£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

Not sure why this is such a problem??

Aldi do deals on certain veg and meat every week.

This is one thing Chat GPT is good at.

’
🛒 Grocery list & estimated total costs

1. Mamia formula tin – £6.99
2. Oats, bread, peanut butter, jam, rice – ~£10
3. Meat/fish (chicken thighs, mince, sausages, fish fingers) – ~£15
4. Vegetables & fruit (apples, bananas, carrots, onions, salad veg, mushrooms) – ~£10
5. Dairy (yogurt, eggs, cottage cheese, milk) – ~£8
6. Canned goods (tuna, beans, tomatoes, stock) – ~£7
7. Pasta, potatoes – ~£5
8. Pantry extras (seasoning, oil, flour) – ~£3

Estimated total (including formula): ~£65–70, leaving wiggle room up to £100 for price variation, extra toiletries, nappies, or impulse buys—still under budget.’

Meals are stuff like sausage traybake, chicken stir fry, tuna pasta bake, fish and peas and mash, chilli, with breakfasts of toast/porridge and lunches of soup/sandwiches. Worth using just to get a base.

Something is going very wrong if you’re spending £200 a week on food. We have 2 adults and 2 kids (2 and 4 with big appetites) and we spend no where near this. Probably about £120 and that’s without really trying and meal planning: lots of fresh fruit and veg in there and lots of meat.

Do you have a Tesco club card ? Their vouchers normally get issued in August.

I am not fixating but its easy to say get bulk and few people suggested to buy formula in bulk but its just not available cheaper unless i am not capable of finding it so please anyone, enlighten me.

and no he doesn’t eat £100 by himself. £200 on household and groceries and a baby..even if you say 3 adults bc of his eating then its still not £100

Also look at local butchers , we get a box that lasts a month for £40 . And uber eats does 50% fresh produce from the supermarkets on a Monday . I think just eat does the same on a Wednesday . Google if there’s and baby banks near you , they may be able to help with milk , or your HV can advise xx

OP are you on Olio, the food-sharing app, if it is available in your area?

Where I live (London) there is plenty of bread etc which your DH can fill up on and lots of veg too. They also have discounted fresh food at Iceland. You have to be ready to go out in the late evening to collect local to you but you are on mat leave so hopefully this is possible. If you live in the middle of nowhere it probably won't work for you, but if you live in an urban area it could really help.

Blimey. I spend about half of that on a week's shopping for a family of four + two dogs, and I shop at Waitrose.

Can you share what you would typically eat in a week as a family? Then we can try to make it cheaper for you?

So you’re saying that between the three of you (discounting the baby because it’s ~£28 per week), and maybe £30 for household items, you’re eating £140 per week?!

Buy big things of pasta. Cheap sausages, cheap frozen meat, frozen veg, tinned things. If he doesn’t like it, that’s on him

Formula is SO expensive!!

Ok:

Meal ideas that my 5 year old likes and fairly cheap. You can make enough for everyone.

• black bean and cheese quesadillas. I add finely chopped onion and peppers also. You can add whatever veg you like or have already. With salad on side
• egg fried rice. Add lots of veg first and more eggs if hungry.
• Red pesto pasta

And I agree your food spending is really high. I have a 6ft 4 husband, two kids 6 and 3, and we spend £150-170 a week and that includes mainly organic meat and a lot of branded stuff and expensive non-UPF alternatives. We are not careful with our groceries spending at all.

When I tried Aldi as an experiment and downgraded to their own brand stuff and deals, I could do it for £90 a week. You’re in the Aldi budget category currently so you need to downgrade: brands, amount/type of meat, convenience.

“Budget meal plan for 2 adults and one child - for 3 weeks,3meaks a day total budget £200”

I just typed this into ChatGPT and got a fully costed meal plan with stopping list and prices. Had a healthy buffer for extras included to account for snacks/big eaters etc

How much are you paying for formula? I found 24 cow and gate comfort luqhid sachets for £17 on amazon, free delivery with prime. Does it have to be that brand?

Ok so you need to eat like this for every meal. Make a list of cheap meals, so pasta bake, tomato pasta, macaroni cheese, jackets beans and cheese, basic spag bol bulked out with cheap veggies and lentils, fried rice, sausage and mash. Everything made from scratch no bought sauces or ready meals. Basic supermarket brands rather than Heinz. Buy fillers to go with each meal, cucumber sticks, cheap garlic bread, stuffing, rolls, frozen peas, carrots. All very cheap and serve one with every meal as a side. Portion food, no seconds and keep leftovers for lunches. Cheap yoghurts or tinned fruit for desserts. You don’t need snacks.

How on earth is your grocery shopping £200 a week?

How well stocked is your freezer (and cupboards)? Eating them down can save you a huge amount of money - we have a habit of filling them up and then eating them down again when we’re more skint!

If you download the zoo plus app and use code APP-NEW you get £5 off your first order (if you need dog food and their prices are comparable)

Sell the dog.

MN absolutely pastes anyone who suggested it, but if you have time, start making basic bread dough. One bag of flour will produce a couple of loaves, a few flatbreads and a pair of pizzas, possibly more.

It doesn't have to be complicated - flour, water, yeast, salt. Mix it, leave it, knead it, bake it. It's a fun job for a nearly-five year old as well.

Such a good idea.

I think OP isn’t interested though. Every single suggestion, they say no.

What age is the baby? Can you switch from cow and gate to a generic supermarket brand? There really is no nutritional benefit, formula is so highly regulated that they are pretty much the same. And I’m not sure about the myth that switching formulas gives them upset tummies and tbh even if it does, a few days of the runs is preferable to going hungry, watering down feeds or stretching out feeds.

Tell us exactly what you have in your cupboards and freezer. That way we can see what we are workimg with foodwise

Can you use a food pantry/food bank? If you cannot afford food they can help. I work with a lot of charities, a big number of churches do pantries where you pay a small fee but get quite a bit of food in return, a lot of people that even a few years ago would never have used them are now because of the cost of living. Baby banks should be able to help with formula too https://littlevillagehq.org/uk-baby-banks/

https://www.feeduk.org/find-a-food-or-baby-bank

There are food waste apps like too good to go, you might need to research the best ones, I remember on olio all they had were bananas, but that was a while ago, but might save on fruit costs for the kids