single person food budget

want2bmortgage3 · 20 September 2008 at 3:22PM

just wondering what sort of figure sounds about right to start with for a food budget (including toiletries etc) basically all the stuff from the supermarket.

i dont know how much i spend right now as i havent been tracking it, so i need to start somewhere. i eat veggie althought wouldnt rule out tuna or fish fingers if i was starving.

i was thinking maybe 20 a week but i'd welcome your suggestions and ideas for cutting the shopping bill. for example a big bag of potatoes lasts me a week or so and doesnt cost a lot, whereas before i was buying a couple at a time, and once in co op, 2 baking ones cost about 40/50p each.

Farway · 20 September 2008 at 3:46PM

I have just checked my spend per week for 12 months to date, averages 30 per week on groceries, but this includes some booze and perhaps odds & sods that are not strictly groceries, like garden items

I do not use convenience foods like ready meals, just fresh or frozen, and also mostly veggie or free range / organic meat

I take advantage of offers suitable for freezing, like Lidl currently have some frozen items at £1, or when offers on fresh veg then I switch my meals to take advantage, so a few weeks ago it was ratatouille as Lidl had aubergines & corgettes on offer at 20p

Currently Asda have some veg on offer at 50p, including 4 baking spuds for 50p

I tend to grab non perishible offers as they come up, so a BOGOF on say detergent will go into store, as have my 4 packs of Branston baked beans for 99p from Morrisons this week. Luckily I have space & money to be able to do this

So my tip would be do not have a really fixed menu, to try and take advantage of offers you come across

PS I also make my own bread as needed

Bluebirdnick · 20 September 2008 at 3:58PM

I asked myself a similar question a few months ago.

I think you should look at it another way, by starting off with your monthly income. I take my net montly pay, and knock off my costs like rent and gas, and my the amount I transfer to savings each month. I then make a provision for holidays, clothes, car maintenance and council tax etc (I actually transfer this in to a separate account). That leaves me with my true disposable income. I set aside some of that to spend on meals with my girlfriend and nights out, and what I am left with I can spend on food. I found that I had far less to spend on food than I had been spending before, so it was worth doing!

Do you expect to pay for anything else out of the £20 as well as food (eg wine, household items)?

My tips on saving food are:

1. Grow your own herbs. They cost a fortune in the supermarkets, but a packet of seeds costs about £80p, they are easy to grow, they make food taste great and the kitchen smell good.

2. Buy meat when it is cheap, and freeze it. It's a bit of a false economy to go to the supermarket a few times a week if this means getting in the car, but if you walk past one anyway on the way home from work, then pop in when you can and see what's in one the "reduced items" shelves.

3. Beans are fantastic - they are cheap, filling, and healthy. A simple bean casserole costs pennies; you can do it in massive batches which will give you 5 or 6 meals (freeze them in meal-sized portions).

4. I second the bake-your-own-bread idea. If you ask nicely at the bakery in your local supermarket, they will give you fresh yeast, often for free; but sachet yeast is easier to use, and costs pennies. No need for a breadmaker either - a mixing bowl and a clean worksurface should suffice. Make sure you get proper strong bread flour though.

skintlass · 20 September 2008 at 4:12PM

The above sounds really good and I think I"m going to have a look at doing that in the new year (before then my plan is just to clear my overdraft).

Doom_and_Gloom · 20 September 2008 at 4:13PM

Last year I averaged just over £40 per month for food for myself and the 3 mice I had at the time :rotfl: . So I'd say I probably spent around £50 per month if including toiletries, shower stuff etc. Saying that I don't eat any meat or dairy (am vegan) so those expencive items aren't needed. I eat alot of fruit, veg, pulses and wholegrain.
I would say that £20 a week would be more than enough as that is about £86.66/month give or take a penny

.

Really you need to look at your wage and take out rent, bills etc to see what you are left with. I personally couldn't afford to spend more than I did last year anyway. You probably won't have that problem.

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single person food budget

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