How to budget.....

[Snowdays23]

I need to budget, I spend too much on popping to the local shop for extra bits and pieces most days and I go shopping once a week and try and stick to a meal plan.

I would love some tips please.

In my house it's me, DD 17 and DD 9. Sometimes DD 21 comes home from uni. I am spending about £100 a week on food, is this normal? I try and do couple nice dinners a week, with a jacket and pasta dish and then pizza. Must admit I hate cooking!

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning/

Start by completing the budget planner on Money saving expert. Don’t cheat, and include everything. Include one-offs as well as regular outgoings and income.

Work out how much Christmas, birthdays and holidays (and other one-offs) etc costs and divide by twelve. Set up a savings account and put money aside each month for this.

To be honest, a hundred pounds doesn’t sound too bad.

it’s a scary (and depressing) exercise to look at finances but worth doing. If you’re spending too much, see where you can cut corners. Have you got duplicate tv subscriptions - Netflix, Disney, now etc? if so, can you stop one for three months, then in three months time, re-start one and stop a different one? Etc

You say you meal plan, but also pop out for bits?

How does that happen?

What are you buying on the little shops?

£100 sounds pretty good. Try doing an online shop instead of going in person, it might save some money as it stops you buying extras you don’t need (I end up putting things like clothes and cushions in the trolley if I go in person!) and once you’ve done it once you can repeat the same items so it’s really easy and saves so much time. You can have a budget amount in mind to stick to, and look for offers etc .

If it's just food shopping then try the following

Set a time and day to go shopping each week and stick to it
Go to Aldi or Lidl
Write a meal plan for every meal and snack 1 three meals a day and two snack plus a treat each day
Have something that can be eaten two night running eg roast or lasagne
Have pasta one night with garlic bread make double and freeze portions
Buy meat on offer and freeze it
Have three cheap meals a week ( jacket pots/eggs on toast/ soup and French bread etc
Have fresh food closest to shopping. Day the. Cupboard/ freezer on day 567
Buy part baked baguettes
Have a meat free day twice a week
Buy a gammon joint and cook it for ham
Buy chicken mini filets and cook in air fryer
Chicken sausages are good too
Buy all own brand from Aldi - it's fine Heinz ketchup is £4 their own is 85p ish