How much is your food bill as a single parent?

[Lindor2828]

I seem to be spending £60-£70 per week and it's only me and one DC which seems lots! DD has school dinners so it doesn't even include her packed lunch stuff.

How much is your average weekly food bill and how many DCs do you have?

[Ladymoods]

Probably about the same but I have 2 dc aged 7 and 5. Where do you shop? I find I will always spend less if I do an online shop or use Lidl/Aldi.

[Lindor2828]

A mix of aldi and sainsburys, the only supermarkets we have in the area. I try and do as much as I can in Aldi and then go to sainsburys for the rest.

I do meal plan but seem to throw a lot away at the end of the week so I know I'm probably over buying. I find a lot of stuff hard to eat all on your own before it ends up having to be thrown away.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I feed me, DD (11) and an au pair for £60 per week, when it was just myself and DD I could do it for around £35. You need to menu plan, freeze part packs of food, bulk cook and freeze and use cheap cuts.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Oh and I do all my shopping in Sainsburys and I am coeliac so have to buy expensive GF bread and pasta.
We eat a lot from the Sainsburys basics range.

[paleshades]

I spend about £30 a week averaged out, less in term time as DS gets fsm but a lot more during school holidays. Just me and one DS but he's a teenager and eats at least as much as me! I don't shop online as I get a lot of yellow sticker bargains and freeze them. Rarely throw food away, I either freeze it or cut off dodgy bits and throw it in a casserole! I meal plan loosely but not until I'm in store, I base a lot of my shopping around BOGOFs etc. I'm miles from the nearest Lidl/Aldi otherwise I'd shop there more often.

[smellyfishead]

me three dcs and a cat, on average £50-70 pw. I use vouchers as much as possible, vary shops between supermarkets to prompt sending vouchers!

[Flowerpower41]

It is around £80/£90 weekly for me and ds who is aged 10. A lot I know but I am fussy and use things like organic light soya milk and good quality fruit and vegetables. I can't get on with places like Aldi or Lidl although I have tried in the past. I just find them depressing and grim places to shop in.

One day I go to Iceland and Home Bargains Store and then the next day I buy the rest in Tescos.

[RedButtonhole]

I probably spend around £40 all in for myself and 5yo DS. I get a free lunch at work 3 times a week, but DS wont touch school dinners so packed lunches for him add up. I shop in Morrisons, don't meal plan and DS is fussy so we usually don't eat the same thing. I found eating less meat a good way to save, I also buy all of my veg apart from salad frozen, which is cheaper and you cut down on waste.
Usually buy fruit like tangerines and apples which last a bit longer than strawberries or whatever- I don't eat much fruit so it would go to waste waiting on DS to consume it. Don't have an Aldi but avoid Lidl because fresh stuff doesn't have as long a shelf life- cereals, snacks etc are good though.

[almosthuman]

On average for my DD (12) and I it's £40 which includes all cleaning products, toiletries and pet food for two dogs and a cat. My DD eats at my parents twice a week and I get some meals provided at work.

I usually shop at Tesco and shop online as I have found that I save money especially as I don't drive it saves me taxi fare.

[BlackeyedSusan]

about 50 per week. 1 adult, two children, plus 2 adult main meals and a lunch at the weekend.

[2little2late2change4now]

£50 a week for dd (2.5) and I but I think I've learnt well where it's worth spending the extra and where it's fine to buy economy. Now dd is dry in the day I buy economy nappies for bedtime and they're fine. Buy big packs of mince and use half one week and freeze the other half for the following. Bulk out meals with veg etc. I see it as a little challenge how little I can spend on a weeks groceries. Will go up when dc2 arrives in September with more nappies!

[ShadowsShadowsEverywhere]

I alternate weeks, so one week I do an online tesco shop and stock up (£65) the following week I just pick up more milk and go to the market for fruit and veg (£25) That covers me, two preschoolers, greens for chickens and a few ready meal type things (usually one of those boxed Indian meals for two) plus wine and beer for weekends (people over fri- sun am)

If we have a special occasion or birthday or a planned movie night etc I will go to Poundland for snacky bits/popcorn. I don't buy biscuits/crisps usually.

Both kids have cooked lunch at nursery 3 days a week but I doesn't make much of a difference as I cook a big pot of pasta/potato salad etc each weekend and that covers lunches for the week. Dinner/tea is porridge/beans on toast 2 days a week to keep costs down. The lunch pasta/pot salad has bacon in it, and then one other meat thing will be used to do the whole weeks dinners, so a chicken cooked on the Monday and used throughout the week. However I use meat as a small additional ingredient to meals rather than the main feature of them. It's so expensive and we have chickens so eat a lot of eggs - I regularly put them in pasta (sort of scramble them into the creamy sauce) to ensure everyone has enough protein.

[gilmoregirl]

I probably spend around £50 - £60 to include food plus toiletries and household products. That is all food including packed lunch stuff for us both.

In terms of my budget I work it out as being £1.20 per meal which sounds much better than £50 a week :) (three meals each per day = 42 meals!!!!)

I shop online and stock up on essentials when they are on offer and lurk around the local shops at the times they reduce stuff down so I think we eat well for what I actually pay.

Shopping online works out cheaper for me too as I pay £3 per month for delivery whereas it would cost £4.40 in bus fares to get to and from a supermarket once. Plus you can start your shop by looking at all of the offers.