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.

OP, how old is your toddler? Do they get funded childcare hours yet?

I’m in a situation at the moment where I’m desperate for some help at home - disabled twin toddlers and health issues myself, I’m drowning under basic tasks. I am trying to find someone locally who could come in for 2-3 hours a week just to help with whatever needs doing at that moment - clean the kitchen, hang laundry, occupy the twins while I make phone calls and chase up appointments, helping me tidy up the chaos etc.

I am sure there must be people out there who need similar. You could double your food budget by doing just 5 hours a week at just £10 an hour.

What about babysitting in the evenings when your DH is at home? We don’t have anyone to babysit for us, and if one of my friends I knew and trusted was offering a babysitting service I’d happily pay a fair amount.

I’d be posting on Facebook that you’re offering a mother’s help / babysitting service, I think you could really boost your budget and really help out someone else too. If it were me, I’d be okay with it if you had to bring your toddler - our hairdresser does this, he tries to play with my twins without much success but he’s fascinated by the new toys anyway!

I don't see how you can do it. We're a family of 5 and I shop in lidl/aldi. I meal plan. I'm vegetarian so no meat for me. We also have 2 cats. We probably spend double that budget. I'm sure I could cut it back a fair bit but halve it? I don't know how that would be possible.

It'll be tight, OP but do-able. Meal plan but do plan in some treats where you can.

Was fine until you mentioned the teens. I would try to eat mostly vegetarian on the days they aren't there and save the meat for dishes on their weekends. I strongly suspect my teens would rather not visit me than eat frozen veg pasta bake!

My grocery budget including cleaning products shampoo etc used to be £150 for one adult one primary aged child and a pet rat. That includes lunches. I've found recently for the last couple of months that the cost of food has increased enough that I've had to increase the monthly budget to £200 to provide everything we want. Child does have a dairy allergy so have to buy more expensive non dairy yoghurt for from Waitrose and oat milk which is expensive, her but other than that we shop at Aldi.

You will really struggle to feed yourselves well for £200, never mind adding in the teenagers. Prices will go up more come Brexit and you will be stuffed.

The teenagers could be sent out to go fishing once a week

Brilliant!

Also, autumn is coming, you could send them out foraging for blackberrys and mushrooms. You never know, they might even find truffles

But seriously, I think you can make it work, you won't starve - but I'd be worried about prices rising after brexit.

I think you're going to have to be honest with her that you really can't afford to until after the New Year.

Fantastic piece of parenting advice... do not feed your steep children until Christmas, let their mum do it. WTAF?

Also forgot to ask, what have you already got in? Is your freezer full? Are your kitchen cupboards full? Make a list of everything you’ve already got so you don’t waste any money buying something that is hiding at the back of your kitchen cupboard. Also a good start on making a meal plan.

We easily spend that with 2 adult and 1 year old DD - who eats all her meals at nursery 4 days a week. Dog food is on top of that. Our food budget is £300 a month.

I don't think it's possible, but there's plenty on her who'll tell you a chicken can make 42 meals.

offer yourself for evening babysitting, I'd rather hire a Mum than a teen, and pay £14 an hour for someone to sit on my sofa and watch my TV while we go out. Especially on the run up to Christmas and New Year, there's a lot of demand.

Would training as a childminder be an option for you? save childcare costs for your younger one.

You need to up your income if you can't cut costs elsewhere.

Can you rehome the cats? Also worried not just about their food, but what will you do if one gets sick?

Have a look at Zooplus for the cats and bulk buy - Sanabelle dry food is amazing and approx £50 for two 10kg bags which will last you into the new year!

Doable but absolutely joyless.

You can do it. Meal plan for the month so you can make the most of bulk buys. Red lentils to replace mince. Spag bol will become incredibly cheap - 30p spaghetti 50p passatta , hand full of lentils and some herbs. You'll be fine.

tinned food, jars of sauces, etc

Jars of sauces are a total rip off & not very nutritional (full of sugar). Instead buy very cheap (I get Sainsbury's but there are cheaper) cartons of chopped tomatoes.

You're going to have to cook from scratch, and develop 5 out of 7 evening meatless meals. Which isn't bad really. Can you bake? - homemade cakes & biscuits for treats. You'll have the luxury of time, and time and money are often an equation.

Also - charity shops for toddler's clothes?

You spend what you can afford. You will have to plan ahead and probably have to shop around and eat lots of pasta and rice meals. You will be amazed at your culinary skills when you have to think of low cost but filling meals. Good luck and hope you manage it.

Fantastic piece of parenting advice... do not feed your steep children until Christmas, let their mum do it. WTAF?

Even if they are fed, if my children were being fed dry toast, noodles and nothing but lentils and pasta with no fruit/ veg or decent snacks every other weekend (which will be the reality), I would definitely send them with some food. Obviously it depends on the mother’s income... hopefully those teenagers are at least being fed well at home.

Without the teenagers and eating a vegetarian diet you can do it. With the teenagers and wanting to eat meat I am not sure it is possible.

