AIBU to think £200 is enough?

[Pauuuuuuline]

AIBU to think that £200 a month on groceries is enough?

As of next month, as a family, we'll have £200 a month left over after essential outgoings to spend on our shop.

This £200 will need to accommodate two adults, a toddler, two cats. Will also include four teens EOW.

Can currently spend (and often do) roughly £400-500 a month, so for us, £200 seems quite small but it's doable right?

Any thoughts and tips on how to do it would be much appreciated.

Morrisons is great on a Sunday afternoon.

Our sainsburys local often reduces milk with a few days left on a Friday afternoon.

My M&S don't reduce by as much as some posters are saying theirs do. They do reduce but not by such a lot. Still worth looking though.

I find Morrisons to be the best at reduced items near me. They reduce by large amounts particularly items like fresh fruit and veg. Often bread and other bakery items too.

Do you have a big enough freezer to be able to buy items when cheap and freeze? If not I would see (if you have the room) if you can find a secondhand one cheap or even free on facebook selling places, gumtree etc. I have a fridge freezer, a large upright freezer and a small upright freezer. I would not be without them as I freeze lots of stuff like yellow stickered buys, fruit and veg sold off at markets etc.

I do find Sundays to be a good day for finding reduced items in supermarkets especially Morrisons, Asda and M&S.

Do you have any markets near you? As I said before, not only are their fruit and veg often cheaper than supermarkets but they usually sell it off dirt cheap when they are closing up. There is a stall in a market near me that sells mainly cheese all much cheaper than supermarkets but they also sell things that are reaching or have reached their best buy date such as yoghurts, dips, cheese spreads really cheap.

Maybe if you gave the rough area of where you are posters could recommend shops, markets etc.

More than enough if you cut back on meat and eat lots of lentils chickpeas pulses etc i spend about £25 a week on just myself and my cats food though it will probably go up slighty once my DC is here and eating solids but not by much so £200 for 2 adults and 5 kids and two cats if your frugal. Do your cats eat a special diet or just supermarket brand ? My cat will only eat Whiskas dry cat food so i try buy the biggest bag of that to save on costs and she is in excellent health from it but i know some pets have allergies and don't respond well to the supermarket brands

I don't think it's possible and it will take a huge amount of time to get anywhere near this budget.

What a bizarre, narrow, defeatist and above all naive contribution.

There are simply thousands of households on this kind of budget as their norm. There are hundreds of pieces of valuable advice for achieving it.

Has it occurred to you that for some people, earning more money would result in exactly the response you gave? Not possible, take far too much time to achieve?

Also try things like swapping your fresh veg for frozen and buying things like potatoes in bulk you can do lots with those Jackets mash etc and cutbacks like grating carrots into your mince will make it stretch further and be healthier too. You could do large batches of porridge for breakfast for the teens staying over or feed them stacks of toast using the cheap supermarket loaves of bread that are about 40p and try to avoid buying crisps biscuits yogurts and all that branded stuff it's not really needed if your DC like yogurt though you could try the tubs of natural yogurt with some frozen fruit on top or blended into it

@Namechanger001 I second your point about the cats, I hate that mentality that animals are disposable at the first sign of hardship. I'd go without myself to make sure my cats were looked after

We spend around £80 a week in Lidl. That's 3 meals a day plus snacks, cleaning products and a few bottles of wine, and that's just for 2 adults. We can bring it down to around £50 a week without wine / meat / nice things.

Highly recommended Miguel Barclays £1 Meals book, if you have a decent store cupboard you can make some really creative things for cheap.

