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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To spend £30 a month on ALL food and drink?

409 replies

Jumell · 01/12/2024 12:38

I’m single and live alone. I want to set myself a good budget and admit I’ve overspent /been wasteful in the past.

As a single adult female living alone - is £30 per month on food doable do you think ? Includes eating out etc

OP posts:
CrushOnEminem · 02/12/2024 08:00

Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food is the book I mean. It's really good for basics. I'm sure you could find a copy in your library + the recipes are online

Original poster
Jumell · 02/12/2024 08:37

CrushOnEminem · 02/12/2024 07:55

OP I think if you really want to focus on curbing your reliance on convenience / junk food you'll need to step up with the homecooking.

And to do that you'll need to break it down into manageable steps and to realise that if you live alone, you need to ensure that you're looking after yourself properly so you stay well & healthy.

I think your first step is to think about the sort of food you would like to be eating on a daily / weekly basis. What sort of things do you think you could manage ti cook easily? Start simple & work your way up to more ambitious dishes.

Do you have a cooker? An oven? A microwave? Cooking utensils? You'll struggle without these.

Start with only concentrating on one week at a time. Plan out what meals you would like to eat..3 x meals a day + snack.

For instance:

Breakfast: weetabix with milk + banana & tea or coffee x 7 mornings

Lunch: cheese sandwich x 2 days, soup & brown bread x 2 days, scrambled eggs on toast x 2 days, Gregg's pizza slice x 1 day

Dinners: buy a pack of mince & make bolognaise x 2 dinners with pasta & sprinkle of cheese. Freeze the rest for another week. Buy some chicken thighs & jar of curry sauce & pack of rice - chicken curry x 2 dinners & freeze the remainder. Baked potatoes x 2 nights with cheese & beans. Supermarket pizza on 7th night.

This way you end the week having eaten proper food & starting the next week with some meals already in the freezer ready to go. You keep rotating these each week.

But if all you have in stock is tea & coffee you'll have to build up a basic store cupboard. This will make making & planning meals far easier.

You'll need stuff like

Oil
Butter
Seasoning - salt & pepper
Herbs - mixed Italian is a very versatile one
Spices - you can build these week by week
Soy sauce
Honey
Jam
Rice
Pasta
Stock cubes
Tinned tomatoes
Tins of beans
Tins of fruit
Frozen peas
Frozen veg (if you've space you can get peppers, onions, broccoli etc which totally prevents waste as you only use what you need)

I think what you're looking to do is overhaul both your spending & eating habits & you can 100% do this.

I recommend looking at Jamie Olivers book online on how to cook as it gives a basic recipe for lots of favourite dishes + ways to tweak them to use up leftovers. I think it's an excellent resource

Good luck op!

Thanks so much this is very helpful 🙌

OP posts:
Makingchocolatecake · 02/12/2024 17:40

If you want to live off super noodles, beans on toast, soup, sandwiches and maybe the occasional bowl of pasta then maybe. But I wouldn't!

eRobin · 02/12/2024 18:54

Jumell · 02/12/2024 06:33

Sounds lovely actually.

forgive me as I hardly do any cooking but this is something I intend to change -

a cooked roast chicken lasts a week if refrigerated?

Show quote history

NO! Your chicken will go bad or become dangerous. You need to eat opened chicken within 24 hours, or freeze it before then.

DaphnesCafe · 02/12/2024 19:02

needhelpwiththisplease · 01/12/2024 13:03

So you are basically " playing " at living in food poverty?
This is batshit and in extremely poor taste

At least they are getting the attention they crave 🙄

Fizbosshoes · 02/12/2024 19:18

I would eat chicken up to 4 or 5 days after it had been cooked (assuming within use by period)

However (and I don't mean this unkindly) I'm surprised OP is talking about how long a roast chicken might last when the idea of buying ingredients, cooking and preparing food seems quite alien to them. There are obviously reasons for this, (maybe practical or psychological) but not much info to go on. Lots of people have given pretty detailed advice, or shopping lists but there must be a reason why OP hadn't bought more heathy or substantial food or made meals themselves, instead of buying biscuits and crisps.

