is this possible to live on

charleybabes

evening all!

well a few weeks ago i was made redundant and so far havnt been able to find any work
we have two children who are 4 & 2.
we have worked it out that after bills are all paid we should be left with about £100 a week..
this is to be used for food, clothing, any other extras like days out hols etc
do you think that this is do able... do you think that on a 100 you can feed a family of four properly and not just junk and be also able to have some sort of life !!

rachbc

I have 2 kids 4 and 12 and about £90 a week to live on after bills and fuel - we eat really well though clothes etc have def taken a back seat - charity shops, hand me downs and asda for us atm.

There is a meal plan that inc 5 a day and rda for calories, fat, sugar etc that feeds 4 for £100 a month, sure someone cleverer than me can post a linky

Bigjenny

Hi this is the link to the website https://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk

HTH

artybear

Hiya I think your money should be fine, if you look at this website
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/index.html?opt=rcost it will give you loads of ideas and maybe you could then add some treats. Iv done all the recipes so let me know if you need any help.
xxxxx

EstherH

Have a look through these threads on how to feed your family cheaply, and the grocery challenge etc. There is loads of advice and I have learned loads on cutting back and stretching meals. Others will be along to help with advice, we're a friendly bunch.

A couple of things that will help:
Buy a large chicken and use it for a roast with lots of veg,
Take all the meat off it and you should get another couple of meals out of that, maybe a pie and curry, some sandwiches, stir fry with veg and rice. I can feed three adults three meals from one chicken.
A pack of mince can be stretched with lots of grated carrots, finely chopped onion, and a handful of oats to make extra portions of bolognaise. HTH

kezlou

Of course you can, well were living on far less than that, and were all perfectly healthy.We all get eat more than our 5 a day as well as providing all our dietary needs.
WE don't eat junk food and 90% of the food we eat is home made including picnics and pack lunches.

Here is a site Weezl and friends have put together. Its fantastic and is how to feed a family of four for about a £100 a month.
here's the link

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipes.html

This thread is fantastic as well and really helped me out.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2116179

HTH

Kez x

charleybabes

wow thanks for being so quick to get back to me!!..
i think the best thing will be to sit down and meal plan which i did do a few years ago but i have gotten out of the habit but i think coming back on here will make me do it !!
thanks for the link i shall take a look at that now
i tend to really only buy from charity shops now anyway apart from the odd splurge in primark when i have a bit more money than usual but im worried that we wont even have enough to shop in charity shops which would be truly depressing!

missychrissy

Yes it can be done. I brought up four sons on my own and managed to live on far less than most people think possible. It is of course a real challenge. Do you get child benefit as well as the £100 per week?

I live on my own now with my sons and families visiting regularly. I had 7 staying overnight on Saturday (not including myself) and 14 for lunch on Sunday. My family are spread all over the country and it was an opportunity for some of my family to meet 2 of the new babies in the family and I'm in the middle of the country so everyone always comes to me. However, I manage to keep my super market shop to £10 per week for myself and my little dog and including these family stay overs. I don't go shopping every week, probably once every 4 - 6 weeks. I freeze milk and bread and just defrost on a need a slice basis so no waste. I do large casseroles in my slow cooker using cheaper cuts of meat and lots of pulses and cheap veg and freeze lots of portions. Farmfoods is very good for frozen veg which I use once the fresh veg is used up and I do buy tinned peas/chick peas/kidney beans etc as well as frozen so I can last several weeks without shopping. I don't waste anything - anything left over is frozen.

I don't buy things that have little nutritional value such as crisps/cakes/biscuits/pop and didn't when my children were growing up except on the odd occasion such as Christmas and a birthday. On Sunday I made a large apple crumble using apples from next doors tree that overhangs my garden. I do give my neighbour some homemade wine occasionally and my other neighbour left tomatoes and green beans on my doorstep tonight so we have a little bit of an exchange going on. I grow some of my own veg, especially potatoes and salad things and that makes it easier to spend less. I am often given veg plants and in exchange I give home made wine.

Redundancy must be so worrying but if you can really start to think 'Old Style' it will cushion you for these lean periods. I passed through a small village the other day and was so impressed at the allotments they had that I had to get out of the car to take a look. They were actually very beautiful and I'm sure these people support each other as my neighbours and I do in a small way.

Please try freecycle. I often see children's clothes advertised and when mine were growing up I was not too proud to visit the charity shops or to accept any family donations. It is surprising how people rally round when you are 'strapped for cash'. I have equipped my house for my granchildren from freecycle including a lovely cot/buggy/baby bath/etc and have also been able to recycle all of my unwanted and no longer needed items. I recently freecycled a lovely mirror backed sideboard that I know I could have sold but I have found people so generous on freecycle that I wanted to feel that I had contributed fairly.

There are lots of forums on this site that will help you with feeding a family well on very little and don't despair. I think back to when I was doing a full time degree, with 4 sons at school, and no other income than child benefit and we pulled through. There is a lot of support on these forums.

Penelope_Penguin

charleybabes wrote: »

evening all!

well a few weeks ago i was made redundant and so far havnt been able to find any work

Have you checked if you're entitled to any more benefits or tax credits? If you paid enough NI, you may be entitled to JSA.

See entitled to for more details, and Martin's article on maximising income

Good luck!

charleybabes

thanks missychrissy for all the tips.. i am already a freecycle fiend..most of our house is decorated with the help of freecycle!!!.. i love the idea of the neighbours exchange.. but we live in a terraced house and although this year we have managed to grow a few courgettes and cucumbers our neighbours have just stuck to hanging baskets so we are pretty much on our own on that one!!
the child benefit that we get i have it put straight into the bills acct so we dont see that..
i think i really do need to get a slow cooker as that seems the way forward especially for using cheaper cuts of meat but not having the feeling of eating leather!!..
im going to start putting the bread in the freezer aswell as we go through bags of bread but never use all of it so i think the slice by slice option is a good start to..

jackieglasgow

Last summer my OH wasn't bringing any money in at all and we were having to survive on about £800 a month to cover rent, c/tax, bills etc. It was hellish for four months, and my grocery budget was £22 a week. We didn't have trips out, or new clothes or anything like that. But do you know, we became so close the four of us, doing stuff together in the house, going for walks, OH and I did a lot together, I taught him to bake to help with the money situation. Don't get me wrong it was hard as hell, and there were more than a few days when all I ate was porridge, but we managed because we had no choice. You cut your cloth to fit as they say, I am sure with all the help available on here you will manage.