Is £40 a week for a single person for food, too much?

[Virinreiber]

I started living alone as of December 2021, and have been on my own since, I wasn't taught much of anything about budgeting, but I always endeavoured to stay under £40 a week. I did previously do £20 a week but I found this to be limiting in terms of what I could manage to get given inflation at the moment, and I also gravitated towards takeout when I got hangry or rather depressed, which of course just ended up more expensive.

My orders vary, but what I tend to always buy is as follows:

Chicken/beef for curries and chilli stews in bulk, including the tomatoes/beans for those

Bread for sandwiches/toast

cheese

milk

oats, as and when I run out for breakfast

honey (see above)

spices as and when I need them

lentils (for soup or to make into daahl for curry)

rice for curry/chilli

carrots/potatoes

And then I'd probably say my biggest expense is sweets/snacks, spent about £11.10 on sweets because I have a terrible sweet tooth, and then a further £2 on scotch eggs as a small snack for lunches if I so want one or just feel like I can't cook etc.

I should probably explain, another reason why I like to get my order to £40 is I use ASDA (no car, so can't drive anywhere), is because any delivery under £40 adds £3 automatically, and I don't like wasting money needlessly.

Do I need a kick in the teeth, is this unreasonable? I'm relatively new to budgeting and kind of aloof, wasn't really taught well if at all growing up what to look for/how to plan meals ahead of time which I find very difficult.

Thanks for any advice all.

I send student dd £40 a qeek for food and a nicity.. also send her any free nero vouchers I get .. she can do her weekly shop on £30 but imo she also needs a bit of extra.

Bit of a curve ball here, not sure if it helps,

instead of a weekly shop could you manage one every ten days, buying slightly more keeps you over the minimum amount regarding the delivery but

deliveries every ten days is 36.5 deliveries a year
every week is 52 deliveries

I read it many moons ago on here, it was more to do with trying to save money, make sure you use up stuff etc etc. (im sure someone will come along and explain better, but I’ve done it a few times I’ve been a bit short of cash and it’s helped a lot).

Re: sweet snacks. May be it would be cheaper to make your own? Do some tray bakes or whatever.

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