Average monthly spend?

Kirri

Spider_In_The_Bath wrote: »

This is why I cannot understand how people manage to spend just £60.00 a month on food. That works out at about £2.00 a day for three meals. One Pink Lady apple and you would have just blown 1/4 of your food budget for the day!

Agree ^ I spend more than that on fruit and veg alone!

razzarach

JackieO wrote: »

I live alone and have a food budget of £60.00 per month and with careful planning and only buying what I need and menu planning I find that I usually have a small amount left over at the end of the month

Hi, What do you do re breakfast etc and is it all homecooked/fresh?

Rachel:)

maman

Kirri wrote: »

Agree ^ I spend more than that on fruit and veg alone!

I think you'll find that the way to go is to leave the pink ladies where they are;) and opt for cheaper apples.


I think another reason some can manage on a lot less is to do with investment and long term planning. So I, too, spend most of my regular weekly shopping money on fruit and veg with some milk, bread and yogurt. Other staples like cheese, coffee, tea, cleaning stuff I don't need every week. That's because I have all the meat/fish and basics to make meals already at home in the freezer/cupboards. I've bought these and batch cooked, stored or portioned them up over time. It does mean you need to have some cash for buying up offers when you see them but I've found it the most economical way to eat healthily and well. I think people like JackieO call it a 'second purse' but I'm not sure of the details.

[Deleted User]

razzarach wrote: »

Hi, What do you do re breakfast etc and is it all homecooked/fresh?

Rachel:)

I either have bran flakes from the basic range at 89p a box which lasts me for ages ,30-40gms with a splash of milk and a chopped banana on top will take me through until lunchtime from 7.30 in the morning .Or in the winter I like a bowl of porridge ,again the basic bag, as I am not eating the box it came in :).a small cup of that, with two equal cups of water stirred in and left overnight on the hob to soak in I then add a splash of water to it in the morning cook and stir for two or three minutes on the cooker until thick pour into my bowl add a sprinkle of salt and some milk and voila a filling,warming breakfast on cold mornings.

I don't eat bread anymore but a couple of crackers (Crackerbread is often on offer) if you look around for about 89p for a big box, or Lidls' or Aldi's equivelent Ryvita crackers are only about 60p a packet. with a boiled egg is also fairly nutricious and filling.

Or I will chop up an apple from the bowl thats past its best and maybe getting a bit wrinkly (like me :)) and mix it in with a few raisins in a small dish of plain yoghurt (Yoghurt is 45p a big tub if you buy the basic stuff) there are lots of breakfasty things you can have.
An omelette with a bit of grated cheese in, or I save the stalks from mushrooms and dice and cook them for a tasty omelette filling.

If you buy a pack of 'cooking bacon bits' from the supermarket a big pack is about £1.20ish and I divide it into portions I can get around four to five portions then wrap them tightly in cling film and freeze you can have a portion cooked on a Sunday morning with and egg for very little.

I do enjoy good eggs though and only buy the multipack cheapy ones for baking cakes or biscuits.My local butchers do large free-range eggs for 99p for 6. or if I am really pushing the boat out I will buy some from M & S as they are very nice and have a good deep yellow yolk.

Scrambled eggs are nice for breakfast as well with a bit of parmesan sprinkled on top. I like to have food that will be energy providing for the morning ahead so tend to eat as much fresh stuff as I can.By cutting out bread in the past 6 months I have lost two and a half stone and I must say I don't miss that either :):)

shiney85

There's two of us and we spend around £150 a month on groceries, this includes household things like loo rolls and washing tablets. We (The royal we...I do all the budgeting and shopping lol) do a big Sainsburys shop when we get paid, buy a hug bag of spuds, stock up on chopped toms, meat, frozen veggies, freeze a couple of loaves and milks etc, then we buy bits as we need them through the month. I am a real foodie though and will buy the odd treat so I'm not always 100% strict! Home Bargains is amazing, there's only one here on the South Coast but on my way home luckily, 18 loo rolls for £3.99! I've just moved offices though, which is right near a lovely new Lidl, I've bought the odd bit there and was amazed to see Hovis loaves (2 for £2 in Sainsb) for 75p, so next month I'm giving there a go instead! I think it's just seaching for bargains and trying to break the habit of buying the same things in the same store, we do tend to be loyal to one store!

SeduLOUs

We spend roughly £70 a week for two of us and the dog, this includes general household items, lightbulbs, cleaning products, loo roll etc.

I'm always trying to cut it back and go for no brands, or buy larger tubs of the stuff that doesn't go off, but I'm struggling to reduce it further unless we start going to Aldi instead of Tesco.

With full time work whilst studying a degree, I just can't be bothered to walk around a supermarket/shops and always have shopping delivered. In fairness, my shopping bill has reduced dramatically since ordering online and you can see the total going up.

If I nip in to Tesco for a 'few bits' I normally come out with a basket of crap that has cost me £30. I don't trust myself in store!

Kirri

maman wrote: »

I think you'll find that the way to go is to leave the pink ladies where they are;) and opt for cheaper apples.

I don't think I've ever bought a pink lady apple however specifics aside, my point was it's the quantity of fresh fruit and veg I wouldn't get on the more miniscule budgets I see on this board.

maman

Kirri wrote: »

I don't think I've ever bought a pink lady apple however specifics aside, my point was it's the quantity of fresh fruit and veg I wouldn't get on the more miniscule budgets I see on this board.

Yes, some budgets do seem rather tight but sadly I think it's a case of 'needs must' with many.


I'm fortunate that we have a really good Aldi nearby and I get loads of fruit and veg there at very good prices which helps me keep within a reasonable figure overall.

[Deleted User]

maman wrote: »

I think you'll find that the way to go is to leave the pink ladies where they are;) and opt for cheaper apples.


I think another reason some can manage on a lot less is to do with investment and long term planning. So I, too, spend most of my regular weekly shopping money on fruit and veg with some milk, bread and yogurt. Other staples like cheese, coffee, tea, cleaning stuff I don't need every week. That's because I have all the meat/fish and basics to make meals already at home in the freezer/cupboards. I've bought these and batch cooked, stored or portioned them up over time. It does mean you need to have some cash for buying up offers when you see them but I've found it the most economical way to eat healthily and well. I think people like JackieO call it a 'second purse' but I'm not sure of the details.

So when you calculate how much you actually spend on food do you count this food bought previously in another budget / category?

I look at what we spend yearly and then divide by 52 for an average weekly spend. Some weeks it can be £45 and other weeks, when doing a massive re-stock, it can be £120, but it averages out at about £65 a week.

maman

Spider_In_The_Bath wrote: »

So when you calculate how much you actually spend on food do you count this food bought previously in another budget / category?

I look at what we spend yearly and then divide by 52 for an average weekly spend. Some weeks it can be £45 and other weeks, when doing a massive re-stock, it can be £120, but it averages out at about £65 a week.

Yes, that's right. It's an average over time. I keep meaning to work it out exactly. Perhaps next time the freezer's really low I'll have a starting point but that's not going to be any time soon. I have heard of people who actually 'buy' from their stores (in that they shift money around) but it all sounds a bit complicated to me. I know I'm fortunate in that I have the money to be able to afford to save (if that makes sense) I just hate being ripped off.