£116 a week-is it doable?

[Itsthemostrubbishtimeoftheyear]

Really want to get the last part of a loan paid off. Have worked out it can be done if we live on £116 a week for January & February,
That has to cover food for two adults, toddler & a dog, lunches for Dh for work, small amount of petrol and wood for the fire.
Is it doable?

Don't know if you can get Gousot boxes or similar but we are a family if 3 so I have to buy the box for 4 and the leftover does a small lunch for 2 or a dinner sized lunch for 1 for the next day. If he has a microwave that would be a meal that is filling and tasty. If you don't get it where you are, PM me and I can share some recipes with you for you to just make up yourself.

Tell your husband to grow up. Sorry, but if he needs food then take it with him. The ‘oh he won’t do that’ is ludicrous. If he won’t then he budgets separately for his lunches. Madness.

Now you have said you are not in the UK, it is a little bit more difficult for us to judge, as we don't know about the cost of living where you are of course, we can only answer based on our own experience, BUT the fact that he wants to spend extravagantly whilst you are economising still remains the crux of the problem here, and still will be once the loan is paid off.

I agree with PPs that there might be an issue here with DH not being fully onboard. Needing to be persuaded not to buy lunch out every day is a bit ridiculous if you're temporarily squeezing your budget to pay off debt.

But anyway, to answer the questions you've actually asked - jacket potatoes are a very filling and cheap lunch. Go to a decent green grocer and you should be able to pick up some big ol' buggers the size of small child. Have them with canned tuna and mayo, canned beans, or some leftovers from last night's tea. He can reheat them in the microwave.

I’d also suggest planning the months well, so you aren’t sitting around on a weekend bored and get tempted into spending money to do something. Some suggestions - if weather allows, a picnic close to home (own food, walking or minimal driving), check the TV guide or a Netflix for a good film and make it a Saturday night event, with the lights off and pop corn (very cheap to make). Do you normally make dessert? As above, pick a cheap Apple crumble of something to have for Sunday lunch or dinner.

Also might be a great time to have a list of jobs that need doing around the house. Keeps everyone busy and offers an explanation as to why you haven’t gone out to others (if you need it). A weekend in the garden or on odd-jobs can have the house looking good, everyone tired and wanting bed and no one feeling hard done by because they didn’t go anywhere or buy anything.

Please tell me if I understood this right. Your husband eats out for lunch every day and not only that but also gets a coffee and cake on his morning break?
These are treats surely and add such a significant amount to how much you are paying for food over the month, perhaps even doubling it. Sounds like he's living the life of riley while you're trying to scrimp and save to pay off a loan. Do you usually also get to spend the same amount he fritters on treats for yourself?

Imo that amount of money should be easily doable (however I don't know how expensive food etc is where you live). But the thing that will stop you from paying it off is his lunches.

I would have no time for that at all.

@CatNameChange101

Tell your husband to grow up. Sorry, but if he needs food then take it with him. The ‘oh he won’t do that’ is ludicrous. If he won’t then he budgets separately for his lunches. Madness.

This. Bought lunches, coffees and snacks are usually far more expensive than taking the same food from home, unless his work has a subsidised canteen and can add up to a massive amount that will affect your budget unless you have plenty of spare money.

Do you get a similar amount of money to spend as you choose? If you decided to have a cafe lunch 5 days a week too, could you afford that? If there isn't enough money in the budget for both of you to buy lunches then he needs to cut down.

On the matter of fruit and vegetables, many are very cheap so buy those instead of the more expensive ones, in the UK sprouting broccoli costs several times the price per kilo of standard broccoli for example. Or see if a market is cheaper than the supermarket.

I would budget for the wood and weekly shop and agree with your dh what he can have for his lunch spend. It wouldn’t hurt him to cut down to one a week for a while.
If there is a microwave at work then make a dinner with enough leftovers for him to take for lunch next day.

On their own, the numbers seem easy

But the way you have said it makes it seem like a hardship. Why not do it over 3or 4 months instead

Very doable!

Have a look at Olio and too good to go. Olio for free food, TGTG for discounted food.

My local Morrisons has free fruit for children, it's supposed to be for while they are walking around the shop but I don't think they would mind if you took a couple of apples.

You can make sandwiches and freeze them for DH.

Make meal plans that include using leftovers eg I always bake more than one potato (waste of fuel for just me) the extra potatoes can be made into gnocchi or you can scoop out the potato as mash and then use the left over as 'skins'.

Does Dh have access to a microwave at work? If so soup (home made or tinned) is a good food to take.

Don't throw away parts of beg eg broccoli stems taste the same as the florets, they don't look as good but you can put them in a sauce (cheese or passatta).

Don't be scared to use frozen and tinned products. A Packet of mixed veg and a jar of curry sauce can be had for under £2, add a bit of rice and you have a meal. Obviously it's cheaper to do home made but only if you have the spices already.

What have you got in your cupboard and freezer?

Thanks all!