Diary of a home owner wannabe (my 6 year journey)

PrincessLou

Penny,

Out of interest, how much do you budget per month/year for food for your family?

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Good for you Penny , it is really hard to budget ahead so far but your positive attitude will go a very long way,

Squirrel

pennyforthepot

PrincessLou wrote: »

Penny,

Out of interest, how much do you budget per month/year for food for your family?

Hi PrincessLou - a good question and one I struggle to get a handle on. I budget £400 a month for a family of 5 (3 teenagers) - this includes all our toiletries and cleaning products as well. I used to allow £600 but for the past 12 months have tried to reduce it down to £400. I've not yet managed it but usually only about £20 to £30 over. I mainly cook from scratch and we eat meat everyday and also includes a roast which typically costs around £10 to £12 for the meat. I think the only way I can do it is to do at least one meat free meal a week - something the men in the house won't appreciate it. We also have kids friends over quite a lot so that all adds up.

Not quite a straight answer but I'm sure you get my drift

PFTP x

pennyforthepot

Secret_Saving_Squirrel wrote: »

Good for you Penny , it is really hard to budget ahead so far but your positive attitude will go a very long way,

Squirrel

Thanks Squirrel - I really enjoyed reading your journey to Mortgage Freedom - a belated congratulations from me :beer:

PFTP x

pennyforthepot

A little late in the day for me to be posting but my PC was being reloaded with Windows this morning after many months of it playing up.

Spent much of the day on the sofa yesterday - feeling very sorry for myself and incapable of doing much. I was productive though as I went onto Rightmove and Primelocations looking at apartment prices in the area that we are looking to buy. I have taken an interest in some new developments which I think will rent out easier and at a better price if I do decide to buy to let. It also means that I may be able to fix a price before the development is built which will give me more time to ensure I have the funds in place. I am going to make an appointment with some estate agents next week to see what they have to say on the matter.

TO DO LIST:

• [STRIKE]horrendous mountain of washing to do[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]Ironing[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]clean up the bedrooms[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]tidy up the laundry room[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]budget accounts[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]read and action emails[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]sewing[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]make cottage pie for dinner[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]take DD to a gym class that she has just started tonight[/STRIKE]
• write a list of everything that I need to do - to stop it buzzing round in my mind

Hoping for a NSD today

PFTP x

edinburgher

Your budget sounds quite restrained, PFTP. Mrs E and I budget £200/mth for the two of us. Then again, I suppose there are some economies of scale when shopping for a family?

On the plus side, we normally have some left over.

pennyforthepot

edinburgher wrote: »

Your budget sounds quite restrained, PFTP. Mrs E and I budget £200/mth for the two of us. Then again, I suppose there are some economies of scale when shopping for a family?

On the plus side, we normally have some left over.

It is quite tight Edinburgher - though I know people on here who seem to be able to get theirs substantially lower. I never compromise on food as I think it's so important to eat well and enjoy what you eat but I rarely get convenience food which sometimes I think would be a lot cheaper. Economies of scale plays a big part of my shopping strategy - ie I bought a massive bag of onions which will last us at least a month for £1.60 and I also rarely buy anything full price . When food budgets came up at a dinner party not so long ago a lot of my friends spent upwards of £1000 a month - I think savvy shopping has a lot to do with keeping costs down as does batch cooking and having the time to shop around.

PFTP x

pennyforthepot

NSD for me yesterday :j - aiming for another one today, but will have to troop down the shops tomorrow as I have to post a parcel and pick up some veg. I have £49 left in my food budget which needs to last another 15 days - giving me a daily spend of £3.24 :eek:

I depressed myself a little bit yesterday by looking on Rightmove at the new developments for 2 bed flats. The prices were astronomical and the speed at which they are increasing in price is prohibative for so many people and are being snapped up as soon as they go on sale before they have even been built. I definately need to do lots of research over the next few months.

TO DO LIST:

• [STRIKE]GT&WI[/STRIKE]
• write the list that I never wrote yesterday
• [STRIKE]go through admin and action where necessary[/STRIKE]
• get on top of business accounts - again work in progress
• sort out DH taxes (on going job)
• bangers and mash for tea
• take DS to programming course
• [STRIKE]print out a tube map and start to identify potential areas to buy a flat[/STRIKE]

On the MS front I got my first TCB tracked yesterday :j

Keep warm and dry - its miserable out there

PFTP x

edinburgher

When food budgets came up at a dinner party not so long ago a lot of my friends spent upwards of £1000 a month

That would not surprise me. When we moved to London, we stayed with a small family (parents and a little girl). They chucked out so much good food (whole packets of sausages, bread, 'luxury' yoghurts and sauces, fruit etc.) that it was like one of those programs on TV where folk live off Waitrose bin contents and open up the dumpster to see enough food to feed hundreds!

Coming back on topic, I think a lot of people are really carp at avoiding waste.

Are you worried that London house prices are 'frothy'? I know it's normally a good tip to ignore the financial press, but impending doom for London housing never seems to be far away from the by-lines. Not convinced myself, but what do I know...

pennyforthepot

edinburgher wrote: »

That would not surprise me. When we moved to London, we stayed with a small family (parents and a little girl). They chucked out so much good food (whole packets of sausages, bread, 'luxury' yoghurts and sauces, fruit etc.) that it was like one of those programs on TV where folk live off Waitrose bin contents and open up the dumpster to see enough food to feed hundreds!

Coming back on topic, I think a lot of people are really carp at avoiding waste.

Are you worried that London house prices are 'frothy'? I know it's normally a good tip to ignore the financial press, but impending doom for London housing never seems to be far away from the by-lines. Not convinced myself, but what do I know...

'frothy' -liking that term - will adopt it for the day

There is definately a lot of hype in the media about London prices but having done a bit of research I can see that prices are definately on the rise and places are selling quickly. Will be keeping my ear to the ground for a while to see what I can pick up:)

PFTP x