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.

Buy popcorn kernels and cook from scratch for teenage treat.

Sadly, another vote for it not being doable. I have 3 teenagers and a 12 year old , adh and 2 cats.

I think Plan A should be to increase your income: find a job, join a temp agency, babysit, sell stuff... it’s possibly, just about doable, maybe, but not with any kind of healthy eating level, or going vegetarian, and surely not for several months. The emotional cost to you all will be huge.

Also (sorry if detailed, have read most, but not all of the thread) whereabouts are you geographically? That could make a huge difference to product availability and price.

Please don’t accept this plan as anything but a last resort - spend your energy and attention on raising your income, rather than planning every grain of rice, especially when 4 hungry teenagers arrive.

Can you restructure outgoings?

For instance council tax is usually paid over 10 months with February and March payment free. Instead of having two months payment free when you're better off you could spread or defer the payments to give you a bit of breathing space.

You will do it because you have too!
First thing is make up a 4 weeks menu, 7 meals for 4 weeks.
Make sure you incorporate pasta, rice, potatoes and other high calorie cheap foods.
Be prepared to eat chicken legs over chicken breast.
Some meals to include could be
Sausage mash and gravy - frozen sausages big bag / buy a sack of potatoes at the beginning of the month.
Pasta bakes tomato and cheese
Chilli - frozen mince - bulk it with kidney beans
Spag bol
Quiche - eggs cheese onion
Omelette
Soup

Go to Iceland / farm foods for frozen veg / meat
Home bargains / BandM for bits spices tins
If you don't have a slow cooker get one off a Facebook selling site you can cook meals in them and be in front with meals
Buy smart price snacks.. Cereal bars and snacks for the teenagers / do up snack packs give one each once gone there gone.
Buy cheap wholemeal bread for breakfast and oats for porridge

You can do it! Of you would like me to do a mock shop with prices and meals I am more than happy too just let me know! Xx

Haven’t read whole thread and apologies if already mentioned. We have just changed our cats food from some brand label stuff at £60 per bag (yes I know - please don’t berate me) to Amazon own brand at £15 (think it’s 10kg). Cats are mad for it. I have 3 very large ones and they are all in excellent condition.

Should also have added, having seen your early reference to not eating more veggie meals, that my DH who would eat raw steak every day, is now a convert of veggie meals. He loves cooking and has adapted really easily to almost full on veggie. He constantly seeks out new veggie recipes to try his cooking skills and freely admits they are less boring than a meat diet.

It might already been said but feed your cats eat canned food not sachets, a pack of 6 sainsbury's own cat food costs £2.50 and they both share 1 tin a day, there are cheaper options but that tends to make cleaning their litter tray a harrowing experience!

If you’re stocking up now I’d make sure you have a supply of whatever condiments you use, some herbs, spices and stock cubes, maybe some frozen onions, garlic, ginger too, just the little things that go a long way to add some flavour. If you drink tea or coffee and see them on offer, pick that up as well. It might not seem an essential, but I know when things were tight for me, a hot drink was what I really needed, even if it meant lunch was just toast.

Yes will be right but you know that

The £50pw for the 3 of you fine. Tho right if nappies etx as well

But the 4 teenagers eow - or 2 every weekend if you think of it like that

Beans on toast
Jacket pot
Pasta and sauce
Spag Bol

All cheapish but filling

You say you live in KENT. Me too. Don’t expect you to put yourself if you don’t want to

I’m Tonbridge / if local please message me :)

All the local town fb groups near me are looking for cleaners - babysitters - ironing and care work

Have you looked into that / evening wise so that dhcan have toddler

Ffs tight !!!

In terms of toiletries and cleaning items - even-though the initial outlay will be more, buy the biggest you can find. For example, we buy bottles of surf that have 100+ washes in them. For the sake of spending about £2 more you get more than double the amount of liquid.
Seeing as you might only have to do it for a few months.. go cheap on other things too.
Cheaper toilet roll isn’t fabulous but still does the job. Buy the cheaper bubble baths and shampoo, they do the same thing. Liquid hand soap is basically bath cream in a smaller bottle - I buy large bubble baths and fill the handsoaps up.
If you have a dishwasher, buy the cheaper tablets but just make sure you fill the salt bowl up too.

In terms of food - go to the shops in the evenings. My husband works at M&S and the amount of delicious food you can buy for cheap in the evening reductions is ridiculous! Even if you see something that if fresh and you might not eat for a few weeks, put it in the freezer! (My freezer is filled with yellow sticker Meat!)
Cans of ‘cheaper brand’ macaroni etc don’t taste all that bad either!
Some shops do the wonky veg section. They don’t look beautiful but they’re no worse!
A big pasta bake will do lunch for a few days, you can add lots of different things to it to change it up so you’re not having the same everyday.. chicken, pepperoni, veg...

There are lots of things you can do to keep you going, you just have to be careful and aware of what you’re spending.

Just had a look at Girl Called Jack which looks really promising. Going to have a go at some of these recipes myself

If you eat a lot of plant based food and cook from scratch then yes, you will need to meal plan though.

Perfectly doable, I do it by meal planning & shopping at Aldi & I have a teenager at home full time! Your slow cooker & your freezer are your friends in this situation.

It's tight but it can be done.
buy from Lidl, Aldi and Asda. Asda do 1kilo bag of pasta very cheap.
Buy a 2 kilo bag of rice from any Asian shop in Tooting it works out very cheap! Also buy.some put lentils which you can use to bulk out bolognese.
Make veggie quiches, pasta bakes and veggie chilli.
Lots of meal planning and prep but you will be able to do it. Good luck.

PUY LENTILS! X

Yes you can do it.

Shepherds pie. Home made Lasagne. Meatballs with pasta. Pasta bake (homepride) with salad. Sausage and mash ( kids like cheap sausages- I have tried..) Leftovers- make a quiche, risotto (very little meat needed). At the weekend- pancakes- fun and cheap.

Best wishes. It can be done xx

Of course its possible, how do people living on a lot less manage? They manage because they live within their means. Some people truly do have no idea how lucky they are. £200 and you think you will not be able to manage

Just found this thread on moneysavers which has good suggestions
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=326929
Obviously prices have gone up since 2006 but still pretty cheap.

Reading your post OP has really made me think.
I spend about £175 a week on groceries for myself and DH, DG lives with us 4 days a week. Also have 2 large German Shepherds.
We also eat out 4/5 times a month.
Time to review my grocery spend!
My heart goes out to you, you must be so worried, I really do hope you get through it. Do you have any family that could maybe help out with the odd bag of shopping, meal etc.
You sound like a strong woman to me.
Good Luck

Are you living off crackers and unhealthy crap? There is no way 200 quid a month will do you, DH, and toddlers and teenagers. Unless you have a time machine, not a chance.

LynetteScavo

"It's all about attitude. On a low budget an avocado is a treat, bit it's they kind of treat which should be aimed for, not a packet of biscuits to make life bearable."

You're right! I'll be cutting right back to save up for a Friday night avocado!

@FuckFacePlatapus Eh? Have you read the thread? It's £200, for a month, for 7 people (at times) and 2 cats. If you think they could manage on 'a lot less' I would LOVE a breakdown of how to do it so I can get saving.

@SunniDay that made me laugh

@fuckfaceplatapus do you realise its £200 per month not per week? For food and toiletries. 2 adults, one toddler, 2 cats full time plus 4 teens EOW

Why don't you explain to the OP how she can easily do it then?

OP look for evening jobs in the short term - pub work, supermarkets etc. Or care agencies if your dh work schedule allows you to do so.