TheoriginalMrsDarcy · 02/12/2024 19:31

£30 a month??? What decade are you referring to??? 70's??? And to include eating out too??? I went into Greggs today, one pastie, one sausage roll and a mocha and it was just over £6. So probably no eating out for you.

That aside, its potentially do able. You'll have to be extremely thrifty and eat repetitive foods and possibly not very healthy foodstuff as well. Fresh veggies are out, get canned veg..

You'll need to be the first to bag yellow sticker labelled items.

So, a bag of potatoes (jacket spuds), value cheese, value beans etc..

Pasta, spaghetti bol etc.. make it last for a few meals add tinned veg.

Lots of toast and cheap jam. Scrambled eggs and toast. Use value bread.

Savers range porridge (although my other half says oats all taste about the same to him).

Make a chicken meal last about 5 days or more. Use chicken wings, (about £1.99 for about 15) or thighs (£3.79 for i think 8).

Breadcat24 · 02/12/2024 19:56

@Jumell you need to portion up the chicken and freeze or cook then freeze
so whole chicken
take legs off and freeze
roast crown
Strip meat from crown- eat, keep in fridge 3 days or freeze- or make into something else and keep 3 days or freeze- like a pie base

Original poster
Jumell · 03/12/2024 02:00

Breadcat24 · 02/12/2024 19:56

@Jumell you need to portion up the chicken and freeze or cook then freeze
so whole chicken
take legs off and freeze
roast crown
Strip meat from crown- eat, keep in fridge 3 days or freeze- or make into something else and keep 3 days or freeze- like a pie base

Thanks for this advice it’s very helpful

OP posts:
ThinWomansBrain · 03/12/2024 02:10

joysexreno · 01/12/2024 12:42

Maybe if you ate porridge made with water, for breakfast, you already have teabags in, you have lentil soup made with carrots, onions, water for lunch every day and jacket potatoes with beans or beans and rice (bulk bought) for dinner it could be vaguely manageable, but this seems quite difficult.

Edited

I was just thinking it sounded like a lot of porridge and lentil soup.
And cutting back on the high life of pizza dorm Greggs.

ThinWomansBrain · 03/12/2024 02:21

You could probably achieve this on £30
The Lean Team No Doubt Diet plan.pdf

Original poster
Jumell · 03/12/2024 02:22

TheoriginalMrsDarcy · 02/12/2024 19:31

£30 a month??? What decade are you referring to??? 70's??? And to include eating out too??? I went into Greggs today, one pastie, one sausage roll and a mocha and it was just over £6. So probably no eating out for you.

That aside, its potentially do able. You'll have to be extremely thrifty and eat repetitive foods and possibly not very healthy foodstuff as well. Fresh veggies are out, get canned veg..

You'll need to be the first to bag yellow sticker labelled items.

So, a bag of potatoes (jacket spuds), value cheese, value beans etc..

Pasta, spaghetti bol etc.. make it last for a few meals add tinned veg.

Lots of toast and cheap jam. Scrambled eggs and toast. Use value bread.

Savers range porridge (although my other half says oats all taste about the same to him).

Make a chicken meal last about 5 days or more. Use chicken wings, (about £1.99 for about 15) or thighs (£3.79 for i think 8).

Thanks - some good tips here

no eating out for me was a Greggs pizza slice at £2.30

OP posts:
Original poster
Jumell · 03/12/2024 02:35

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.

As I’ve said, after seeing how many Nectar points I’ve spent there’s no way I’ve stuck to my £30 a month target - more like the equivalent of £45 in 3 weeks, realistically

I honestly thought you Mumsnetters would be full of praise for me for being so thrifty - I HONESTLY thought you’d all crown me with the

‘Weekly cooked chicken and massive salad crown’ 🤣 - for my amazing forbearance -

But this didn’t happen - fair enough - I was looking for genuine feedback !!!

