To cut back on food to afford to take dd swimming and to soft play?

[Shortofcash]

All our money is allocated each month for bills, there is nothing spare. Dd is age 2 and we have always done free activities like go to the park or surestart activities. All her clothes are hand me downs from my older sisters daughters. I would live to be able to take her to swimming and soft play, I estimate it would cost me about £10 a week. We currently spend £80 a week in a mix of aldi and tesco (mostly aldi - just go to tesco for bits I can't get in aldi). If I shaved £10 a week off our food bill I could afford to take her swimming and soft play (although soon we will have a dd2 so will probably be only be able to afford swimming for both and no soft play :( ) would I be unreasonable to cut back on food so my dd can swim?

Here is a post I did a couple of weeks back on another thread. It might give you some ideas.
Well my meals plans are not very exciting. They do not include fancy stuff, ethical stuff or perceived high quality - I buy tesco value products which some people dont like but I make what I call 'square meals' that are home cooked.

Breakfasts

*Porridge oats (80p per bag) x 2 or 3 mornings - may have honey in or fruit.
*UHT milk (2@ 49p per carton)
*Boiled eggs (15 mixed size in box 125p) on toast 2 (value bread 49p its thin but we eating less carbs I suppose! mornings per week)
*Toast x 2 mornings with chopped up apple (value or special offer £1 to 150) or banana (8 loose usually about 120p)

*I sometimes buy value 'wheat biscuits' 24 for 75p - next brand up is 'Tescos' @179 I defy anyone to justify that extra 104p for extra nutrition. But these are for emergency mornings when we donthave time to 'cook'

May have natural yoghurt with fruit - I buy tesco finest for this 120p - its very creamy and higher in protein than cheap. But if being tight I buy value for 49p. I don't buy fruit yoghurts as they are full of sugar and acids.

Total for breakfasts £7.00

Lunches - must admit these are loosely planned

Eat leftovers
*cheese sandwiches Mature cheddar block 315p/500p - depends what I'm using for cooking! - bread 49p

• tuna - 350p - only but special offer packs of 4. tomatoes 69p cucumbers 49p lettucs 49p beans 24p baked potatoes 1.00p - may have with leftover bolognese or chilli cereal bars 79p - or make own if you cba yoghurt tubes 1.00 (concession as DS has these at break)

Omlettes - with toast, depends what has been eaten for breakfast so wont add this in subtotal

Total for lunches £14.00

Dinners
Value Beef mince 269p - 2 meals make shepherd pie/lasagne/chilli/spag bol
Value pasta 20/40
Tinned tomatoes 34p x 4
Frozen value mixed veg 100p (put this in all above to 'pad out')
Kidney beans 30p
Gravy granules 30p
Onions 79p
Cheese - but this is already budgeted for in lunch section!
Cottage cheese in lasagne layers (saves faff and adds more protein) 64p
Also add red lentils (I have a large 2kg that I grab handful from no soak)

Chicken dishes - 1 meal 1kg frozen breast fillets 3.99
Curry - coconut milk 1.00 onions and peppers garam masala, ginger garlic (budgeted for above) - if possible fresh coriander. Rice (value 40p kg needs a lot of rinsing before cooking can be quite sticky but nutrition is still same!)

or add stock cubes(100p), and a bag of tesco frozen casserole veg mix 100 - bung in slow cooker - done for day! serve with crusty bread or pots and brocoli.

or enchiladas (can also do chillie beef ones) - stiry fry chicken, peppers and onions add some paprika and chilli (no packet mix needed) one tin of toms if you like moist. Roll up in wraps (do not buy mexican wraps) tescos 8 for 90p. Add some sauce over top then grated cheese, finish under the grill.

or a good old packet mix - chicken chassuer with onions and frozen sliced mushrooms - serve with dinner veg (see below)

pork chop
whole chicken get all these on 3 for £10 then add dinner veg
stewing beef

Value potatoes 2.5kg 115p
Value carrots 53p
Brocoli 49p
Cabbage 50p
Cauli 100p

Total for Dinners £28.00 roughly

Food Total = £49.00

then I'd estimate £5 for store cupboard ingrediants. £10 for toilet rolls (200 pull ups (141p) then whatever needs for toiletries.

