Is £60 per week for family of 5 ever possible?

quintwins

snugglemunchkin wrote: »

where do you live to get free meals if you earn under £17,000?

it's acually more like £16k that firgure was just off my head, it's in n.ireland but it's not very well known, my hubby just happened to stuble apon it one day when we were stressing about where we would find £25 a week, as schol dinners were compulsory in the nursery


http://www.education-support.org.uk/parents/meals-and-uniforms/free-school-meals/

kezlou

hi, if your in England and Wales you won't be able to qualify for free school meals if your recieving working tax credit, even if its a penny a year.
Think its mainly in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Which is really annoying. I'm sorry okay peeps, i just think if earning less than £16450 then all children should be entitled to free school meals. Yes I know i'm selfish.

But £60 a week for food, nappies, household etc can be done. I've done on less, but it does take a LOT of pre-planning, i.e remembering to make bread and not burn it .

When i first came onto this site, i was in pits ville, i found this thread and its fab. It was started by Mbaz and its called "£20 to feed a family of 4 for a month?"

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2116179

What this woman went to was unbelievable and guess what she did it.
thank to that thread, i also learned how to make chicken stock from a carcass, lentil burgers through to bulking out mince to make a good few meals. But it is extremely hard work.

Weezls site is good too, lots of really filling recipe.

I spend far less than £200 a month for the 2 adults, 11 and 7 year old and 2 cats. Not because i WANT to but because i HAVE to. But i've come to see it as a challenge and guess what so has my OH so its turned into a game of sorts.

Right now £20 a week goes straight onto school meals, this is deliberate as i want children to have a hot meal in them. Its cold out there, different scenario when its warm. My 11 year old is already over loaded with his huge rucksack as it is. But both of my boys take water, fruit and a snack with them, especially my eldest as he eats loads, or as he calls himself, the bottomless pit. so some weeks i have £10 a week to spend on food for us , others time i have more.

I then see what meals i can make using what i have in and if need anything on top i buy it, if necessary. But it also depends on what you eat.

For instance:
1.5kg bread flour
1.5kg plain flour
I use the flour, to makes loaves, buns, pizzas, foccacia and roti's.

While one whole chicken can stretch to make four + meals depending on how you sue it.Same as 500g of mince, it just depends on what you do with it.

If you want i'll send you a pm with a kind of meal plan of what i do if you like. If it helps at all.

Nappies when mine were little i used a mixture of dispoable and also towels cut up and make in to nappies. My youngest had very sensitive skin, still does, and nappies and him didn't mix. So i found towels at home were best to give his bottom a rest from manufactured nappies.

If you live in the North East england, they are lots of real nappies campaigns where they give out a starter pack for parents to test out. I know i got a pack from Stockton, which was fab.

Hope the above helps

xxlouisexx56

snugglemunchkin wrote: »

Fancy sharing your meal plans or shopping list :rotfl: My 3yr old eats as much as my 5 yr who both have great appetites. I think the packed lunches for school cost me alot but school dinners would cost £20 a week.

I use sainsburys own brand nappies (14 pounds a month for 2 big packets) and i buy 2 tubs of milk (20 pounds)

I make the baby as much food as i can from our meals and freeze little portions too for another day.

My best money saving tip is for all of us to eat together, so im not having to make seperate meals for DD etc.

I usually only by meat when its reduced and stock it up in the freezer. Same with jars of sauce, i only buy when they are on offer.

I keep bread in the freezer and only buy what i need.

emmad5689

Hi, i'm afraid i'm not much help as I too would like to get my bills down too but I always buy nappies and wipes when they are on offer as you generally find that the branded nappies work out cheaper than supermarkets own when on offer, unless you are using value of course.

I get a stock in the freezer whenever we get farmfoods vouchers through the post and keep an eye on the supermarket offers over the internet so i can decide where I am best to shop each time and stock up on things we use often when they are on offer.

