Is £600-£700 per month doable?

[Lagoonablue]

Due to a change in circumstances our joint income is changing. My sums tell me that after all bills which I pay monthly come out, petrol is accounted for and £100 per month put away for contingencies, we will have £6-700 for food, clothes and entertainment.

We are a family of 4. We waste alot of food so don't know what the average spend is and what is comfortably do able.

Obs holidays etc will be curtailed for a while but it is the day to day stuff am concerned about. Does it seem a decent amount to live off? Albeit frugally?

It's a decent amount to live not frugally! £700 for nothing but food, clothes and entertainment? Not even petrol? It's loads of money, honestly.

Even spending a generous £400 a month on food, you still have £200-£300 for clothes and entertainment. How much do you usually spend?

Erm.....I think you'll survive!

I don't know how much we spend. I know that is terrible isn't it? I am very free and easy with food shopping, topping up the weekly amount, buying Takeaways etc.

I could cut back to a smaller food shop . Meal plan, make packed lunches....

How much is the average food shop? That is where my money goes so need to cut back.

Hard to say without your figures, we manage on much less than that. Are you putting money aside for birthdays, Christmas, holidays, annual costs such as car tax?

Very manageable!

Yes good idea about saving more. Forgot to factor in car tax too. Thanks.

That's loads!

very manageable!!! we have £400 a month for food, clothes and entertainment. We have to plan carefully but still manage two (uk) holidays a year, to eat well and not dress like scruffs. There's three of us though.
Ds gets swimming lessons out of that too.

Thanks for giving me a sense of perspective. I don't want to be entitled.....just we work hard and want to be able to enjoy life a bit. I know we need to cut back and budget properly but want to be able to buy myself a posh coffee now and again?!

I treat myself to coffee/lunch out about once a week.

Budget properly and you will be fine. Make sure dh understands and buys into the budget too ( do it together ) then you both know what's reasonable to spend.

Make sure you know when extra costs might crop up - birthdays, haircuts, new shoes, school trips etc - so you're not left short with an unexpected cost.

You have contingency savings to for emergencies too...

£600 - £700 is definitely do-able! I have been much more careful about doing shopping lists and doing meal plans since we have also had to make some cut backs. Our total food bill for a family of four, including packed lunches for two of us, is now between £60 - £70 pw, instead of an average of £115 - £120 before this frugal period. You will be fine.

I posted a very similar question recently as we need to tighten our belts as a family, and I estimated that we would need £2000 per month after standing orders, although this did include saving £300 for holidays.

So I am really pleased to see that we should be ok on a lot less than that!

Great thanks. Was getting a bit wobbly but nice to see others doing it. And I know people do get by on alot less.

You should be just fine - all that wasted food can stop for a start, eh?

This might be quite good for you in fact. Once you start being even reasonably careful with money, you'll find it becomes a habit and your savings will likely start to build up.

Best of luck.

that is a luxury lifestyle.

you might want to stop wasting food as that is really not a good thing to do.

Getting better at not wasting food now to be fair ever since we were given food recycling caddys from Council.. Brings it home how much you consign to the bin. I freeze more now too.

After all bills, food etc. We're left with about £50! I'm sure you'll cope.

My DH has been in the Armed Forces for 5 years and this is what it pays.... great bux!

You're fortunate!

Best way to not waste food IME is to draw up a weekly meal plan and shop for it accordingly. Doesn't mean you can't throw your hands in the air and spontaneously say "screw it lets have a takeaway!" but it does mean you know what to freeze when you have a takeaway meal instead.

We write up the week's menu on a drywipe board in the kitchen. Everyone knows what's for dinner, everyone's involved in choosing before the big shop too!

We have saved a small fortune by bulk buying and then portioning into sensible sized portions then freezing our meat to defrost when we need. We have a Costco for that. It does involve a large investment (usually £200 odd) but it lasts a very long time.

I have just done a monthly breakdown, as I am having to give up work (my choice) and we have £600PM after bills - elec/gas/CTax etc.
No mortgage or car.
When I looked at what we used to spend, my salary went on frivolities, really. Magazines/books/takeaways/clothes etc
All bought to cheer me up cos I was so miserable at work, basically.
It is doable, certainly, but the savings are a definate must to keep up to.
I am in a credit union, and Its surprising how £10 a month adds up.I have put in a bit more when I have had some spare cash.
I use that money for Christmas.
Wasting food is largely due to making too much for meals.
I make very average portions (or make more and freeze) and serve up meals with bread and butter to fill up. My DM did that and it works !
Yorkshire puddings are served before the main meal - again, to fill up.
The biggest waste is pet food (fussy cats).