Thsnks everyone- and thanks for all the really good tips/ideas !

OP posts:
Flumoxed · 03/12/2024 03:52

There is a book called "How I lived for a year on a pound a day". Some friends and I used to take inspiration from that and do it as a January challenge each year to undo some of the Christmas overspend. I have 2 kids now and couldn't manage on £30/mo now, but it was doable a decade or so ago.

The author recommends allocating a pound per day. You can carry unspent money over to the next day, but can't borrow from tomorrow so if you don't have it, don't spend it.

The author also had various bits in the cupboards (pasta, beans etc) to use up which obviously helped.

Eating out was a no-go though. Even if you get something for £1-2 from Greg's for lunch, what about breakfast, dinner, snacks?

Yes it is doable, but it will not be easy.

Lex345 · 03/12/2024 07:12

I understand the thought process behind these kind of challenges, but honestly its kind of pointless-yes, you probably could spend £30 for one month on a very poor diet. That is completely different to being able to spend £30/month every month on food. It would be very unhealthy and I imagine exhausting. If you are wanting to discipline yourself and be more frugal in a way that is sustainable over time; whilst also eating a decent diet, £30 a week would be more realistic. This would definitely not include eating out or takeaways.

I consider myself careful with the food budget out of necessity; but part of the trick is to be able to eat enjoyable, nutritious and tasty food on the budget.
If you are not fortunate enough to have lots of spare cash each month for activities/going out (we are not-we have enough to pay bills/food/essentials and that is pretty much it), food becomes pretty important as a social activity in the family as well, so I want everyone to enjoy it! I save money on cheaper versions if it is the same product-for example, I will buy just essentials cheese rather than pilgrims or cathedral city; but coffee has to be a certain brand (tried the cheaper version, hated it!)

I'm just putting some perspective in these "challenges"-the reality of being on a tight budget doesn't mean everyone is sat joylessly over rice and beans every night-so I always find these extreme frugality challenges baffling.

If you are wanting to try some cheap recipes OP, making in bulk and freezing saves a bit of money-for example

Homemade chilli
Corned beef hash
Homemade soups (tomato, celery, veg, chicken, Pea and Ham)
Sausage casserole
Bolognaise

With mince based dishes, I use grated carrot, spinach and sometimes pearl barley as well to bulk out and add flavour. I have seen some add lentils but I am not keen on them.

If you are cooking a whole chicken, remove the legs and bone them, then stuff them-I cook the breast on the crown, I find there is less wastage this way.

It is also worth checking your local market as this can sometimes work out cheaper and for fruit and veg particularly, I have found the quality better too.

Original poster
Jumell · 03/12/2024 07:15

Lex345 · 03/12/2024 07:12

I understand the thought process behind these kind of challenges, but honestly its kind of pointless-yes, you probably could spend £30 for one month on a very poor diet. That is completely different to being able to spend £30/month every month on food. It would be very unhealthy and I imagine exhausting. If you are wanting to discipline yourself and be more frugal in a way that is sustainable over time; whilst also eating a decent diet, £30 a week would be more realistic. This would definitely not include eating out or takeaways.

I consider myself careful with the food budget out of necessity; but part of the trick is to be able to eat enjoyable, nutritious and tasty food on the budget.
If you are not fortunate enough to have lots of spare cash each month for activities/going out (we are not-we have enough to pay bills/food/essentials and that is pretty much it), food becomes pretty important as a social activity in the family as well, so I want everyone to enjoy it! I save money on cheaper versions if it is the same product-for example, I will buy just essentials cheese rather than pilgrims or cathedral city; but coffee has to be a certain brand (tried the cheaper version, hated it!)

I'm just putting some perspective in these "challenges"-the reality of being on a tight budget doesn't mean everyone is sat joylessly over rice and beans every night-so I always find these extreme frugality challenges baffling.