Grand total = £65.00

I would add crackers and cream cheese for snacks and extra fruit. I can and do make this budget work for the meal plan but we do eat out once per week, sometimes me and kids might just have an omlette and beans for tea if DH is away and they need using up.

Other meals

Bacon 80p - plus creme fraiche and eggs for spag bol.
Sausage casserole - spicey with mixed beans init
Lamb curry
Macaroni cheese with broccoli

I hope this helps someone. I have my best weeks when I cook on Monday for
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday or I batch cook and freeze. Dont leave leftovers to be picked at bag up and freeze - get them back out on Saturdays for a mixed up lunch - usually this means chilli on baked pots.

I know the food I currently buy is not the best or top brand quality but I try to cook from scratch and keep anything processed to a minimun. Sure we still add in the odd pizza or hotdogs. We do not buy biscuits, crips or squash like we used. If stuff is not there you simply cannot have it. Always have plenty fruit in though. May top up store cupboard with tinned peaches and pineapples.

I want to keep the weekly swimming up once dd2 arrives

we spend 80 pounds a week on food and theres six of us! feeds a hungry 15 and 12 year old too.

10 a week is easily doable with careful planning

I find if I buy the value added products ie jars, ready meals, sliced ham etc the cost of a weekly shop shoots up. The exception to this in our shop is pasta - cheaper to buy than make.

Also look out for where you are paying for the advertising budget - flu remedies are the clasic example, most are paracetamol and Vit C.... nothing that a 19p packet of paracetamol and a glass of juice isn't going to provide, why people pay several pounds for the same is beyond me.

Wow and smile thank you :)

There are some really good ideas there!

Are there cuts in any other area that could be made in your budget? We go to soft play dinner and play £4.75 per child weekly. Dh and I never have a drink in there as it is £3 a coffee! Swimming is £3 each here so you don't need much money to do both.

I don't really buy new clothes much as there are so many good quality second hand ones available. Car boots are good for bargain clothes and toys in the summer. It is fun for the children to.

Food wise cook from scratch if you can. Cheap foods are things like omelettes, bulk spag bol, lasagne with veg. You can do it with cheaper meat instead if you like, but we only like lean beef.

You have to be organised - we have meal plan failiure days so out comes a tine of beans to save us sometimes. You have to get in the habit of cooking every day which can be a bind, but I find batch cooking, especially the mince stuff can be frozen. Good to stock your freezer anyway if you are expecting.

Look out for craft activties at your local library for £1. We live in the Midlands so get into Brimgham and goto lots of free stuff at the museum and big new library.

Found an old shopping list;

Aldi
Crusty wholemeal homebake rolls
Value dried spaghetti
Risotto rice
3 loaves kingsmill
While meal pitta
Tin kidney beans
Microwave rice x 4
Value apple juice x 4
Value orange juice x 4
Mini cartons of juices apple and orange
Prunes
Tin soup x 5
Salsa
Value nachos
Ready salted multi pack crisps
Animal biscuits
Luxury cookies
Cheap white wine for cooking
Mamia fruit pouches x 7
Value toilet roll
Value kitchen roll
Bleach
Wash powder
Nappies
Baby wipes x 3
Multi vitamins
Antibacterial spray
Antibacterial wipes x 3
Parsley plant
Lemons
Bananas
Apples
Oranges
Strawberries
Blueberries
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Free range chicken
British ham
Large block of cheese
Coleslaw
British bacon
Blue cheese
Milk 4 pints
Butter x 2
Hummus
Luxury Frozen pizza
Fish fingers
Luxury oven chips
Petite pois

Tesco;
Fabric conditnor
Spandex shower gel (I have skin condition)
Kids toothpaste

I'm not sure what the cost was that week as I don't have the receipts

Free stuff is definitely your friend.

Our local museum has free soft play. Also free films once a week during the daytime aimed at toddlers. Another museum has fabulous craft sessions and amazing outdoor/indoor play. The university has play sessions for preschoolers. The theatre has free music sessions. The nature reserve has free craft and indoor soft play plus outdoor sand and water play.

Do you have NT properties nearby? Our nearest one (but 20 miles) has fabulous free soft play and one adult family membership is only about £45 a year. Or a local farm with soft play? Again, annual membership can be as little as £25-40 which is very inexpensive if you go regularly.

