Budget urgent help please freaking out

[Nicebudget]

Ok so I've name changed for this

Just had a massive life change and the only thing that can give is our monthly shop budget. We were spending about £500 including nappies, toiletries, cleaning etc per month.

I need to cut that as far as possible. 2 adults 1 toddler. 1 adult full veggie 2nd adult flexible happy to eat mainly veggie as that's probably cheaper. Toddler not veggie eats well - basically eats everything we put in front of her.

I need budget help and ideas and meal ideas. I am open to all suggestions I'm sat here with a pen and paper ready for menu ideas and tips for shopping.

We both work full time so I can't commit to visiting lots of different supermarkets for the best deals but open to ideas. Thank you! I'm panicking.

*cleaning products not a cleaner just to be clear

You can easily cut that back! Shop online then you can meal plan and not get sucked into special offers, buy own brand where possible, cut down on meat if you eat it and one or 2 days a week have a really cheap meal like jacket potatoes or beans on toast. I never spend more than £60 per week for 4 of us and we eat well

Thanks can you give me an idea on meal ideas or what your staples are for shopping? I am really clueless never really had to plan or budget for food before.

See if your toddler will eat lentils when mixed in with veg, meat. Lentils can be good for bulking out things.
So cottage pie, spaghetti bol, that sort of thing can be bulked out a bit.

Nappies - find ones which fit, don't leak and don't cause reactions. Try Aldi if you have one nearby.

Long term: have a plan for increasing income.

Definitely have an income increasing plan already being hatched at the moment - great advice and the first thing I thought too.

I have never used lentils in cooking that's something to start doing.

Sit down, write you income, now write your bills..

Now look at places you can cut back e.g instead of contract phone have pay as you go sim, instead of sky, or cable tv have free view or free sat (alot of same channels but no monthly subscription)..

Make a list of all the takeaways, coffees, sandwiches, snacks etc that you estimate you would buy when out and about...this is all money you can save (you could take a reusable cup and take a coffee or drink with you and a snack from home)

For wetwipe buy cheaper, I've used super drug brand it's 3 for £2 and it's better than some brand names...for nappies Google online reviews for different brands and see if there is anything cheaper you can switch to.

Buy supermarket brand/ basic veg, and supermarket brand/ basic rice and pasta...it usually tastes the same and will save you alot of money

Also get in the habit of cooking double or triple the amount you need so you can freeze the extra portions for meals later in the week

If you have nights out , meals out ,takeaways or cigarettes or drink alcohol these are all areas you can cut back and save money

Batch cook - have a supply of plastic boxes with lids for portioning out meals. A basic veg sauce can be useful to go with pasta, potato, rice, and can be enhanced for adults with spicy sauce, mustard, things like that.

We're very similar - 2 adult vegetarians and a toddler who is also vege. We spend about £250-300 per month for everything including nappies, toiletries cleaning products etc.

Meal planning is the way to do it. I use a lot of frozen veg as it doesn't go off. Make sure I cook enough of an evening meal for me and dd to have for lunch the next day. DH has wraps with things like homemade houmous for lunch at work. Jacket potatoes are a good shout for a meal a week. I shop online at asda for everything except nappies which we buy once every 6 weeks from aldi.

Buy own brand as much as possible.

Some cheaper meals I make include lentil Dahl and rice, three bean chilli and rice, pasta bake, homemade vege burgers and homemade wedges, homemade falafel with salad and wraps, soups, vegetable tart made with shop bought puff pastry with pesto and whatever veg I have with cheese on top, frittata, cottage pie using frozen quorn mince, quorn sausage and bean casserole with dumplings.

Breakfast we have overnight oats with frozen fruit left to soak/defrost overnight, eggy bread, little egg muffins, toast and fruit, baked beans on toast.

My wife makes a sausage and butternut squash pasta dish that's amazing. Sausages could easily be replaced with quorn or mushrooms. You can make a job lot of it for about £2.

Same with carbonara. Ham is optional I suppose, to appease the veggie. Then you're just talking pasta, egg, garlic, cheese. Throw some mushrooms in too.

Tesco do nacho chips, 45p a bag...
We do spaghetti meat base and eat it with them instead.
Also you can make it with mvp. As a veg option.
Frozen onions or chopped mix veg £1.20 a bag, use as needed.
Cheap biscuits are good there.
We do pasta and sauce with cheese on top... Everyone can eat that.
Bacon bits are 65p a bag and have great big chunks of gammon off cuts..
Chicken thighs are 4 for £1.50 great for a stew...
But frozen sausages, that way you only have too use a few not the whole pack.
Freeze bread the day after you buy, great for toast.
Toasted sandwiches are good, as you can fill with anything in the house, even jam.
Pancakes make a great tea. Just keep flour., eggs, sugar and lemon in.. Or jam..

Yes to batch cooking and freezing.
Soups are very cheap to make.
I do not buy any ready meals or sauces- too expensive and bad for you. Buy loose fruit and veg so you are only buying what you need.
If you have time ( or a bread maker) bake your own bread.
Don't have too many different cleaning products on the go.

