£350 till end of the month. family of 4 + dog

[AnxietyLevelMax]

How do we survive? Needs to include formula for the baby. Other ds is almost 5 yrs old. Fuel to be included. We are sorted for this week and have few lunches in the freezer for the next week, but otherwise have to manage within the budget and just dont know how! Each grocery shopping is about £200 for a week with careful planning, we just cant afford it

youtube is good for ideas for eating on a low budget. Although mostly american the recipe ideas are useful.

It’s really not a lot . Family of 4 here , DH working away so getting him the bare minimum for one night he’s home, I eat cheap low cal meals and so it’s pretty much just 2 DC , and a dog and this week I literally got the bare minimum - scraping together bits from the freezer to make meals and it cost me £160

This has probably been mentioned many times but social supermarkets might be an idea..the one in my local town anyone can go to (i heard about it at the jobcentre)

Not advisable long term but if it’s just a temporary thing you can do an online shop at Iceland and use PayPal pay in 3 . I do that when I’m stuck x

Perhaps OP and her husband recognise this and would meal plan appropriately to ensure this donation lasts. Just because he has a very large appetite doesn't mean the entire family (including 2 children) should be excempt from support? It appears to be an acute financial situation from OPs description therefore short term support may be all that is required alongside the other suggestions made by other posters to provide some relief for the family. Someone is asking for support- im sure OP feels enough stress and worry in this situation without strangers being cruel and personal on the Internet.

I’m not having a go, I think everyone is just trying to help with your situation.

5 jacket potatoes is insane, even for a giant body builder though, I don’t know how you think that is normal! When cooking and buying food he should be limited to his recommended daily calories for his size- which don’t actually double because he’s larger. Fixing his portions would probably go a really long way in bringing the price down, right now you’re basically feeding two extra adults every meal.

You can do it. Set aside the formula and essential petrol money. Then go through your kitchen cupboards/freezer and see what you've got in. Not sure what your cooking skills are like.
If you don't have much in then this website do fantastic cheap meal plans if you sign up or follow the Facebook page.
https://fyf20quid.co.uk

Other ideas - does anyone local to you do Olio (app that you can get free food from)
Is there a community fridge locally?
Both of these are schemes to pass on excess food to stop it going to waste so are bit different to food banks and anyone can use them.

Breakfasts - porridge, pancakes, toast, cereal, dippy eggs
Lunches - soup, toasties, leftovers from dinner, omelette
Dinner - pasta, chili, spaghetti bol, cottage pie, stir fry, economy fishfinger, nuggets for little one
Treats - cheap biscuits, home baking - flapjacks, apple crumble, tray bakes, chocolate chip cookies etc

Swap to own brand, switch to Lidl or Aldi

Good luck you can do it. If this is a temporary blip then you will cope for one month. If you need to permanently reduce your expenditure on food then learning to meal plan and batch cook are the way to go.

You can do it. Set aside the formula and essential petrol money. Then go through your kitchen cupboards/freezer and see what you've got in. Not sure what your cooking skills are like.
If you don't have much in then this website do fantastic cheap meal plans if you sign up or follow the Facebook page.
https://fyf20quid.co.uk

Other ideas - does anyone local to you do Olio (app that you can get free food from)
Is there a community fridge locally?
Both of these are schemes to pass on excess food to stop it going to waste so are bit different to food banks and anyone can use them.

Breakfasts - porridge, pancakes, toast, cereal, dippy eggs
Lunches - soup, toasties, leftovers from dinner, omelette
Dinner - pasta, chili, spaghetti bol, cottage pie, stir fry, economy fishfinger, nuggets for little one
Treats - cheap biscuits, home baking - flapjacks, apple crumble, tray bakes, chocolate chip cookies etc

Swap to own brand, switch to Lidl or Aldi

Good luck you can do it. If this is a temporary blip then you will cope for one month. If you need to permanently reduce your expenditure on food then learning to meal plan and batch cook are the way to go.

Yes I was thinking the same. Five is pure greed

Calorie ingestion can be related to profession, heavy manual labour = higher calorie etc.

