Food shopping budget

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Does anyone else healthily feed a family of 4 (2 adults, a nearly adult and 1 child) for £250 a month? We currently spend about £350 and due to a change in circumstances we need to cut back on our bills.

I do feel we make the food stretch already, e.g. a whole chicken for 2 days of dinners, pack out mince etc.

I'm thinking maybe a couple of easier evenings such as soup night or jacket potatoes rather than a full blown meal each night.

Any help or advice would be really appreciated.

We are a family of 3 adults and a child I probably spend about £90 every 10 days. I shop in Aldi and meal plan. My fave meal this week was egg fried rice and noodles with prawns in , it cost about £4, egg fried rice is so cheap to make.

I have a particular formula
If you want to reduce your spending to £250 then put that money aside in another account

Aim to spend £200 divided into 4 and keep the £50 for top ups during the month

Aim to have 2/3 store cupboard meals, this should mean you can purchase 8-12 store cupboard meals in the first week

Have 1/2 freezer meals for example, fish & chips And again purchase 4-8 in the first week

So now you have 4 meals at least for each week and ultimately only need now to buy 3 supper meals each week

Milk, bread freeze, top up and stop top up shops

Now you need to concentrate in suitable breakfast and lunch

Again use store cupboard foods for some of these meals, freezer food for some - either make or buy soup, bread scrambled eggs, tinned fish and breads

Savers etc is far cheaper for cleaning products and loo roll

Iceland is great for frozen fish, fruit for topping porridge and fresh fruit

We are a family of 5 - 2 adults, 3 DSes ages 11, 9 & 7. We spend less than that. I spend roughly £35 per week at Aldi, then £15-20 at Tesco twice a month or so. So £160-180 per month.

When I go to Tesco, I go at 7pm & get reduced fresh items - meat, fish, fruit, veg, bakery items etc. I went last night & got enough meat etc, potatoes & veg for 2 weeks & bread for the week.

Then I get everything else at Aldi, often buying value brands but not always.

I know some may say that this level of buying reduced food is not sustainable, but I've been doing it for the last 11+ years at least. It's rare that I pay full price at least for meat

How many meals per day is that for? Is that all 3 meals per day for each person plus snacks?

Makes a huge difference if kids are also having school dinners on top of that and/or you/DH are buying lunches at work etc that aren’t covered by the budget.

We are currently 2 adult and a 7 year old and we do about £80-£100 per week and that’s all 3 meals for all of us as DH and I are home working and DS takes a packed lunch to school. I could probably get it a bit lower if I could be arsed but I’m shopping at Tesco online once a week for convenience So know I’m paying over the odds for bits I’d get in local shops or from Lidl/Aldi in more normal times.

What I meant to add there was that £250 a month for all meals, for all 4 of you (plus other household goods) would be a stretch and probably a bit miserable but needs must and all that. You’d have to get creative.

I have so save on my food a bit and also like to eat healthy. For breakfast it's whomeal toast or cereal like wheetabix or porridge.lunch sandwiches, fruit, egg on toast, cheese on toast.
Dinners are chicken wraps, curry, pastas, jacket potatoes. For curries try chick peas or lentals or just veg curry perhaps. Make enough for 2 meals. Buy big bags of rice not microwave pouches etc. Be as on toast is a good cheap meal once a week and my kids love this. Home made pizzas. Roast on a Sunday and use frozen veg.

Family of 5 4 children 2 adults
Including nappies food Is £100 pw
Breakfast is usually weetabix or toast

Sounds about right for us. Building up a selection of cheap meals that you enjoy and having a selection of herbs and spices both help. Our current favourite is Potato & Cauliflower curry.