A weekly budget....

[Stressalot42]

For various reasons we need to cut down our spending (not least because we've got lazy due to stressful jobs!) we've been buying pre packed sandwiches/lunch etc!

We both work, so lunches are needed. £20 a week for petrol, all other bills paid via direct debit so not included in weekly spends.

Like to pop out once a week (it's the cheap night at the pub!) so that's £15 (only have two drinks).

Weekends Friday, Saturday, Sunday - couple glasses of wine at home.

Can forgo the takeaways (which we've been having FAR too much, again too busy at work and can't be bothered to cook!).

So I've spent probably £50 for the week already.

How much for the rest of the food/lunches etc?

We are not needing a totally strict budget, just stop spending money on unnecessary things and stick to a budget.

The AIBU is AIBU asking what you spend!!

Are there just two of you or do you have children?

Sorry! Should've said that! One older son at home. He's fairly self sufficient, maybe eats with us once a week.

Totally depends on the sort of food you like to eat and what you personally mean by 'cutting down'. Plenty of people on Mumsnet seem to spend around £30 a week feeding a family and three dogs, two cats and a gerbil . Do you prefer to eat steak or lentil stews?

We are a family of three (teenage DS) and probably spend around £90 a week - we have a couple of drinks each most nights so that includes wine and beer. We could cut down a lot if we had to but prefer to eat well at home rather than eating out - especially after a disastrous experience this week although we did end up not having to pay for a pub meal .

So is it packed lunches for 2 of you for the week then tea? I suppose it depends on what you want to eat. As obviously can be done cheaply or not depending on tastes, budgets ect. I would start with a weekly shop could be online if easier and make a meal plan before you shop. You could do things like chilli and jackets one night and mske extra for lunch the next day. Make a big pan of homeade soup for lunches. I would probably try and do some easy teas like stir fry, omlette if your busy at work.

I suppose that's been the problem, we slipped into "I can't be bothered to meal plan". So end up doing stupid things like going to our local Greek shop buying their lamb chops, nice but massively expensive!

It needs to be a mixture of cheap and more expensive as the real expensive as a treat once a month or whatever.

I need to go shopping with meal plans and stick to it.

I'd be happy with £150 a week for everything mentioned. That really should be affordable.

We do also have a dog, but he's little and doesn't need a lot of food etc, he's minimal cost.

It's all about the organisation.

The only thing with online shopping is that I prefer to shop in Morrisons and Aldi. They are cheaper, but I also don't like the way Tesco and sainsburys are taking over every high street.

You can save money doing things like buying a gammon joint, slow cooking it and slicing it for sandwiches or taking tedtovers to warm up at work.

In terms of budgeting I'd start low and add in where you have to. I tend to find if I set a higher budget I see it as a target .

I'd start at £50 a week and see if you can manage on that. Meal plan too.

Do you have a slow cooker?

Put prepared food in the night before and switch on in the morning - cooked and waiting - plenty of packets of herbs etc to add flavor

I like the sauce casserole and a whole gammon

Do you have a timer on the oven? Learn to use it!

Pasta and rice dishes are quick and easy. - so is curry

Anything with salad is good - you can use chips or chicken - we sometimes do wraps with breaded chicken and salad

I think you'd be better to experiment with a few quick recipes - your DH needs to help with this and take turns

My situation is totally different to use so telling you what I spend would be entirely irrelevant. However, I used to be a bit more like you. One thing I did that really cut down on lunch spends was to buy a multipack of drinks, crisps, fruit with the weekly shop and leave them in the car. So I still bought a sandwich but didn't have to buy all the bits with it. No more effort but a saving.
If you are relying on take away some or expensive cheats for the evening meal I would look at developing a list of meals that are really quick and easy for nights you just can't be bothered to cook. Things like stirfry (buy the ready chopped stir fry packs and straight to wok noodles), fritata, fresh pasta and a sauce, ready made falafel and pita, baked fish parcels etc.

Do you have a timer on the oven? Learn to use it!

I only used it last night!! How funny that you should say that. It was bloody awesome! Soon I'll be able to do it without the YouTube tutorial!

Some great ideas, I'm spending the weekend planning!

Thanks all and keep the ideas coming. I'm going to start at £50 and work upwards if I need to!

I still find it awesome! If only they'd invent a wifi oven (probably have) just incase you're late home

Great for jacket potatoes and cook a whole chicken

Worth hebleft over chicken - shred it and add onions garlic and herbs/spices - example chili powder curry powder turmeric and garlic add chicken stock with a spoon of brown sugar - plus any vegetables - shredded carrots mushrooms - and place in the slow cooker to the next day -

Rice takes no time to cook

Two meals in ine - and no real effort

You could also batch cook - so double up for beef and tomatoes in the slow cooker and freeze a portion - save for the following week

Take tins of soup to work and a buttered roll? Or better still make your own

Lettuce, cucumber, Tom, tuna or cheese salad, or either of those things in a sandwich

Plenty of people on Mumsnet seem to spend around £30 a week feeding a family and three dogs, two cats and a gerbil

And there's also an equal number of people who's idea of normal basic shopping for a family of three is £200 pw on organic everything from Waitrose.

