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!?

[InDubiousBattle]

2014 I think that's for everything, hence the panic! Op says later that she's worried about birthdays and Christmas etc

[noeffingidea]

becotide noone is having 'jealous hissy fits' or being brats.

[HazelBite]

I am currently feeding 5 adults + 2 cats on anything from 120 to 150 pounds a week.
I tend to online shop from ASDA (our local store is particulary good) once a week and don't spend more than 10-20 ponds from our local shops for extras.
A lot of it is meal planning, and buying only what you need for that week.

[abilockhart]

£200 per week for food and general spending should be fine.

But my one concern would be what else would that have to cover? Transport, insurance, repairs, clothes, haircuts??

[spankhurst]

There are 3 of us and we probably spend £120 a week all in.
Get hold of a copy Gill Holcombe's book, it's got some fab recipes, and shopping lists at the back.

[MsHarry]

With 2 young DC yes. We are 4 with 2 teens and spend £75 pw average in Aldi. I was a SAHM when my DC were small, we got by, kept things simple and we have never regretted it, it was precious time, worth much more than any luxuries or extras to us. I know that's not for everyone.

[MsHarry]

£200 a week? I read it as pm!!! Oh you'll be fine, that's loads!

[Dumbledoresgirl]

This strikes me as an impossible thing to judge without knowing more about your life. You say £200 after bills, but what do bills cover? Do you mean council tax, electricity, gas, water, insurance? Or are you covering phone, tv licence, car tax, etc too?

I have spent many years as a SAHM. Dh has a well paid job, but we have larger than average outgoings in that we have 4 children and a larger than average house. Some here would think we are wealthy, but often we only just get by, just like seemingly poorer households. This is how I worked out how much are outgoings were so I could ensure we stayed on track:

I worked out all our annual costs and factored in an average weekly grocery spend. After everything foreseeable had been accounted for (including a bit of pocket money for the children, kids activities, subscriptions, etc), I then calculated £400 a month for one large expenditure eg car service, Christmas, car taxes, car insurance, house insurance, school shoes x4, holiday savings.

I think, after all our regular or expected expenses were accounted for, we had about £200 a month 'spare' - in theory, but in practice, if often seemed to be absorbed into regular costs.

I think you would do better to work out all your costs, and see what is left over. After all, you know you are going to buy food every week so why not account for it now?

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

Honestly, it depends how self disciplined you & DH are when it comes to spending.

Yes, of course, £200 is easily enough for most weeks of the year - but you will need the self control to not think along the lines of "oo, food shopping was only £80 this week, we've still got £120 to spend" and end up spending it unnecessarily. Instead you need to be able to think more along the lines of "excellent, £120 to put into the savings towards birthdays, Christmas, school shoe shopping etc. etc." Most of the time, £200 a week will be very comfortable - but not the week that both DCs need new shoes, swimming lessons need paying for, the car needs a tyre & Christmas is fast approaching. Which is why you need to be good at saving as you go.

I speak from experience of former financial foolishness. I am now extremely careful & plan ahead - even possibly a little more than is strictly necessary!

[Bluebridge]

Thanks for the suggestions especially for shopping. I'll definitely look at the fb pages recommended, try shopping in the evening and give aldi another try.

I'm sorry if I offended anyone but I do think the snide comments are uncalled for. We've gone from 2 wages just for 2 adults to 1 wage and 4 of us so yes I am a bit worried as it's a big change.

[Bluebridge]

@santas I think that's going to be the biggest learning curve, self discipline.

I'm hoping in the new year to have an extra couple of hundred a month which I'll save as a contingency fund.

[Violetcharlotte]

I'm surprised by the number of people saying this is a lot. £200 a week for 4 people, for food, toiletries, cleaning stuff, petrol, clothes, haircuts, dentists, prescriptions, birthday presents, Christmas, emergencies....

It may sound a lot but it really isn't. I appreciate there are many people who live on less. It's certainly do-able but there's no money left for holidays/ going out/ treats.

[Violetcharlotte]

Just to add to this, OP, try keeping track of everything single penny you spend and what it goes on for 1 month. I think you'll be surprised!

[WorraLiberty]

Surely it depends on roughly where you live?

I'm not just talking about the North/South, but some areas have little competition shop-wise, so prices in general are much higher than other busier areas.

