Eat for £12 a week?

black-saturn

OK, for the next week I'm going to write down everything we eat and then in a weeks time start a whole new thread called 'black-saturn's meal planner' or something like that. Maybe that will help.

black-saturn

hermit-crab wrote:

I have asked black saturn the same question in the past but she has always declined to answer.

Dont worry, your queries will be answered.

calleyw

ceegee wrote:

This thread has made me angry.....with myself!

Having read through it I realise that at £50 approx per week, my food/toiletry/cleaning spend is too much. Or when people say how much they spend, do they mean just food and not toiletries/cleaning stuff?

There is me and my 2 teenage daughters, no pets and we all have.....errr..... healthy appetites and an addiction to chocolate!

So, is it just food or is it everything that people are talking about when mentioning their budget?

I really, really have to get my spend down. I think I will set myself some sort of challenge.

Mine is just pure food. I allow another £10 a month for washing powder, toilet rolls, washing up liquid and bleach and sponges for washing up.

I never spend that amount as I tend to use my cleaning products very carefully as I hate using chemicals. Most stains can be cleaned with a small amount of product and a lot of elbow grease.

Yours

Calley

taplady

black-saturn wrote:

Dont worry, your queries will be answered.

Thanks black-saturn! I look forward to your new thread! I always admire how you manage on so little and hopefully you'll give us some new ideas and tips :j

DaisyNelson

black-saturn wrote:

OK, for the next week I'm going to write down everything we eat and then in a weeks time start a whole new thread called 'black-saturn's meal planner' or something like that. Maybe that will help.

Look forward to reading this. Any extra help appreciated.

SammyD_2

thriftlady wrote:

That is interesting reading Kat.I've read a few of these sort of things from US websites.Don't you have to take into account the fact that some foodstuffs are cheaper over there than here?From my reading of the Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn I get the impression that meat is much cheaper and dried milk considerably cheaper than fresh,whereas here dried milk is only a bit cheaper than fresh.I've never shopped for food in America so I don't really know,just a general impression from things I've read.

Before I found MSE I spent my time lurking on the American "frugal living" sites - there are definate differences in price over there as you say. But also attitude - one of my favourite sites (https://www.about.com) used to have whole pages devoted to really extreme tips such as using up the lint from your clothes dryer. Then it would give money saving tips such as "instead of buying banana baby food, you can buy a banana for your baby and mash it up". You don't say! After that little gem I gave up on the US sites and now stick on this side of the Atlantic.

But I am really curious to see what others buy who spend so little on food - we used to spend £350 a month (I know, shameful) but now we are down to about £200 a month including cleaning/washing powder etc. I could shave off another £5/week if I needed to. But beyond that I would get really stuck to cut costs. We are veggie (two adults, a 2 year old and a baby) and cook everything from scratch - but spend at least £18 a week on fresh fruit and vegetables. Usually I get these from Lidl (since reading the Lidl thread) as they are cheaper and much better than my local supermarket. I don't want to judge anyone's diet but I am just genuinely interested in whether I am comparing "like with like" when I look at the money others spend.

bobsa1

I've just started packing myself up when I go to work & now take cous cous salad etc. I used to spend £2 per day (I know this is stupid, but only had two lunches a week at work)

I now have worked out I spend approx 20p. So yes I would imagine one person could live well on £12.50.

Looking forward to Black saturns post

gentlepurr

ox liver n' onions, in thick gravy, with fresh mash and carrots, yummy, and £! for four people, how can you go wrong!

xx

rubytuesday

ceegee wrote:

This thread has made me angry.....with myself!

Having read through it I realise that at £50 approx per week, my food/toiletry/cleaning spend is too much. Or when people say how much they spend, do they mean just food and not toiletries/cleaning stuff?]

My spend now approx £35 per week, me, 20yr old and 13yr old is for food and cleaning products loo roll etc and cat food. Son is looking for flats.Don't know how I'll manage without his contribution although I'll save a fortune on the electricity bill!!!!

rchddap1

My spend does include toiletries etc.... I automatically put any shop food / grocery / cleaning / toiletry related onto my credit card, and can then do a quick tot up later to double check my figures.