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Original poster

How much do you spend on food per month?

108 replies

lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:05

Morning everyone.

I have recently split from my child's father and I'm sorting out my budgets etc...I was thinking £300 a month for food including baby milk. Is this reasonable? Is it too much? How much do you spend on food a month?

Thanks

OP posts:
Knownbyanothername · 31/10/2021 07:07

We spend that on a family of 3 adults currently, but we shop in Aldi so it keeps the price down.

TrickOrTreat21x · 31/10/2021 07:09

Around £600 for a family of four. I think £300 is pushing it espically with the price increases of food lately.

daytripper28 · 31/10/2021 07:09

family of 5 here - probably around £400 a month - including wine and cleaning products etc

Is £300 for just you and a baby? I would have thought that was more than enough

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 31/10/2021 07:11

Put what you expect to be a typical week into an online shopping basket and see how much you spend. If you like steak, salmon and pre cut veg it will be more expensive than if you are a mice, fish finger and carrots sort of shopper.

Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:11

Me baby and dog...as a family of 4 we used to spend over £600 a month so it's going to be a real struggle, but does anyone have any suggestions?

OP posts:
Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:12

@lollypop29

Me baby and dog...as a family of 4 we used to spend over £600 a month so it's going to be a real struggle, but does anyone have any suggestions?
Suggestions as in tips to keep the food bill down, good food budget accounts to follow etc
OP posts:
Ilikewinter · 31/10/2021 07:15

2 adults and a dog, we're spending btwn £60-£70 a week now, ive really noticed a jump in food costs recently.

Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:17

@Ilikewinter

2 adults and a dog, we're spending btwn £60-£70 a week now, ive really noticed a jump in food costs recently.
I have too actually. Everything is becoming increasingly more expensive 😓 I'm looking at budget friendly meals etc. we used to shop on ocado but does anyone know which online supermarket is best? We don't have a car which is why I online shop
OP posts:
SpeckledyHen · 31/10/2021 07:18

Do you mean just food , or the total grocery bill ? Cleaning stuff, loo roll, toothpaste etc etc

Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:20

@SpeckledyHen

Do you mean just food , or the total grocery bill ? Cleaning stuff, loo roll, toothpaste etc etc
The total bill. God I hadn't even thought about all the rest 😫
OP posts:
userxx · 31/10/2021 07:22

Where do you shop ?

JumpLeadsForTwo · 31/10/2021 07:24

Do you have a local market? Or bus to an Aldi or Lidl. Ocado is fairly expensive so you can certainly make cuts, but depends on accessibility. Tesco's or Morrison's would be cheaper deliveries

Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:27

I've just seen Asda is the cheapest UK supermarket so I think I might try here

OP posts:
ssd · 31/10/2021 07:27

Iceland deliver

Moonshine11 · 31/10/2021 07:27

Spend the £80 child benefit you get on stocking up for baby, milk, nappies, wipes, toiletries.
This is what I done and it saved us getting it
out of our main food money.
If your shopping online you won't be tempted to a lot that's on offer and won't need.
Meal planning is key to keeps costs down.

Citygirl2019 · 31/10/2021 07:28

Tesco do an Aldi price March in a number of their products. You will need to sign for a club card to get the best deals.

Hobbitch · 31/10/2021 07:28

We're a family of 4 and spent around £100 a week online shopping with Sainsburys. We spend another £100 a month on a fruit and veg box.

You can estimate a budget now but you'll only be able to assess the cost accurately over time and with practice. I don't know which supermarket is best to shop with but I have a feeling Ocado is at the high end cost-wise. You could do a comparison with Tesco or Asda?

Do you cook or do you rely on ready meals and convenience foods? If the latter, trying to cook more from scratch is a good way to keep costs down. Do you know Jack Monroe's recipes? They are easy, cheap and designed to cost pennies. And they taste good!

Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:29

@Moonshine11

Spend the £80 child benefit you get on stocking up for baby, milk, nappies, wipes, toiletries. This is what I done and it saved us getting it out of our main food money. If your shopping online you won't be tempted to a lot that's on offer and won't need. Meal planning is key to keeps costs down.
Ah that's a good idea Thankyou! Yes that's why I prefer to shop online so I can just buy what I need
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northerngirl142947 · 31/10/2021 07:29

I have a daughter and I cat and i spend about £150 once a month then around £50 a week and we eat well. That includes wine too.
I would say Asda is the most reasonable online

whosaidtha · 31/10/2021 07:30

We spend approx £60 a week family of 4. Maybe £300 a month if you include the occasional takeaway. I don't find this restrictive. We shop at Sainsbury's. And meal prep cheap meals. We don't drink though so that might save us quite a bit.

idontlikealdi · 31/10/2021 07:30

Family of four £120 a week at Sainsbury's and I'm not particularly watching the budget. Kids have school lunch so that's not included and I buy wine separately.

Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:30

@Hobbitch

We're a family of 4 and spent around £100 a week online shopping with Sainsburys. We spend another £100 a month on a fruit and veg box.

You can estimate a budget now but you'll only be able to assess the cost accurately over time and with practice. I don't know which supermarket is best to shop with but I have a feeling Ocado is at the high end cost-wise. You could do a comparison with Tesco or Asda?

Do you cook or do you rely on ready meals and convenience foods? If the latter, trying to cook more from scratch is a good way to keep costs down. Do you know Jack Monroe's recipes? They are easy, cheap and designed to cost pennies. And they taste good!

I've been using a lot of convenient foods recently but I'm actually quite good at cooking (and it's also far more nutritious) so I'll have a look at jacks recipes and get back to cooking properly! ☺️
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Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:31

@whosaidtha

We spend approx £60 a week family of 4. Maybe £300 a month if you include the occasional takeaway. I don't find this restrictive. We shop at Sainsbury's. And meal prep cheap meals. We don't drink though so that might save us quite a bit.
What kind of meals do you prep? I don't drink either
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Noeuf · 31/10/2021 07:32

600 a month for six of us although dh buys his own meat so no idea on costs fir that ( we are vegan/veggie). That includes shampoo/cleaning stuff.

Original poster
lollypop29 · 31/10/2021 07:33

@Noeuf

600 a month for six of us although dh buys his own meat so no idea on costs fir that ( we are vegan/veggie). That includes shampoo/cleaning stuff.
Well...safe to say I hadn't even thought about shampoo/conditioner etc either! 🙉🥴 I'll get back to the drawing board I think.
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