Possible to live on 178 a week?

[sillybillyq]

Hiya new to this is it possible to live off 178 a week? food and gas and eltric would have to come out off it plus petrol everything else would be paid 1 adult and 2 children

for how many people?

@Zanatdyforgot that bit me and 2 kids

What is your usual outgoings for petrol and bills? Does it need to cover house/car insurance or council tax too? How many peoples food it that covering?

Yes depends on where you are driving. I would limit care journeys to a minimum and walk cycle where needed.
but you can split 30 gas 30 petrol 30 leccy
50 on food. With some spare for the extras that pop up.
get some things in bulk/deals so they’re not a monthly spend like toilet rolls, washing powder cleaning products etc

How many people, what size property, what is your commute?

is it all bills to come out of that - I can think of more. Mobile phone, council tax, water, insurance. Netflix etc

@Cerialkillerall other bills are coverd just the petrol off the car 1 adult 2 children

Yes. We live on a lot less for three people...as long as bills are paid. Petrol is around £40 and I fill up every 2-3 weeks and drive daily doing home visits. Food is around £80 ish for the week. So you got spare ...however if this is for 5 or more people you might struggle...

@beAsensible1wouldnt really be far at all I could probably do everything on foot as it is all walking distance

No it's for just 1 adult 2 kids all other bill are covered just food gas eltric petrol and if we need anything else

No it's not. How much is petrol?

Is gas n electric included in bills?. If so then yes, with careful budgeting

I think as long as your petrol costs aren't high then it's possible.

I do think you need to work out how much the split will be between all the bills. Are you on a fixed tariff for your bills? In which case this will be predictable at least. Then you can work out a plan for food.

Workout how you can reduce all the bills overall. Shorter showers, cooking multiple things in the oven to reduce time it's on. Cycling and walking instead of driving.

Food is probably most variable. I would work out some standard basic meals and buy balk quantities of potatoes, rice and pasta. Asda often do cheap veggies. If you end up saving money then you can start a savings pot and/or treat yourself.

Is this a temporary situation? Are your bills likely to go up when it gets colder again?

Yes, state pension is £220 pw : many are living off this amount and having to pay utilities, council tax, food, petrol from this amount. So having £178 after utilities should be doable ; might not easy as the pensioners are finding!

It's probably OK for the basics.
The problem will be paying for extras and unforseen expenses, like birthday presents, school trips, and activities.

I mean it's doable but it won't be easy......my utilities average out at £100 pm (( Not a huge house and we're out most of the day )) for 3 adults. I don't run a car......and tbh if I did I'd be cutting that out ot down as much as possible.

If you're careful it's doable but you have to be realistic that your life will have to change to manage it. Could you get a job to boost things a little ? A lady I work with has picked up a 2.5 hour a night cleaning job in a school to boost her income. Doesn't sound much but she makes over £600 pm before tax which makes a huge difference for her.

Food, gas, electric and petrol for 3 people for £178? That feels extremely tight!

Presume around half will go on the petrol, electric and gas, leaving around £80-90 for food. Presume that also includes toiletries and cleaning stuff. That's hard.

You'll have to save some money in the warmer, lighter months to cover the higher bills in winter.

It's £220 a week for one person. And is also a lot more than this lady has for 1 adult and 2 growing children. 🙄

I am one adult 3 children and I struggle on my budget of £230 per week

No she has to pay gas and electric out of that too. Which is the biggest bill in most households.

If everything is within walking distance, why not get rid of the car and save on petrol and insurance etc.

Permenatly it will be tight. As soon as you need a dental check up thats £27. Are you entitled to free dental care and prescriptions?

My gas and electric is about £70 a month (though I know that's very low) and I spend about £60 a month on petrol. So on the basis of /those/ costs and no other bills (i.e. insurance, mobile, internet, MOT costs for the car, car tax) I think it would be doable.

Because that's about £130 per month, which is about £30 a week, so that would leave £140-150 a week for food, clothes and presents etc.

It would be very tight and you'd have to be very careful with the food shop, and it would be much harder if you had e.g. a 13 and 15 year old or similar. Birthdays and other presents would have to be inexpensive and you'd have to put money away for Christmas and birthdays every week or you'd end up out of whack. I think you'd probably have to aim mainly for second hand clothes.

But just about doable I reckon. Definitely not ideal and if your gas and electric costs were higher (I have friends who spend £200 a month where I spend £70) then I think it would be unmanageable.

Oh dear 🤔. Will be hard

Yes i’d say its enough just for food and petrol. You can keep your food budget under £100 for 3 of you.

edit to say didn’t realise gas & elec too. No it’s not enough.