Not enough money for groceries ?

[Cupcakejamlover]

Since having a baby i’m a stay at home mum so we are only relying on my husbands income which is getting a bit tough. (I dont even receive maternity pay). Because of our situation, Dh has set a monthly budget of £300 for groceries. This includes all food, drinks, desert, cleaning equipment, sanitary items, baby wipes etc. To give a little back story: its just me, my husband and 6 month old baby at home who is breastfed so only needs nappies and the odd item from the grocery store and minimal food as we are introducing solids now.
We have implemented this budget a few months ago however i fail to stick to it every single month… i always end up going £30-£40 above, and thats TRYING not to.. now i’m wondering is this an unreasonable amount for a couple with baby? Or am i just not planning/ budgeting correctly? Does anyone have any tips as to how to budget? We live near a large sainsburys so tend to do all our shopping there except meat/chicken.
How much do you spend if you are in similar circumstances?

£300 a month is very low for everything including cleaning items, nappies and weaning foods.

I would up to at least £500 a month and celebrate going under budget rather than over

You’re not eligible for maternity allowance?

I’d say that’s tight but not impossible. Try Aldi or Asda, Sainsbury’s is often more expensive.

We spend approx £80 a week for two adults and two pre-schoolers. Only nighttime nappies required now.

Have you tried a cheaper nappy? I found Asda’s and Aldi’s very good rather than pampers.

I think you should be fine with that budget for 2 adults. Do you meal plan? Are you using own brand nappies?

We are a family of 5 and spend around £90 a week.

I mean… it’s doable but tight?, especially with cleaning supplies / nappies etc added in. I know they’ll be posters coming along saying they can do a family of 5 for just £30 a year , but it involves lots of planning and being pretty rigid. No treats or spontaneity

Sainsbury’s is more expensive also than aldi / lidl etc

I think £300 is doable but tight, and it would take quite a lot of planning etc.

If you are only going £40 per month over I think you're doing pretty well.

Can you ask him to have £340 p/m as the overall budget and cut back elsewhere to make up the shortfall?

Why aren't you receiving maternity pay? And are you receiving child benefit?

Are you planning to go back to work at any point? If so this situation is only temporary.

Also could you try shopping online with a different supermarket? Where are you buying your meat?

...and yes, definitely aldi / Lidl as opposed to Saino's.

It is doable. We spend £80 a week on 2 adults and 1 pre schooler.
You'll be getting your £80 odd a month aswell won't you?
I used to use that on milk, nappies, wipes etc for baby every month and he was stocked up.
You'd get MA wouldn't you?
I would also move shops!
I do online as I like to see the total and it stops be buying crap I don't need.

£75 per week doesn't go very far , unfortunately, thee days OP.
Everything has increased in price by so much.
Meal planning helps, as you can buy just what you need rather than chucking random stuff in the trolley and it also cuts down on added trips to supermarket.

We budget £320 a month for 2 adults, 15yo and 9yo.

I don't meal plan and we have plenty of treats 🤔

Does it need to be £300 or is that a self imposed limit to fund savings etc?

What are the costs for nappies as that should not be included in the food budget.

If you had £300 a month for just food& cleaning you could do it, but would need to meal plan and reduce meat. It's £10 per day so thats just over £3 per meal. It's very tight but you would need simple meals such as soup, eggs, pulses, beans etc

How long will this go on for? Are you going back to work?

I’m getting ⚠️ vibes from you saying that your husband set the budget.
Why?
It’s a joint budget.
On what basis did he set it?
What can you actually afford?

This could be:

• a low amount but all you can afford and yes, do-able
• a disgraceful example of financial abuse

Or quite a few things in between.

£300 is enough if it’s all you’ve got, it’s not enough if you can afford more.

As others have said, doable but tight. I’d be looking to shift over to Aldi or Lidl, I expect they’d work out cheaper for you. I’d also look at adjusting the budget a bit tbh, you’re not going over by very much at all, so I’d try and cut back elsewhere if at all possible.
When you say your husband set the budget, does he actually do the shopping at all? Or has he just kind of plucked that number out of the air, so to speak? What’s his take on going over budget?

Sainsburys is expensive, 10%+ more than asda, and even more so than aldi/lidl. In an old job part of what I had to do was price comparisons and I was shocked as it doesn't seem too much more on the surface.

I would find that Impossible

If you're used to spending a lot more on food then this is a HUGE shock

What did you use to spend? We spend that per week and it's too much, we need to cut down but nobody likes anything unless it's very premium except the cheapest baked beans poss 🤣

Are you wasting food or is it all being eaten? Does that include take outs or are you not having them?

I think it's fine considering it's just you two and a baby. I do find Sainsburys very expensive though....I'd try to get tons Aldi or Lidl if I was you

*to an

Cook from scratch and it's doable. Cut down on meat and up the cheaper things like lentils etc.

It's probably a little tight for Sainsburys.

Assuming you're already doing own brand for everything and keeping an eye out for yellow labels on meat & other fresh produce (Sainsbos do have some really nice stuff marked down usually), it might be worth seeing if you can do an online Asda shop once a month for the bulk of it and supplement with Sainsburys.

I actually think that’s fine. We are just two adults and spend £40-50 a week in Aldi and we eat meat every day and buy lots of fruit and veg.

I think it's okay

You're not cleaning like an instagrammer I hope? I know some people who do so just wondered.

You need to stop shopping at Sainsburys for a start. Aldi and Lidl are your friends here. You'll save £50 a week easily.