Ex Husband says I should be able to manage on £50 per week for groceries with five dc

[betsybunnkin]

My Ex Husband says I should be able to manage on £50 per week for groceries with five dc.
Granted I am still b/f our baby who is not yet weaned and I use cloth nappies for all three youngest.
I still think £50.00 for an adult and five children for groceries (inc washing powder, cleaning products etc) is not manageable.

AIBU? Or can it be done?

I couldn't do eat and eat healthily.

YANBU

yanbu

and if he's your ex he can't dictate - don't get into dialogue with him about any of this shit as it's not about this issue it's about 'control' and him having influence over you.

Ignore, make sure you're claiming all the help you need and enjoy choosing how you manage your budget.

The good news is you're not married to this fucker any more

YANBU that is ridiculous. Even on twice that amount you'd have to shop and plan carefully.

yanbu
ive cut back the last few weeks, and still am spending the guts of 90 quid for me and 4 kids

YANBU
I certainly couldn't live on that and there are four of us.
I an very pleased with myself if I manage to spend seventy pounds a week

YANBU.
Ask him if he feeds himself on £10 a week.

why are you discussin git with him? Unless he's offering to do the shopping in which case I'd wish him luck and pack him off to Tesco...

You might have been able to manage with this several years ago (I remember being a student and putting in £5 a week each and then doing shopping for all 5 of us inc. all meals - not easy but possible but then this iwas 10 years ago), however the price of food has rocketed recently and you would be hard pushed to manage with 5.
YANBU
he is being totally unreasonable. I wouldnt even discuss it with him. Take it to a solicitor and get it in black and white as to what he legally owes you for looking after HIS children

Do you have any other sources of income? Could you go to the cab and see what benefits you could get?

I can't do it for 2 adults and 2 growing boys. No matter how much I cut back tis always around 100. If I spend less one week, say 80, the next week it will be 110...as i will have run out of stuff
That is including packed lunches x 4 each day.
Presumably this is about maintenance? I'm sure he can cook for one on 50 a week, admirably - but 5 of you?
And bf means you have to eat well.

£50 per week would cover food as long as your DCs never had desert again in their life and never had a branded anything ever again and you ate value meat or went veggie...however with washing powder and cleaning products you'd never do it. I use washables too but still have to buy disposables for night time use as my youngest wakes every 2 hours otherwise....

YANBU - he is being a tight bar steward

Has he been in a supermarket lately?
Since being made redundant 7 months ago I have resorted to Asda, Iceland and Lidl for my food shopping and I can't feed 3 of us and get household supplies for £50 a week.

YANBU - It surely can't be possible.

£50 a week is very very tight, in every sense of the word.

has he shopped recently? 18 months ago i'd say it was well feasible, now it would be very difficult as bread and milk and so many basics are 50% more.

it is possible if you live on gruel and yellow split pea soup
£ 70 - 80 would be more realistic, still frugal but more realistic

went ds2 was first born i got a bar job to help bump up the £30 tax creidts we got for shopping but when i told them i was working they stopped the £30. dh got £100 per wk which covered bills etc and i got £24 per wk which was for food, ds1 was 14mths old and ds2 was 3wks old, i kept their child benifit aside for nappies and milk but it was very hard we did this for 15mths.
we are now both in very well paid jobs and the boys are 11 and 12 and we spend bout £120 per week, i feel really guilty but i do look after and feed 13 extra children per week so not too bad

feel for you with 5 children x

Ignore the silly man. He probably pulled the figure out of his a**e without a thought.

£50 is a push - but I think it can be done without sacrificing decent healthy meals.

I have £60 a week for 6 of us (2 adults, 3 children, 1 weaned baby) and baby still in nappies.

I buy meat in bulk from the butchers for the mth (£40 out of one weeks £60). The buther usually goves me areebie as well so thats another meal.

I go to the market for fruit and veg and barter. Everything else is from Aldi/ Lidl. Every fortnight I spend about a fiver on fish from the fishmonger and that makes 2 meals. I use ecoballs to wash with mainly so very rarely use any powder.....I have a huge box that was 7.99 from aldi that has lasted me for as long as I can remember.

I only buy 1 box of cereal a week for the kids and the rest of the time they have porridge. I have one multi purpoise cleaing product and make the rest myself.

I dont buy juice,kichen roll, biscuits, cakes, quiches, ready made pizza, sauces, etc

I cook at least 2 non meat/ fish dishes a week and use lots of lentils, beans, chick peas etc.

in fact if i tried to do it on oven chips and turkey twizzlers it would cost a good deal more

But surely that £70 a week isn't the only income you have? Are you receiving tax credits/other benefits/ a wage from employment?

Is that £70 a week the csa level for maintenence? What's his financial situation? ie does he have adequate accomodation, a job etc?

Agree with connie by the way, i spend £180 per month for four plus a cat.

We are on a massive budgetting scheme as i will probably be made redundant this year.

ask your ex to order you a weeks shopping including cleaning materials with food he considers suitable for his kids to eat and toiletries etc for £50, i'm sure he would be unable to.

But surely you should also be responsible for providing for yourself and children, so if he gives £50 a week then should you not also pay £50 toward it?? Equally like??