3rd of people cutting back on food to pay housing costs

homelessskilledworker

Thrugelmir wrote: »

No one is giving up their mobile phone or sky subscription though.

Nobody?

Link please

BigAunty

ILW wrote: »

There is a difference between cutting down on food spending, and cutting down on food.

Replacing the M & S with Tescos stuff will not affect your health.

Good distinction.

A member of MSE produced a website where a family of 4 can feed themselves for an entire month for £100.

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

I've recommended it on the benefit forum for those reporting that they can't cut their costs any further. However, I once got a sniffy response from another member along the lines that it is dull.

I suspect few families spend £25 per week on their food shopping for all meals. I bet few people who live on their own get their groceries down to this sum, let alone feed three others.

LilacPixie

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Having a few friends who work in in the Health Service. There is a growing realisation that disposable income over the next few years will be reduced. As they are at the top of their grading scales (many service years). So will be restricted to 2 years of 1% increases by 2015. Out of which they will be paying increased pension costs.

No complaints. Just an acceptance of what's to come. Maybe its a generational thing in being thrifty. As many remember childhood days when times were tougher.

I agree. My husband was made redundant in October, he was only not working for 6 weeks and had notice pay so financially we were OK but looking at what we were spending on a weekly basis was a real eye opener. I suspect many are looking at their own budgets in a similar way and realising what cuts can actually be made.

Still keeping my car, mobile and holiday though.

LilacPixie

BigAunty wrote: »

Good distinction.

A member of MSE produced a website where a family of 4 can feed themselves for an entire month for £100.

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

I've recommended it on the benefit forum for those reporting that they can't cut their costs any further. However, I once got a sniffy response from another member along the lines that it is dull.

I suspect few families spend £25 per week on their food shopping for all meals. I bet few people who live on their own get their groceries down to this sum, let alone feed three others.

The carrot cake and savoury scones recipes on that website are really good.

BigAunty

We eat veggie in our house so I'm not sure we could cut back that much as all meals are cooked from scratch. We have a take away once a month and drink modestly, rarely have dessert.

Porridge or toast for breakfast, soup, salad or hummus and oatcakes for lunch. For dinner, there's pasta, stir fries, curry, chilli, baked potatoes, toad in the hole, lentil stew and they are only bound to cost a pound or two a head.

Because we don't run a car and the cat litter is so bulky, we get home delivery from the supermarket.

On the rare occasions I do a proper shop to a big supermarket, I am horrified by the trolley loads of crap that some families take to the check-out, and the stonking end bill they pay.

[Deleted User]

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Having a few friends who work in in the Health Service. There is a growing realisation that disposable income over the next few years will be reduced. As they are at the top of their grading scales (many service years). So will be restricted to 2 years of 1% increases by 2015. Out of which they will be paying increased pension costs.

No complaints. Just an acceptance of what's to come. Maybe its a generational thing in being thrifty. As many remember childhood days when times were tougher.

for all but the very oldest now times gone by werent exactly tougher just different

undetterred

BigAunty wrote: »

We eat veggie in our house so I'm not sure we could cut back that much as all meals are cooked from scratch. We have a take away once a month and drink modestly, rarely have dessert.

Porridge or toast for breakfast, soup, salad or hummus and oatcakes for lunch. For dinner, there's pasta, stir fries, curry, chilli, baked potatoes, toad in the hole, lentil stew and they are only bound to cost a pound or two a head.

Because we don't run a car and the cat litter is so bulky, we get home delivery from the supermarket.

On the rare occasions I do a proper shop to a big supermarket, I am horrified by the trolley loads of crap that some families take to the check-out, and the stonking end bill they pay.

Ditch the cat.

bargainbunny

I get home delivery too as if I went myself I would
spend more plus with home delivery I can get mainly basic brand with out snobby comments;) wey hey I saved lots...

Have just done a budget and reduced my food bill to £150 month but that does include bulk buy products so next month it will be much cheaper
1 adult 2 teens, I dog for my autistic son.. I cat to help my stress:D

have stopped smoking too plus my mobile is pay as you go giffgaff
which I have reduced from £15 to £5 month..mainly because my friend calls me non stop and I get free mins with giff gaff as bonus.

I eat at brewers fair or such like.. which have offers like bogoff
so £3-50 each.. for full buffet curry which is a treat/date:D

I have cut back on heating though as I have been storing wood and tbh if/when it snows I would spend on heating.

So maybe people are just preparing for when it gets really tough, I know I am..
My bf spends about £10 on food..barely eats tbh and hardly uses the gas.. he defiantly is one of the shelter statistics and he works 2 jobs
but has alot of debts.

Im not in debt but with these new changes in benefit caps I think I could end up that way..hence why I took advice from here.

bendix

homelessskilledworker wrote: »

Nobody?

Link please

Try the debtfreewannabe board on this forum. Numerous examples of it over there. How about the single mum of two this week who posted her income /expenses survey this week to reveal she can't get buy on £1800 a month (of which £1700 is welfare) but who's expenses include Sky, a mobile phone, haircuts and £85 a month smoking habit.

Or, my favourite, the guy who is £300,000 in debt and morbidly obese (his words not mine), yet whose posts - so heartily applauded by the huggers on that forum - reveal trips to McDonalds with his family to reward himself for running two km that morning, and who never fails to post without mentioning polishing off a bottle or two of wine washed down by whisky each night.

pqrdef

bendix wrote: »

Try the debtfreewannabe board on this forum. Numerous examples of it over there. How about the single mum of two this week

Do you follow that board just to torment yourself?

It would have me crawling up the walls.