Help £65 a week for a family of 5

Pooky

Why not cut your weekly amount into sections, work out exactly what you need to spend for the pets and look around to buy in bulk for discounts etc.

If you work out your average spend per week on cleaning/toiletries etc too then you can take advantage of bogofs and special offers.

That will then leave you with an actual amount you can spend on food/drinks etc and you can meal plan from there.

ubamother

with pet food - food that is classed as for working dogs is not VATable - if you live around some farming country you can get feed stores that sell it. If not, maybe online? Bulk buying for dried dog food is usually good value.

Butterfly_Brain

Meal planning is the first step, then try downsizing to basic lines. Try shopping in Aldi and Lidl if you have one near you ,Aldi always have some sort of fruit or veg on offer, this week it is Grapes 49p, New potatoes 49p, Tomatoes 49p Bananas 49p Kg 3 Peppers 49p and Nectarines 49p.
Don't laugh I shop at Sainsbury because their value lines are extensive and most of them are very good. Shop around and you will find some really good deals.
See if you have a trade discounter near to you I have a very good freezer one and get all my meat from ther and it averages at £50 a month (12.50 a week)
Try growing your own veg and get the kids involved it keeps them fit and it is fun.
Don't panic if you can't get the budget right every week and remember the friendly bunch on here have all been through trying to live on a tight budget x

Trinny

weewillywinkie wrote: »

Hi all,

I am new here but have been reading your threads with interest and would like some help with my weekly shopping budget.

I would ideally like to reduce this from £130 a week to £65.00 a week but really dont know where to start, we are a family of 5, 2 adults 3 children aged 18mths, 4 and 12 with 2 cats and a very large dog.

I would be really grateful it you could direct me in the right direction on how to acheive this.

I usually shop in Asda and need some help.

Thanxs

weewillywinkie

Hi WWW

Why dont you post your usual monthly shopping list on here for the seasoned OS'ers to take a look at. Others will be able to tell you where to make the cuts but we need to know what you buy first.

The second thing to say is - have you done a SOA over on the other boards - if you are looking to save money on all expenses - some of the experts on DFW are brilliant at finding you ways to cut your costs - you may then find out that you can afford a little more food to feed your family.

Otherwise the general principles include - buying whoops items - batch cooking, streeeeching meals cheaply, and avoiding readymeals and making from scratch.

Check out Weezl's thread and the recent one about feeding the family on 20 quid a week - all the info you need is probably there

Good luck

Trin

Gigervamp

ubamother wrote: »

with pet food - food that is classed as for working dogs is not VATable - if you live around some farming country you can get feed stores that sell it. If not, maybe online? Bulk buying for dried dog food is usually good value.

I second that.

We have a lab and buy a 15 kilo bag of Chudleys classic which costs about £13 from Countrywide. This lasts her a month.

Essex-girl_2

ubamother wrote: »

with pet food - food that is classed as for working dogs is not VATable - if you live around some farming country you can get feed stores that sell it. If not, maybe online? Bulk buying for dried dog food is usually good value.

I third that, in the 'old' days I used to buy large bags of Bakers Dog food for £22+, now I buy a working dog food for £7.50 for the same amount. Dogs are just as healthy (the vet confirmed this), I was just gutted that I had paid so much for the food before which is actually worse for the dogs as it was full of additives and colourings - which dogs cant see anyway :rotfl:

Toonie

£130 to £65 is a big reduction for anyone, let alone a family of five with pets. Is there no other way of reducing your spends in other areas?

As far as shopping is concerned, I also suggest buying pet food in bulk as it can save you a fortune.

What sort of foods do you eat as a family? Any particular dietary requirements? Do try and make the most of your local shops, do you have a local ethnic supermarket? These are generally very cheap and full of good quality items. Local markets for fruit and veg are also cheap and though the fruit tends to be ripe and ready for eating, with a large family, thats not a problem.

mouseymousey99

Hello WW - Do you cook? Makes a huge difference, I'll wait till you post the sort of things you like to eat. Also, can you go down a brand?
Mx
(ps we would go hungry before my cats)

patchwork_cat

Not advice about the people food atm, but have you tried Gusto dog food it is £6.50 for 10 kg. We feed our Golden Retriever on this and it saves us a fortune.

£65 per week for 5 is quite 'doable' old stylers will certainly be able to help you on this. Have you done Martin's go down a brand? I think that for £65 it will mostly be value and cooking from scratch. There will be room at £65 for some branded on things you can't compromise on. What sort of meals do you like, does the budget include 5 lunches as well as dinner.

v8monkeyboy

Again, not advice on the shopping so much, but more for the pets.

Both dogs and cats can eat raw food such as bones, chicken wings etc. There is no issue with raw chicken splintering, it is only cooked that poses a risk. In many ways, what they put into dog food is worse for you dog than anything else.

All of my dogs have always eaten raw meat, bones etc (and some leftovers too), and we have had happy, healthy dogs with perfect teeth, and very few vets bills. My friend has a cat which she feeds with chicken wing tips - after all, dogs and cats in the wild wouldn't cook their food and then dehydrate it :rolleyes:.

I would suggest that you find a local butcher who can supply bones etc either for free or for very little, and feed your pets that way. I go to the local farmer's market where one of the butchery stalls gives away HUGE bags of free carcasses, rib bones etc.

HTH

T xx