How much do you live on per month?

tedster123

£1200/£1300 per month after all bills spend bout half on food a month, tend to do most shopping at tesco metro (very exp) , very high comparing with some people on here, also tend more often than not to buy lunch, this month has been exception maybe spent £60 on food, as trying to save up for holiday.

beachie

HappyMJ wrote: »

I do love a good special when I come across one. It's not possible for me to do that. I shop online and get everything delivered. Therefore everything is fresh. If I were to actually go to sainsburys at the right time it would have to cost me a taxi journey to get home. Making it not worth doing.

Yes, sometimes I go and there is nothing or it is just all value ready meals, which I wouldn't want to buy. None of what I bought above is value price etc.

I am quite lucky that I drive right past it about the right time for the reductions.

My fridge seems pretty decent to, so veg stays fresh quite a long time. I have had some Blueberries in there for nearly 3 weeks now and they look fine.

If I know I am not going to use the bread then I make croutons from it to use with the soup which will keep in a sealed box for a while.

Admittedly this week is alot cheaper than normal. Next week might be £20 but on average it works out about £15 and might include fish or salmon.

Always a little bit exciting not knowing what you will be eating :rotfl:

Lucy1010

This is so insightful...

I am going to start tightening my belt, hopefully won't get too depressed doing it.... I have 17 months to go before I am debt free.

elvis86

HappyMJ wrote: »

Looks like a well balanced diet. No thanks.

There's quite a nasty undertone to your post, a sense of "looking down your nose". It may not be the most balanced of diets, but if this person feels it's necessary because of their budget/debt repayment plans, so be it.

elsien

I'm single like you, cook from scratch, and on a lower monthly income. I'm not in debt, but am careful with money because I have a massively expensive dog who keeps costing me more than I've put aside, and I still want to save for things like holidays.
I put £60 a week aside - that is for food, clothes, mobile, toiletries, socialising, stuff for the garden, birthdays, dentist etc and the treats, like the wine, the cinema and the weekend papers. It is very tight, but what works for me is buying stuff as and when I need it not doing a big weekly shop and wasting half. Also (and you have to be disciplined and not raid the piggy bank!) a series of envelopes which I put 50p/£1 each week so I don't have to take lots out of my £60 in one go if a birthday comes up or my mobile needs topping up. A bit obsessive for some people, I'm sure, but you have to find a system that works for you.
Looking at your soa, I'd say £40 a month on clothes is a bit much if you're serious about wanting to cut back.
I also tend to keep an eye on the grabbits and stock up when I see things on offer, which helps. It's about getting the balance that suits you between spending and saving. I could happily spend more each week on socialising and stuff for the house (I went completely mad in January), but I've decided that I really want a good holiday this year and I'm saving for laser eye surgery as well, which at the moment is taking priority. Next year it might be the other way round - swings and roundabouts.

Edit - if you're shopping in the discounters and they only sell the veg in large packs which is hopeless if there's only one of you, the green stay fresh bags from poundland are brilliant and keeps things fresh for days. Well worth a go.

kerri_gt

Lucy1010 wrote: »

This is so insightful...

I am going to start tightening my belt, hopefully won't get too depressed doing it.... I have 17 months to go before I am debt free.

Have a look through some of the other posts on the DFW board - there are lots of helpful challenges (I'm currently also a lurker on the Crazy Clothes Challenge) and you'll notice quite a few people doing more than one challenge. What's more, there are lots of supportive people - some in the same boat as you, and some in boats of their own, but personally speaking the guys and gals on the NSD challenge are all lovely, and so supportive, we have a mantra that there is absolutely no use of the F word on the challenge...that's 'fail' btw :rotfl: we are just all doing our best and sometimes don't always make target...but will aim to do better next month.

[Deleted User]

ejvc wrote: »

We (2 adults, one toddler) spend between £400-£450 on food, and have each £25/week to spend on everything else.

We both have good incomes, however, we are clearing debt left from a period where I was unemployed. My husband does our food shopping and is kind of crazy about food. He will do without going to the pub, clothing, travel, anything, but suggest that this week it would be better not to have the smoked salmon and he feels POOR and angry and depressed and frankly, it's not worth fighting about. He's also absolutely sold on having quality food. I've managed to convert him to frozen veg in a few small instances. Also, we live in Central London and everything is really expensive here, and our main supermarket is a Waitrose, which has great quality but is relatively expensive. Having said that, we never eat out and never eat prepared foods - everything from scratch. We make a menu plan and shop once a week, except for milk and bread top-up mid-week. But I really cannot imagine spending £200 per month on food, that would be about £40/week -- one chicken and you're down to £30, add some fruit and you have only £20 for all your veg, cereals, groceries, washing up etc etc. Impossible, except that everyone here seems to do it.

