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.

The benefits point is a good one, as your income dropped enough for you to apply for UC?

Also, if you need to scrimp to this extent on food, and a pay rise of £150 max is 5 months away, what about all the other stuff needed to live? Clothes, household goods, birthday/Christmas gifts, medication or vet bills, car repairs, shit-hits-the-fan money...

Long term it sounds really precarious.

You couldn't do it in Ireland on that. Good luck🤞

Can anyone get a weekend job? Evening job?

Op, how do you think it is doable? Cos presumably you've sat down and worked it out given your situation.

I don’t think we could do it, not helpful of course as you’ve said you have to. When I was on my own with just the two kids I can remember literally having change and having to add it all up on my way round Tesco buying the cheapest stuff I could just to feed them. I went without. Mine are 10 and under and are unfortunately not the healthiest. The younger ones live off (through choice!) spaghetti Bolognese/macaroni cheese/beef ravioli from tins, makes me feel sick but they love them! One kid asks for ravioli almost every day. I buy supermarket own brand, about 40/50p a tin, sometimes I’ll even get the value ones. Not true healthiest of course.

I’ve started buying own brand bread in Asda, about 50p a loaf.

I stock up on freezer bits in iceland. Bag of 30 fish fingers for £2 which is a bargain. Bag of 8 crispy chicken steaks (or “big chicken nuggets” as we call them) £3.

I don’t promote buying eggs from caged but needs must - lots of omelettes? Could buy bags of frozen chicken strips to bulk them out without spending fortunes on fresh chicken, Iceland do all different flavoured chicken strips. It’s worth a look if you have one nearby.

Spaghetti Bolognese with the cheapest mince you can get (I really don’t notice the difference whatever quality I buy personally!)

@NoSquirrels
Agreed! It is very precarious considering everything you listed. I was also thinking of how council tax goes up, petrol is supposed to go up after Brexit, heat/electric is more in winter, etc etc

That works out at a budget of £2 per person per day over the month, including 4 days a month that 4 teens will be there.
It does not include cats.

So you have a daily budget of £2 each for food, - and that has to include toiletries, loo roll, soap powder etc.
So say £1.50 per person per day.
It can be done, but food will be repetitive and bland. Lentils and beans or rice, root veg.

Baby sitting, cleaning, sell stuff on ebay?

Goodness that really is tight. We’re a family of 4 (dc are 3 and 6) with no pets and current spend at least £500 a month (probably more). We’re not particularly careful, but nor are we extravagant. I could probably cut the shopping bill a bit if I really needed to, but highly doubt I could get it to only £200 a month. I think you’re going to have to get quite creative and maybe buy in bulk from places like Makro/Costco if you can.

Huge Jacket potatoes, (value) beans and (value) cheese and repeat

Yes, honestly. The 4 teens EOW is the clincher. Unless none of the children are fussy.

Plan your meals everyday and shop online that offers free delivery option that way you can see how much you have spent and you can budget.

I guess it depends on what sorts of food you like and how much everyone eats. Musclefood used to sell 'wonky' chicken and steak for cheap, it was nice quality and I bought some reusable freezer bags and would break it down into meal sized bags before freezing; I worked it out at the time to be over half the price of buying it in a supermarket, might be worth keeping an eye out in case they start doing it again. Meals like beans on toast with a fried egg I find substantial enough some days, but for others where you need something more can you bulk it out with cous cous etc? It sounds like it will be tight, but doable. Asda Smartprice stuff is actually really nice, as are some other home brands but they in particular are on par with branded in my opinion (and really cheap).

It won't be doable. Not with 4 teens EOW. Not including toiletries & cleaning products.

Just no way. You are going to have to re-think rather than saying it will 'have to do'

We claim child benefit for the toddler but I've done the entitled to and turn2us and we aren't entitled to any additional benefits.

I am searching for and applying for jobs daily but have had no luck so far. Obviously I will keep trying and hopefully I'll find something sooner rather than later and it'll ease the pressure a bit but in the mean time, I'm just going to have to make this work.

Some months DH makes bonus which means we could have a bit more than £200 to spend but the bonus is never guaranteed so I have to budget to the minimum amount and any bonus he gets, will be just that, a bonus. If he does get a bonus it's usually between £20-£100, so not a great deal, anyway.

I know the situation is precarious. Have to say, I'm incredibly worried about Brexit right now!

However, I've spent the past month trying to prepare as much as possible.

I've stocked up on as much as possible, tinned food, jars of sauces, etc.

I have one more pay cheque coming so I'll use that to stock up on some toiletries, washing stuff, cat food, fill the fridge and freezer, etc.

I've bought the toddler a load of clothing in the next size up which he should fit in around Christmas time and that should see him through six months.

I've started a small stock of cupboard food for Christmas.

We have over the year managed to save a small amount for Christmas Presents and if things really do go terribly, we could always use this but I'd rather not so we can actually use it to buy the kids some presents!

Get an idea when the local supermarkets reduce their stuff. You can get some amazing bargains.
Also never underestimate risotto. It can make a little go a long way.

Can you or the teens babysit..?

So everyone is a little hungrier fir a few months. No big deal! Did you get made redundant? Could you get an evening cleaning / bar job? Do books in an evening? Whatever skills you have from work, can you use them when your dh is home to look after the toddler?

I could absolutely survive on this and spend that amount on family of 4- all eating 3 meals a day from home. But we are plant based.
I buy my bulk shopping from Morrison’s online and top up with Aldi veg.
Cheapest dinner meals- chilli made with beans, shepherds pie with veg and lentils, spag Bol with veg/lentils. Linda McCartney’s sausages you can usually find for £1. Jackfruit is a great meat alternative that you can pick up in cans at Asian market shops- I use it for fajitas or roast it with pork seasoning and serve with stuffing and roast pots.
Snacks- flapjacks (oats are so cheap), energy balls, cheap biscuits, homemade hummus
Breakfast- porridge, toast, smoothies with frozen veg.
Blackberries and raspberries are everywhere at the moment, I don’t leave the house without a pot and will freeze what we don’t eat for smoothies.
You’ll be fine!

Why are you not entitled to contributions based JSA or whatever current equivalent?

If you have a good store cupboard, it's fine as a one off. If not, you're going to have go go down to the most basic of everything, cut right down on meat and maybe save your more treaty meals for when you have the extra teens.

It could be possibly doable if you eat a lot of potatoes/rice/pasta and veg and change the a different meal every day mindset. Bulk up the meals and use off cuts,things like wings etc for flavour and some meat.

Cereal will be too expensive, porridge made with the cheapest oats is filling and feels like a proper breakfast.
Lots of eggs, toast, chilli with more tinned beans and finely chopped veg than mince, chickpea curries, baked potatoes.
Cheapest biscuits for rationed treats, shop late for marked down items, batch cook.
Eggs really are your friend, a boiled egg with marmite soldiers, omelettes, fried egg sandwiches with tomato sauce are all things of beauty.
Use cheese as a “seasoning” rather than eating chunks or slices of it.
Use cleaning products sparingly, - most of us overuse them. Hot water with elbow grease and minimal product will do the job.
Have an Ikea jug with the cork lid permanently topped up with tap water in the fridge, it feels and tastes so much nicer somehow, your brain plays tricks. If you have any mint on the garden, chuck that in.
Cut your cheaply bought fruit up into slices and fan it out on side plates, - again, I swear it tastes nicer.
It sounds really challenging. Good luck!

Your budget will work as long as everyone eats the same food/ meals !!Pasta and rice dishes inc cheese and veg will work . Shop at Lidl and Aldi ..quality is fantastic...better than the obvious supermarkets .