To think it’s actually hard to live off this for the rest of the month?!

[munnyya]

I have 350 to last me and dd (2) until 29th of august. This is for food and household essentials like washing tablets, dishwater tablets, shampoo etc only. I think this is incredibly difficult to do? Am I going wrong somewhere? I can’t understand how this is meant to last us until then.

Well it's £14 a day, which isn't an enormous amount but should be fine for an adult and child.

Shampoo is a couple of pounds a bottle.

Does it need to cover travel to work, or just food?

@Dishwashersaurous just food and household essentials. I am struggling every month and it’s causing me so much stress.

Depends on what that needs to cover! If it’s just food and the usual gubbins you’ll be fine. If you need to pay for nursery or regular travel etc you’re fucked.

That can easily be done. Split it into 3 weeks so you’ve got like £115 a week for food and essentials that should cover the shopping for 1 adult and a 2 year old. Plan your meals before you shop and only buy what you need

I think that’s fine for 1 adult and 1 toddler. I spend less than that when my son is at Uni and it’s my DD age 16 and myself

I think that’s plenty. It’s £100 a week and £50 for 3 days. I spend less for three of us and pets without looking to budget. If I had to I could easily spend £60 a week

£116 a week for food shop for 1 adult and a toddler. This should be easy.

What are people buying? I feel like I’m failing all the time. I can easily spend 70 quid on 3-4 days of food

Where are you shopping?
Do you meal plan?

Really confused about how it's a stressy struggle.

Can you give some indication about what you spend

Is it more or less than you normally have, or the same?
As a one off, it’s perfectly doable, but if that’s how you are living every month I can see how it would grind you down. No room for treats/luxuries/clothes/gifts etc. And what about if something breaks/needs replacing?

That's loads. Last year £350 was my monthly food and household budget for me, teenage DD and a cat.

You need to 0an out meals, and start to build up essentials in your cupboard, there is no reason to be spending £70 for 4 days of meals. Have a look at feed your family for £10 ( I think it's called) on Facebook, or any meal making groups. Baked potatoes, salads and sausages, shepherds pie, bolognaise, meals you can eat over 2 days. Your income isn't your issue, your planning is

I feed a family of 4 adults for £95 a week. That includes toiletries, laundry etc

You should be able to manage on that for an adult and a toddler. Do you meal plan?

I’m only buying essentials- no alcohol, no desserts, no snacks
lots of tinned or frozen veg,

That's loads! More than I've ever had or needed for food and toiletries for myself and children ever. But maybe you are being extravagant. I see one of the three things you mention is dishwasher tablets. Most people don't have dishwashers, and most that do could economise by not using it for a few weeks if they had to. it won't save much on its own, but might indicate that you are living quite extravagantly.

I wouldn't by washing tablets as they are much more expensive than a bottle of washing liquid or powder

For starters you can wash by hand? Or is it still more economical to run the dishwasher in spite of the electricity costs?

Make your food more plant based and cook from scratch. You should be able to get by

I think it seems like enough too. I could manage on that. You need to plan in advance and batch cook.

OK sounds like you must buy lots of ready meals or prepared food.

You just need to come up with a series of simple recipes and you both eat them. Also batch cook, so make enough bolognese sauce for three meals. Eat one, one in the fridge, one in the freezer.

That is more than I spend a week for our family of 4 (2 adults, a preschooler and a toddler)!

@munnyya where do you shop? Do you meal plan?

Seems fine to me op. I spend £120 a week on my family of 4!

That's plenty for an adult and a small child. Meal plan so you don't have waste, buy own brand household goods

I’d manage on that. We spend £100 a week on shopping for 4 of us, including a 12 & 14 yr old. Plus the cat. Are you buying a fair amount of ready cooked stuff? Pizzas etc? Jacket potatoes, pasta, chicken drumsticks with salad/veg etc would be cheaper.

That's loads for just you and a toddler.

Washing tablets, dishwasher tablets & shampoo will be less than £20. That leaves you over £300 for food. That's more than enough

There are quite a lot of accounts on social media platforms that do weekly budget meal planning. Perhaps a few of those will give inspiration?

The Batch Lady is one? She does seasonal weekly meal plans with costings. I think there’s one called Cardiff Mum who does £20 shops in various supermarkets and then plans the meals?