Oh, but that doesn't include our 3 ridiculous cats who refuse to ear anything other than expensive food

We use farmfoods to stock the freezer as they do the 3 for £10 deals on frozen chicken breasts and 3 for £5 on other things. Asda and morrisons for bread, milk and tins. We do a monthly shop filling freezer and cupboards and in between we buy reduced fruit and veg. It's definitely not impossible, just price check and try sticking to own brand labels

It's entirely possible with lots and lots of planning and shopping at the lower end of the market.
Were currently in a similar position (about £40/£45 a week for two adults, 3 DC (two very fussy ones) dss every weekend, a dog and two cats)

Cat food - pets at home do their own brand biscuits, around £5 for a massive bag and have so far lasted us a month for both cats with around 1/4 bag left.

Dog food - again, pets at home. They had some reduced bags of decent quality biscuits with a short date (not fussed on dates) which again, has lasted a month with still almost half a bag left.

Toiletries and cleaning products - we go to the company shop and get them pretty cheaply. Also get some pretty good bargains with food too. Last month they had large chickens at £1 so I bought 6 and stuck them in the freezer.

Meal plan to within an inch of your life. Buy reduced as much as possible and freeze. I only buy meat if its reduced.
Cheapest toms/beans/spaghetti /pasta etc

Would you be able to claim a tax refund? If you’ve earned enough to pay tax on a PAYE basis during the year to date, you might be able to claim back some of what you’ve paid.

Details

Actually that's a point. If your income dropped in the 18-19 tax year, which I'm guessing it did, I think they do an automatic rebate. But if you've not had it yet you can request it.

You may also have student loan overpayments you could reclaim too.

It’s doable but it will be very tight, will it also have to include things like nappies and wipes for the toddler? Cleaning things, laundry things...

You will need to buy the basic/value version of everything and I imagine pasta and rice will write quite heavily( and meat not so much!).

Feature quite heavily, not write!

Really really appreciating all these helpful replies. Getting so many good ideas!

Just to answer some more questions. Someone asked my rough area, I'm in Kent. Have lots of large supermarkets close by, Farm Foods, Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Tesco, M & S, Morrisons.

Toddler is still in nappies so budget does have to include nappies and wipes. I've been wondering whether it's worth looking into the reuseable nappies and wipes if I have enough left over out of my last pay packet and also when I sell a few things, would it be worth investing in the upfront cost to save money in the long run?

I wanted to try them anyway for environmental reasons but obviously at the moment, finances have to take priority.

Someone else asked about the cats. They are both male and neutered. They aren't fussy and always eat what they are given whether it's Aldi Brand or named, wet or dry.

It's doable. If you don't have it you find a way. Definitely bar soap- makes you feel so much cleaner.

Cheap multi packs of biscuits when the teenagers are around. Lots of egg sandwiches (we lived on them at one point), pasta bakes, spag bols etc. Get to Aldi and stock up on frozen pizzas etc for the teenagers. You can even buy full fat milk and water it down.

Lots of porridge, no squash or fizzy drinks.
Cheap disinfectant sprays instead of bathroom mousse, kitchen wipes etc.

I think when we were skint I constantly had a batch of pasta on the go. Get a cheap slow cooker so you can buy cheaper cuts of meat. High fat mince, for example, is nice and cheap and the slow cooker cooks out most of the fat.

Loo rolls try Groupon deals, bargain buys etc. I don't mind aldi toiletries or Lidl.

It's very much doable op, some people live on less. For extra cash try 20cogs, mystery shopping (I made £1.5k in a few months), surveys and matched betting if u can stretch to it. Also sign up to the free sample websites, you often get things like free sanitary products etc

We also got meat cheap by visiting a whole sale butcher every few months. Think big packs of chicken, cuts of brisket etc. They also sell eggs and veg cheap.

Farm foods in my area regularly send out vouchers in their leaflets (normally in with all the junk in the post)

Someone else has mentioned a Community fridge - do have a google and see if there is one near you, ours has all kinds of things and posts on Facebook to let people know what has come in.

Look into protein combining to make complete protein meals out of two incomplete protein sources. E.g.