To the person who asked about potatoes, store them in the fridge.

Free range chicken drumsticks & thighs cost me about £4.00/kg rather than 1 chicken for £10!! make great curry, roast or casserole.

Fruit & vegetables, unless you're fanatical about organic are all the same & can be bought from stalls/ethnic markets/Lidl

It *is* possible to eat extremely well on £40-50 per week for 2 adults - it just involves more cooking, more imagination and less premium cuts of meat/fish and more use of protein-rich non-meat foods such as free range eggs and pulses.

How about home delivery from Tesco/Sainsbury's/Waitrose?

I do feel however that your OH is a bit snobby about food perhaps? The high end food marketing is aimed exactly at making us feel that our food choices reflect on us as people - I call supermarkets 'dupermarkets' LOL! branded products (especially staples such as pasta and rice, cleaning products etc) are really not worth it - the own brands are fine.

I'm lucky in some ways as we live in a Somerset village and we buy a whole (pre-portioned) locally raised lamb for the freezer for £70 every year, my relative has hens so free range eggs, and we have a tiny veg garden for herbs and salads. Sometimes we even get local free-range old breed pork for £50 per half-pig, and go fishing at the seaside if we get the chance (free fish).

(but we only have 1 bus per hour for 8 hours a day costing in excess of 50p/mile and we don't drive!!)

YORKSHIRELASS

ejvc wrote: »

But I really cannot imagine spending £200 per month on food, that would be about £40/week -- one chicken and you're down to £30, add some fruit and you have only £20 for all your veg, cereals, groceries, washing up etc etc. Impossible, except that everyone here seems to do it.

These days I cant afford to spend £10 on a chicken. I am in a position where I have had to make sacrifices if I am ever going to clear my debts. £10 would buy us 3 packs of steak mince which would make 3 evening meals. As for fruit, apples, bananas and pears are fairly cheap, grapes and blueberrys are occasional treats. I do think there comes a point where you cut the food budget so much that you are in danger of not having a healthy balanced diet but it is possible to feed a family healthily for £60 a week.

Blobby8_2

beachie wrote: »

I said that I went at the right time so got it all reduced from Mr S at about 3.45pm on Sunday.

Pack of 6 sausages x 2 - 19p each - Reduced from £1.99 each. Pork and Apple.

Pack of mince - 30p Reduced from £2.99

French Bread - 30p
Bag of carrots - 20p Originally £1 (on offer)
Bag of potatoes - £50p 1kg pack.
Cheese - £2 (instead of £4) Special Offer
Loaf of brown bread (stays fresh longer) - 30p Hovis Best of Both

I almost feel guilty about going to the pub now @ £3/pint x five.
I really hope things get better for you

Lucy1010

elsien wrote: »

I'm single like you, cook from scratch, and on a lower monthly income. I'm not in debt, but am careful with money because I have a massively expensive dog who keeps costing me more than I've put aside, and I still want to save for things like holidays.
I put £60 a week aside - that is for food, clothes, mobile, toiletries, socialising, stuff for the garden, birthdays, dentist etc and the treats, like the wine, the cinema and the weekend papers. It is very tight, but what works for me is buying stuff as and when I need it not doing a big weekly shop and wasting half. Also (and you have to be disciplined and not raid the piggy bank!) a series of envelopes which I put 50p/£1 each week so I don't have to take lots out of my £60 in one go if a birthday comes up or my mobile needs topping up. A bit obsessive for some people, I'm sure, but you have to find a system that works for you.
Looking at your soa, I'd say £40 a month on clothes is a bit much if you're serious about wanting to cut back.
I also tend to keep an eye on the grabbits and stock up when I see things on offer, which helps. It's about getting the balance that suits you between spending and saving. I could happily spend more each week on socialising and stuff for the house (I went completely mad in January), but I've decided that I really want a good holiday this year and I'm saving for laser eye surgery as well, which at the moment is taking priority. Next year it might be the other way round - swings and roundabouts.

Edit - if you're shopping in the discounters and they only sell the veg in large packs which is hopeless if there's only one of you, the green stay fresh bags from poundland are brilliant and keeps things fresh for days. Well worth a go.

Thank you so much for your advice