I think the only thing you should have to pay weekly for for is swimming, but maybe make it fortnightly thing with Dh, rather than weekly on your own as you probably won't be allowed to take two under 5s on your own once dc2 is here.

Yeah you are spending way too much on your food shop. I buy for me, my partner and our son and only spend £40! What on earth are you buying.

Meal plan is your friend. Try to have a couple of cheap dinners every week, jacket potatoes, something on toast etc.

Do you get healthy start vouchers? I know they help a lot of people. If are entitled they could help with your fruit and veg

I think that made frozen pizza, slow cooker chicken, chicken risotto, chicken casserole, mixed bean goulash and rice, carbonara, fish fingers chips and peas. Desert fruit, lunches soup or cheese or ham sandwiches with a bit of salad in them, crisps and fruit, breakfast toast, snacks a biscuit or nachos or dried fruit or fresh fruit.

Do you also do things:
selling bundles of kids old clothes on facebook pages
also old toys and unwanted gifts
bags of adult clothes, clothes not good enough to sell, bedding, towels, bags, belts and shoes to cash for clothes
old dvds, cds, mobile phones, laptops etc to selling pages

helps free up some cash and you get to have a clear out at the same time!

£80 a week is a lot!

Careful meal planning and switching to store products rather than brand names could help?

For me, booking my toddler into a swimming lesson was the cheapest way to swim. I think it is about £3.50 per lesson (in a block, throughout holidays), but about a quid more for a normal session (paying at my adult rate). Bonus is that it makes me go each week, rather than dipping out

The instructor lets us go into the big pool for free for about 20 mins after (shhhhh)

On, and I've somehow cut down my shopping from £150 to £110 a week but shopping at .... Ocado!

I've very roughly meal planned and trying to eat less meat (organic meat, I'm a bit of a food snob....)

We are not in the position to have to watch our pennies, but we will be soon as dh leaves his job to start a new business, so I am in practice. This shop is for 2 adults and 4 dcs....

Food is essential. Swimming and softball are not. £80 pw on food for two adults and a toddler? As another poster said, some savings could be made there. No more takeaways, no more ready meals. More fresh things and cheaper cuts of meat.

Looking at your shopping list it is cheaper to make pizzas, chips (or make wedges instead), biscuits, put juice in drinks containers, salsa, hummus, colslaw, pita bread and cook rice on the hob, bake the ham at home. Buy fruit & vege that is in season. For things like yoghurt - when you have nearly finished a container add the last table spoon of it to some scalded and cooled milk to make the next tub.

Some suggestions:
Ditch the microwave rice and buy a normal bag of rice
Make your own soup
Ditch the juices
Ditch the antibac wipes
Make your own biscuits
Make your own coleslaw, hummus and oven chips

My nearest large town is not in an affluent area and we have loads of Poundland/99p/Home Bargains type of shops and they are brilliant for finding cleaning stuff and long life foods at rock bottom prices.

I bought a pack of three large tins of Cross and Blackwell baked beans for £1 last weekend at the pound shop. You can also pick up bargains on tea and coffee, olive oil and other store cupboard staples at these shops.

Is there a reason why you can't go to children centre groups anymore? It's just they are mainly free or charge very little. I used to work in them and the sessions we provided for parents always included drinks and healthy snacks for the kids and a drink for parents. Or you could attend a short course where they have a crèche on site and your dd can play whilst you have a break.

Yanbu although I think there are better regular activities than soft play. We go to a toddler group every week for £1.50. Includes a tea/coffee and biscuit for parents and a small snack and drink for the kids.

I would save swimming until they are older. Surely DCs don't remember much of their life at 2 ( I don't remember before school at 5 really apart from looking at photos which then remind me) - swim when they are old enough to learn to swim on their own, jump off the side etc. And soft play could be a play in the park.

Most water supplies are soft to very soft water nowadays, you can look this up for your local authority, then ignore the adverts and use half the washing powder it tells you.

cleaning products: you really only need all purpose cleaner and if in a hard water area a lime scale remover. anything else is optional, really.
washing powders are all more or less the same, so swapping to cheaper brands will do. in fact aldi powder usually comes up well on which tests.

YANBU. To be honest, you should be able to cut your food budget to £60 for your size family easily.