Tips for managing a £1000 monthly budget with two teenagers

[thegrincher]

Hi Everyone

So this month I am setting myself a £1000 challenge - this basically means that I have £1000 to live off for me and two teens. The £1000 needs to cover all food costs - so this will take up a large chunk. it also needs to cover any other discretionary spending and treats etc.

I know that it may not sound like to much of a big deal. however I have been wasting money recently so I need to reset the balance!

Any tips would be appreciated!!

Use cash not your card so you keep proper tabs on what you are spending.
Meal plan - £250/week for 3 for food is a lot.
Are they are back in school soon? If so, that will reduce random going out/daytime spending.

Yes having them back at school will help.

I am aiming for £100 per week food shop. I think I can do it if I plan ahead. It's the extra bits that have really wasted my money - unneccessary top up shops, expensive ready meals, take aways etc

Can I join the challenge? I have overspent and need a very frugal month. Similar set up with teens and available budget.

One thing I'm going to do is some cheap/free DIY repairs in my house. This will hopefully stop me from spending money going out and will give me a boost. I started today by replacing the burnt out plug on my air fryer. It cost £1.79 for the plug. In the past I would have bought a new air fryer - crazy!

I agree that cash is good. Either that or only keep a week's worth of money in your current account. Put the rest in easy access savings and transfer a set weekly amount over to stop you overspending.

I also need to be frugal this month and I particularly struggle with spending too much on food. I'll be doing the food shop at aldi, meal planning, doing packed lunches and a weekend fakeaway instead of the chippy. I've wondered about taking cash out and then freezing my card if it gets desperate.

Chat GPT can help with a food budget and meal planning if you are feeling uninspired.

I have just looked through the cupboards and freezer and I reckon that I have enough stuff to make about a weeks worth of meals - I will just need to grab some fresh bits - bread etc.