Weekly shopping budget How much ?

Katief07

Please help i need to try and set a weekly budget for shopping i just cannot work it out! it is for 2 adults, 1 child and a baby that has just started weaning, do i account for nappies, wipes, baby milk etc or do i keep seperate, i am hopeless at budgeting but need to get a grip on it if we are ever gonna fix the mess we are in. Any advice?

thank you


Katie

Faye449

I think you lump it all in together. Have you tried dropping a brand ie from heinz beans to tescos beans (tbh I get the value stuff and it all tastes exactly the same!) Also meal planning and making things in bulk and freezing them?

happycamel_2

Hi, you really need two budgets:

Budget 1) This is best shown in an SOA. But it shows all the money that comes in every month and all the money that goes out. You need to start keeping a record of what actually happens, to help you plan for the future (so look at bank statements, keep receipts etc). Use your history to build your plan, looking for ways you can save money. The aim is to have more coming in than going out!

Budget 2) Grocery bills. This looks like the area you're most concerned with. I would suggest all grocery shopping needs to be included, that means stuff for your baby as well. Again the best way to budget is to go through a month's receipts and classify everything, you could have categories like, basic food, toiletries, baby stuff, treats etc. Using that you've got a fair idea what to budget and where you can cut down. As Faye says, that doesn't necessarily mean just getting rid of all the treats, cos you'll never stick to it. But look to reduce and to move to cheaper brands, cook more from scratch etc.

Good luck and let us know if you need more advice.

Katief07

thank you both so much, i am in the process of trying to go through all our incoming and outgoing so hopefully i can make other cut backs, but after i looked at what we had spent roughly on shopping in the past 8 weeks i realised there is a problem there with no planning ahead etc, so this is one of the ways in which i know organising and cutting back will save money and dropping a brand also will save £££

Katie

Watalie

Hi Katie -

I use mysupermarket.co.uk - I find it a lifesaver - I print a list and generally (give or take an item or two) stick to it - it has a swap n save thingy too, which will offer you lower priced alternatives... will also tell you which supermarket the shop is cheaper at too.

The only thing is, it doesn't tell you about places like Aldi or Lidl... I usually do 90% of fruit & veg shopping at Aldi.

Good Luck!

Tixy

Hi Katie

How much you can budget depends on yoru circumstances. There are certainly some people on here that could manage a budget of £200 per month for a family that size (to include food, toiletries, cleaning and nappies etc), which would be about £45 per week. But equally i am sure there are people who would happily spend £400 per month.

Look out for special offers on things like nappies and wipes etc. Try the discount shops like £shops, wilkinsons, home bargains etc. I have heard people say that lidl nappies are as good as the branded ones (no kids so I don't know personally).

Also would it help if you did a storecupboard audit? Where you make a list of everything you have in your cupboards. If you find you have 3 bottles of ketchup, 2 bottles of bleach and 3 jars of coffee you'll know you don't need to buy more for a bit.

Martin's downshift drop a brand challenge is great - Supermarket Shopping
Downshift & more, halve weekly bills . And some people find meal planning for a week (or even month) before they shop really helps. This is particularly good if you find you waste out of date food or are constantly nipping in to the shops for things you forgot (and then buying all sorts of other stuff!).

If you are still struggling and want to bring it down further the oldstyle board have loads of tips for cheap healthy meals.

Another thing is to keep track of what you spend each month so that you know whether it is reducing or not.

Good luck

pennypusher

Hi, if you're struggling generally why not post a Statement of Affairs then we can get an idea of how to help you with your spending if you would like us to.

Katief07

thank you i have just found the link for the soa so will get on to that straight away. Should i post the SOA here or somewhere else ?

shebrett

Hi Katie

Good luck with it, just post the SOA on here and people will soon come by to offer advice.

Katief07

ok here it goes SOA.

I feel i should also explain some of it - all payments for credit cards, store card etc are not minimum payment most are about £30/40 above the min as this is what we have been paying for months (before hitting this point), my partners income is an average monthly as he is paid weekly and it varies week to week, none of the debt as yet has any missed payments, (i think part of the reason is due to increasing the overdraft to pay it, not good, i know). It is only now we realise the mess we are in, it has always been there but in the last 2/3 months we have really struggled since my partner having less work and me being paid only SMP, i am happy i am finally dealing with it, but feel sick when i look at the mess we got ourselves in, sorry for going on!

<pre><b>Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet</b><b>

Household Information</b>
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1<b>

Monthly Income Details</b>
Monthly income after tax................ 521
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1289
Benefits................................ 220
Other income............................ 0<b>
Total monthly income.................... 2030</b><b>

Monthly Expense Details</b>
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 155
Rent.................................... 238
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 88
Electricity............................. 119
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 460
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 96.26
Car Insurance........................... 57
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 44
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 110
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0<b>
Total monthly expenses.................. 1624.26</b>
<b>

Assets</b>
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0<b>
Total Assets............................ 5000</b>
<b>

Secured & HP Debts</b>
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7724.....(155)......0<b>
Total secured & HP debts...... 7724......-.........- </b>

<b>Unsecured Debts</b>
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................2473......175.......0
Lloyds card....................1827......50........0
Halifax card...................488.......20........0
overdraft......................950.......0.........0
very...........................600.......70........0
next...........................1177......100.......0
Barclaycard C..................3052......100.......0
Barclaycard J..................3415......100.......0<b>
Total unsecured debts..........13982.....615.......- </b>

<b>
Monthly Budget Summary</b>
Total monthly income.................... 2,030
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,624.26
Available for debt repayments........... 405.74
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 615<b>
Amount short for making debt repayments. -209.26</b>

<b>Personal Balance Sheet Summary</b>
Total assets (things you own)........... 5,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -7,724
Total Unsecured debt.................... -13,982<b>
Net Assets.............................. -16,706</b>

<i>Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on The Motley Fool DWD Board with permission, using other browser.</i></pre>

Katief07

i now have the rates for all the cards should i add them to the SOA or will it not matter ?