Clueless at budgeting for food, help please?

missty25

Hi,

I'm clueless really about budgeting but needs must as our income has dropped by £200 per month meaning that we need to cut back in food shopping as I have cut all our other bills where possible so this is the only thing left to go down.

My question is dies anyone manage to do this or is it doable? £200 for 2 adults, 1 6 yo, a 8 month old ( who where possible eats what we eat bar salt/stock), a dog and a cat. This is to include formula every week and a half, nappies, all toiletries and cat food and dog food, so basically all household needs every month.

Where do I start, I've gone through cupboards and am meal planning with what's in etc, yogurts for baby are so expensive to get no added sugar etc so thinking if swapping to natural yog and adding fruit purees.

Any help or advice, I normally shop at tesco as it's closest and the last time I was at the closest lidl the fruit and veg quality was awful, it wouldn't have lasted more than a couple of days as a lot if it was already in the turn, so yes while cheaper I think it's a bit of false econmy( or am I kidding myself).

Any help or tips or general advice on how to have a healthy balanced diet but including all of the above tines as well would be much appreciated.

Thanks

richardw

missty25 wrote: »

…. yogurts for baby are so expensive to get no added sugar etc so thinking if swapping to natural yog and adding fruit purees...

This is a great start, you've just got to look at what's expensive and then substitute a good alternative.

maman

I think the fruit and veg at Lidl can be a bit hit and miss but don't dismiss it. If you have an Aldi nearby I'd check that out as they seem to have a much wider range than Lidl (of everything not just f&v). I now do almost all my shopping there, just a few bits from Sainsbury's. I spend less than £50 a week for 2 of us.

Do you mean £200 a week or a month?
Is it all meals for everyone including lunches?

Sorry, I don't have a cat or dog but I'm sure someone will advise soon on best value pet food.

missty25

Thanks for the replies, Aldi is about 10 miles away, so would possibly only go once a fortnight.

Sorry it's £200 a month, I have a bit lee way and could push it up to £250 but then that means we are taking away from our very small budget of £100 for savings, personal spends and family fun things so would rather try to keep it at the £200. But then I think I'm kidding myself that I'll be able to do this. This is for all meals and snacks.

The cat will only eat whiskas, kit e kat and Felix, tried it with every other shops own brand and it just turns it's nose up at won't touch it. The dog is not fussy.

Butterfly_Brain

I get most of my fruit and veg from the market or Aldi if there is something in the super six that I will use.
I buy meat from the local butcher or farm shop because the meat is so much tastier and you can get a lot of cheap cuts of meat. But Aldi meat is good and I use that as well.
Meal planning is a must when you are on a tight budget and always write a list and stick to it.

We have a soup and pudding night once a week, which is home made soup with HM bread followed by either a crumble and custard, a fruit sponge and custard or a sponge pudding with jam, syrup, marmalade or chocolate.

Have a veggie night a couple of days a week such as macaroni cheese (you can add peppers, onions, tomatoes, chunks of bacon, chorizo, slices of pepperoni etc to it )

Try to get a few extra bits to build up a little stock of stuff so that if you get a large bill or unexpected expense you can manage without having to cut back even more.

mummygems

I also struggle with the Aldi/Lidl fruit and veg here as they can be really really bad and only once in a while is it any good which is such a shame.

We are a family of 5 (one still in nappies day and night) with only a hamster and we spend £500 a month which I think we could and should reduce.

Nappies - My DS has sensitive skin so he can only wear pampers baby dry and I buy 2 boxes of these in Asda once a month for £20-£25 depending on the offer. Otherwise Aldi's nappies are meant to be very good. Wipes I buy from sainsburys again because these are the only ones that dont affect his skin and again I only buy on offer.

Formula - The powder is much cheaper per bottle/feed than the made up cartons.

If the kiddies yoghurts are not on offer I think the natural yoghurt route is much better. Otherwise look out for the Ella/Heinz/Plum products when they are on offer.

Homemade snack things like little cakes/cheesy biscuits/fruit muffins etc would work out cheaper and you can cut the amount of sugar usually without any change on the taste.

If you are able to go to the supermarkets in the evening the Yellow Sticker stuff can prove to be a goldmine depending on what you need/want. I do the reductions in sainsburys (we arent allowed to buy any ourselves mind) and sometimes I have whole chickens for 99p later at night.

Things we are going to attempt to bring our cost down is having a pasta meal 2/3 times a week (all the family will happily eat pasta which is a bonus lol). I try and do a cheaper meal like egg and beans or noodles with carrot sticks and then a warm pudding (you would have to tweak some of this to suit the baby).

Pet food - if the dog isnt fussy then I guess you can source the food from anywhere but the cat (like my mums cats) would mean checking on mysupermarket to see who has the cheaper options before you go (that is if you have the supermarkets close enough to you to go to different ones).

Good luck x

starlight29

Hi
Just wanted to say asda little angels nappies are fab if your not already using them I'd give them a try my little boy is 3 and has autism and hyper mobility pampers leak terrible on him little angels don't and little angels are cheaper

Starlight

HappyMJ

I'm sure my pets cost more than me at the supermarket. The cat food is about £1 per day...plus litter at another £8 every 2 weeks and the tray liner at £1 every month plus the worming and flea treatments every few months.

I personally have a shopping budget for them which is whatever it costs (there is no real limit to it they have to eat regularly and have litter) and another one for me which I try and keep to £25 per person per week.

Linda32

I have an idea on the yoghurts. In the frozen sections in supermarkets you can buy frozen berries. You can defrost a few portions at a time and add this to natural yoghurts. OH does this with Tesco Basic yoghurts. He says they taste perfectly alright. I don't eat yoghurt myself so no idea.

I agree with you on Aldi fruit and veg. False economy unless you are buying to freeze in which case it can't go off. We do have a Lidl but Aldi is nearer so I never go to Lidl.

Soworried

That will be very tight. My budget is £ 80 more without buying formula or nappies or pet food and I struggle to keep to it.

Can you try pulling your belt right in for one month then you can set a more liveable budget from there?

About the yoghurt, it is so easy to make it yourself and you know there is no rubbish in it then. There is a link in the recipe thread. Good luck x

gayleygoo

Can you train the cats to go to the toilet outside? I've had a few cats and never had a litter tray (unless we had kittens that needed trained). A cat flap in the door meant they could just go outside whenever they needed to!

It can be hard to drastically reduce your spending in one go. It's better to reduce it a bit at a time if you can, but if that's not possible just try not to worry if you go over budget a wee bit for the first month or two. Sit down and plan some meals, including breakfasts and lunches and work out the shopping list. Order online if it helps you avoid impulse buys in the supermarket.

I used cloth nappies most of the time, but I found the Lidl brand disposables to be very reliable and reasonably priced