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?

It is doable if it needs to be - does it need to be. Why did he set that budget - what happens if you go over does he have the funds or not.

In essence it is necessary, is he simply not understanding costs or is he being financially abusive!

It's doable but not in Sainsbury's I don't think. I find Sainsbury's about 30 percent more expensive than Lidl or Aldi.

Aldi

You need to switch supermarkets, Sainsbury's is very expensive. I spend about £80 a week for four of us and my teenager never stole eating.

We spend £250 a month for 4 of us. 2 adults, 5 month old and a 3 year old.

I find I spend a lot more if I shop in Sainsbury's - it's just more expensive imo.
I prefer Aldi, and think their meat is better than a lot of bigger supermarkets - but for less money! Also Aldi nappies are great, I used them for both of mine. Another one I prefer is Aldi laundry gel for a fraction on the price.
Are you meal planning? Definitely worth doing, and make sure that you bulk up every meal with more vegetables. If you're eating more veg, then you can make a roast chicken do 2 or 3 meals.

Stops, not stole!

Have you tried the same shops at Aldi/Lidl?

I spend about £400 a month, that is two adults and a teenager plus meals for other GC several times a month. I shop at Sainsburys and Lidl.

I imagine nappies are the killer, they seem so expensive but perhaps try Lidl or Aldi own brands as they seem good value.

I suppose it depends alot on what you like to eat, I do batch cook, this morning I've made 3 steak pies so two will be going in the freezer. I tend to bake cakes and things like apple pies. I don't tend to buy expensive cuts of meat which also helps. The baking and so on might be harder with a six month old.

Hope you can manage.

I have no idea how much I spend on groceries every month, but I do notice a real difference in price between Sainsbury's and Aldi (which are next to each other in my town).

If you agree with your DH that due to your tight budget you need to stick to £300 then I think you both need to be a bit better organised and aim to buy whatever items you can at a lower price. Do you know where in your budget you're going over, for instance? For me, the most expensive items are meat, laundry detergent, dishwasher tablets, nappies and alcohol, so can you e.g. eat meat/drink wine less frequently, or switch some of your shopping to supermarket own brand items? If you buy Pampers or Huggies, have you tried Mamia (Aldi own brand)?

Tell your husband to up the budget or do one months shoping himself. Sometimes men do not understand how much groceries cost.

Are you allowed to spend on other things? What about going out for a coffee, groups for you or the baby? I’d hate this budget and thats just for food I’m worried you’re now allowed any freedom either but I may be wrong!

I shop at Tesco. We use fred and flo nappies and wipes. Don't eat a lot of meat and cook from scratch. Don't spend much on cleaning products, vinegar and bicarb work for pretty much everything. We all eat the same meals and batch cook a lot too.

That is a reasonable budget if a) you can cook and b) it is winter.

It would be really hard to bring that I with no wiggle room when the weather is hot and there is so much imported fresh produce about. Winter is much easier IMO.

What kind of things do you eat OP? We might be able to come up with some ideas to cut cost without missing out on treats. But... as a PP asked, is the budget imposed because you really can't afford more or to make savings for other things. That will Impact the approach.

@Cupcakejamlover

Is the £300 genuinely all your household can afford from your DH's wage? or is he squeezing on groceries to put money towards something else?

Would he be OK with increasing the amount if you spoke to him about how tough you're finding it? Have you tried this?

If not, I would be taking him along to do every shop for a month so he can see how tough it is, or alternatively just help with picking heaper alternatives once he sees how much everything costs in your chosen supermarket.

PS. I do second going to Lidl/Aldi if you can, my closest shop is Tesco but can get a trolleyful in Lidl for the cost of what can sometimes be just a basket in Tesco.

I've started making my own bread because the cost of bread has gone through the roof here (I'm in another country). One bread roll costs around a Euro.
I thought it would be difficult to make but I've got into routine now and it doesn't take that much time. Most of the time is it sitting around rising by itself so I get on with other things while it is doing that.

Also I go to the supermarkets at times when I know things are reduced and buy stuff. Reduced meat gets frozen. Same for vegetables on offer if they can be frozen or they get made into a soup or curry straight away.
I shop mainly at Aldi (in another country as prices are cheaper there) and I'm not far from the border.

I also do a lot of the cleaning things others have suggested - I use a lot of diluted white vinegar or washing up liquid. Cleaning sprays are very expensive.

I imagine it's doable if you:

Switch from Sainsbury's
Try either Aldi/Lidl or shop online at Tesco or Asda
Meal plan every week
Try a couple of meat free meals a week (lentils and beans are very cheap and healthy)
Avoid brands as much as possible

What worries me slightly is 'DH has set me this budget'. If you feel it's too tight either he should be organising the food shopping and planning, or you could sit down together and find £50-75 more a month from elsewhere in the budget to pad it out a bit.

Easily do-able. Sainsbury's is expensive - Aldi will be way better for you, but if careful you could function with Tesco too.

Is it a £300 budget because that's what he's willing to give you or is a £300 budget because that's about all you have?

If you have more (you = as a couple) then sit down and work out how much you need and what you're saving for. (Having a bit stashed for a rainy day is useful - perhaps this is the rainy day)

Are you claiming child benefit? Why haven’t you got SMP or maternity allowance?

We don’t spend that much two adults, two pre teens here a couple of times a week and a toddler in nighttime nappies.

We’d never ever shop in Sainsbury’s though.

Do your finances allow for more? What does he say when you go over budget? If you can’t afford more you’ll have to spend less. Loads of people do.

When are you going (back) to work?

This really is the sort of thing that totally depends on your meal choices.

We're a family of just me, an 8 year old and a 10 year old. Last week, I spent £32 on the food shop because we weren't very well so it was lots of soups and a stew and pasta dishes. Just comfort food really. Not a lot of meat, just lots of veg.

I've done this weeks meal plan and shopped this morning. It was £75 for everything for the week; we're having steak, "summer chicken stew", nando's style chicken burgers, stuffed peppers, falafel, macaroni cheese, fajitas, soups. Chips/veg/rice for sides. But then I spent £50 ordering sashimi fish so we can have sushi night.

If I drank wine then my shops would be much higher.

So, you can spend £150 a week or you can spend £40 a week. It's all in the meal planning and making good choices when you're looking between brands etc.

That should be enough. For two adults we were spending £40 a week at sainsburys and now £30ish a week at Lidl. Get on the moneysaving expert forum for their grocery challenge, meal plan, use up what you have at the back of the cupboards, switch to a cheaper supermarket, cut back on meat etc.

If you're only going over by about £10 a week you'd probably find switching to ANY of the other supermarkets you'd be closer to hitting your budget. Or even just getting your household stuff from somewhere like Wilko or B&M depending what's local to you. I think your budget isn't far off and it's not like you're grossly overspending it anyway.

Well worth looking at what other posters have suggested about your income though, there may well be something you're not yet receiving. Equally if your partner is earning enough that you don't qualify for anything he probably shouldn't be worried about £30 a month on your family essentials tbh.

TBH its a bit tight .SB have their own brands which I find OK and reasonable if SB is close by.Maybe go with DH at the WE and he can see for himself what it buys! Their meat is good and reasonably priced .Cleaning products and loo rolls etc are a big outlay as well .Many men dont seem to realise how much good food costs!

For shopping at Sainsbury's, you're probably doing quite well tbh