To think that £200 a week for a family of 4 is doable?

[Bluebridge]

So I've become a sahm due to the cost of/ lack of flexible childcare. We are 2 adults and 2 young dc.

We obviously checked the figures before I became a sahm but some things have changed and now we are left with £200 a week after bills except food. I'm having a panic but this is fine isn't it!?

[ExConstance]

We are comfortably off and I've never spent more than £70pw on food when DH + 2 adult sons who eat lots are at home.

[noeffingidea]

Meant save some each week.

[gwenneh]

Oh absolutely, I should think that would be more than enough and I'm pretty lazy-- extravagant when it comes to MN standards.

[Allergictoironing]

ONS (Office of National Statistics) quotes that the average weekly food spend for a family of 4 is a bit over £81 per week.

Your friends are veggies, potatoes, eggs, rice, pasta and cheese (cheese more for jazzing stuff up than for filling up). Certain things are just as good supermarket own brand (Milk, eggs, cheese, sugar, herbs & spices) and in some cases are better for your health than premium brands. A small amount of mince can go a long way in a pasta sauce or on a jacket potato, same with cheese. Don't buy sauces like bolognase, make them (quick & cheap) with cheapo tinned tomatoes.

At one stage I worked out that my food spend, including tea & the (very) occasional treat, I could keep under £20 a week for myself & I have a few food health issues.

[SentientCushion]

I pay £3.50 a month for unlimited midweek delivery from Tesco, I have a budget for my weekly shop and stick to it, I try not to do any top up shops as I was finding it too easy to almost double my spending.

[QueenOfVipers]

I feed myself and DD (eats child portions) for £30 per week, we eat well with lots of fruit and veggies.
Aldi and lidl are your best friends.
Don't be too rigid and shop around what's on offer/cheap each week

[BitOutOfPractice]

A week? Yes. I am rubbish at budgeting and I spend less than half than that without really scrimping. Planning is your friend. Saves loads

[Bumbumtaloo]

Honestly, it's okay. We live on less per week as I am no longer able to work and my husband is now my carer. There is also 4 of us (2 DC's) and two cats.

For Christmas and birthdays I buy throughout the year, it's always handy if you have a quite short notice birthday party invite as well.

I also pay into Park Christmas, simply because if I had the money building up in an account it would get used on other stuff. With what I've paid into them my whole Christmas food shop will be covered and I ordered one of the meat hampers, that will fill a big chunk of our freezer and last us a good while.

We shop at Morrisons, we have found that it works out cheaper for us. When our main money does in we do a 'big' shop (personally I do it online because I don't tend to go off list) which costs us approx £150 but includes cat food and litter, toiletries, washing powder and cleaning stuff, toilet roll, fill our cupboards, and a big chunk of freezer. We then only have to top up on fresh stuff. And even a few treats.

For days out, we try and use buy one get one free or vouchers where possible. We are also lucky that my mother in law lives in a seaside town.

[melj1213]

£200 a week after bills and you think you'll struggle ... really?

I would kill for that much spare cash every month, never mind week!

You can easily keep your food bill under £80 by budgeting and meal planning especially when you have young DCs who aren't going to be eating anywhere near as much as older DCs and that leaves you with £120 for activities, general spending and putting a little bit aside for emergencies/savings.

[Bumbumtaloo]

I should have said our £150 big shop lasts the month for the stuff I listed.

[becotide]

If transport isn't an issue, then yes, shop twice a week, but remind yourself that your budget is then £30, not £60 as you're only shopping for 3.5 days.

or you could weekly shop with a midweek bread/milk/fruit shop, but you MUST be strict when you go in.

[becotide]

And for all the people who are having jealous hissy fits because op has more money than them - tough shit. Life's not fair. There are plenty of people who have less money than you too, does that mean you are never ever allowed to ask for help? Stop being brats.

[asprinklingofsugar]

£200 a week is definitely doable imo. If you're really worried, and find that you're really struggling I'd suggest you go into supermarkets in the evenings, as they usually have things reduced. The dates aren't always great, so you'll probably have to eat the things in the next day or two. But you can sometimes get a packet of doughnuts or cookies for 20-50p which could be a nice treat for your kids (and you!) and there's usually ready meals and mince/sausages etc plus puddings, cream, crusty bread, packets of salad etc for less than half price. I doubt you'd be able to feed all four of you on only reduced items for an entire week but for a little change/treat every now and then it's worth thinking about. Plus steak that can be almost a fiver, down to £2 and things like that is definitely a bargain!