[madcapcat]

And if you have a Lidl near you it's definitely worth looking there as well as / instead of Aldi. I find the fruit and veg in my local lidl are much better quality than Aldi, although Aldi is better for some other things.

[PlinkyTheFairyWitch]

Get a slow cooker (£20-40) and use cheap cuts of meat and dried grains/veg/pulses in it - they'll stew down to utter deliciousness for very little effort and money. Freeze lots.

Deffo shop online, it stops the supermarkets mugging you for nonsense you don't need and you can clearly see your ongoing total.

Sainsbo's often does free stuff to try online. Aldi is brill for knock-off treats and does the single best jaffa cake on the market IMO.

Investigate your local butcher and greengrocer, you can get only the amount you need and often for cheap at better or decent quality.

[LakieLady]

It should be easily doable, but it will be tight. The same family on benefits would get about £260 on benefits, including child tax credit/child benefit, and bills don't generally come to £60 pw.

It's worth going on one of the online benefit calculators and seeing if you're entitled to any working tax credit, or housing benefit if you're renting.

[InDubiousBattle]

I think the snide comments are uncalled for to op. We went from 2 incomes with no kids to one income and 2 kids in two years and it is a big adjustment.

I have switched to Aldi for most shops now and find most of their stuff good. I avoid their cleaning stuff (the bottles break!), washing powder and ketchup but most things are good. I generally do a big shop at either asda or morrissons once a month for store cupboard staples and things I can't get from Aldi and then shop in Aldi weekly.

I would definitely agree with the pp that it's by no means 'loads'.

[noeffingidea]

violetcharlotte you don't have to pay for things like dentists, haircuts, clothes and prescriptions every week though. That is why people are suggesting the OP saves a portion of her money each week.
As for Christmas many people save up all year round. Perhaps a seperate building society savings account would be useful here.

[monkeymamma]

We are 4 and our weekly food bill is usually around £120 (Tesco). I spent only £46 this week because we went to Lidl! No wine or puddings though this week.

We're having

Baked spuds
Mushroom soup (Abel and Cole recipe)
Salmon tart (bought ready made pastry for this)
Sweet pot and coconut soup
Veggie and chorizo bake

Plus yoghurts, packed lunch bits, few treats for the kids, breakfast stuff etc. Bleach and other cleaning stuff. Not bad for £46!

[AreWeThereYet000]

Erm.... of course you can.
Shop in Lidl/Aldi and stock freezer from farm foods/Iceland. We do this (2 adults 2 DC) and around £120 shopping last 2 weeks so that's £240 a month. Add another day £120 a month for fuel and that's still just over £400 a month disposable income. £100 in savings and that gives you £75 a week to play around with for clothes/days out/takeaways or whatever you want that week.

Days out can be as cheap as you make them. We often drive to different parks and take a picnic the kids enjoy playing on different equipment and doesn't cost hardly anything. Also a lot of attractions you pay once and that covers you for the year if you keep the token (the deep for example)

We make about £50 a week last us and we don't go without

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

It is doable. I would try to save even £10 a week from it though, so you've a reserve fund for things breaking down, when the dcs need shoes, etc.

Do you have a decent sized freezer? If not, get one from your last pay cheque! Having enough room to batch cook and freeze, take advantage of special offers and freeze leftovers makes all the difference. I freeze everything - stale bit of bread? Whizz it into breadcrumbs and in the freezer it goes, odd ends of cheese, likewise. Bits of sauce left over from a casserole or whatever - saves time next time round.

[wendz86]

I'd says it's doable but a little tight. I have less than that but only 1 adult and i struggle to afford things like holidays.

[TheSnorkMaidenReturns]

If I were you, I'd make sure I saved a good portion of this from the start.

Set yourself a manageable budget of c£80-100 for food, your DH and you each get e.g. £10 a week pocket money, £15 travel, and then £75 a week for repairs/emergencies/Christmas. You say you should have more coming in 'in the New Year', so say 20 weeks away. Then you have £1500 in total for contingency until then. But keep to your food budget even once that money comes in, and you'll be more comfortable.

[Bluebridge]

@worra I live in ante with a relatively low cost of living fortunately!

@dumbledore the £200 is after everything except food and minimal fuel.

I'm going to try and put a little away every week for Christmas.

Days out I'm not too concerned about, dc are young enough that they're happy with a picnic at the park .