How much should we be spending ?

tiredwithtwins

its really difficult to make changes, but do some reading on this forum and you should be able to reign in your budget a bit.

things i found that helped are planning meals, making lists of what youve got in the freezer and cupboards and allocating what you buy for specific things - for example, i buy small cheap choc biscuits for the kids sandwich boxes; before, the oh would nibble on them so they would be gone by tues ... now they are put in a big sandwich box labelled ''packed lunch biccies'' and they ALL know to only go in there when doing packed lunches. if they are constantly nibbling (as growing kids do) get them making cakes/buns/biscuits/flapjack to graze on! I also get them (other half, and 14dd and 10 yr old twin boys) involved in the meal planning, so they know for example that the big roast gammon we have on sunday also has to stretch to monday tea (with chips and peas) so no pinching/nibbling. we dont do a formal sit down and discuss it kinda thing, i just tell them whats what for the week over tea at the weekend.

another thing i found helped when taking on the huge task of cutting back on food spending was to keep all my receipts for the month, and look at what i was actually buying - makes working out if buying in bulk is more cost effective for you as a family. like you loo rolls were a big spend, but i worked it out that buying those mega huge packs was a cheaper option because by planning my spending, i wasnt nipping in to just buy loo roll and then buying other stuff cos it was there ...

if you have time, shop around even if its just one extra shop visit a week - we get through tons of bread each week, and ive found that farmfoods are currently doing 3 hovis loaves for £2 ... before we spent £1.30ish per loaf at the corner shop. i dont go out of my way to shop there, but pass the shop regualrly so now just send one of the kids in while i wait outside in the car :rotfl:

good luck, be kind to yourself, and take baby steps - the rest will follow easily

Gingermillie

Yeah, my comment was £60 per adult per month. I wish I could do £60 for all of us but I'm not that good!

ALIBOBSY

Its a bit difficult to give an exact figure as once yu are up and running it becomes a running total, so one week I might need to buy olive oil, but may not buy it again for months. Or one week may need nappies, then none the next as I got a big pack.

I also look for stuff marked down and freeze to include in meal plans for another week, or some weeks kids eat more or even less than expected.

However this week i spent £50 ish in Aldi and £12 in Morrisons for all 6 of us, we do have chickens and cats but tend to bulk buy their food once of month or even longer. Also during summer I try to grow alot in the garden so we spend less on veggies/salads.

I find its actually easier to feed a bigger family as you can bulk cook and in stews/sauces/soups meat can stretch a long way or not be missed and we forage stuff when we can. Then again i am full time at home so it is much easier, so i live in casual clothes and wellies alot of the time. Never put makeup on-had to borrow some lipgloss from my 9 yr old last time we went out rofl.

I would say most weeks the spend is under £60 for all of us, sometimes less sometimes a bit more so under £250 a month for all 6 of us plus chooks/cats/hamstser.

I could trim that a little bit and go to i reckon say £40 a week at at push.

i reckon £120 a week is a bit high even for a big family. Best bet is to cut a bit each week, by better planning, avoiding waste, doing more cooking from scratch, changing brands and finally looking at what are REALLY essential items, and what are WANTED items. One you need to buy ie milk, bread (or ingredients to make), basic food ingredients the others you can live without ie.hairspray, hair dye, makeup,branded products, ready meals or baked goods-so easy to make lovely tasty treats for very little.

At the end of the da your budget will dictate how far you need to go. EG. I was a veggie when younger so I cut down my meat in meals and sometimes give mine to the kids/oh, or do a veggie dish for all of us, I don't wear makeup and my hair just gets washed and brushed into a ponytail.

Ali x

mardatha

Please tell me how to sort the remains of the sewage cauli cheese for tonight's tea. I don't want to admit defeat and throw it out and I'm scared to give it to the chickens in canse they pack up and leave in disgust.

HariboJunkie

mardatha wrote: »

Please tell me how to sort the remains of the sewage cauli cheese for tonight's tea. I don't want to admit defeat and throw it out and I'm scared to give it to the chickens in canse they pack up and leave in disgust.

Soup. Sweat some onions in butter, add a wee bit of flour and whisk, then gradually add milk and a bit of chicken stock. Bung in your *ahem* cauliflower cheese and blend it. :cool:

Hawthorn

I'm with Alibobsy. I too have a family of six and we work it out very similarly.

I found packed lunches were an area I needed to cut down on. I was buying packs of ham, crisps...all of that adds up to quite a bit. Nowadays, I buy cheap packets of chicken portions (or use leftovers) and make sandwich fillings from that.
Eggs also a cheap sandwich filling.

Crisps..you know I have teenage boys. And a daughter who adores crisps. And an 8 year old that would live on crisps if he thought he could get away with it. I really had to stop buying them because a pack of 24 would disappear in two or three days. Not healthy, and not cheap.

Now, I buy popping corn and make it up into bags so they just need to grab one of those and pop it in their lunch bag (or grab one if they fancy a nibble)
popping corn around 50p a 500g bag, lasts quite a while (certainly much longer than the £2+ bag of 24 crisps. Healthier too.

I go to aldis for most groceries, but morrisons is also great - much of the time they have bones for a really cheap price. Ideal for making soups with.

I do buy stock cubes, but I use them as little as possible, preferring to use homemade stock instead.

Avoid shopping in one place if you possibly can. It's convenient but you will get better deals if you shop around. Check websites of major stores for deals you can get that week. That saves legwork trekking around the different stores (and petrol)

If you have the storage space and see an offer on something you would use, get as much as you can afford.