I have been using the farmfoods frozen meats and these are pefectly fine and work out cheaper than fresh. like people say try and shop in the reduced section although this means shopping late at night which i find isn't always possible with 2 children let alone 3.

Hope you finds some answers xx

queenie68

I totally agree with kezlou the mabz thread it is compulsive reading and i have learnt amazing tips on how to stretch food and which value brands are lovely it really is a great read plus she puts on her mealplan

Emmala

When my youngest's first attempt at potty training failed I bought Tesco's value nappies.....they were FAB!!! Yes, they were a bit basic looking but they were brilliant and dead cheap! Sains basics also good, and I have friends who swear by Lidls own nappies.

Also, meal plan and pad out the meal if you can.....eg last week I made Spag Bol with lots of veggies chopped very small so the kids didn't notice, used enough for four of us that night, made the base of a shepherds pie with some, and turned a portion into chilli to go with my baked pots the next day. SO one pack of mince (500g I think) went a long way. Chicken on Sunday did a roast (there are 5 of us too....me, DH, DS1 who's 8, DD who's 6 and DS2 who's 3)....then a load of meat went into chicken pie for yesterday's tea (again for all 5 of us) and there was enough meat to do sandwiches for the oldest two yesterday and today.....and the cats have both enjoyed a chicken supper for the last two nights!!!

Good luck xxx

SpikyHedgehog

valk_scot wrote: »

Four months is a bit late to be changing to breastfeeding if the baby is currently bottle fed, don't you think?

Reusables are definately cheaper though, if you can get inexpensive or even free nappies to avoid the start up costs. OP, you should ask around your friends to see if they've got any tucked away from their own baby days.

D'oh! That will teach me to go back & check the what the original post says instead of responding to what I think it says... My apologies.

natlie wrote: »

no both on sandwiches DD2 is allergic to egg and they wont change menu:(

I was in the same position when DS1 started school, on Income Support so eligible for free school meals, but we're vegetarian and till he was about 10, he had food intolerance to egg & dairy - so vegan, but by food intolerance not choice.

I'd be inclined to claim free school meals anyway as you'll be entitled as this alerts the school to the fact that you may not able to pay for things so could need help with paying for school trips etc, it also gets the school more money per child claiming free school meals. You don't actually have to be getting the meals to get the benefits of claiming them.

And, more importantly, I'd be saying to the school and the county catering service 'This is my child's needs, how are you going to meet them?' Copies of letters to the school governors, etc...

In my county, the menu is set centrally, but each school that cooks their own meals has some lee-way to meet individual needs. I'd have though even if the meals are cooked at a different school and brought into the school, there still should be the facility to say 'This child needs an egg-free meal, what can we do?'

I will admit with DS1 that he ended up with exciting boiled veg & carbohydrates (chips, rice, plain pasta, bread...) and I did give him a protein rich meal at home, and we also agreed that instead of the usual fruit or veg snack, I'd provide him with a protein rich snack for school, so it wasn't amazing. But it does mean that bit less that's coming out of your budget.

Even now, DS2 will come home having had salad & bread with yoghurt for pudding - but it's a meal I don't have to provide for him.

ubamother

Another thought or two - sometimes because the pennies going out of the purse at point of sale are the ones we notice, it's easy to think of cutting down on food costs first, when there may be a fair bit of 'hidden' money going out. Gas and electric costs can be invisible as you don't put money in the meter, so it can be harder to see the waste. If you get a electric usage monitor you can see very quickly what your use is, and what puts it up and down. Simple things like 2 minutes less in the shower, turning off mobile chargers, printers, lights etc. will all make a difference. However small an amount of electricity wasted, it can really add up over five or six lights or plug-ins etc. If you could really push this with the family (and given a choice of turning off chargers and lights or not having the food treats they like it shouldn't be too hard!) and everyone takes responsibility for this, over the months you may find yourself spending less on fuel so there may be spare for your food budget.