What do people budget for food for 2 ppl pcm?

ryantcb

I put a sticker on the back of one of my bank cards with £160 written on it. When I get paid I transfer £160 to that card and take that card out shopping. My other half does the same with her bank and cards and when we get to the checkout we ask the cashier to split the bill and pay 50/50. I guess its about £80 a week (some more some less, but never more that £160 each pcm) at the end of the month if the £160 card has any balance then it goes into savings. Going to the same supermarket and as we all do buying the same items it doesn't take long to work out exactly which items you can buy for your budget. Avoid online shopping as its stuff nearly out of date so youll have a lot of wastage.

MandM90

We've cut down our shopping from around £100 for 2 adults 1 toddler to under £40 per week including a bottle of wine.

Cutting out wine/beer each week helps a lot (especially because I'm quite fond of the more expensive wines) and we also eat more vegetarian meals as quality meat is expensive and I would rather my family eat pulses and beans than cheap/processed meat.

Buy in season; it's cheaper and much better quality stuff most of the time. When veg/meat/fish/other perishables are on offer freeze it in small portions in freezer bags or make a double batch of something then freeze it. Not only is it moneysaving but you'll have some 'microwave meals' which can be especially helpful when you have a baby!

Don't waste anything - before you go out shopping take an 'inventory' of cupboards and particularly your fridge and try and make a couple of meals (or cook and freeze) out of things you may have otherwise thrown away.

Sounds simple but also don't go shopping hungry, stick to your list and don't get tempted by 'special offers' when you wouldn't buy the stuff anyway. Just basically only buy what you need.

We 'buy cheap' on things like chopped tomatoes, beans/lentils (often good deals on 'world food' aisles), certain other canned goods, bread for toasting and many other things. Try to replace a couple of branded items with discount brands once a week and often you'll find some are better and actually healthier.

TheSaint_2

We spend about £30 per week - for three of us.
We cook everything from scratch.
That includes all extras such as cleaning / laundry products.

We used to spend a lot more, but that was when we had more money available

sellingmysoul666

we used to spend £40 - £50 but its more like £70- £80 now
i have just started weight watchers agian so £10 of that was fruit n veg £5 from the farm shop the rest at supermarket
some of our meals are from scratch other baised on quorn products - its cheaper if you dont have to buy meat !

katylou6180

I've found what works for us (1 me working f/t 1 dh working f/t, 1 ds..11 can eat for england as an olympic sport) live pretty well for £160 pcm. I do a great big shop on payday costing approx £100, from sainsburys (just my choice but people might get cheaper elsewhere, but we find their basics range good and shelf life lasts really well) containing all the toiletries, loo roll, household stuff, cupboard stuff etc etc, anything that'll keep well. Then we exist on £20 p/w for the other weeks in the month for fresh stuff like veggies, fruit, etc etc. I make sure theres always cereal/toast for breakfast, we always take lunches from home like sarnies or salads, and dh not being particularly healthy has his share of chocolate biccies and crisps, I make sure I buy drinks then put them "away" so people have squash/out of big value bottle lemonade etc for drinks at home, then I do try (tho sometimes fall off wagon) to cook from scratch and meal plan, but working full time...I am guilty if I have had a hectic day/no energy or have been busy I will resort to fish/fish fingers/sausage..mash n peas or something like that. I'm not loyal to any particular shop, and wander out on a lunch break with workmates who are buying lunch in the nearest Mr T's to see what's going that week or in the reduced section that I would use anyway...then count it out of my £20. I will say this is just the household budget, we also allow ourselves £20-40 per month for alcohol and treats, but that comes under a seperate budget, and once it's gone it's gone, but I will hold my hands up and say that we like a drink on a saturday night- it's our treat for working hard. I suppose if you factor "treats" as in alcohol, chocolate etc we're probably about £200 but the way things are heading with shop prices I don't think we do too badly at all really. I know one lady I work with spends over £100 p/w and there's just her and her husband!!!

katylou6180

I meant to also say that I keep the alcohol/treats seperate as they can be "cut" as and when necessary!

pineapple

It's so long since I did a regular shop, I haven't a clue. Seriously I think prices are going to get very high. I'm retired with some money in a low earning account. So I have bitten the bullet and have been stocking up with the longer lasting staples - taking advantage of any offers. I think my pocket will thank me for it.

EssexHebridean

£3 per day feeds the two of us and the cat, plus cleaning materials etc, but not toiletries. Eggs are free range, some meat from a farmers market, and I shop around for the best deals. So far as possible we buy British produce. That budget covers all our meals - although we might have a takeaway once a month which isn't included.