food budget

[cosmobrown]

Hi. Can people tell me how much they spend on food please?
Family of 4. Mum, Dad, 18yr old boy, 15 yr old girl.
I'm having to start budgeting for the first time.

Of course £100pw is achievable.
We don't spend anything like that, and not because we need to for finance reasons, it just doesn't cost that to feed us.
There's 5 adults in the house during this social distancing time (my youngest is 18.
ds did the shop yesterday and spent £56.83
Now, it didn't include many of the things you buy 'occasionally' - there was a jar of coffee, but no washing powder or dishwasher tablets or toilet roll and no alcohol, but that still would give you PLENTY of leeway to be buying one of those things every week and come in well under £100.
I can't begin to imagine how people spend £200+ each week.

My family are the same ages as yours op, and yes I can understand the eating abilities of teenagers!
We spend roughly £65 each week- including food for 2 cats/litter. Dog food is bought separately at about £20 tray of butchers 24 tins from Costco with Tesco complete bag £5 this will last about month, the only stuff he tolerates.
We usually shop in Aldi or Lidl, follow a rough meal plan (kind of doing slimming world) so vast majority of cooked from scratch- minimal jars etc but involves quite a lot of veg (fresh and frozen) fruit and lean meats. I also bulk meals out using lentils which work really well in spag bol etc. I also buy toiletries here or B&m. Rarely go for any branded goods.
Back to basics- make meal plans. Be strict with meals - ie- cereals/eggs/ toast for breakfasts, sandwich/wrap for lunch, and a decent main meal with pasta/potatoes as filler and lean meat and vegetables. The extras are the things that add up. You'll get the hang of it- and we certainly don't miss out on goodies.
Take care

Oh forgot to mention non food savings. Don’t bother with cleaning wipes, a cloth n cleaner is just as good. Get a spray bottle and make your own disinfectant using dilute zoflora (smells ace too)
Use the water out of your tumble dryer for your iron - no need for special stuff.
Tumble dryer balls - cuts down time to dry.

I’m sure theres more

I'm afraid I don't have much sympathy at the 50K cap when I'm living on less than half of that!

I have one meal a week based on pulses, things like lentil bolognese, tarka dal (Jamie Oliver's recipe is my favourite), homemade bean burgers, chickpea curry or tagine.

You could do the protein part of the meal for around £2 for all of you then add pasta,rice or potatoes.

Stardrops is a brand of cleaning product, sadly not available very widely any more. You can make your own cleaner by diluting it with water in a spray bottle.

I'm on around £100 a week for family of 3 including two milk allergy who have expensive free-from food. I thought we were spending loads tbh as I'm just buying what we like, plus nappies. If I made an effort I could knock £20-30 off that but I like eating treats too much. I'm switching to reusable nappies at the moment which will save us about £6 a week.

Wow. I'm actually learning so much here!
Yes, I haven't put fuel in my car for nearly 3 weeks - a minor miracle!
Dh has not been commuting to work - no expensive train tickets.
No costa coffees, no meals out, no social expenses.

Gingerkittykat
I think that the OP might mean that the 50k cap means she is entitled to nothing at all?

We have been having pancakes loads for breakfasts recently (flour and egg availability allowing). It feels like an indulgent way to start the day but cheap and very filling so eating lightly until tea time afterwards.

2 adults, one DS who is 12 but looks 8....£150 a week. I refuse to shop in ALDI/Lidl

Do you batch cook and freeze things? I made carrot and coriander soup yesterday. 800 grams of carrots - about a quid. 1 and a half litres of stock - 30p for stock cubes. A heaped teaspoon of dried coriander - about 15p. A pinch of garlic and ginger, let's say 5p. A big dollop of butter because I'm trying to increase my calories, so about 20p. One onion, about 10p. Roast the carrots, fry the onion in the butter, then put it all together in the blender with the hot stock etc and serve. Serves 4 for one meal. Costs £1.80. Bit more if you wanted bread with it. If you scale up those sort of meals you can freeze them for later in the week which saves time and means you don't have to use the cooker (which costs more money) again.

Do you use your leftovers from big dinners, as well? That's another way to save. We bought an extra large chicken and it's done 3 (very chickeny) meals for us so far. Even without worrying too much about portion sizes that chicken could do the four of you, then some lunch for two of you the next day in a sandwich.

Sorry if I misunderstood the 50K comment.

ATM it's me and 3 teens I'm spending about £130 a week for everything so 3 meals, snacks, pet food, personal care and alcohol. I'm not going mad but not scrimping either.

We meal plan (just two adults here) and always have. We try and plan things that “fit together” so there is nothing wasted.

