Shopping Budget

pollyanna24

I have never managed to stick to my budget of £160 for 2 adults and 1 cat. I don't really want to raise it to £200 (which is what we seem to be spending) as I have a feeling I will let go a little and start going over that instead!!

Anyhows, what my main question is, is that we have someone coming to live with us, who we will be providing food for. How much should I add to my budget to cover him? My £160 for the two of us at the moment covers all toiletries and cleaning products, but I'm guessing the new guy will pay for his own toiletries and there will no reason why cleaning products will go up (doubt he'll do much cleaning anyways).

I'm thinking £50 for him (this isn't what he'll be paying, just what I'm going to allocate for his stomach!), or is that too much, seeing as I try to spend £80 on the two of us and a cat as it is albeit with not much luck!

lynzpower

I find that cooking for 3 CAN be more pricier than two but not always.

If you have a budget of 160, then I expect you can manage this for 3. - thats approx 40pw, which should well cover it and you should have a bit of change too- with some planning of course.

Some things will inevitably cost more ( ie if you were doing a jmeat portion & veg eg chops, then that would be more expensive but for a spag bol/chilli/ curry etc, you can eke these out with an extra tin of tomatoes and no one would ever know the difference!

pollyanna24

Thanks a lot for your answer. I think what I'll do is up it to £200 a month seeing as I can't get below that with two people and see how I do next month.

newlywed

Depends how many meals you will be providing? Lunch as well? Also depends how fussy the person is and their appetite?

lynzpower

pollyanna

Are you shopping monthly. I think you might find it easier to shop weekly, it makes budgeting so much easier I found.

pollyanna24

I do a large shop on 1st of each month, and then top up as I go along. I usually have loads of meals in the freezer, but am used to only cooking for two people. Will just have to adjust for an extra person.

We will provide lunch as well (i.e. extra bread and he can make his own sarnies). Basically he will have full use of food cupboards. I know this is dangerous :eek: but he is young and a family member.

I thought £160 was okay for us, and I'm sure if I tried a lot harder, then we could stick to it, but bf hasn't had his lb moment yet and he tries to stick more expensive stuff in the trolley. I don't drive, so rely on bf. So think, instead of having a go at myself each month, I'll give myself a little break. £200 for three people is the way to go I think!

lynzpower

theres nothing wrong with the odd luxury being popped in the trolly if its used.

personally, I have the same problem when OH comes with me, I do end up with things a little more "freeflowing" and then I have to try & cope with menuplanning all this random stuff. Personally, I prefer to go food shopping alone, but its lovely when OH comes as he can carry all the heavy stuff and not me :j LOL

There is no need to overspend at all - if anything having the extra person should make it slighlty easier to cook for. If you make food for 4 people, then youll always have a readymeal for the freezer- for random times when for whatever reason you cant be bothered to cook.

Penny-Pincher!!

You need to make an inventory of all the food items you have in the house, then work out what meals you could make from them items. You may be surprised how much stuff you have in...or not

We spend about £30pw on 3 big eaters. I can actually spend less using vouchers if I go to the right stores. We eat a healthy varied diet and dont scrimp on anything...we always have luxuries in too;)

What we have done in the past is go to local supermarkets late in the evening and buy yellow stickered meat/fish/poultry items then make meals around them. Buy in season veggies and fruit. Buy loo rolls/washing powder etc when on offer as these are items you need all the time.

I have so much food in that we dont have to buy any main meal items for a couple of months.

Invest in a good size freezer and take advantage of reduced items:D

Find out first what type of foods this person likes and maybe make double/triple batches and freeze for the following week. Bulk out with veggies or carbs.

Good Luck
PP
xx

pollyanna24

Cheers for everyones replies. I do try and menu plan. It's a bit hard this month as I've bought and repacked everything for 2 people and I suddenly have to try and make three portions out of everything. Should be easier next month.

Basically, if he don't like what I cook, he can go and buy himself something. He already treats me like his mother, so there's only so far I'm willing to go! :rotfl: