Can £200 for the month really be done now?

happy35

Forgot to say we used to have a takeaway every week but now its is hardly ever as I make them for us.
Pizzas I make using the 5minute no knead bread recipe and even DS says they are nicer than a takeaway.
Curries I make the paste from 'mortgage free in three' and freeze in 3 boxes, i then add different spices to make whichever one we fancy. I also make naan using same recipe as oizzas,.
Chinese is quite new for me, I make honey soy chicken, chow mein, egg fried rice, charsui pork - am hopping to build up a few more dishes.
This has saved at least £20 a week and we don't feel deprived .

MrsSave

My budget for May is £200. We are 2 adults and a toddler.

I have been looking for recipes on the internet this evening. Thank you happy35 for the curry ideas. I am definitely going to be trying that one!!

Good luck on your food budgeting.

Tink_04

Well im about to start my May budget and im deciding if I should try a meal plan for the month or just week to week like I have been doing?

happy35

Tink_04 wrote: »

Well im about to start my May budget and im deciding if I should try a meal plan for the month or just week to week like I have been doing?

I do weekly, tried monthly and couldn't stick to it. If I get good meat offers I then buy enough for a few weeks and plan it in. If you to get a monthly plan to work for you I would be happy to get any tips.

p-pincher

I think it's definitely possible. My budget is between £200 & £250 for 2 adults and 2 kids. It does take a lot of planning but it's definitely worth it. Without it we'd struggle to afford our holidays. I draw out £250 at the beginning of the month and anything that's left either goes into my bulk buy fund or holiday fund.

Planning is the key. I do a big shop at the beginning of the month and then but fresh stuff when needed. I bulk buy and bulk cook and freeze. I always have a stock of homemade freezer meals. I actively search out the best deals for everything, toiletries, cleaning stuff, meat. I hate not getting a deal on stuff. It does help that where I work I'm near an iceland, tesco, sainsburys, heron, butchers, market and numerous pound shops. I also do a big monthly shop at aldi and b and m.

I waste hardly anything. I hate throwing things away. If I have any food that getting on a bit I'll change my meal plan around to make sure everything gets used. I also have a list of cheap meals that everyone likes, things like jacket potatoes, egg and chips, omlette and soup all go down well. If you really put your mind to it I think you'll be fine. Good luck x

Tink_04

Id be interested to know how other people plan and if anyone used a 4 week meal plan.

P-Pincher - I used to do it that way but found I spent loads on my BIG shop id run out of money by the end of the month.

I try to break it down to £50 a week and £50 for big things like washing powder or multiple purchases that are on offer so n I can stock up on, I always struggle and end up dippin into other weeks and never have anything left but im going to really work oon it this month. Lists and meal planning will be my friends.

[Deleted User]

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Probably teaching Grandma to suck eggs but a very good way of making sure everyone is full and stretching those pennies is to make home made vegetable soups and have a bowl of soup before you have your main meal every day. It really helps take the edge off appetites and means that you don't need so much meat on your plate to satisfy you. Old fashioned milk puddings like rice, ground rice, semolina after your main meal also work very well if you like them, have a smaller main plate and the milky cereal fills you up and stops the rumbling tums.

We are sisters under the skin, as that was how my late Mum brought her tribe of three always ravenous children during rationing.
We always either had a soup to start with or a pud to finish, never both :)I still do this over 60 years later and it works for me I make all my own soups as they are so easy and cheap to make ,often using up veg that's been kicking around too long or lentils and tinned tomato's (unless I can get a big bag of Y/S toms when there is a glut).

I make my own pasta sauces as well from reduced price tomatoes In fact I do almost everything from scratch if I can.easier for me perhaps as there is only me to feed and as I am retired I perhaps have more time than a busy Mum ,but it is do-able with a bit of planning I think.

