Food Budget

doodledo_2

How much do you budget for food a month?

I am a hopeless cook and a lover of takeaways and I know both these facts have to change to become a DFW.

So this week is payday and I want to budget for our food.

So any tips, I assume meal planning is the best? Do you buy for a month in one go as I find I always run out or do you buy weekly?

What would you consider to be a reasonable amount for a family of 3 (2 adults and a 2 year old)?

immoral_angeluk

Well we budget £50 per week. That's for 2 adults, a 2 1/2 yr old and a 9 month old.
We buy value foods, fresh fruit and veg and meat and only ever buy what we'll eat rather than what we fancy.

Nutty_Tart

We meal plan and only buy whats needed (there are three of us - me, DS and DD). I take out £50/week cash, and £15 of that goes in the car. The rest is for food and anything else needed. I also managed to get most of the school uniform needed for this term (ie. 2x pairs new shoes, new shirts etc). Have you looked on the o/s board for ideas/menus?

doodledo_2

Thanks for that I was estimating around £200 so looks like I am in the right ball park.

Off to look on the OS now for some tips.

I am thinking if I buy weekly it will work better too as we find at the end of the month our cupboards and bare and no spare cash.

JCD_Capulet

Living on my own I spend £40 per month (£20 per fortnight) on food. On a mission to cut this even lower though! :rotfl:

hellocarolina

Make your meal plan and shopping list, then use a supermarket comparison site such as mysupermarket.

It lets you do the online shop at your usual supermarket, but before you check out it suggests item swaps to save you money. It'll also tell you how much cheaper your shop would be at another of the major supermarkets.

You don't actually have to go ahead and order online, but it's a good way to check you're getting the most for your money. For the things I buy each week, Sainsbury's came out £20 more expensive than Asda.... Unfortunately I already shop there :rolleyes:

beemuzed

Definitely head over to the OS board - loads of ideas including for menu planning.