Living on a tight budget

[DarlingWithoutYou]

Hi MNers, looking for advice please.

Due to unforeseen illness we're dropping down to one income, so I need to make some big changes. I've spent ages on MSE and am confident I've got all utilities etc to the best prices.

I'm left with £500 a month. This needs to cover food for 4 of us, dog food, and anything else that may come up.

Any advice please on making sure we're doing the best we can? Meal planning is something I've never done because I'm just so disorganised but I'll give it a try. We're going to shop at Aldi.

Thanks!

I think theres brilliant advice on here, I'm sure people will help you.
Good luck

Definitely meal plan! It sounds restrictive and boring, but if you find a bunch of meals you really enjoy, its great. You can also bulk out meat dishes like spag bol with pulses etc, and it tastes good.

You’ve already been on MSE forum, they used to have forum for food planning/budgeting.

Replace some branded stuff with supermarket ones (need to cheat sometimes and keep the old packet to put new stuff in if you live with fussy buggers)

Shop at food reductions.

Shop around.I buy the same stuff all the time so well aware how much it costs. Google the supermarkets and see who’s got what for how much.

Batch cook.

Meal plan.

Cook from scratch.

Don’t throw away food. Smell it,taste it,look at it. Use by dates are just guidance (although I wouldn’t push it with meat but dairy’s ok).
Have one portion left- put it in a freezer or eat the following day.

Roast chicken carcass makes good stock for a soup. Soups are fabulous fillers at this time of year.

Stores like FarmFoods not only have good selections in the freezer but you can get vouchers for 10%off.

Buy in bulk if you can/have storage when stuff is on the offer.

Ask yourself if you need the actual stuff or just want it.

Try new recipes. Allrecipes website has lots of them and without fancy schmancy ingredients.

For us a massive thing is limiting the amount of visits we have to make to the shop. 9/10 times it’ll never just be that loaf or pint of milk you buy. Plan, plan and plan again. Buy everything you need in one fell swoop from Aldi/Lidl (avoiding the delights of the middle aisles if at all possible!). Meal planning gets repetitive and boring but there’s no doubt it saves you money. I think it saves more than switching to lower priced brands etc as well.

Meal planning saves a fortune. I can feed 3 adults for £60 a week with a additional trip every 6-8 weeks to stock up on bulk spices, rice in big bags etc from Asda (further away)

Go through two months of bank statements/credit card statements and add up everything that you spend on frivolous things, it really is an eye opener, then set a sensible budget for little treats. Save a bit every month for annual costs too, they roll around too quickly. Look at subscriptions too, if you have multiple, could you rotate them and only have one each month?

Packed lunches - get in the habit of taking food when you go out, I also keep snacks in the car in case I forgot it we're out longer then expected. (Outside of lockdown)

Kids clothes in multi packs from supermarkets (if their young enough not to care)

Hang clothes to dry instead of tumble dryer.

Get some affordable treat food in with shop, then you'll be less tempted to buy more expensive treats/ takeaway

Set up separate savings accounts for bigger expenses, and standing orders to top them up each payday. (Christmas/ birthdays/ school uniform/ car maintenance)

Dressing gowns for everyone and blankets on the sofa, we only have the heating for a couple of hours in the morning and evening. If it's cold try more layers before resorting to putting the heating on more. (But we still put it on if that's not enough, been cold is miserable)

Make sure your house is as insulated as it can be. If you need big things like loft insulation, then look up grants etc. But little things like closing internal doors, blinds as well as curtains and draft excludes on external doors help to.

Depending on children's age, hand down everything that can still be used. If you have different sexed children, get unisex big items so they can be passed on.

I'm going to be that poster. While I appreciate that's a drop in income for you. That is what I'm dealing with each month.

We don't meal plan TBH. Just buy what we need for the week and no more. Cut out the takeaways. Don't be a snob about supermarkets. I shop in Asda. It's totally doable.

£500 disposable income is what I had for 10+ years with 3 kids plus a dog. We had a great life, living in London and not missing out on anything really.