OP, I'd suggest looking at the budgeting section on moneysavingexpert and starting from scratch. You can't really know what a reasonable amount to spend on lunches is unless you know how much spare money you really have.

If you are spending a lot, there can be lots of scope to cut down, and in terms of importance, any kind of bought food or drink out of the house is quite low priority as you can get away with spending almost nothing by taking very cheap packed lunches or leftovers if you have a microwave at work.

You firstly need to look at your normal bills and also think about can you get any cheaper - better mortgage rate, cheaper gas and electric etc, cheaper phone contracts?
Then money to be saved for annual expenses or emergencies like insurances, Christmas, broken cars, pets and washing machines etc.
What about any debts?
Food and basic travel - again may be scope to cut down - are you the £30 pw family above (not really possible) or the £200 pw (can do it lots cheaper)
Do you have any savings 'just because' ie to plan for job loss, home improvements etc.
Once you have accounted for all the above what you have left is what you can afford to spend on lunches etc that you mention in your OP. If you have accounted for all the above you should be able to come up with a figure that you can freely spend without worrying too much. Maybe take this out each week in cash and when it's gone it's gone?

DD and her partner ( both early 20s) spend about £40 a week on food and they eat really well- both love to cook and try new recipes. But they spent quite a bit over the few months before they moved in together collecting various different spices, pastes, oils etc of favourite recipes which means that they now sit down at the weekend and meal plan for the week and go through the cupboards with what they have. Often they just need fresh meat, fish and veg and then the odd store cupboard item needs replacing. DD batch cooks a couple of dishes like biryani or a chilli dish ( veg ones) and has them for her lunch. They swear by online shopping too as they reckon the cost of delivery ( usually get a £2 slot) is worth it as they still save money by not buying extra impulse buys.

My household comprises me plus DD (19) during university holidays. So when DD is at home, I probably spend £40 a week on food which includes three meals a day for her, two for me (including packed lunch), no alcohol (I don't drink and she buys it if she goes out), haven't had a takeaway for many years! I batch cook at weekends when I have some time and freeze in individual or two portion plastic pots. I also go to Sainsbury's/Tesco's/M&S half an hour before closing time if it's convenient, and stock up on freezable items that are often a fraction of their original cost.

I don't specifically budget at the moment - I just love a bargain and try to avoid processed stuff where possible.

Online shopping using my supermarket- it tells you the cheapest supermarket for your shop

I spend under £40 most weeks on all food and household stuff for me, dh, and dd. But I'm not working at the moment, so have more time than you and, most importantly, we have to spend this little due to our budget. Depends how much you want to save.
Some easy things which wont affect your lifestyle too much:
Try to cook from scratch more. Be disciplined! If you want to feel more motivated to do this, think about the foods you really want to eat. Cheat with packet/jar sauces etc. If you do want a takeaway one evening, why not try the ones you get from the supermarket? More expensive (and less healthy) than cooking from scratch but cheaper than a proper takeout.The same goes for rotisserie chickens -you could get two/three meals and lunches out of one for very little effort.

When you cook from scratch, try cooking extra - it makes the work and time seem more "worth it". Then take leftovers for lunch the next day - usually much nicer than a boring old sandwich anyway! You don't even have to do it everyday - buying lunch twice a week is a lot cheaper than buying lunch out 3 times a week. (Just don't put a very strong smelling curry or fish dish in the office microwave!)
Buy fruit and multipack crisps/treats for your lunch, and just get into the habit of grabbing them as you head the door. That saves money with no extra effort (in fact it is less effort than slogging to the shops and queuing every lunchtime.)
If you bring lunch from home, you spend a tiny bit of time at home preparing it but get more of your lunchbreak to spend how you want. What takes longer - making a sandwich or shopping when the shops are at their busiest?
Switch down a brand or try a cheaper supermarket.

^All the above are very easy changes, you could save even more if you needed to. But, like any resolution, starting small gives you a much greater chance of success.

Tesco do a takeaway box, it's better than our takeaway and not on offer it's £7 for 2.

Also I tend to only take enough cash in to buy what is on my list, means you have to check what your buying, I keep my card in the car, it means you really do think twice. but can afford a too good to miss offer.

Imer - genius! Thank you!!!

Mummy2017 will look at that with Tesco. Thanks