Also, I'd suggest when there's offers on, e.g. on things like pasta, sauce, tea, coffee, jam, tinned and frozen foods etc, bulk buy and store them. This means you'll have them in case you're ever stuck, and you won't have to spend your money on things like that for a while. Also remember for things such as toilet roll, cleaning supplies, some tinned food and sweets etc supermarket own brand stuff is often just as good as the big brands (e.g. Andrex). Sometimes, it's the same manufacturers but different names, labels and prices.

[sobeyondthehills]

I do that a month for 1 child, 2 adults, a dog and 2 cats.

Personally, I would aim for £100 a week food, put £50 in a pot for Christmas and birthdays and £50 for days out.

[JuicyStrawberry]

Totally doable. We're a family of 5 and get by on £300 a week. So a family of 4 on £200 should be fine.

[NotPennysBoat815]

£200 a week? Am I from a different planet? We both work full time and have less spending money than that.

[newmumwithquestions]

I think that's a lot. It's similar to us. I mostly shop in Waitrose and think we have a good lifestyle.

We drink very little, don't smoke, and I cook a lot from scratch but we don't scrimp on ingredients.

We also go out for lunch at least one day most weekends (very rarely in the evenings).

I also cover one car running costs (don't use it much though) and classes for the kids from that.

You should be fine.

[melj1213]

It's not being a "brat" to think that if you have £200 a week that just has to cover food and general spending, then you really aren't struggling nor should that have you in a panic. It might mean you have to be more careful than before - and by that I mean keeping track of spending rather than just spending - but if having £30 a day for 4 people to live on is a struggle then it suggests that there is a bigger problem than just the budget.

[Violetcharlotte]

That's about my budget for me and 2 teens after rent and bills. This includes food, petrol, dog food, school lunches, clothes, haircuts and anything else. (I include my gym membership and kids activities under bills)

It's tight, but manageable. Nothing left over for holidays though and Christmas/ birthdays are a struggle.

[SparklyUnicornPoo]

I get by on less than that with 2 adults, an 8 and a 13 year old - probably spend around £60-£70 a week on food, so £200 should leave you a bit for luxuries, activities with the DC and to put aside for Christmas, birthdays, growth spurts etc.

I do aldi shops for everything other than fruit and veg - because Aldi are shit for fruit and veg and it works out cheaper to go to Sainsburys (or lidl when i can be bothered to walk that far)

[Athena404]

You're rich....you only need 10% of that

[KitKat1985]

I think that's fine. Our grocery bill is about £100 a week, and both DDs are still in nappies, and to be honest we could cut it down if we had to. So if you budgeted £100 a week for food I'd then put as much as possible aside of the remaining money for financial emergencies like car repair bills or broken boilers etc.

[demonfoam]

We have about that much to spend for a family of 4 and we are dependent on benefits as DH is my carer. So it's not luxury but we find it meets all our needs. We are great at batch cooking and using vouchers and doing things like surveys to boost our income too.

[2014newme]

Yes but is that for food only or for everything?
Birthdays, Christmas, extra curriculum, school expenses, clothes, dental, haircuts, dry cleaning, household items, shoes, holidays etc etc

[SkintAsASkintThing]

It's very doable, i'd allow £60 for food. (( meal planning is an absolute must )) take the money out in cash, any extra you have (( which you will if you have a couple of cheap days , ie eating simple, veggie meals a couple of times a week )) i'd stick in a money bottle. It soon adds up and you can use it to treat yourselves with.

£10 a week 'treat money' for you and dh each.

Try not to.touch the rest, withdraw cash where possible. And always try and have extra saved up.for school holidays when you want money for extra treats and the odd, day out.

I even scrimp on those, my poor, deprived dc get a box of ice creams to share from a supermarket of we have a day out......I refuse to pay £10 for a round of ice creams when I can buy a.box for £2 !!!