Morrisons a few weeks back, had pork shoulder on at £2.25 a kilo. I bought ten kilos, seperated it off and froze it.

I grow what I can in the garden too. VERY helpful.

I'm not brave enough to go barefaced like Alibobsy though. Mostly because I look like a cross between a trainwreck and a zombie apocolypse without a touch of foundation I don't buy expensive ones though. I got a bottle from Aldi (lacura range) on offer for £1.50 and it's as good as (even better) than the more expensive ones I used over the years.
I do make it a rule to not impulse buy this stuff though. It's no use having a make up bag full of makeup........if you only use one eyeshadow/blusher.

Cereals. Bane of my life with four kids. Expensive and if your kids are anything like mine we go through it so quickly. Downgrade to stores own brands instead of named brands, or even better make porridge.

loo rolls. Also a bane. I use a 12 pack from aldi -the cheapest ones. Also use washpowder from here because the branded ones are crazy prices these days.
I think £15 a week is expensive for cleaning stuff - they certainly know how to charge. The only branded cleaning product I use is a limescale remover for the loo because our water is really hard and it's the only thing that keeps it under control.

Well, I'm gonna stop rattling on now. Good luck and I hope it all works out for you :cool:

mardatha

The RV shuddered and said "NOO that way there will be more of it and I'd rather get it over with quick!"

natlie

Hi I think you are doing well with your spending, some tips would be - ALDI 6 veg/fruit for 39p veg is good for soups/stew etc use www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for recipe ideas for leftovers, good 2 week meal plan on there too. Look for things you can buy one brand down and own brand cleaning stuff etc- we buy Value baby bubble bath for 11p and use it to fill up all the hand soap bottles which saves us loads as the kids use three squirts each time they wash their hands. Soap is cheaper than shower gel. Lunch boxes - look for deals dont use the same thing everyweek we stick to bananas and value yogurts then we put a couple of biscuits - supermarket own brand, grapes or blueberries - whats on offer, cucumber and carrot or celery sticks, main could be either sandwich/wrap/nuggets/cold pizza/salad/pasta we never buy them drinks as they are so expensive they have reusable bottles and we always make them squash wherever we go same for us - whether its a fask of hot drink or a bottle of water - try not to buy and see how much it saves. I only buy dishwasher tablets, washing powder, toilet roll when its on offer. Use My Supermarket to see where your shopping is cheapest. shop online to avoid impulse buys. This time of year is brilliant for cheap one pot meals HTH
Nat
x

chanie

I try and budget around £200 a month for me, OH and DS (aged 1) EDIT; also have a cat. We both work full time so try and take lunches to work (DS eats breakfast and lunch at nursery).

I try and shop as much as I can in Lidl. I do like Iceland, although when i went there two weeks ago, my shopping came up to £50 and I felt I had nothing to show for it. I try and spend £40 a week and another £40 as a buffer (cleaning products, grooming and laundry). This doesn't include nappies though.

I use Stardrops to clean the bathroom and dettol (well the Poundshop version) to clean the kitchen (I normally fill a bucket with dettol and water and clean the surfaces and white good and then the floor, so one bucket practically cleans the whole house). I buy my detergent from Costco, so I don't have to worry about running out for a couple of months (their softner lasts about 6 months and costs under £10). I also buy my catfood from Costco. I'm quite lucky because she only eats the dry food and 1 bowl lasts about 2-3 days. So a big bag lasts about 2-3 months.

quintwins

we're a family of 5- 2 adults 2 5 year olds and a 2 year old who eats more than the 5 year olds, we spend about £200 a month we eat meat with most meals and alot of fruit, i usually buy reduced or value meats or buy in bulk in makro (5kg of chicken breasts are £18), fruit is gotten from the market or farm shop along with a sack of spuds, a veg is nearly always frozen unless reduced, nappies are value (MR S does 1/3 off making them 98p per pack) wipes are bought on offer altho value are ok i just don't like the feel

for cleaning products i use alot of value stuff with the exception of dettol(always on offer), for laundry liquid i buy mine once a year on makro on bogof, we get 90 wash bottles for £9 bogof so i buy 4 i always have some left before the offer comes on again and have been doing this for a few years now as you don't really need the full amount they say for every load, i don't buy fabric softener this is why i use liquid i think it makes my clothes smell nice anyway and there even nicer if i can line dry them

dog food we buy local and get it delivered free (hubby his dad and uncle all order together) which makes it £8 a bag and a bag lasts nearly 2 months for our 2 dogs it's a complete food so thats all they need they do sometimes get the kids scraps aswell

i use value baby bath in my soap pumps and my youngest has exzema and it's fine, MR S does half price baby toiletries everyonce in a while so i stock up on these at 9p each and on cotton buds then (you'd never guess given how much value stuff i use on him-nappies ect but acually i find the more expensive brands worse for him) i recently switched to value shampoo and conditioner and altho it's not as nice as soap and glory my hairs clean and it seems fine

toilet roll is always bought on offer, if i can't find any on offer we get lidl's there not teh softest but they do the job after all if your buying teh most expensive your just throwing money down the toilet


for me the trick is stocking up, i can't see an extra person or the fact that your kids are older than mine being a huge issue because they'd still need all that fruit and veg and milk that costs me so much so i;d say if it was me £250 a month would be plenty taking into account extra toilet roll and extra meat for meals altho i would bulk this out with spuds and veg or pasta and lentils