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.

Frankly gobsmacked at £500pcm. Our family is the same, toddler and two adults. Our weekly shop is £40-50 including nappies wipes etc. So around £200pcm.

Lidl nappies are something like £2.50 for 45, instead of the pampers £7 for 45, and just as good.

We don't even meal plan much, and I didn't think we were particularly frugal or good at shopping well, so really not sure where your £500 is going.

Do you buy alcohol? Eat lots of ready meals? Maybe that's the difference. Our standard meals are veggie shepherds pie, chick pea curry, dahl, baked potatoes, vegetable stir fry, vegetable pasta, vegetable lasagna, sausage beans and vegetables, veg fajitas, cheesy lentil bake, etc. Most meals based on vegetables as we are vegetarian too.

@LovingLola not a lot really just the odd bottle of cif when I run out and toilet cleaner and spray dettol

Have you looked at Jack Monroe’s books? And her twitter feed is often really really annoying but has amazing recipes and budget ideas. Bootstrap Cook is worth buying- if you’re not used to budget cooking it will be a revelation.

@Slowly I know! I was shocked. Our bank statement is £10-£30 here and there Tesco Sainsbury's etc. We dont drink or smoke or buy ready meals. I can't figure it out so it's time to get brutal and make a good solid list and meal plan.

For cheap meal ideas try Jack Munroe's cooking on a boot strap page. Meal costs are also broken down.
Meal planning and then buying what you need is cheaper. I would budget for treat foods or a takeaway a month if you can as it can feel harder than necessary if you take everything away.

Like pp said, batch cook or over cook and freeze. Great for a quick but still cheap meal if you're busy.
I have less than a £500 budget for 7 of us (3 adults, dcs 4-11), no nappies though. I have no problems keeping within this.
Frozen veg reduces waste, making more from scratch massively reduces costs, more lentils, cheaper cuts of meat etc. All been mentioned I think.
I always bought nappies in bulk on offer (had to be pampers for one of mine). But aldi ones are good.
Once you get into a habit, it will be easier.
I have an amount for each week; I do an online shop to mix and match and keep within my budget. I try to come under budget each week so I have enough for emergency milk, bread, chocolate 😉
I do my shop online whether I buy online or not as it helps me stay in budget.
Mysupermarket website is good for this as you can see which supermarket will give you cheaper overall.

Sorry that should have been @SlowOx

I budget, but not religously, so

1. Meal plan
2. Keep a list of what's in the freezer/store cupboards
3. If it's tinned or can be frozen and is reduced or a bulk buy (and is not the most expensive version), buy and store for later
4. Cut down number of meat meals a week
5. Buy seasonally
6. Aways look at price per kilo when comparing products
7. Batch cook and freeze
8. Buy very little convenience food
9. Use web to research supermarket offers

10. Try Supermarket own brands. Some things I wouldn't stop, like Heinz soup. But Muesli and coffee etc.. have all been swapped over satisfactorily.

I aim to spend an average of £5 per meal and get a kick out of achieving this. I have a freezer full of 'yellow stickers'. I buy up in advance, e.g. I saw Heinz tom soup on special, half price, and now have a cupboard full. I had run out of butter for cooking and butter spread for sarnies. I went online, found out where the deals were and bought 6 weeks' worth. All stashed in freezer. Butter is over £2 where I am, and I got it for £1. These things will get used up if I use my lists and meal plan around what I have.

Two adults and two children here and we spend about £280 a month including all cleaning products etc...

Good luck.

PS, if you have an ingredient and don't know what to use it in, try the online BBC food sites for ideas.

And freezer berries and veg are a super idea.

If people don’t like lentils as a bulking out thing, try barley. Delicious in a cottage/shepherd’s pie. Remember to up the seasoning-that’s where people often go wrong.

It's the top-up shops that add up and drain the budget, and also if you/your DP works outside the house and buys lunch or snacks every now and then.

Do an online shop - much easier to stick to a budget. If you regularly find that you run out of things e.g. bread or milk, you have a couple of options - one is to buy in bulk and freeze, the other is to split your weekly shop into 2 deliveries. If you would spend £80 a week, split it to 2x £40 deliveries. That way you only have to plan 3-4 days at a time if you struggle with long-term planning.

It's just an adjustment. Some months we are better than others!

The biggest thing is making a list/meal plan/use leftovers - and have a day or 3 days a week where you use up stuff you already have in. That can make for some strange meals or a very happy discovery. Don't shop till you have to.

A little bit of cheese or chilli makes most things taste nice and adding a bit of texture with some whizzed up breadcrumbs which you can bake.

There's no shame in beans on toast or a jacket potato as a meal.

Meal plan before you shop.

Look at what you already have in the cupboards... if you hve kidney beans and a chilli mix - you only need mince not the other bits.

Can you also run down whatever you have in the cupboards - even if it makes some weird teas.

Also buy frozen meat as opposed to fresh. We get 1kg of frozen chicken breast for £3.65. The fresh equivolent is £5.79. Same with Beef - we get diced frozen beef for £3. The fresh equivolent is £3.80.

Buy budget instead of branded. Smartprice asda long grain rice for example is 45p for 1kg. Asda branded long grain rice is £1.45 for 1kg.

Some of the swaps will be horrid. Yes, I would prefer basmati rice but at 1.07 for 500g the 45p stuff suits our budget better.

We spend approx £150 a month on shopping for 2 adults and a 4 year old with perhaps 3 top up shops £10 or so each for milk and bread.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

When is this situation a couple of years ago I used an app to track all my spending - I used Toshl but there's loads out there. It kept us all on track.

There's no shame in beans on toast or a jacket potato as a meal. These are sometimes THE best meals!

