AIBU to ask if £155 weekly is enough for food and leisure?

Easily do-able as long as you have been thorough in budgeting for your annual payments, emergencies, savings etc.
When the kids were at Uni, DH & I spent £60-65 per week on groceries without really trying to budget, and we ate really well (although I admit that having been brought up by parents who lived through WW2 & rationing, I probably naturally have quite a frugal/no waste mindset).

Assuming one paid for social event each week, cinema £15 for 2, coffee & cake maybe £20, meal out would be more, but if not working set lunch menus are usually great value.

Free / nominal cost social stuff- invite people round for board game night, meet for walks, invite people round for coffee, or to watch a movie, days walking round free local museums etc.

Week on week, I reckon you could easily have plenty spare from your £155/week budget, allowing the odd blow out social event from time to time.

I think about £50 per person for food/toiletries each week. Look at cutting back on subscriptions. Things like Sky Sports are nice to have but you can watch it for free in a Sports bar.

The night is a cruel bitch for causing you panic. I think you sound like you’ve everything figured out.

It helps if both of you are on board with the plan too- my husband can be haphazard when spending money. I make him sit down with me for a few minutes each week to talk through bills and spends as our wages can vary wildly each month.

We roll money from one week to the next by having ‘no spend days’. We meal plan for the entire week, plan takeaways and batch cook for ease.

Good luck, hopefully it’s just short term for you but you might find it’s easier than you think.

I think it’s very tight but as with everything you cut your cloth .

Just to give you hope OP - I am nearly 64 and have applied for and been offered two part time jobs within the past 10 months. So you may have more money coming in than you think. I went on new style Job Seekers Allowance while I was job hunting - it is a Universal credit, not means tested and your savings make no difference. It's only something like £90 per week, but worth claiming.

It’s enough but likely to feel very tight if you are used to a different lifestyle - mainly veggie diet would help loads. Time to give up alcohol perhaps

120 for food and household goods - eat healthy is really important if you want to feel good - 30 for clothes, entertainment , exercises classes - online unless that’s a key social thing for you haircuts - cut your own

trying to use the time you have gained to walk a bit more and drive less - anything under 2 miles walk. 2 trips a week if it’s too much to carry shopping in one go

yes it’s definitely enough.
we spend around £80 a week for myself and DP - we don’t eat meat which makes a huge difference I think, and any fish is fishcakes or cod type.

Yeah it'll be enough if you're smart with your food shop. I'd set aside a certain amount for a takeaway or cinema or whatever you do for fun each week so you feel like you've got something to look forward to

I mean, people still use their cars and travel even if they’re not working

It's possible if you are careful. With that I'd focus on most meals being very cheap: porridge, dried lentils and beans soaked for use in stews and soups rather than ready cooked in tins; main meals based around the neverending MN chicken or tinned tuna etc rather than salmon steaks. Seasonal fruit and veg. Look out for deals, use coupons.

Make wise choices. Buy fresh coffee and make it at home rather than wasting money on cafes. You can froth milk heated in a microwave with a whisk.
Do online workouts instead of gym membership or classes.

For leisure, keep an eye out for deals and as soon as they come along - pounce on them. DH and I have recently had good seats (not upper circle or restricted view) for brilliant West End shows for £24 each; three course dinner at good chain restaurants for £20 (50% off). We go to pre-tour warm up gigs for a fraction of the price of stadium tickets.

Put money aside every week and keep an eye out for the cheapest time to book holidays and flights etc. As soon as you have enough for a place you want to go, book them. DSis is brilliant at planning her own holidays when she arrives in a destination. She saves £££ by avoiding travel agents and tour companies. Just buys flights, gets to Thailand or Sri Lanka or wherever and then books hotels or rental homes and cars when she is there. She goes to hot places in winter to save on UK fuel bills.

Oh and have a look online at some of the cost of living pages on facebook, they have loads of great pages with people who go round shops and buy bargains and make meals with them. Some are really healthy! I know you may not think you're there yet, but the tips are there for everyone and I think most people would find something that they can take from it, whether it's a quick tin meal, healthy cheap breakfasts or which shops have a really good bargain on toilet roll.

Look at it this way - it will have to be.

So if you found work, the extra would basically be fun money, so you can earn to your needs.

What I would say is that it will limit you to your existing lifestyle so if you have a mortgage, you may have more free money when that's cleared, but equally, if you find you need a different car or sofa as you age and your comfort needs change, those will be extra and your funds may not go as far.

To really work it out, you will need to audit your accounts and budget.

On the surface though, I'd say it was fine. I used to earn a lot less and found i lived very well on £400 spare each month. Admittedly things were cheaper, but I never really had expensive interests- I went to the pub every other week and had a meal now and again and that was about it!

If you are out of work, why are you spending £20 a week on petrol?

But won’t you need to top up the fund as it runs down? Or do you mean your bills include putting money aside in your savings?