What is the absolute minimum you need to survive on?

[Deleted User]

andyfromotley wrote: »

** TV licence? hmm I think realistically most of us view this as an essential.

I don't, and nor do a million + others.

You can see most programmes (if you really can't do without them) on catchup.

Liliyanna

Just to second what Dylan2011 said, I spend between £80-£100 a month on groceries for two adults, this includes all cleaning products and toiletries.

For those who are sceptical here is an excerpt from a post I wrote a little while ago explaining how......

I batch cook everything we eat. I make Curry / Chilli / Lasagne / Shepherds Pie / Chicken Stew / Meatballs etc. I portion them up and throw them in the freezer, pull them out before work and they're defrosted when we come home, throw them in the microwave, job done. Saves on time, washing up and electricity. I have my main recipes listed by contents and price per portion. If it's an especially tough month I choose my recipes by cost rather than what I would actually like to eat. I shop on one day and batch cook the next. As you cook everything together it means there's no wastage, everything gets used up.

I make a shopping list using mysupermarket.co.uk and compare prices on everything, I put alerts on the more expensive items so I get an email when they price drop so I can decide to bulk buy outside of my usual shopping times if it's a good enough deal. One of these is the Oral B disposable electric toothbrushes which we both agreed we wouldn't compromise on. They generally sell for £6 but Tesco puts them on offer at £2.50-3 and Adsa puts them on offer now and again at £2. When I get the email from Asda I'm round like a shot stocking up! I prefer to go shopping alone as I always feel pressured to buy 'off list' if the OH is with me (sometimes its like having a small child with you !!). Aldi super six has become a firm favourite and I often pick my batch cook meals to take advantage of what they have. That said Morrisons have now started price matching Aldi and do their own version of the super six so I can generally get whatever I need.

I don't know if you've read it yet but MSE talks about the brand match challenge, dropping down the brands till you can find one you're happy with. We we went cold turkey straight away and I started buying the basics range of toiletries from the start. To be honest there wasn't that much difference, it is noticeable but it's certainly tolerable. It may take a bit of shopping around till you're happy though. OH prefers Morrisons mouthwash to Tesco and I prefer branded shampoo but will only buy it when it comes on offer.

Our main two shops are Aldi and Tesco simply for price reasons. We signed up for scan and shop with Tesco so when I shop I take my bags and put all my value range straight into my bag so it's not on display so I never feel awkward if I bump into any of my colleagues. Because you scan everything as you go you also find if there are any unadvertised bargains as you go along. I recently scanned a £1.79 jar of green thai curry paste and it came up as 50p so I stocked up!!.

We 'yellow sticker' shop as often as possible. Our local Co-op drops their prices at 6pm and Tesco and Morrisons just a little earlier, Aldi does it throughout the day and you have to look out for the red 50% stickers. Buy as much as you can and freeze what you don't use with an eye to batch cooking next month. I always have an eye out for good meat reductions and some months don't have to buy any as I've already stockpiled discounted meat.

When I first started batch cooking we bought a stand up freezer from ebay for £50 and it's brilliant. We freeze just about everything, milk, cheese, bread, rice, veg, wraps etc. As I do the main shop once a month it's a god send. We always keep pasta and tinned tomatoes etc in the cupboard as a standby for when we get a bit fed up of batch cooked meals. So I always try and keep veg in the freezer, frozen sliced mushrooms are just as good as standard fresh ones when cooked and are cheaper by weight. I always keep bags of green beans/leeks/peas in the freezer to bulk out any batch cook meal if we're extra hungry. I make a lot of curries so always need natural yoghurt but wasted so much as it's always cheaper to buy the big pot but you only need a small amount, I now put the extra into an ice cube bag and freeze it, when I need some I can then just pop out a few cubes and they melt straight into the curry.


......I'm sure you get the general idea!

Lily
x x

andyfromotley

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I don't, and nor do a million + others.

You can see most programmes (if you really can't do without them) on catchup.

Hi bob,

Yeah i know people do but i guess we all have our own view of essential. Thats why i said most of us. If it ever got to the stage where the £12.12 was critical then i would be happy to re assess it. But for now, for me it comes under essentials.

Same story with mobiles too. Some people manage without them. But again for me they squeeze onto the essential list.

[Deleted User]

andyfromotley wrote: »

Same story with mobiles too. Some people manage without them. But again for me they squeeze onto the essential list.

Actually, not having a landline, my mobile is pretty much an essential (it doubles as a landline), but I keep the running cost to a minimum.

For just £10pm (less than most line rentals), I get unlimited landline calls (01, 02 & 03 numbers), 120 minutes of mobile to mobile calls, with the £10 (which never expires) as well.

HappyMJ

dylan2011 wrote: »

just wanted to say, pop over to the Old Stylers board for advice re. the grocery budget. I really find it quite derogative reading comments about spending less than £210 a month not being healthy for 2 people etc. We are a family of 4, and spend £200-£250 a month. We cook from scatch, and eat a very balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg daily, fair size meat portions etc.

I was commenting on the posts regarding spending £18 per month for a balanced diet with everything else and that is impossible and the shopping list provided proved it. I think we should spend enough to be healthy. The rest of your post explained how you can get a family of 4 fed and clean for £250 a month....that's fair. £18 a month is not.

UK prisoners get fed for about £2 a day. They bulk buy food in at a very cheap rate...it's not top quality nosh... They use free labour i.e the prisoners themselves to cook the food. Each prisoner also gets a weekly allowance of £2.50 a week to buy toiletries with. They also get free toilet roll, razors and soap. We could take those figures as the minimum required to support yourself. So how about £75 a month per person for groceries. Is that a more acceptable figure.

Deep_In_Debt

Interesting exercise and I've been looking in to my finances for a while now as I fancy working part time for a bit. I gave up a well paying job in London a year ago and now temping locally. Mortgage paid off last year.

Council tax: £126 (single person discount, live in 2 up 2 down mid terrace, expensive area)
House insurance: £11pm
Car Insurance: £24pm
TV licence: £12.12
Mobile: PAYG - variable at the moment as I have to ring recruitment agencies a lot regarding work and interviews - £5pm. Previously £5 would last me a few months.
Phone/BB/Internet: £21.00
Pet Ins: £20.00 (2 elderly cats)
Groceries incl. cat food: £150pm (I try and batch cook when I have time)
Petrol: £60pm
Car expenses: £20pm (new car purchased last year so mainly just tax and servicing costs at the moment)
Elec: £40pm
Water: £10pm (water meter)
Extras (haircuts etc): £10pm

My maths is rubbish but I guess that works out at around £458.12 so I can afford to work part time. Just need to find the right job.

andyfromotley

Flipping heck your council tax is a lot!!!

andyfromotley

Deep_In_Debt wrote: »

My maths is rubbish but I guess that works out at around £458.12 so I can afford to work part time. Just need to find the right job.

Bad news........ its £509. Back to work!

Deep_In_Debt

andyfromotley wrote: »

Bad news........ its £509. Back to work!

Lol! Said my maths is rubbish! Back to school for me more like!

Yes, CT is rubbish. Even if I reduce my groceries it works out my most costly expense which I can't do anything about.

I'm working full time at the moment but really want part time and I think I can do it - just need to find the right job.

[Deleted User]

Deep_In_Debt wrote: »

Council tax: £126

Is this over 10 months?

If so, switching to 12 months will reduce it to £105 pm.