You may be able to cut down elsewhere OP, here's a list so you can overhaul all household spends.
www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

We also found leaving your cards in the car and only taking the £5 you need for the bread and milk, stops impulse buying....

Using leftovers well is fantastic for budgeting. There were 3 of us taking packed lunches and one lunching at home for a while and I really enjoyed making something properly delicious with leftovers. A thick meal in a bowl soup made from the remains of a roast dinner with beans or barley or lentils is easy and very satisfying (both for the eater and the cook!)

Heating on all the time? Well you can save on that? Only heat the rooms you are in, turn down the temperature and wear extra clothes and use throws on the settee. I thought you were both at work all day?

Veggies are cheap, huge vegetarian curry or chilli and plenty of rice is a budget meal.
Meal planning, know what you are going to cook and shop accordingly from a list.
Big bags of pasta are cheap.
Unbranded items are substantially cheaper and almost always as good as brand names.
Check out your local food market rather than your supermarket.
Lidl or Aldi will save you money.
Cook from scratch as much as you can.
Remember you do not need meat at every meal.

Do you have space to grow any vegetables? Salad items grow fast and you can get enough for a meal even if you only grow from pots and tubs.

Home made soups are lovely, try Spiced butternut squash with a pinch of chilli, lemongrass and coconut milk.
Minestrone with a handful of small pasta .
Scotch broth using the cheap shoulder of lamb and pearl barley is hearty.

Stock up on bargains if you can afford.
Check prices before you drop something in your basket. Sometimes the bigger or multi pack works out more expensive.
Make lunches, tonnes cheaper than buying a sandwich.
Cut out takeaway coffee.

Saturday night at around 7.30pm our supermarket reduces prices on fresh food, find out when your supermarket does the big price drop and hopefully you will be able to get milk, bread, meat etc at unbeatable prices (we got a 8 pack of crumpets for 4p from our Tesco a few weeks ago.

£90 per month for gas and electric 3 bed big house

I know you're looking at grocery-type outgoings, but (assuming you, 3yo and other adult are the only people there) that's at least one more bedroom than you need. If you are owner-occupiers, would you consider taking in a lodger, student etc. (depending what local area is like). Can earn up to £7.5k (gross) without worrying about tax on it.

Buy frozen veg (it’s cheaper and tastier)

Bulk out any meat dish (Bolognase, chilli, stew) with loads of veg/lentils etc and freeze left overs for another time

Make cheap meals such as.:

corn fritters (sweet corn pancakes) and serve with baked beans (add ham/bacon for those that eat meat)

Pea pesto (frozen peas, cheese, garlic and seasoning blended together) mixed with pasta.

Loaded potato skins (garlic, cheese, ham) served with baked beans

Channa dal curry

Get a smart meter fitted.

Do you have a list of food that you already have in?

We are one carnivore, one veggie and 50% time with DSD 7.

We do approx. £30 per week from the shops plus a takeaway once a month. We shop at asda and a bit of aldi/lidl

Our weekly shopping list is ususally

Eggs x30
Butter
Bread
Ham
Peppers
Celery
lettuce
Frozen peas
Frozen Broccoli
Carrots
Green beans
Sweet corn
potato
sweet potato
stirfry mix
Frozen Chicken chunks
Chocolate bar multi pack x2
crisps multi pack
naan
coconut milk
pasta
mayo
sweet and sour sauce packet
tomato passata
veggie sausages
quorn fillets
Frozen pizza
meat sausages
loo roll
Cheese

We usually have three or four staples a week on the list depending what we have ran out of eg.
house hold/cleaning - binbags, bleach, clingfilm
toiletries - shampoo, razors, toothpaste
store cupboard - pasta, dried noodles, curry powder

I also have pretty well stocked food cupboard with things like cereal, beans, jam, tea, coffee, table sauces, herbs and spices, condiments, flour etc.

We all have eggs and toast for breakfast most days.
Lunch is pasta salad for DP, free for dsd at school and I WFH so usually just have leftovers or something from the freezer.
Dinners are various, but often have a veg curry, stir-fry, roast dinner, pasta bake, pizza salad and wedges, wraps, spanish omelette.

See if you can get a copy of The Pauper's Cookbook (Jocasta Innes) - I found it really useful many years ago, and I know it's bee re=printed. Also "The Benefits Book" though I don't know if that's still in print.

A Girl called Jack has recipes online which are very frugal.

I sit down and plan every meal for a week, then go online and only buy what is on my list. By doing this I have saved about £50 per week as opposed to randomly putting things in the basket.
When I make things like spaghetti bolognaise, tuna pasta bake, chili con carne, vegetable curry etc. I usually make more than I need and freeze portions so that there is always something in the freezer if you need something extra.
I do not buy brand items for things like tinned tomatoes where they are going into a sauce as you can't really taste the difference.
I buy shops own cleaning products and loo paper as they are always cheaper and realistically not much different.
I started this as a challenge to see how much food and money we wasted on a regular basis and have found that planning in advance made my life so much easier as I didn't have to think what to cook as soon as I got home from work or rush out to the shops in the evening as there was no food in the house.

We are veggie and always have a jacket potato (w/ baked beans or left over chilli, bolognaise etc), a lentil dal and a simple pasta meal (often just tinned tomatoes & veg with cheese) each week. These are very cheap and quick to do. We also make lots of bean based meals, like chillis, stews, casseroles etc.

We buy stew packs that are usually cheap and make soup for weekend lunches. We also buy lots of frozen veg and certain fruits.

Porridge works out cheap for breakfast, if everyone is happy to eat it. Cheap jam or honey is good for flavour.