to spend £280 a week to feed a family of 5?

[TempleOfBlooms]

I spend about £280 a week on food. This includes my work lunches which tend to be salads from places like Leon plus coffees etc. The rest is food eaten at home.

Breakfast for all five of us tends to be things like Bircher muesli or chia based stuff with fruits and nuts. Fresh juice too.

Lunches in summer are usually a selection of dips and cheese and meats and salads.

Dinner is usually fish or chicken with a selection of salads and grilled veg.

So fresh food but not caviar or ridiculous indulgences.

It seems like everyone else on here can feed a family of four on tiny amounts. How? We certainly could eat more cheaply but that would mean fewer veg, fewer fruits, less fish etc.

Is it really so unusual to spend so much on food? I never see anyone else admit to it.

Just wanted to say that i don’t think camel has been rude, and i understand what she is saying.
I also think nosquirrels has been both polite and restrained.

Not baby corn though...

Family of 4. Spend between 100-150 per week, eat well and healthy and drink too much too.

But whatever floats your boat. For £100 per week saving I would rather shop in a less spendy way, and either me or dp work a few less hours a week and spend more time as a family/get shitty chores done/go for a few long walks/do a hobby/read a book or just lay on the bed scratching my belly contemplating life.

This thread is HILARIOUS.

CantanKerous we eat a lot of meat free meals so only buy about three lots of meat a week. We do eat a lot of very cheap lentils etc that get pressure cooked so this might be one reason I feel no need to compete in the spending wars.

Anyway good luck with your future shopping ventures. We're quite happy eating well without spending a fortune and using the money we save to go towards other things that enrich a life

chavtasticfirebanger
"Twatish" excellent way to describe it.
The spelling police are always quick to pounce when they have nothing better to say.

Thanks RICK

I’ve a feeling there’s been some misinterpretation (wilful or otherwise) going on.

I work hard for my money and choose to spend it on nourishing my family well. I think I’ve explained this well enough. That people have decided to jump on and attack me speaks volumes about them but little about me.

The reason the government recommend an amount because many people in debt will
Go without basics to pay off their creditors. This is unhealthy and unsustainable, so they recommend a realistic budgeting figure. Of course you don’t have to stick to it but it does show what the government think the average person should be spending on food

We are spending about £100 for three of us a week. That is buying mainly organic and because we only have a two drawer freezer and I can't batch cook much. We are trying to reduce by clearing out the cupboards and doing mini shops to reduce waste. When I can get a bigger freezer soon I expect to pay less with batch cooking and freezing more left over fruit and veg.

camel it is a bit surreal

CantankerousCamel
Now people that earn a lower amount than you don't work hard aswell as not nourishing their families.
Please stop

Who gives a shit what the government believes we 'should' be spending on food? What a bizarre consideration! If you are a healthy weight and eat enough of each food group, why would you care?

RICK

It’s totally surreal.

CantankerousCamel
You are surreal
Phones going to die but will catch up soon

Just me and DS at home so from my estimation the government thinks I should be spending about £77-£90.

If I spent that much on food I'd end up chucking most of it away. Rarely spend more than £50 a week and I don't scrimp, I just don't buy free range or organic stuff because that's not something I prioritise.

I make allowances for the fact that DS being in Reception currently gets free school meals, fruit and milk at school. Still I usually only end up spending an extra tenner pw on lunches in the holidays.

Family of 5 and I think I'm pushing it if we spent over 80 a week.

It seems like everyone else on here can feed a family of four on tiny amounts. How? We certainly could eat more cheaply but that would mean fewer veg, fewer fruits, less fish etc.

Erm, no it doesn't because they are priorities. Shopping cheaper means your Bircher muesli and chia based food is not a priority ;) your general day to day food doesn't sound particularly different from mine, so I have no idea where you are spending your money but you are either in denial or you are frittering it on other stuff

People confuse me when they buy things like branded pasta and spaghetti, when you can get a pack of spaghetti for 20p unbranded that tastes exactly the same

butidontwannausemyhead

Lots of things do taste the same, but not cheap and expensive pasta. If I need to save money I'll buy cheap pasta, but it doesn't taste like the nice stuff.

Does to me?! I guess taste is relative.

butidontwannausemyhead

Don’t kid yourself. There’s a gulf in taste and quality between branded and value range for most items.

Not a gulf between branded pasta and value ranges, but most definitely still a difference.

If you can afford that much it's great but you don't need to spend that much. Family of 4 and I spend 50-70 per week. We have a good all round diet with fresh fruit and veg.

Baked beans
Fresh pasta
Soups

Massive difference in tastes

The government debt advice figure is to take account of other non-perishable spending (nappies, wipes, washing powder, toiletries, pet food, tin foil, bin bags) and will have a leeway built in for spending on non-essentials e.g. the odd McDonald's because they recognise that people don't live completely regular lives that never deviate, so it errs on the side of generous. But the point is that food is recognised as a priority to spend on, not something to cut back on greatly in order to pay creditors.

This is STILL no judgement on people who spend less, through choice or circumstance. But it is a useful guide, in the same way that national average spends are a useful guide (average family shop = £53 per week, so less than the government guide but this is food only) link here: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/blog/how-does-your-household-food-spend-compare

I still think people don't add up their spends like for like, so someone's £320 per month 'food shop' is the same as someone else's £450 'food spending' because one doesn't include lunches out etc and a takeaway and someone else's does.

I don't think that is much. I spend about £300 on family of 3. We don't eat out much - never for dinner. The only time we eat out is when DS and I have lunch (approx once per month) in a cafe and possibly have coffee out 2-3 times a month.

butidontwannausemyhead

I suppose so!