5 jacket potatoes!!? Whose stomach has room for 5 whole bloody potatoes and a whole tin of beans. Are you having a laugh or are you married to Hagrid😂 Christ alive

in which way is this giant husband of yours big? Are we talking tall or round or both? Because if he’s round I’m sure he’s got enough fat stores to skip a few meals

If you bank with Monzo (or open an account with them) you might be eligible for Monzo flex, which gives three months interest free on certain purchases with nothing upfront. I’m not normally a massive fan of credit (I learned the hard way!) but it’d be a good way to plug the gap until you’re back at work. I’m a student but don’t get my student loan over the summer, so I’ve used it for some essential car repairs this last month and I’ll pay it off before charges are made.

Because he doesn’t exist! This thread is insane - a man that can’t eat red sauce/tomatoes but eats baked beans and lasagna. Who can’t find shoes that fit and eats 5 baked potatoes whilst his family struggle for food. Makes me think the shoes are not the only thing that doesn’t fit. If he is real then he is letting his family go without so he can have excess.

I had this when I worked in a cafe. Somone was allergic to tomatoes but could have beans

Potatoes, cabbage, carrots, all cheap bulk up stuff with those. Potato curry, soups before dinner, lentils, chickpeas. Homemade cakes are cheap.

I really don’t want my comments to come across as unsupportive, I’ve just been in the exact same situation and want to help. Maybe you could have a word with him and google how many calories he should be eating for his BMI and then stick to it and see if it helps free up more money for the rest of you.

Are you buying well known brands only or do you buy some cheaper supermarket branded foods too ? It's definitely worth looking at swapping for cheaper even if it's only for a couple of weeks it will make a huge difference to you. Things like breakfast cereal in particular sliced bread etc can be half the price of top brands.
Just one example here but my DH used to insist on weetabix (£5.50 for 48) but I swapped them for wheat biscuits (£2.75 for 48) without telling him and he didn't notice for months! He likes them says he can't tell the difference & he is VERY fussy, little swaps like that have made a big difference & kept us going.

But baked beans are in a tomato sauce. You cannot be allergic and eat baked beans from a can.

Formula is a lot more expensive than a fiver!

Sorry to sound harsh but it might be time to rehouse the dog. They’re an expensive luxury and don’t deserve to live like this.

secondly, try and breastfeed/express. Formula is very expensive.

walk more and use the car less. Hopefully you have good raincoats and umbrellas so that you can walk more in all types of weather.

find local food banks so that you can save your money. Churches also tend to give away food essentials after services and some towns have food banks that don’t require proof you’re on benefits/low income.

don’t be ashamed to ask your network to help you. I’m sure you have loved ones that might be able to lend/give you some money to make things easier.

What are your meals like? Just eat more oats, brown rice, potatoes and beans. Those are cheaper. Select the cheaper fruits like bananas and apples or oranges (or whatever else is cheap). Same goes for veggies. Cabbage is cheap. Foods might not be the most exciting. But it’s completely possible

Full fat milk is also better value, so rich don’t need as much.
I only buy one spray cleaner for kitchen and bathroom. Washing up liquid, toilet cleaner and laundry powder and bar soap, shampoo. Worst case hot water and washing up liquid for all cleaning. Vinegar is so useful.
When I was little my DM use to buy trays of eggs and a 4stone bag of potatoes. Amazing what she made with them. My DF took jam and bread, no butter couldn’t afford it. For his lunch with hot tea.

Tbf my husband has size 14 feet, he’s 6’4, so it’s very rare that he finds a pair of shoes on the high street. He has to buy most of his shoes and clothes on line, as do our 2 adult sons who are tall with big feet. However, none of them eat 5 baked potatoes in one sitting and if we, or their families, were skint they’d be the first ones to offer to cut back on what they were eating.

Exactly. Not allergic obviously as would need to avoid tomatoes totally. My guess is the husband is very greedy and expects family to cut back and to allow him to continue to eat vast quantities. Very caveman style!

Also interested to know how he can eat lasagne.....