£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

I’m really enjoying the tips and recipes people are kindly posting but frankly we aren’t going to make an impact here when the husband is eating 5 portions of dinner each night and the OP just excuses that and feels the solution is to cut her maternity leave to pay for this crazy greed- I think sadly people are wasting their time - if indeed it’s true

But in the one and only example we have the husband didn’t eat double her portion- he ate five times as much!

I’ve done a little sample meal schedule with costed shopping list for you also, may or may not be useful in terms of meal ideas but entertained me for a bit at least!

Porridge (made with water, splash milk on top)
Boiled egg or bacon & toast
Orange juice
Milk or coffee (child/adult)

Sandwich or vegetable soup with bread
Piece of fruit or cole slaw
Biscuit or piece of cake
Glass of milk or a coffee

Meat, or fish cake, or scrambled/fried egg if not had at breakfast
Baked or boiled or mashed potatoes
Two portions of vegetables (you can serve the onions as a veg too, roasted or in a white sauce as creamed onions)
Piece of cake or biscuit or fruit if not had at lunch

4 X Medium white loaf 55p (£2.20)
1kg rolled oats 85p
2 x 15 pack eggs £2.69 (£5.98)
500g margarine £1.49
3 x 1L orange juice 89p (£2.67)
4 x 3.4L milk £2.40 (£9.60)
2 x pack rich tea biscuits 49p (98p)
1.5kg wonky carrots 79p
Savoy cabbage 75p
1kg brown onions 99p
Frozen peas 900g £1.15
2 x 2.5kg wonky potatoes £1.49 (£2.98)
1kg granulated sugar £1.09
1.5kg flour 70p
Instant coffee £1.19
Pack 6 apples £1.59
Pack 6 kiwis £1.19
3 x tin of peaches 39p (£1.17)
1 pineapple 98p
2kg chicken drumsticks £3.79
1kg bacon rashers £4.49
6 x tins tuna 55p (£3.30)
Squeezey mayonnaise 95p
Strawberry jam 45p
Dried parsley 65p
Table salt 750g 65p
Jumbo pack (78) size 4 nappies £4.99

That should do for a week and comes to a total of £57.61.

Haven’t included dog food as no idea how big your dog is but it’s £2.85 for 3kg from Aldi. I’ve accounted for larger but not ridiculous quantities of carbs for your DH e.g. he gets 3 pieces of bread at lunch, you get 2, child 1 or 2. I’m also assuming you can make your own cake and soup!

The above is from Aldi, but I would go elsewhere to buy toilet paper, you can get a 32 pack Nicky brand from Iceland or B&Q for £10 and bar soap is better priced than liquid for body & hand washing but not sure if Aldi does it.

Why did you decide to have another baby that you can ill afford? I read posts like this with my head in my hands. This country is literally on its knees because people cannot afford their own lifestyles. Maybe have the dog adopted by someone who can afford to keep it.

Doesn’t lasagna have tomatoes in it? You haven’t said why he cannot eat red food? You could take on some evening carer work when he gets home. Even 3 shifts a week he can put the children to bed.

Oof this shopping list is making me want cabbage and bacon, not had that in years!

Hello everyone

We've had a number of reports from people concerned about this thread so, as we usually do in these circs, we're putting our heads round the door with some important reminders.

Right now we can't see any evidence to indicate that the OP isn't above board – if we did, we'd remove the thread straight away. But the truth is that, sadly, we at MNHQ can't know with 100% certainty that any poster is genuine, no matter who they are or how long they have been here. As frustrating as it is, we're not able to vouch for anyone here.

So we always ask users to remember that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are – and remind folk not to give more to another poster, either financially (in cash or gifts) or emotionally (in time or care and support) than they'd be prepared to lose if things went wrong. We strongly advise against parting with any cash or giving away your personal details, and if you receive a PM which makes you uneasy - report it to us and we’ll take a look.

Sorry to hijack your thread briefly there, OP – we really hope you get it all sorted soon.

Clearly no one needs 5 baked potatoes. He must be fat. He is literally eating you out of house and home. Why is he so greedy?

Op I’m sorry but I’m just not buying that your DH needs 10,000+ calories per day jyst to maintain weight.

www.toogoodtogo.com/

Plus cereal and milk! Man is literally Mr Greedy incarnate

“5 baked potatoes, Jeremy? That’s insane!”

Yeah, no amount of meal planning is going to help you if your DH carries on eating for 5 men. Is he also the protein obsessed type? I’d be having words to say that’s a luxury you can’t afford to provide at the moment. Priority is to get everyone fed, not just him and his (questionable) need for a ridiculous amount of food.

Echoing the other posters that have tall men in the family. All eat normal meals and maybe only slightly bigger portions. Worth also mentioning that beans and lasagne are both tomato based red sauces …

Because that's what her baby needs?

I'd say baby needs that much formula more than her DH needs 5 jacket potatoes in one sitting.

Joining the "huge DHs don't need five times your food" club here.

I am 5'2 and can actually out-eat my 6'7" DH at times. Inadvisable but true.

and on the occasion the Op's husband does not get given 5 jacket potatoes and a tin of beans, he gets what was it 3 jacket potatoes - he then fills himself up on milk and cereal
clearly milk and cereal are free...

how is he able to eat beans - are they baked beans ? when he can't eat tomatoes or red sauce...

Seems a.n awful lot that's all. I know a 6 month baby weighing 22lbs and she goes through a tub in about 12 days.

Well, babies are all different aren't they? Some will need more than others.

Have you tried to 'Too Good To Go' app? If you're prepared to keep you're eye on it and go out at closing time to the shop you can get bags of food for next to nothing. Have a look at it. Its a bit addictive!

Please see the following link for a list of baby banks in the UK. If there is a baby bank near you they might be able to help with nappies and formula
babybankalliance.org/baby-bank-map/

Just what I was about to say!

That was so nice of you to take the time to list all those options. I hope OP and others benefit from it

I’m old enough to remember Brian Harvey running himself over in his own car all from eating too many baked potatoes.

Although I haven’t done it myself there’s a £50 signup few to create a business account with monzo. You can think make that again if you send code to partner, family etc. I can send you details if you’d like

you don’t have to actually have a business. Just make up an name

And I think he only had 3