I split it like this:

£100 a month to instant access savings - to cover clothes / hair cuts / school trips / shoes / entertainment

That left £100 a week for food and petrol. Shop at Aldi / Lidl, plan 7 dinners / breakfasts/ lunches/ snacks = no problem

It’s tight IMO.
Yes lots need to, and food can be bought carefully.
The biggest things are saving enough each month for children growing, needing new things or essentials breaking

If washing machine breaks. That’s say £300 for basic replacement. What about if a a leak in water pipe and need to pay plumber? Or child needs school trip money, new shoes etc. Boiler breaks..
Will you be able to save a bit each month from that £500 to account for these things that come up? So you spend just £400 each month and save £100 for non regular yet expensive items.

To stop yourself getting bored food wise, learn to cook different recipes, you can find them online for free.

Review your cleaning products, as you don't need lots of different types of products. I use stardrops for cleaning and zflora for disinfectant, both of which you dilute with water, so they last ages.

Same for toiletries, look for multipurpose products eg coconut oil can be used as a body moisturise, hair mask, as well as for cooking.

Don't forget about fun. Look for free or cheap fun days out. I know we can't do much at the moment, but look on your council website for events or for community groups that may be holding events. I can read books and magazines for free via my library app.

eBay can be great for bargains for anything you may need. For example, if I need a bra, I can find brand new with tags ones for half the price than in the shops.

100% meal plan.

Hot water bottles, cosy dressing gowns and sofa blankets.

Cut out takeaway food and drinks.

You need less than you think - we are conditioned by advertising. Fabric conditioner, for example, is unnecessary and makes no difference when you stop using it (a cap of zoflora for fragrance if you feel the need).

Save at least 15% of your income each month in an account only for emergencies and gifts.

See it as an enjoyable challenge rather than a painful struggle.

I split my shop between Lidl's and Tesco, download the Lidl's app, £2 once you spend £100 and £10 once you spend £200 in one calendar month, then resets

I rarely buy meat that's not on their 30% off, pick up what I can from their 90p / 70p / 20p reductions

I buy the cheap mince and drain the fat add in a couple of tins of beans and mixed veg plus sauce and it's a meal for 2 or 3 days with pasta/ potatoes etc

Juice is a treat with evening meal only, water the rest of the day, fruit bowl is there for snacks (as are dried nuts and fruit - current luxury that can be dropped)

Packed lunches everywhere inc school (when it's open)

Best thing I have is a large freezer and a slow cooker, need the freezer for picking up meat when cheap and storing bulk cooking, slow cooking makes cheaper meat taste nicer

Use all left overs, keep any veg and throw in soup pot with stock / meat / lentils

Ignore any brand names and buy the cheap range, there is not a huge difference

Bake if you can, scones, pancakes cakes - much cheaper and nicer that shop bought and entertains the kids

@Twillow white vinegar works brilliantly in place of fabric softener and even cheaper!

That's definitely doable and I coped on similar for ages. However, we spend a lot more than that now so I understand it would be hard to adapt.

Once you get into the swing of meal planning it is easy. No harder than a normal shop and probably easier. Look for offers etc to liven things up. Also learn to use up "waste" as soups/stewed fruit etc.

Also, start to look around for ways to make money from your previous lifestyle. Decent clothes, books, toys etc that you can sell on? Bits of furniture you don't need anymore?

I was in this position after ex left so used to sell things on local sites etc and then keep the jar of money from selling for buying any (second hand) clothes etc the children needed.

Yes to meal planning and batch cooking as much as you can. Plenty of veg based dishes such as soups and stews and sauces. Spices are the most important part of stopping meals from being samey with batch cooking. Just add different spices when you defrost whatever has been made, so it doesn't feel like the same thing you've had before. Makes things that little less boring!

Try to save a tiny portion of that £500. It really helps psychologically to know that you have something to fall back on if there is a problem.

I’ve majorly cut down what I spend on clothes. I used to believe that every occasion required a new outfit. It really doesn’t! I now buy good quality classic pieces that cover a multitude of occasions.
Primary and supermarkets are great for kids clothes. They grow out of them, get felt tip on them of rip the knees pretty quickly anyway!

Reduce down number of people you buy Christmas and birthday presents for. Always have a supply of cards at the ready so you don’t end up spending £4 on one in Waitrose!

Aim for 3 veggie meals a week.

Consider using a shop like home Bargains for toiletries cleaning products and some store cupboard items.

Thank you everyone for these suggestions! I particularly appreciated this sentence:

See it as an enjoyable challenge rather than a painful struggle.