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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feed my family on £1 per person per day

353 replies

Dramatic · 02/05/2014 21:57

I've heard about celebs doing this and finding it almost impossible but really it's not that hard, I spend £25 a week (or less) on me and 3 kids. Am I a cheapskate or do other people spend this much? I shop at Aldi if that makes a difference. Maybe I'm depriving my kids by spending £1 a day on them. How much do you spend per person per day? Surely it's not that unreasonable to think £1 a day is plenty to feed yourself, why are people making such a fuss about it?

OP posts:
GiveTwoSheets · 02/05/2014 22:15

I'd also like to know what fruit and veg you are able to get on that budget.

redandchecker · 02/05/2014 22:15

How is it they are eating 4 portions of fruit and veg a day plus snacks, breakfast, etc all on £25 a week. I think we'd need to see your list and meal plans to believe it OP.

Do you not pop to the shop in the week to grab extra food either?
I spend over £100 a week on the food shop and there are 3 of us. I still have to end up running to the shop for extra stuff Confused

Original poster
Dramatic · 02/05/2014 22:15

Oh btw if it helps, I am on benefits and in debt. I have no choice but to spend that amount so no I am not having a go at poor people...

OP posts:
gamerchick · 02/05/2014 22:15

That's not a shopping list nor menu.

Valpollicella · 02/05/2014 22:16

on all seriousness, I do £40 x week for 2 adults and one dustbin 7yo.

CalamitouslyWrong · 02/05/2014 22:17

Is it the same 4 portions of fruit and veg every day though?

Sparrowlegs248 · 02/05/2014 22:17

I spent 17 on fruit and veg in lidl the other day. And milk and bread. Nowhere near a weeks shopping.

RandallFloyd · 02/05/2014 22:18

If I had a good day at the whoops counter I could probably do it but otherwise I can't imagine it would be much fun for kids.

(Big arf @ 'other lentil dishes are available')

WhistleTopTomato · 02/05/2014 22:19

why are people making such a fuss about it?

---> I am not having a go at poor people...

Oh right.

IamInvisible · 02/05/2014 22:21

Notta I spent practically the same in Lidl on fruit, veg and buckets of yoghurt.

DH and I are going to start going to Lidl and Aldi more, DS1 is moving out in a few weeks so we will get the cost down, but with 4 adults (will be 3) there is no way it will be a £1 per person per day!

EverythingsDozy · 02/05/2014 22:21

I know it wouldn't be loads but I presume healthy start vouchers are included? At least you can get milk and fruit and veg.

LynetteScavo · 02/05/2014 22:22

It's easy if you make the Sunday roast chicken last 6 days.

NormaStanleyFletcher · 02/05/2014 22:23

Shopping list, meal plan and menu please .

Original poster
Dramatic · 02/05/2014 22:24

1 pack each of bananas, apples and oranges is £3. Frozen veg is £1. 5 onions are £1, large pack of mushrooms are 70-something pence. Meat is £5 for one pack of mince and one pack of chicken (which does 5 meals). Beans are £1.20 for a 4 pack. Cereal is £1.51 (lasts two weeks) 4 pints of milk is 95p, bread is £1 for 2 loafs. Fillers for sandwiches usually are about £1 depending what's on offer. Jam is 29p, yogurts are 70p (ish). Things to make sauces or gravy are no more than £2-3 . Rice, pasta and potatoes cost about £2.50. Toileteries and cleaning products I buy once a month and costs about £10.

OP posts:
usualsuspectt · 02/05/2014 22:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sparrowlegs248 · 02/05/2014 22:25

The problem i find is that when i am trying to eat more healthily (so 2 - 3 fruits a day, salad for lunch, carrot stick/houmous as snacks, meat/veg for dinner) my costs almost double!

I could spend less but would be eating shite and lots of cards and be even fatter.

Uptheairymountain · 02/05/2014 22:25

Hmm. I spend around 15 a week on feeding toddler DD and me, but we don't eat meat; plus I'm lucky enough to often get plenty of reduced fruit and veg bargains from a couple of nearby supermarkets. I have a chest freezer as well to stock up on 10p loaves of decent bread and similar as well.

Meals are things like leek and macaroni cheese bake, baked sweet potatoes, broccoli cheese and baked potatoes, veggie sausage casseroles, vegetable frittatas, soup or sandwiches, so all cheap anyway. Including apples, bananas, dried fruit etc, we have at least 7 or 8 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. It does help to get cut-price food though but this obviously depends on a bit of luck as to what there is.

I do buy and cook in bulk however, which again reduces costs: something I understand is very likely to be hard for people on low incomes who may only be able to afford that week's food and can't take advantage of the offers I can (ref Terry Pratchett's boots theory, I suppose).

Original poster
Dramatic · 02/05/2014 22:25

Yes but it's not poor people making a fuss is it, it's the celebrities who are trying it for a week that are making a fuss.

OP posts:
MrsBungle · 02/05/2014 22:26

Christ. I spend a bloody fortune. It's 68p for one bloody pepper. We don't even eat meat!

Busymumto3dc · 02/05/2014 22:27

How do you make cereal last two weeks with 3 dc?

What cereal and how big a box?

Mine go through 3 boxes of Asda Cheerios and a box of weetabix a week!

LynetteScavo · 02/05/2014 22:27

Celebs probably didn't have an extra £10 a week for free school meals factored in, though.

JulietBravoJuliet · 02/05/2014 22:27

I'm on my last day of the Live Below The Line challenge to raise money for charity (Malaria No More in my case) and I've survived for 5 days on £1 a day. It's not been too bad, as I live on a low budget at the best of times, but it's not something I would choose to do if I wasn't doing it for a good cause, or unless I absolutely have to.

I've eaten lots of pasta, potatoes and tinned tomatoes! Not really had much meat; I made a cottage pie with half a pack of Turkey mince one night for me and ds, with passata, mushrooms, carrots and sweet potato mash, but that was a lot of my budget for the day, so I just had toast for lunch that day. I bought a big bag of apples, carrots and bananas for snacks, and I shopped around for the cheapest offers. It is doable, but it's been boring and I'm looking forward to having proper food again tomorrow!

redandchecker · 02/05/2014 22:27

I don't understand why you have posted this - what's the purpose if you're not going to share with us your meal plans/shopping list/prices so we can all start cutting our food shops down by 75% + !

Thomyorke · 02/05/2014 22:30

Family of four with two pre schoolers is more like a family of two. Once they get older and their portions are bigger than yours then it gets expensive. DS1 who is a teenager has 4 weetabix, or 3 poached eggs on toast or 2 bowls of porridge for breakfast alone which probably takes his pound a day. We go through at least two packets of cereal a week.

Sparrowlegs248 · 02/05/2014 22:31

From that list you are not getting 4 portions of fruit and veg each. Bananas will have about 7 in. Apples 6 -7 and oranges the same at a guess. Even if they each had 7 thats 21 portions per week which is 3 per day for 1 person.

Other than that its beans mushrooms onions and frozen veg which won't make up the other.......@ 93 portions thar you are missing.