Me and DH are vegetarian and spend around £40 a week on food, toiletries and household cleaners.

I use an eco egg for washing. I bought it on ebay for about £10. It does around 70 washes I think and mine came with 3 extra packs of the pellet things so 280 washes for £10!

If clothes are very dirty or stained I use washing liquid but that is not very often and I use washing liquid from Lidl.

I buy the Original Source shower washes when they are on offer at 99p or £1. Me and DH shower every day but one bottle lasts quite a long time. I buy big bottles of shampoo in Home Bargains and, again, I wash my hair every day but it lasts months.

Nicky toilet rolls in Home Bargains are around £4.99 for a pack of 18. I think they are just as good as the dearer brands.

Washing up liquid is cheap in Lidl or Aldi. You really don't need loads of cleaning products. You can make your own or just buy the spray cleaners at around 50p each in Lidl or Wilkinson, one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. I use them on the worktops, cooker, shower, basin, kitchen sink. I also have a cheap toilet cleaner and spray polish. That is it.

Are you still able to stock up? I would buy big bags of lentils, chickpeas, beans, pasta, rice etc. If you have an indian food shop anywhere near that is the place to buy them. Much bigger bags for much lower prices than supermarkets. Also their spices are much cheaper.

Don't bother stocking up on ready made sauces. Much cheaper to make your own in bulk and freeze.

Go to markets when they are near closing and they practically give away the fruit and veg. Buy frozen fruit and veg in places like Farm Foods or Iceland where they are cheap.

Buy bread when yellow stickered or on offer and freeze it. If you see milk that is yellow stickered buy that and freeze it. Always look at the yellow stickered items. The Morrisons near me reduce their fruit and veg to silly prices. I buy things like carrots, runner beans etc, cut them up and freeze them. Fruit can be frozen too.

We don't have a boring diet at all. We eat lots of eggs but only buy free range.

We eat things like: egg and lentil curry, sweet potato and black bean chilli, lentil bolognaise, veg and lentil shepherds pie, spicy chickpea pasties, mushroom stroganoff, beetroot pasta, veggie sausage pasta bake, chickpea and spinach curry, ratatouille and crusty bread

Also, autumn is coming, you could send them out foraging for blackberrys and mushrooms

This reminds me of Jamie Oliver saying that families in poverty should still eat well as they can forage for wild garlic and sorrel

Actually, jarred sauces can work out more economical. Sainsburys no added sugar pasta sauce is 65p for 4 servings and already has the onions and flavours added.
If you have money left over from my last paycheque I would stock up on cleaning stuff and cat food so that your £200 a month is just for food.
Also I had to do this when I had one toddler, I just used to buy and cook enough food for 2 adults and take a small amount off our plates (more off mine) to make his meal. Toddlers do not need big meals.

Completely doable, for about 4 months some years ago I had to feed 2 adults, 3 children, a dog and a cat on £35 a week. Planning is key along with bargain hunting

Cooking from scratch will help. As will using Asian / Indian cash and carries for things like rice / flour / lentils and pulses (dried, tinned and frozen) / fish / meat / nuts rather than supermarkets.

I think it's doable, though it'll be tough- We have two adults at home and manage on £15 a week for all meals. (We actually spend more on the dog food which is £25 a week - we have one of them on a very specific diet) We do both eat veggie at home though - which I imagine helps a lot.

Some things I have found have helped us/general advice:
Lentils are your friend, beans, too.
Have a look at the blog "Cooking on a Bootstrap", and maybe see if you can borrow "A Girl Called Jack" from the library.
Meal plan everything. Freeze any leftovers.
Check the prices at your local market - I can get all our fruit and veg for a week (like I said, we're both veggie, so it's a lot), for between £5 and £10 - depending on what we're having that week. Much cheaper than it would be even at Lidl or Aldi.
Check out any local Indian/Ethnic stores near you for deals. Our nearest Asian store sells huge bags of rice that work out much cheaper than even the biggest ones at the supermarket. The local Indian store sells spices really cheaply, too (and they're better quality).
Grow some veggies at home, if you can (even in pots in the house or on a windowsill). September - January this is most likely to be green leafy veg, start growing now to get a good supply by the time you need it.
Start looking at alternative cleaning products to those you currently use - we use white vinegar solution and essential oils to clean, it's cheap, eco and effective.

Hope some of that helps.

Those who manage it, please send me some advise, I spend approx £100 a week for 2 adults 1 teenager and 2 kids and I already shop in aldi. Good luck 🤞

This place is obsessed with teenagers eating enough to feed a small country. Its almost like some weird fetish. If the OP’s eldest is only 15, it’s not like she’s got 4 strapping 18 year old rugby players to fuel up 🙄. My early teens managed to eat like normal human beings, not strip my cupboards, not need unlimited supplies of fruit or anything else and not cost me hundreds of pounds a week to feed. Good job really, as I couldn’t have afforded it.