£140 month food budget for two

Liz3yy

Hi all,

After some advice, OH has sadly been laid off (again....long story, don't go there) and and we need to watch the pennies.

My question is, do people here think it's realistic to keep to a £140 month food / grocery budget? there are two of us, no children or pets.

I normally shop at Tesco and by buying fresh, lots of reduced stuff where poss and avoiding ready meals the weekly spend is normally around £40

Any ideas / suggestions? all thoughts welcome however mad they may seem

browneyedbazzi

There are two of us in my house as well and our grocery spend is no more than £140 (and often a fair bit less than that!)

I do the majority of my shopping at sainsburys but also go to morrisons and asda on occasion to see what offers are on and to top on a few things that are better/cheaper at those shops. I don't have set lists when I go but tend to see what's on offer and put a meal plan together in my head while I'm there. I don't tend to do 'big shops' as I prefer to go a couple of times a week and buy things fresh.

cazj80

We have two adults, two children -1 and 2, and a cat and we have a food budget of £140, it can be hard but it is doable. I stock up. Offers, yellow sticker and then plan meals round them, and shop around, if you do all your shopping in one shop you'll spend more, or I've found that anyway

santer_2

See if you get on with own brands

Tick the supermarkets convenient for you, set the score to 8+ then enter a search item.

http://www.supermarketownbrandguide.co.uk/search.php?table=all

Maybe leave branded unticked, you can also tick for any dietary requirements and fairtrade etc.

Liz3yy

We don't buy own brands, I think they are a waste of money. I buy supermarket own or value if they are any good. Because we already have a few bits in the freezer I'm going to Tesco tonight with a budget of £25 - I'll report later and let you know how I got on.

myusernamehasgone_2

4 of us, my monthly budget is £100. going to the supermarkets later in the evening you will find a lot reduced so tend to stock the freezer up to lengthen the use by dates stock up on offers, make a list and stick to it or shop on line then you don't impulse buy.

Upsidedown_Bear

You might find these threads useful.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4084527

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4148389

quintwins

5 of us here for £200 a month, again no brands unless cheaper than value and shopping late at night and meal planning.

shopbot

When people post about monthly food budgets do these include lunches either at work or packed lunch...or is it just breakfast and dinner?

cazj80

shopbot wrote: »

When people post about monthly food budgets do these include lunches either at work or packed lunch...or is it just breakfast and dinner?

Mine is for everything - food for all meals, cleaning stuff, nappies and wipes

Liz3yy

Well I think I did well tonight, got a weeks shopping for £28 - that includes 3 meals a day, with some snacks too. If I can keep this up then we'll be fine