You both work full time so I presume you pay for childcare. Make sure you are taking advantage of any childcare funding scheme for which you are eligible. www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

When shopping for food, take cash and a list. Stick to your list. By using a list and paying in cash you will feel the cost of items more, so you will think more about how much food costs and how you need to use it wisely. Pre-chopped veg may look nice but it can be more costly than chopping it yourself. Frozen veg is often cheaper than fresh but depending on what you are using it for you will prefer fresh over frozen... experiment a bit. Frozen cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, onions, mushrooms, peas, sweetcorn, spinach. Frozen veg tends to be better steamed than boiled in my view, but experiment and decide yourself what works best for you.

If you have an Aldi or lidl anywhere close by that will save you literally half what you usually spend. I always spent £80-90 a week at Morrisons and now spend £45-50 a week at Aldi. I resent going into any other supermarket now because I just feel like I’m being ripped off.

Cleaning products and toiletries are also cheap in Aldi but failing that, home bargains/B&M/Poundland have great ones.

I stopped buying wipes and cut an old towel into little squares. Damp with water and so much more effective and free!

You can use natural products for cleaning vinegar, bicarbonate of soda etc. B&M, home bargains and savers also have great prices for toiletries and cleaning products.

Another one for meal planning, also do you have a slow cooker? Great for when you are at work and is great for cheaper cuts of meat.

Also eating fresh fruit and veg when in season works out cheaper

Hope that’s helps 😊

Oats are useful for bulking out dishes made with mincemeat. Vinegar and bicarb can be used for cleaning loads of stuff rather than using commercial sprays. I do laundry with soapflakes and essential oil which works out far cheaper than detergents.

What do you normally eat? Do you have a meal plan? It doesn’t need to take a long time to make a meal plan, just start off with whatever you ate last week.

Meat options can be reduced, chicken thighs instead of breast, slice or chop instead serving an entire thigh. Ditto sausages, pork chops, fish.

Even cheaper would be something like halve the meat and add lentil or beans, or omit the meat.

Lots of chefs now have vegetarian recipes on their websites and YouTube.

As suggested, make a shopping list and use cash. Don’t shop when hungry.

Go through your cupboards and see what can be used.

I spend about £200 A month to feed one adult and one toddler, shop mainly at Aldi and then asda for the bits I can't get in Aldi. Try to cook bigger portions so you can have stuff two days running. Stuff like vegetable lasagne, home made soups, jacket potatoes can be done really cheap.

You can easily have that to £250,tbh I don’t know how you could spend £500 and not have either lots of waste or lots of wine.
Shop in Aldi and use subscribe and save on amazon for wipes and nappies.

*half

Sounds like neither you nor DP are competent/ confident cooks? I'd recommend going to a charity shop/ cheapo book shop/ library and finding some books about cooking on a budget. These will give you a basic repertoire, on which you can build other money-saving techniques (eg markets often sell off tomatoes at knockdown prices end of the day--oven-roast them with garlic and you have no-work basic sauce for the freezer).

Assuming not allergic, peanut butter is great for kids. You're fortunate to have a good eater, as my 3yo isn't--however, she will eat PB above most things. It's full of iron and protein (both at a premium with toddlers) and CHEAP.

How much do you spend on cleaning stuff??

Amazing help thank you everyone so far

To clarify wipes cost £8 per month so happy with that. Nappies are asda own brand happy to keep those.

We don't smoke or drink,don't have takeaways and don't really do nights out etc only for birthdays really. Don't have expensive phone contracts (£20 per month each and can't break the contract anyway) and no childcare costs except £200 per month childcare vouchers. Everything is on the cheapest possible deal as I do this with everything anyway (I.e £90 per month for gas and electric 3 bed big house heating on all the time through winter) it's literally just food wise we're lazy (never have ready meals or takeaways but convenience shop and pick up stuff we don't need as treats like chocolate and biscuits!) And I want to be more organised,work to a budget,have a set staples list for every month and that's it. Your help so far is amazing thank you.

Oh and we already bring lunches don't buy sandwiches etc but have done previously- I've just changed that this week.

I am vegi and don't eat any meat substitutes like Quorn - I use lentils and beans instead of mince in all recipes and works really well and really cheap. you can buy in bulk from Asian shops for ridiculously low prices. When I was really skint I cooked a big pot of Lentil Dahl enough for lunch and tea for a week and cost about £3.50.

Tins are more expensive but obviously much more convenient and still a good option.

I also find baked beans become my best friend when cutting back, on toast, on baked potatoes, add to stews instead of meat - even really good comfort food on mashed potatoes I still eat eggs so go brilliantly with those in loads of recipes.

It depends on your actual financial position but last year we swapped using washing powder and fabric conditioner for soap nuts and white vinegar - cost £30 outlay in Jan but lasted all year. Same with reusable bags/cling film etc - £25 outlay but still using the same ones over a year later.