[Deleted User]

I'm sure it's doable JACKIE I've always done it, started when the girls were small and we were paying 15% interest on the mortgage and had only He Who Knows wage coming in. We've always had allotments and grew much of our own fruit and veg even back them and stretched what we did have available because I could make so much from home produce. I was lucky to have a village upbringing and be able to make jams, chutneys, syrups etc that gave us a little bit of luxury, I even made rose hip syrup every year when they were small from wild rose hips we went out and foraged for. Money shortage really is the mother of invention!!!

suki1964

My meal planning is ad hoc

I plan around meat that I can't get either ys or on special

This week I have a turkey breast joint (£1) mince (£2.50) sausages ( £2 ) chicken thighs (£2) I've also bought cheese, ham, bacon

That lot will feed three adults for 6 days along with the veg I've got in and using up some of our own eggs ( I never cook a meal one day a week, it's either eat from the freezer or soup and toastie)

The tiny joint will be padded out with a stuffing found in the freezer left over from Christmas. With cabbage, roasties, parsnips and turnip it will be like a mini Christmas dinner

The mince will be split, keema curry one day and spag Bol another

Chicken thighs will be added to tinned toms, onions , Rosemary and olives, the ones not used will be frozen to use another time

I'm planning quiche using the bacon and eggs , sausages will be either toad or casserole depending on weather

I've a sweet potato, a red pepper, some squidgy toms and ropey scallions sitting ready to be roasted off when I cook tonight to make soup for my lunches this week

So adding the veg, milk, bread and replacement store cupboard ingredients, some crisps, biscuits, yoghurt,pop etc, my shopping bill this week so far has been £22.

£200 a month is entirely doable imo. DH has a physical job as do I so portions here are not small but I'm not adverse to padding out a dish with pulses and veg. We eat cheaper cuts, steak is a treat once in a while but don't feel deprived. I cook a lot of Indian and Chinese meals which are really flavoursome yet need very little meat or fish

Toiletries and cleaning materials are bought when on special. We share a deodorant, we both use the same shampoo and soap. Mum buys her own toiletries. I buy Persil powder when the large box is a fiver ( lasts a couple of months) flash, bleach and fairy sorts out keeping the house clean and toilet roll, tissues and kitchen towel are bought from lidl or savers, same as razors and shaving foam

We don't waste food, not a bit. My fridge sits on the best part of empty so I can just glance in and see what's needed. My freezers are full of odds and sods, left over portions, meals and reduced items and I keep an inventory of all that's there. Same as my larder and store cupboard. This means I know when I'm getting low on something and can keep an eye on the prices and buy when it's a good price rather then doing as I did once and paid £1.39 for a tin of toms from the local shop:eek:

Yes sometimes my shop is a lot more, but the weeks I keep under account for the weeks I go over and whilst I don't have a set budget as so many of us do, I try for £35 a week

[Deleted User]

Gosh that brought back a memory of making rose hip syrup myself years ago with the kids helping to forage. I can too relate to paying 15% on the mortgage and wondering where the next penny came from.
In our house we had a rule ,if its edible, its eaten my two DDs grew up eating virtually anything.There is very little I wouldn't eat, apart from perhaps Tripe, as having eaten it as a small child I just found the taste and texture disgusting.But I am always willing to try things if I can:).
Sell by dates I ignore and use my nose and common sense to tell me if its safe to eat, and its not let me down yet :):)
Came home from DDs last night with three bananas ( she had too many in the packet to eat,she doesn't like them if the have the slightest brown bit on the skins :):)), yet I keep telling her to buy them loose and not wrapped in a packet, bananas come with their own wrapping anyway :):) and two yogurts (she wasn't keen on cherry ones) and a tub of pate that she had bought but decided she wasn't keen on.This will get used during the week by me and certainly not get binned .
So lunch today will be pate on crackers with some HM soup followed by a banana.The yogurt I will have after my evening meal:) All helps to streetch out the stuff in the fridge and cupboards and mean I have less to buy next week when I go shopping :):)