Grocery Budget for One

Ayeshalush

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Theses sorts of questions seem to come up with surprisingly regularity. How long is a piece of string?

I currently spend between £60/£80ish per week.

I would suggest if your concerned about cost you cook/prepare all your meals from scratch from ingredients...... nope a jar of past sauce doesn’t count as from scratch!

Thank you for your reply. I'm just looking for an idea of what I should be aiming for and whether my current spends are outrageous or not.

Pasta sauce is the one thing I would never buy and always make from scratch, however it is something I very rarely have these days being on a low carb diet.

Ayeshalush

JackieO wrote: »

I have a food budget of £60.00 per month but I don't cook at least twice a week as I go to my DDs for Sunday dinner, and the pub once a week for quiz night (costs £2.00) and I get a meal thrown in. My breakfast is usually cereal or porridge ,lunches usually HM soup and cheese and crackers. I use up every scrap if I can, and I meal plan every week in advance. Cleaning materials are not too much of a problem as vinegar and bicarb are excellent cleaners along with Stardrops which is 69p a bottle in Poundstretchers. I draw the same amount of cash out each month and whatever is left over goes into my holiday account. its doable to reduce the amount you spend simply pay by cash and keep a firm grip of it, and actually go less near the shops unless you really need something ,don't get into a shopping trip when hungry or without a shopping list.Practice makes perfect and baby steps will get you there Make a list of what's needed and stick to it.So many things are unnecessary I more or less shop as I did when I first got married in 1962.Streetching cash out is almost second nature to me

Thanks for your reply JackieO. Cleaning materials is one area I could cut back on. I do tend to buy branded products but only when they are on offer. I'm sure I have some Stardrops somewhere so will dig them out and start using again.

I could never get down to £60/month, well done. Unfortunately my medical conditions dictate a low carb diet so many low cost fillers are out for me. Porridge, cereal, toast etc for breakfast is a no-no. Usually eggs or greek yogurt and a (very) few berries for me. My options are quite limited. I do make soups for lunch but only other option is really salad as I take my lunch to work.

I get my shopping delivered which I know, means I miss out on yellow stickered bargains, although to be fair the times I shop there are very few to be had, but also means I only buy what I need and always review my basket before I check out.

Meal planning is definitely something I need to get back to.

Thanks for the ideas

Ayeshalush

doingitanyway wrote: »

£150 a month doesn't seem that bad to me. It depends. Are you in debt? If not it depends on your income. I also eat low carb and high quality protein with tons of fresh veggies, sometimes organic so it costs more. I think its worth it as eating properly and avoiding junk is important for my health.

That said this month I am aiming for £100 but there is already quite a bit in the freezer.

I'm not in debt, other than my mortgage, so I can up the budget if I have to, although my overall budget has definitely got a bit tighter in the last few months with costs in general rising.

It def costs more to eat low carb but I think if I go back to buying less 'prepared' products I should be able to cut back a little.

This is all stuff I 'know' already but just 'chatting' about it makes me more conscious of what I am currently doing and what I need to be doing. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and replies.

Ayeshalush

caronc wrote: »

I work on £30 per week but look at this as monthly/annual cost for me rather than a fixed weekly/monthly spend. I eat very well but do enjoy cooking from scratch. I'm not able to shop in Lidl/Aldi or make use of YS reductions. This includes all food, non-alcoholic drinks and household supplies

£150 per month doesn't seem excessive to me but it depends on a) can you afford this and b) if you can would you rather be spending the money on other things? If the answer is yes and no then I'd say go with it and make savings as when you can or want to. However, if it puts pressure on your finances or you have another use for this cash then yes you could get it down a bit. I know I could reduce mine without compromising what I want to eat.
You mention low carb which can be more costly but cheese & eggs can make the basis of cheap but healthy meals. Are you restricting all carbs or just refined/High GI ones? If your diet allows pulses and beans are cheap and nutrious and many freeze well if you want to cook a big batch from scratch rather than buying tinned. Meat wise the cheaper cuts are tasty but do need longer cooking so a slow cooker can be good for these. Soups and stews can be a good way of making a smaller amount of meat go quite far. Chicken thighs are cheaper than breasts and if you don't mind portioning a whole chicken can be good value especially if you use the carcass for stock/soup. I buy bags of frozen pollock fillets which are cheap and very versatile. Low carb veg like cauliflower can work well as "rice" or mash to bulk out meals and cauli cheese is a cheap and easy meal. Leftover cauli cheese can be thinned with stock or milk to make a tasty soup. Leeks or courgettes work well instead of pasta in lasagne.

If health issues are restricting you from cooking from scratch are there times when you can get more done? If so and you have the freezer space perhaps use the good spells to do some batch preparing/cooking. There are lots of sites online where folk prepare lots of meals to the ready to cook point then just defrost and cook when required.
As Farway has said pop over to CFO and I'm sure we can give lots of ideas.

Thanks caronc, from yours and others replies it looks as though it should be possible to reduce the budget it a bit. I can afford £150 but it means reducing my mortgage overpayments which I would prefer not to do if I don't have to. Unfortunately pulses and beans aren't allowed which is very frustrating as I love both (as well as past, rice and bread lol ) . Absolutely cannot face another plate of cauli rice lol but I do like cauliflower cheese and would never have though of making it into soup, thank you for that idea. It's a long time since I bought a whole chicken so I'll add that to this week's shopping list as it does make a good few meals.

I am able to cook from scratch sometimes, though not often at the moment but do try and make the most of when I can.

Thanks again caronc.