Feed my family for around £30 a week- please help!

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So I’m not going to go on about how rubbish 2020 has been at any length, but without the obvious COVID-19 stuff I also was diagnosed with breast cancer. So an absolute shocker of a year.

End of January I go to half pay, I’m still in active treatment so not able to return to work yet. This means I’m down to c.£1k a month. So need to pay mortgage, bills and feed family: 2 dcs under 10 and 2 adults.

I’m really keen if anyone is able to share any tips on recipes or how to make healthy meals as cheaply as possible. I don’t eat meat but rest of family do, so recipes that are versatile would be fab. Thank you xxx

Hi @newpage. No advice on cooking unfortunately however I can advise about benefits. Once you are on half pay your SSP entitlement has ended and you can claim ESA (Employment Support Allowance) based on your NI conts. Also make a claim for PIP which is a non means tested disability benefit. Macmillan grants are also available although they depend on your income and savings

Please contact Macmillan or CAB or your local authority welfare rights dept for a full benefit check

Good luck

new in normal times it is tough. ATM even more so. Come over to the frugaleers chat thread - we have all been where you are, even if when you look now some have made it through and don't appear frugal. We all understand what it feels like to have a bare cupboard & will support you through this. They got me through 6 years of debt management.

So in answer to your question yes it is possible - not interesting in many cases but doable.

Jamie’s one cup pancakes; one cup each s/r flour, milk, 1 egg. Can add a mashed ripe banana/grated apple or pear etc and I whizz oats in a blender to make flour and use half of this with regular flour to make healthier/more filling for breakfast.

Nadia sawalha does a great pasta ‘sauce’ if you have time to look on YouTube for a better explanation. Essentially, oil+garlic+ Tom purée heated in pan, add a bit of pasta cooking water then add cooked pasta. It is a really delicious meal and v cheap

Google:
‘spicy root and lentil casserole’ (BBC)
‘White bean and chorizo stew’ (Donal Sheehan). I use chick peas usually as they’re cheaper/usually on offer; this is a one pot meal and relatively cheap as you only use a third of a chorizo ‘ring’

Please contact Macmillan you should be entitled to some benefits while you are not working they can help fill out the forms. Or sometimes your local councils will have a benefit maximisation team who can make sure you are getting everything you are entitled too

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone again, especially those who mentioned the ESA. After your comments I applied for it and received news that I have been awarded ESA.

Before I created this post I had no idea it existed. Receiving the ESA is going to make a huge difference and is a tremendous help. Thank you so very much xxxx

Glad you’ve got ESA sorted

Have you also checked entitled to as you may be eligible for a reduction in your council tax payments, this is again dependent on income and savings but may be helpful if you qualify. It’s different from single person occupancy or universal credit

You’ve nothing to lose by checking this out