This week has been:

Vegetarian sausage tray bake (squash, peppers, tomatoes, red onion, garlic)
Chicken fajitas - using up the load of peppers and onions
Chilli and rice - again, the peppers, the onions, the end of the fajita dips
Chilli baked potatoes with salad
Spaghetti carbonara
Chicken breasts coated in garlic and parmesan, with potatoes, and broccoli

Tomorrow will be risotto - chorizo, red pepper, and goats cheese

Usually DP goes to football on a Saturday, and I do some batch cooking every few weeks - things like chilli, curries, and bolognese, so we always have those in the freezer. We often eat things like shop bought quiche, with either baked potato and salad, or oven chips and beans. Stuffed pasta and sauce. Vegetable stir-fries. Chickpea based stew. Pasta bakes are good, and can be made in the afternoon then whacked in the oven at dinner time.

I am struggling with lunches (not usually at home) and we are having things like beans on toast, soup, eggs on toast, but SO boring!

I usually spend about £50 a week for family of 3(2 adults and 1 toddler) and then an extra £15 ish when my dps older children are here for the weekend (2 teens and a 10 year old human hoover) they've been here almost all week this week and I spent just over £80. Shop at aldibor lidl if you can and meal plan, every meal not just evening meals. Its definatly doable

winter2020
Yes you're right. We fall through all the gaps in the governments schemes for various reasons and cannot claim anything.
I just need to change our habits. As our monthly financial commitments are quite large, I need to be super careful with the 'rainy day' money.

1 adult, 15, 11, 11 years old. One of whom is gluten free.
I spend about £50-60 per week post lock down. I'm ill health retired so went from good wage to not 6 years ago. I shop in tesco because I need delivery - I would try a lidl or aldi if I could shop instore. I meal plan. One breakfast, one light meal, one main meal and one snack. Occasionally a desert. I look for multi buys, larger portions of meat and make multiple meals and freeze, bulk out with vegetables or beans, buy when something is on offer, cook most meals from scratch. Frozen vegetables is good because you don't have waste. Fruit is apples, pears, grapes, bananas and any on offer.

Meal plan and eat cheaper foods ? Eat food in season . No more expensive berries etc

My household is me and my 13 yo son who eats like an adult.
I have to run a tight ship as a lone parent.
I spend between £30-45 per week on food.
I used to shop between Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi... now I just go to Aldi to minimise social contact.

I buy supermarket own wash powder, shampoo, conditioner, dish washer tabs etc... Morrison's savers washing powder £2.75 very good imo as is the Lacura shampoo and conditioner sold by Aldi.

I batch cook too, making lots of meals from scratch which again saves money. Aldi herbs and spices are 30p a jar as opposed to £1 average a jar at all the other supermarkets.

You can price check online on each of the supermarkets websites prior to going and I always make a shopping list and stick to it.

Hope that helps

Go through your incoming and expenses and write it all down . Cancel anything you possibility can . Gym , cleaner , window cleaner etc
If you’ve committed to an expensive mortgage and cars etc can one of you take on another job in the evenings . Can the 18 year old get a job ?

A sack of potatoes from a farm shop or green grocer will be around £15 so lots cheaper and will last you loads longer than individual bags from the supermarket if stored right.

Also, there are lots of fb groups for budget cooking (feed your family for around £20 a week springs to mind). Even if you pick up one or two meal ideas from them, it’ll help. My friend shops in Aldi and loves their meat (lush steaks apparently).

We spend on average £125-150 a wk for a family of 6. All kids eat like adults now and we shop in Aldi

There was a show on BBC1 Eat well for less... hopefully here's a link.
Different families are shown how to cut their weekly food bill right down.
If you can't find any programmes on iPlayer... try Youtube as they're definitely worth a watch.

Another tip is carry out a full inventory of what you have in your freezer and cupboards already and start from there using things up you already have

Sorry here's the link! ... www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0520lz9

£45-50pw for 2 adults and a six year old. I meal plan and get everything at Aldi. We eat well and still have treats!

@Lovebb why do you refuse to shop? Is it a principle / snobbery thing?! Genuinely interested...

Hi op
Please don't panic. I've been in a terrible time a couple of years ago when my dh wasn't paid for 3 months and I'd just had baby 4. You will come through this.
Aldi is a great place to start. All things in there are as good as usual brands including washing bits, cleaning stuff, shower gels etc. Only thing I can't get on with is their shampoos.
Be strict for breakfast cereal or toast and fruit.
Lunches can be sandwiches crisps and fruit or soup or a cheap salad or pasta with pesto. All mega cheap.
Have one freezer meal a week pizza and chips for example.
Other meals plan for. One Sunday roast. Cheap if it's a large chicken. Get seasonal veg.

Cane you bake a big cake for puddings etc? Filling and cheap ingredients from Aldi.
Massive shepherd's pie make from one mince in Aldi. Cheap.
Sphegtti bol etc very cheap to make.
Home made sopus and bread.
Big casarole etc.
Use fresh fruit first then rest of week have tin fruit or smoothies. Also do a fab frozen smoothie mix just use what you need.
Cheap fruit juice is good too you don't need the freshly squeezed stuff
Cut out take away. Keep wine and beer if you want Aldi have so fab wines very cheap.
For a family of 6 we spend 90 per week that includes lots of rib eye steaks and wine and treats though! You could do it for less.
Good luck

6 of us (2 teenagers) between £130-150 a week, no alcohol