What's a reasonable....

wildesavings · 2 August 2015 at 9:29PM

weekly spend on a family of 2 adults 3 children and one cat?

I went to Asda today rather than Sainsburys as money is really tight after my OH (the only wage earner) has been off sick for 4 months. Thankfully he's due to return soon but firstly it was going without luxuries, then cutting back and now its going without

.

I made a list, did a 4 day menu of healthy meals and was even clever about buying 1 ingredient and getting 2 meals from it etc etc and a four day shop still came to £67. To be fair there were some essential cleaning products and toiletries too but it wasn't the bargain shop I was hoping for.

We have £500 to last a month after bills and that includes fuel, food and fun. We have a cottage holiday booked and I was really hoping to achieve the next few weeks without any dip into the OD as my husband has been amazing and I would feel awful to add extra pressure on him to do overtime as soon as he returns to work.

What do you spend per week?

WelshKitty85 · 2 August 2015 at 10:33PM

Sorry to read about your husband. Hope he is back to full health soon.

I aim to spend £200 per month for 2 adults and 2 children including groceries, cleaning products, toiletries etc. I get most shopping from aldi and home bargains, and get all meat from a local butcher. I found a huge difference shifting from the main supermarkets to aldi.

What do you normally spend? It's difficult to suddenly drop your bill by a huge amount. Do you have anything lurking in your fridge/freezer/cupboards that you can use up to save on food bills?

wildesavings · 2 August 2015 at 10:42PM

Thank you for replying

The last few weeks saw us drain our freezer and cupboards as I squeaked our way to the end of the month. I feel ashamed to admit that our normal monthly after bills spend is usually £1000. Eating out, clothes, days out, house stuff included and from what I can see from bank statements £600 of that was spent in the super market but that would be some clothing too. Embarrassing really. Having had a good look around MSE site and picking up loads of tips. I'm very hot on making sure all our bills are on the best rates possible so no savings to be made there.

Hoping to learn some lessons from all this and once the money's coming in again put it to much better use. i.e. save, save, save and pay off Mortgage!!!

wildesavings · 2 August 2015 at 10:47PM

Should also add that 3 of us are coeliac and need a Gluten free diet which does complicate things. So far me and DD2 & 3 haven't eaten anything 'free from' for 3 weeks as they're soooooo expensive - I've made my own cakes etc but my 2 year old keeps asking for toast but at £3 for a tiny loaf .....

WelshKitty85 · 2 August 2015 at 10:59PM

So, of the £500 you have left how much needs to go on fuel? Are there any free activities going on near you so you don't need to spend much on 'fun'? Not sure how old you children are but mine love doing the summer reading challenge at our local library and I have just found loads of free activities going on for our break to South Wales next week, so we don't need to spend on admission fees etc.

wildesavings · 2 August 2015 at 11:08PM

Good ideas ! £80 fuel required, my girls range from teen to toddler so never easy to keep everyone happy but they love the outdoors so plenty of that going on

theoretica · 2 August 2015 at 11:39PM

If you have an official NHS diagnosis of coeliac can you get gluten free bread on prescription - at least for the kids who get free prescriptions?

chocolatepennyfarthing · 3 August 2015 at 7:49AM

It's a while since I worked at a surgery but definitely remember patients getting bread and rolls, cant remember if anything else was available. Do bear in mind to try and arrange to collect items up on pre arranged days, would get Chemists complaining that they order items in for patients who do then not collect as agreed and Chemist left with lots of mouldy bread.

whiteguineapig · 3 August 2015 at 8:18AM

i second aldi and home bargains, and have a list on the go in the kitchen at all times to write down what you run out of, it saves going for just a couple of things and buying more

mandragora_2 · 3 August 2015 at 8:51AM

https://www.coeliac.org.uk/gluten-free-diet-and-lifestyle/prescriptions/ Link to what's available for diagnosed coeliac patients - as others have said, would be free for those who get free prescriptions. In the box on the side of that page are two PDF files, one of which lists all the products which can be prescribed. Lots on there. Hope this helps, and good luck to you all,

Missyhenry · 3 August 2015 at 9:17AM

Does your cat eat cheap or expensive cat food?

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