If you are wanting to try some cheap recipes OP, making in bulk and freezing saves a bit of money-for example

Homemade chilli
Corned beef hash
Homemade soups (tomato, celery, veg, chicken, Pea and Ham)
Sausage casserole
Bolognaise

With mince based dishes, I use grated carrot, spinach and sometimes pearl barley as well to bulk out and add flavour. I have seen some add lentils but I am not keen on them.

If you are cooking a whole chicken, remove the legs and bone them, then stuff them-I cook the breast on the crown, I find there is less wastage this way.

It is also worth checking your local market as this can sometimes work out cheaper and for fruit and veg particularly, I have found the quality better too.

Thanks for all these tips - very useful - thing is I never use a freezer ! I think it’s just habit !!

OP posts:
Lex345 · 03/12/2024 07:16

Ooh would definitely invest in one if you can (its also great when you can't be bothered to cook as there is always something ready :) )

Longma · 03/12/2024 07:27

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines. at the request of it's author.

Original poster
Jumell · 03/12/2024 07:31

Lex345 · 03/12/2024 07:16

Ooh would definitely invest in one if you can (its also great when you can't be bothered to cook as there is always something ready :) )

True but then you have to ensure you’ve left enough time to defrost it !

OP posts:
Original poster
Jumell · 03/12/2024 07:35

This reply has been deleted

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines. at the request of it's author.

The people who make chickens last a week for a family - do they then use the bones for stocks/soups?

Real stock imo always beats stock cubes - I know this isn’t the point of the thread but they’re very resourceful if they do

I think skipping meals is and has always, if we’re being honest been common for people

OP posts:
IrritableVowel · 03/12/2024 08:28

OP, you have been given some great tips here but I don't think going straight to making your own stock is realistic or necessary when you have been living on junk food. Start off with a stock cube. Get used to cooking anything before moving on to the MN chicken

Original poster
Jumell · 03/12/2024 08:30

IrritableVowel · 03/12/2024 08:28

OP, you have been given some great tips here but I don't think going straight to making your own stock is realistic or necessary when you have been living on junk food. Start off with a stock cube. Get used to cooking anything before moving on to the MN chicken

I agree with you.

tbh cooking from scratch is daunting when I haven’t used the oven - literally - for about 4 years !!

OP posts:
Fizbosshoes · 03/12/2024 08:56

IrritableVowel · 03/12/2024 08:28

OP, you have been given some great tips here but I don't think going straight to making your own stock is realistic or necessary when you have been living on junk food. Start off with a stock cube. Get used to cooking anything before moving on to the MN chicken

I agree, presently OP isn't at the stage (for reasons we don't know) where they are buying a cheap loaf of bread to make sandwiches or toast, so it's going to be a leap to butchering a chicken or making soup.

A lot of the money saving tips involve batch cooking or freezing, it's possible the OP is living in temporary accomodation , or a refuge, with only a kettle as cooking facility (hence only having tea or coffee in and living off biscuits)

Or, if they do have access to a kitchen , there are obviously other barriers to cooking, or preparing food. I'm not convinced they don't know how to do cook or make better food

I think probably the super strict budget isn't really the issue

MarvelJesus · 03/12/2024 09:16

@Jumell - I’m not sure how helpful this thread really has been to you, given you’ve started another one this very morning on the quality and cheapness of Greggs food, including steak bakes and pizza slices.

Are you, in fact, a shill, being paid for the number of mentions of the firm that you create and perpetuate on forums?

x2boys · 03/12/2024 09:37

MarvelJesus · 03/12/2024 09:16

@Jumell - I’m not sure how helpful this thread really has been to you, given you’ve started another one this very morning on the quality and cheapness of Greggs food, including steak bakes and pizza slices.

Are you, in fact, a shill, being paid for the number of mentions of the firm that you create and perpetuate on forums?

I spotted the same thread 🤣