Rice and dhal- lentils and rice eaten together are more than the sum of their parts protein wise
Beans on toast- a sprinkling of cheese would make it even better

Generally speaking, a pulse combined with a grain will make a complete protein. It’s a bit more complex than that so good thing to google.

Badcat666
Thanks for all the practical tips! I have made notes!!

I have been inspired to tackle our grocery bill by this thread. I use YNAB so I know we spend around £600 a month on groceries /household (for 2 adults, child and toddler) which I am shocked by.

If we can get it to £300 we will free up that £300 which we could really do with for saving for the kids and family activities and treats that are way more exciting than groceries!!

As I have been reading the thread and making myself notes my top tips to myself are:
Batch cooking and freezing - spag bol (lots of veg) and Mayflower curries. Include toddler size portions of suitable foods to save on buying pouches.

Keeping notes of best value items and target prices e.g. the Tesco own brand ham that is 38p per 100g!

I am going to ban buying individual treats/items from convenience stores (coke, choc bars and things in an "emergency" and plan plan plan so we have cheap multipacks of what we need. Or will have to go and buy the cheap stuff if we get a craving)

I am going to ensure my other half takes packed lunches.

I am going to shred rags/old towels for cleaning the kitchen and baby after meals to reduce our wetwipe and kitchen roll use (better for the environment too). These will be chucked in the basket to go in with the next wash.

I am going to give the toddler more blue milk and less formula cartons at 75-80p a time. (He is 19 months - so well over the 12 month limit for cows milk but we spend a fortune on formula cartons)

I am going to down shift our treats (crisps/choc/pop) to only cheapest own brand etc. (We already buy lots of own brand other groceries).

I am going to strongly consider using soap instead of shower gel/hand soap pumps. I am finding the thought hard as I feel soap phobic - the thought of it makes me itch! This is mostly to reduce my plastic to landfill rather than cost and could work if I can find a brand that suits me. eek

Good luck OP. I really hope you find a job soon. You sound a great mum and step-mum. If you get a job please update the thread and let us know and I will be pleased for you. Your thread has also helped others.

I don't think I'd bother with re usable nappies at this stage ( your toddler is 18 months? ) unless you're likely to have another. Just try them on the potty more often and you might be lucky.

{based on finances only rather than environmental reasons}

It’s absolutely doable, you’ve just got to be organised. Bulk buy your rice/pasta/beans etc as much as possible, anything that doesn’t go off. The internet will be your friend for cleaning stuff and washing liquids. As is groupon amazingly! Muscle food for hampers of meat - they are heavy on chicken breasts, but you will get loads for not much money at all. Agree with everyone who has mentioned the Facebook sites and Jack Monroe too. Get the kids to make flapjack and batch cakes if they want things like that. Porridge will be a mate for breakfast.

It can be quite fun when you get going!

It will take time and effort. The supermarket final markdowns could save you. Our local Asds mark everything down to 10p around 7pm. Whole chickens, meat joints, huge pizzas it's incredible.

You could contact your local nappy library and see if they have a basics kit that you could hire rather than going out and buying.

Sorry I think it’s not do-able BUT it is a challenge.

Moneysavingexpert has a forum for £1 a head meals which is fab. I cook all sauces from scratch which are healthier and cheaper!

Tesco’s new ranges (Stockwell, Growers Harvest etc) are to keep up with Aldi are great and I often find shop cheaper. Do online shopping with delivery saver (£7 a month) so I only buy what’s needed. And then we get clubcard points for days out/Christmas shopping.

I buy bulk items on amazon subscribe and save monthly which saves 15% off already discounted prices. Amazon prime gives us out tv streaming.

We are a family of 6, 2 in nappies, 2 tweens. We have allergies so I’m forced to buy specific products that I cannot get discounted anywhere!

I also boost income with some side hussles, eBay, gumtree etc. As soon as kids outgrown anything it’s sold on or given to charity.

It was a really tough few years living literally hand to mouth but it’s shown we can live frugally BUT healthily and well!

Good luck!