...to doubt posters who say they feed a family of four on £50/week

[twofingerstoGideon]

I'm really broke myself, so I'd love to believe this is true, but that works out at £1.78 per person per day (£50 divided by 7 days divided by 4 people).

Some people go even further and say they 'run their household' on this amount, implying that they manage all bills, buy loo rolls, cleaning products, sometimes even nappies, etc., for fifty quid.

I'm really good at budgetting, freecycling, buying second hand etc., but I can't help feeling a bit about some of these claims. It's just a kind of one-downmanship, isn't it?

(Awaits flaming...)

n the hour before closing bread etc heavily discounted
meat etc discounted
buy and freeze stuff.it's tight and needs planning but £50 can feed four if you cook onwn stuff and shop carefully

I don't know how people do it. I read those threads looking for the magic button but I know I couldn't do it.

it takes planning to stick to budget
no spontaneous purchases
and don't shop hungry
go out with cash only,no card.cant exceed budget that way

I am banned from feeding the family anything with mince. It became a Resistance Movement and now I don't even bother because the last time I tried it, they all put their forks down in unison and wouldn't touch it.

lol,image if the mince refusniks
v funny

What's wrong with mince?

I don't know! I even used organic mince (thinking spag bol, pies, etc) but the most EXPENSIVE mince in the country, each mince, er, pellet, squeezed into perfection is considered the same as value mince. Not happening.

I quite like mince.

No shepards/cottage pies, no pies actually (no pastry, no meat in thick sauce), no spag bol, no rissoles of any form. Nothing slightly even convenient that I can freeze ahead of time, etc.

Can I swap for a family that accept mince?

so funny
btw,my weans love mince

Are you particularly attached to them? I have 101 Ways with Mince in hardback that has not been put to test.

I keep trying ds with mince, but to his disgust. One day he will eat it and realise its not all that bad.

I am trying this myself when we get back from holiday starting 10th. We are a family of 5 including 2 grown up dc. I know it can be done as I've done the equivalent before when it was necessary. Not sure how long I could keep it up for.
It is possible if you follow good management and stick to budget to eat really cheaply.

without mince we'd be bereft
I'm a Scottish mammie
mince wi everything

I do it easily, example of today's costs for 2 people eating
breakfast 2 x toast and 2 laughing cow - 35p and a cuppa - 8p
banana - 16p
2 x apples - 20p
beetroot sandwich - 20p (beetroot home grown)
dinner - spaghetti pasta with bacon sweetcorn and philly - £1.15
Total - £2.18 between 2 people

I'd be screwed without mince! Can't wait for the colder weather and big plates of mince and tatties!

Had a lovely but quick roast tonight. Chicken, mash (no time for roasters)
, sweetcorn, yorkshire pudding, carrots and gravy. Steam pudding for after. Total indulgence!!

Tomorrow I'm using the rest of the chicken for my chicken noodle soup. Chicken, spring onion, ginger, garlic and more sweetcorn. Will let it do away in slow cooker and chuck the noodles in before serving. Will have a good few portions to freeze after and will serve with fresh bread. I'm out most of the day so will let bread maker and slow cooker do the work for me.

I was really proud of myself last thurs, i did a weeks shop in Aldi and only spent £60 for the 4 of us......but its now Monday and im running out of food

My main meals are ok....but ive got no picky food at all,. The fridge is almost bare and hardly any squash/drinks in the house!!

Im doing a £90 sainsburys online shop for this week but as im starting weight watchers that does include about £10 worth of WW meals and treats!

Mrs you need to get out of the habit of picking!

My friend spends far more than me on her shopping as she buys lots of snacks and nibbles. She has a family of 4, I have a family of 8! Her kids are always snacking on stuff (healthy stuff, but still...) and her and her DH always snack in the evenings too. They are not overweight or anything, they are all extremely healthy, but it costs her a fortune.

We get through alot of squash, I dont buy the double concentrate as it doenst last twice as long. aldi do a good highjuice squash fo 99p, the orange flavour doesnt contains aspartame either.

Sorry, I should add that if you get out of the habit of snacking then you will probably find that you wont need WW so much. I realised that alot of my weight had come from non meal food, so when I stopped buying it I was saving money and losing weight, win win!

It just feels horrible having no picky food in....the 3 ds's are moaning....
By picky i mean crisps, biscuits, ham, sausage rolls, fruit, cakes bars etc- basically anything that is not a main meal

And i find its the lunch boxes that cost me- with 3 teenage ds i can't get away with 1 slice of bread and yogurt and a piece of fruit ....my boys seem to have hollow legs lately

Oh with regard to WW - i agree.
I am a terrible picker

I feel your pain with lunchboxes! Do they like pasta salad? DD takes a big pot of pasta with passatta and cheese stirred through it, or tuna and sweetcorn. It is alot cheaper than trying to fill them with sandwiches.

You dont need cake bars, crisps etc and if the DS's want them then they can buy them themselves! If DD wants a snack then she uses her pocket money to buy them. She barely does now as she would rather have the money for other stuff than a mars bar, so it has worked in two ways and she appreciates the cost of food more and also is healthier.

I started knitting again to keep my hands busy (I started snacking when I quit smoking), and I found that I didnt miss the food. It was something to do with my hands that I was missing, not something in my mouth.

If it's any consolation I spend more than £50 and it's just me and 2 DC's. I don't have much storage so can't buy in bulk, although I can pop a few bits in the loft and I can't shop at the end of the day when it's reduced as I'm doing bedtime. I just grab what I can after work and before the school run.

Ive taken up knitting too funnily enough...

I do get what you mean about the cake bars/ choc bars etc....its just a habit that ive got into over the years i suppose.

I find it easier in the hols as the boys dont wake up until 10-11 am so they will have egg on toast/dippy egg/bacon sarnie then they wil have a main meal in the evening so really i havent brought many choc bisc/cake bars at all.....

My middle ds loves pasta so i could do him that for lunch but my eldest is definately a sandwich kid but my youngest has never eaten bread....he just doesnt like it , but he will eat crackers at least....

Today is the day before my diet starts so its probably good theres hardly any food in...just half a bottle of wine in the fridge which i need to drink tonight

What about wraps or pittas for the youngest? You could fill them with cheese and salad. Or rice salad? Couscous with veggies?

ooh or a flask of thick soup? Very cheap to make and very filling :)