How much would you spend to feed 1 adult per week now?

[Teaandcaaaaake]

Just curious really, as I don't live in the UK anymore and keep reading how food costs are rising. When I left 5 years ago, I spent between 20 and 40 quid per week feeding myself, depending on how much meat I bought, what store cupboard items needed replacing, etc. I ate extremely well on that and while I did keep an eye on costs, I basically ate anything I fancied.

I did live near M&S where I got great yellow stickers hauls every now and again which kept my freezer full.

What sort of budget would you estimate you need now for a good, varied diet for one person?

If I was buying just for myself it would be cheaper because DH's lunches are more expensive than mine. So £20 if it was just me.

But as I said that's not including toiletries/household and doesn't include spices/salt/pepper etc. I do buy those in batch though on discount once a year.

This, especially eating out. The quality has dropped because restaurants don’t want to increase prices any more than they have to.

@Cakeykid It would be cheaper for me too. I guess it depends on the family. The two of us mostly eat different things except at dinner so it wouldn't cost me more to buy smaller sizes of anything if DS left home. I already buy 1kg of chicken thigh fillets, freeze half, then cook for three nights. If it was just me I'd scale down or batch cook and freeze more.

Would any of the £20 per week folk care to share the breakdown of what they spend and meals they eat for a week. I’m not convinced that can be done if I’m honest (and be a decent, tasty diet).

I mean that’s less than £1 per meal based on 3 meals per day.

OMS reckons it's £34 but varies depending on age and sex.

https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/average-uk-household-cost-food#:~:text=Average%20Food%20Costs,15%25%20from%20a%20year%20ago.

Totally agree with this . Seems like pubs / restaurants/ take aways are also looking to economise , poorer quality meat and smaller portions have been noticed with a lot of people .
Food spends are prob 60 - 80 a week for me but I tend to buy bagged salads , fruit punnets , pre chopped veggies which are not the cheapest way to buy them but I value my time over cooking

No meat, no alcohol, just me, £20 would do it.
I am VERY frugal.

Having these chats with DS home from Uni and eating us out of house and home.

in Euros as not in Uk. Food more expensive here.
We usually spend around €150 a week on 2 adults and a toddler. So €55 per adult? That’s around £48 at the moment. €40 for child.
We eat meat occasionally, don’t drink, no nappies etc and cat food not included in that bill

I'm in Australia at the moment and last week was trying to figure out where all our money was going, and groceries is the answer. We are a family of 5 with hungry sporty kids, and send full packed lunches (no school dinners) and sports snackboxes etc every day, as well as doing breakfasts/dinners at home (and lots of treats tbh). I also wfh and have some dietary restrictions so my food is more than if I had free choice, and my DH takes food from home most lunches too.

I always knew we spent a lot on groceries but the cost of living means it's gone up nearly 50%. We used to spend close to $450pw (approx £225 I think) last year, and it's now closer to $700 (£350). It's a ridiculous amount of money and I am acutely aware of the privilege I have in being able to afford it without detriment, but we do it by not drinking alcohol, rarely eating out, don't get coffees out, rarely go on holidays or to the cinema, and we drive old cars - our primary expenditure is food. Seems a bit odd now writing it down, I might need to think about trying to do things differently.

i spend about £65 per week for 2

These are my staples but it varies week to week. I've added prices where they are constant. I've no particular reason to be frugal at present but old habits (sole parent, zero maintenance ever) die hard even when the child is 25 and has left home 😊.

Broccoli (frozen, big bag)
Tomatoes (fresh, tinned, purée)
Mushrooms
Lettuce
Potatoes
Onions
Other green veg on offer/sale (lots)
Garlic
Pasta
Vegetarian burgers or sausages
Eggs (2.50 for 15, M&S)
Cheese (different types)
Lentils (for soup)
Mayonnaise
Crumpets (42p most places)
Potato waffles (Iceland, £1.25 for 10)

About £30 per adult but there are 10 of us and there are savings from buying in bulk.

I have to agree here. 8 years ago that would well be possible, now I have doubts.

For anyond outside of UK, your food is more expensive in most places, and don't even look at how cheap food in uk was few years ago compared to many other countries😳

If it was just me probably £20-£30 per week. I eat a lot of oats, natural yoghurt, fresh and frozen fruit, veg, salad and cottage cheese, eggs.
My family, otoh, eats meat, bread products, ice cream, crisps, squash, cheddar cheese, biscuits, snacks etc which really bumps up the weekly bill.

Millions.

I can do this if it was only me. DD bumps it up to £30 pp as she eats crisps, biscuits and chocolate. She will also occasionally buy ready-made sauces.

However I am Asian vegetarian so about 80% of what I cook for meals is Asian.
Lentils probably about 8 different types
Chickpeas and kidney beans
veggies of all types
greens like spinach, fenugreek leaves and mint
eggs
cheap rice dishes with tamarind, lemon and peanuts
Most ingredients are bought from Asian stores not supermarkets.
Most of the things I cook can't be found in restaurants. But that may not be fun or tasty for you!

@BansheeofInisherin I’m not sure why you would think I wouldn’t find those foods fun or tasty (I am mixed race asian/white). My diet is actually very similar to the what you have described.

In that case I think it is possible! And if you like baking even better. ( I don't).

I used to eat a lot of snacks but am trying to lose weight so don't eat that many except for nuts and the occasional biscuit.

I spend £80 - £100 a week for two of us (including cleaning products, toilet roll, toiletries but not including eating out which we do once or twice a week) I cook from scratch and like to keep a full freezer and store cupboard so we don't use everything we buy in that week.

If it was just me it would be more like £30 - £40 a week as Mr Monkey is an absolute carb monster so we go through a lot of bread, pasta and crisps (he is a two - three marathons a year runner) and I am more happy than him to have mad left over/fridge meals.

@HuntingoftheSnark that diet is lacking in nutrients. Are 15 eggs really only £2.50 in m n s?

Are 15 eggs really only £2.50 in m n s?

Yup. I shop mainly m&s and ocado now because it workouts same or cheaper than asda. But better quality. Veg lasts