What’s a reasonable food budget for one person?

[PinkOnWednesday]

Hi, I’m trying to set myself a reasonable food budget for one person as I’m currently spending an extortionate amount on food! What would you say is reasonable?
Thanks x

I spend around £60 a week, but that’s buying decent meat, microwave rice, some prepared veggies. It could easily be cheaper but I like the convenience when I work long hours.

I'm vegetarian and usually spend around £25, with a £10ish top up mid week.

"If not I think you can eat frugally for £20 (veggie, pasta, baked potatoes), well for £30 and lavishly for £40. Add £10 for the wine."

This sounds about right. I'd have 3 bottles of wine a week though and might not be able to get each one for £5.
I suppose the ones saying £100 are including takeaways?

Meal planning really is the key to saving money in your grocery shop. It doesn't have to be a chore either. I find that when I meal plan I try recipes that I've filed away but not got around to cooking yet.

At the start of lockdown me and DH were spending £250 a week on food and wine so it’s totally possible. We have had to cut right back now as the lockdown drags on.

So OP. What are you spending. Were you looking for tips on how to cut back?

I'd say you really were living like a Duchess on £250 of food and wine a week

These threads always amuse me. £100 for one person? I spend £40-45 for 1 adult, 16,11,11. One with a specialist diet. That three meals a day us a snack, plus cleaning products, hygiene products etc. Meal plan and cook from scratch for the most part.
It all depends on your lifestyle /budget for less than £5 I can cook a pot of chilli that will give 12 portions. So if you batch cook and freeze your food bill will go further.

In my single days I spent about £200 a month at the supermarket, so £50 a week. Some of that would have been household goods and toiletries I suppose.

However, one person's extortionate might be another person's reasonable! Depends how much you're spending now and whether you can afford it.

I spend around £45-60 at the moment if I have all meals at home i.e. no take-aways at all. I don't buy alcohol.

Any "extras" push it up really quickly - today's supermarket delivery for example includes about £15 worth of extra bits I could have easily not bought like nice olives, two types of biscuits, salad dressing...

I'm shocked at how much people spend, and I eat quite a bit meat, don't scrimp, and am very greedy. £50-£60 people are saying minimum!?

I spend £30 a week in Aldi. I will say I don't really snack though and cook from scratch, even if it's basic, so that probably cuts it down as don't bother with ready meals/crisps/biscuits etc which can add up. My biggest expenses are coffee, cheese and hot sauce

We spend about £75-80 a week for two of us so I'd say maybe £50 is comfortable for 1 person (assuming you can sometimes freeze/use up leftovers for lunch the next day etc), but you could do it cheaper if you had to. I think we eat pretty "normally", a fair amount of meat/fish, snacks, drinks etc.

But you won't achieve £50 if you currently spend say £150 - you need to cut it down gradually and change the habits that mean you're spending "too much". How much do you spend at the moment and what does a typical shop look like?

About 30 a week here. I eat a lot of chicken and cereal and drink lashings of milk. That's what bumps it up!

I live alone and spend between £40 and £50 each week (not including meat or alcohol). And I don't skimp on the chocolate!

Between two of us we spent about £55-60 a week, sometimes £65-70 if we're topping up dog food, cleaning / washing supplies etc. That's with Ocado and without trying to budget - plenty of treats at the moment! We buy alcohol separately though, and no meat. We do also have a well stocked larder with spices etc.

I have done 30 per week for 2 adults and a toddler, but it's currently around 70.but that's all meals including taking lunches to work

£70, roughly £10 a day including wine, treats and household cleaning and personal products.

I spend about 150-200 per week on 4 people. This includes a weekend's worth of beer and wine, cleaning supplies, nappies and wipes, and a lot of snacks for hungry children. I'm sure I could probably do that for 50-70, if it was just me, keeping in mind things like a bottle of wine are about 8 (so two bottles is 16 a week), which is like a quarter of that cost.

I spend £50 a week for three of us. But as others have said you live within your means. So whatever your budget is you can make it work.
We have roast on a Sunday. Baked potatoes. Sausages. Fish/salmon alt weeks etc. Meals are simple but we eat well.

I am currently trying to keep to £25 per week, but that’s without booze and sticking to Lidl.

£50 a week as a budget I'd say. Some weeks it will be less if you've bought things to put in the freezer and then eat them the following week. Over the course of a month, on a £50 a week budget, I reckon you'd get cleaning stuff, toiletries, a couple of bottles of wine and a takeaway as well.

Interesting, this; I'd have said DP and I spend quite a lot on food, but I've just averaged it out for July - Dec last year and it's £91 a week; that includes everything we get from Sainsbury's (all household stuff) and our monthly meat box. No alcohol since November, or it would be quite a bit more.

Whatever you can afford. Hard times I fed two adults, a child and a cat on £30pw depends on your circumstances and how much you want to spend. Saving at the moment so food budget is cut to £175 plus £50 for coffees/takeouts

How long is a piece of string?

I think you should look at what you're currently spending and aim to reduce it by 25%

I just checked to see what I spent for the last couple of months and including eating out, it averaged at £40 a week. Not including alcohol. And I eat very well.