How much do you live on each week ?

[username0202]

I wonder how much you are left with each week and if mine seems normal. I work part time, and I receive UC. I get absolutely nothing from my useless ex for my child. I have one child and after all bills rent debt repayments child activities etc have been paid. I'm with £120 for weekly shop, petrol and any other things we do etc. but I feel 120 just goes like that in the current climate & sometimes I borrow money if I need too & I'm
Looking at ways to save money etc
I've got a small freezer and I don't batch cook but I'm thinking of
Doing that to help cut costs. As i have zero savings & I want to
Ideally save for unexpected expenses.
Xx

My weekly amount is similar. I found that shopping daily has been a good way to cut down as I rarely buy anything I don't need now and nothing gets wasted. I budget £13 a day for that (me, ds & cats) and it works well. When I operated on weekly amounts I spent far more.

For savings I take that £13 p/day off the total left for the month after bills etc. Then put £50 into a Christmas/birthdays savings account, £30 into an emergency fund (which I sometimes do go into at the end of the month)

I keep a running list of non urgent things we need so with anything leftover I can buy things from the list.

I went through every single bill last year and cut them down as much as I could, the only one I couldn't is a phone contract I'm still locked into. Also sold my car so that's an expense I no longer have.

Tried batch cooking but almost impossible to find time for it with a toddler under my feet atm.

It's just what works for me after trial and error.

Also I do things like buy a lot of own brand stuff and never pay for delivery for anything. Shop around for things and make sure it's not cheaper elsewhere, that sort of thing.