope you work it out

Smithy The source of the figures are government statistics as below

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/articles/whathashappenedtotheincomeofretiredhouseholdsintheukoverthepast40years/2017-08-08

It was turned into a more user friendly newspaper article by the DT: www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/08/08/pensioners-incomes-catching-workers/

About £120 per week. That is everything. Food, toothpaste, cleaning products etc.
I cook from scratch everyday and don't waste much.

About £120 for two a week here too. That includes beer, wine, household cleaners and some toiletries.
I don’t believe in skimping on food that I cook at home. I waste nothing, but believe that you get what you pay for and it’s worth paying for quality and where possible ethically & locally sourced produce.
If I had to economise there would be plenty of things I would cut back on before I spent less on food.

I think we spend on average about £120 as well at the supermarket, usually calling in there twice a week.That includes all sorts of things there as well as food.

Just over ten years ago we were spending around £90 a week at the supermarket ( I remember thinking it was quite a lot.)
So, actually, not bad really, about £30 more now.

janeainsworth, I absolutely agree with you. I think my weekly spend is probably comparable with the figure you quote and, like you, I try to shop both ethically and well.

As we get older good quality nutrition should be our over riding concern. It is the key contributor to good health and to maintaining the well being of those who are ill.

Thank you all. I’m sure there are lots of things I could prune and if I planned better I might save a bit there. I’m a believer in quality over quantity too but remember the days when I had no choice but to buy the cheapest to make ends meet. By contrast this ‘anything in the trolley’ approach feels wonderful AND guilt-inducing . I’m going to think about all this while I eat my way through the Christmas ‘extras’

We're both still working so not on a pension yet - our supermarket shop is on average about £120 pw but that includes wine, meat, cleaning stuff and other incidentals for two of us. I'm very guilty of throwing stuff out and have just this morning emptied the fridge of anything past it's sell by date including half the wonderful turkey we hadn't eaten . I can't smell or taste if its off so bin a lot of things!

Crikey!! I can't afford £120 a week on my measly pension!

I’ve never tried to work it out.

We now don't spend anything like that as our appetites and needs have shrunk these last few years.
We spend on heating as we feel the cold but not on entertainment or eating out.
We don't buy many new clothes for the same reason.
We don't have a car but use taxis.
I thing £29.500 is quite a high figure for pensionable house holds but many of my generation have only one pension as women of my age didn't accrue a pension of their own.

Don't we all just adjust our spending to what money we have? I guess if u are still paying a mortgage or rent, then you will have less disposable income. But when you retire you don't spend so much on clothes or travel costs. At least that is our experience.

I tend to pop into the supermarket most day and check the meat and fish counter for reduced stuff as I cook all meals from scratch. I would say on food only I spend an average of £50 a week for two of us. This does not include wine or having lunch out.

I shop once a week, visiting two supermarkets. There are three adults here, I spend about £90 per week. The odd week more (eg if something like beer is bought), and some less - depending on freezer contents etc. If something like meat is reduced I buy and freeze until I need it - bought five assorted packs in Lidls last week because it was a third off. As I had some christmas stuff in to use up I didn't need much other shopping so it still didn't work out an expensive shop.
I cook from scratch, rarely throw anything away - take little notice of dates on things.

We probably spend around £150 on supermarket shopping, used to be a great deal more before I stopped shopping in M&S.

I spend about £14 a week on food and household essentials. That's for one person.