shopping allowances

black-saturn

Well I'm 1 adult and 2 children and I spend about £43 per month on the food bill.

msmicawber

Jellycat - prepared veggie foods like Quorn are notoriously expensive. I get a few bits and pieces for my daughter now and again, particularly when on offer, but find that making most of her veggie meals from pulses is much cheaper (and I believe more nutritional -?). Until this month I managed on about £60 per month for 1 adult and 2 children (large, hungry), but now my debts have cleared have upped the shopping bill a little.

cattie1

i don't blame you jellycat, with 4 adults you would probably be allowed a lot more than £480 a month!!
maybe all the people in here who are under this budget aren't eating prperly according to the laws of debt management?! lol

jellycat40

quorn is expensive but you can't live on beans alone!!! There is no waste so probably not too bad really.

I really admire those that can live on under £50 a month but what on earth do they eat? I don't think we eat badly or extravagantly - no fillet steak, no caviar, no alcohol, no sweets. Very few take aways and meals out.

Louise

cupid_s

black-saturn wrote:

Well I'm 1 adult and 2 children and I spend about £43 per month on the food bill.

Hi there
I have seen posts by you saying your monthly spends and I am in awe! You spend so little and so well. Anyway could you do me a big favour and briefly go through a typical weekly meal plan and what sort of stuff you buy for your £43.

Me and hubby alone used to spend over £200 just on food shopping but we're doing well in bringing this down thanks to MSE.

But anymore hints from a veteran MSE would be great

Send me a PM or start another board if it's more helpful

Cheers

**purpleprincess**

cupid_stunt wrote:

Hi there
I have seen posts by you saying your monthly spends and I am in awe! You spend so little and so well. Anyway could you do me a big favour and briefly go through a typical weekly meal plan and what sort of stuff you buy for your £43.

Me and hubby alone used to spend over £200 just on food shopping but we're doing well in bringing this down thanks to MSE.

But anymore hints from a veteran MSE would be great

Send me a PM or start another board if it's more helpful

Cheers

Hope BS doesn't mind me posting this was one of her menu planning threads http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=157526&page=2&pp=10

**purpleprincess**

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=161168 here is another one with all the menu plans in one place

msmicawber

I've fine-tuned my skills over the years, but some of my tips are:
I cook from scratch;
Buy the fruit and veg. that are in season and haven't been airlifted from other countries;
Shop in markets and a variety of shops rather than buying everything from one store;
Don't buy prepared foods;
Don't eat out or get takeaways;
Don't buy expensive items;
Stock up when items that I do use are on offer and then freeze or otherwise store them.
It all adds up

cupid_s

thanks peeps

melancholly

jellycat40 - i guess if you cut out 'exotic' fruit (melon, pineapple, strawberries) and things like mussels and some of the quorn, that would knock about £15 off immediately - whether or not you want to restrict the variety is a different matter!! i couldn't afford it, but if you can and you enjoy it, then that's a different matter!

then things like washing up liquid, bin bags, foil and tampons aren't needed every week (that might be another £10). also rice and pasta won't be bought every week. buying meat in bulk and freezing it saves a lot too. shifting from brands like nescaf to supermarket own brands will take off a few pounds. lettuce instead of prepared salads etc etc - even just a few pence on every item adds up on a big weekly shop.

so you could get down to under £100 without too many changes, then with some menu planning and using up things in cupboards you can get down further. that's before trying different shops.

it's not necessarily 'easy' to just spend less on groceries - it takes planning. i do it out of necessity but it is possible - whether or not you want to do it is the main thing!!