Food is not something we can do without. Cutting back on your food bill, though, can leave you with a substantial amount of money left in your pocket at the end of the month. The problems is that most people do not know what they have to do to make that happen. By creating a monthly food budget can be a perfect way to save.
Take Julie, for example. She is a mother of two and is married to Christopher. They work hard but barely make ends meet. When the two of them sat down to determine just where their money was going, Julie was shocked to see that they were spending more than $170 a week on food. That was $600 on just food per month. So, they decided to do something that most would never do. They decided to track their food budget.
For the next month, Julie and Christopher kept a small notebook with them and any time they bought any type of food product, they jotted it down. In fact, it became a competition to see who was spending what and to see who was doing a better job keeping track. At the end of the month, the results were in. They had spent a total of $853 on groceries.
They found that some was going towards the grocery store, but they spent a considerable amount on restaurants, coffee shops and at the gas station when they just stopped in to get something for dinner. Now, what would you do with this information?
Julie did something she had not done before. She decided to create a monthly budget for food. What she found was that it was not difficult to do. Here are some steps that she followed.
By taking the necessary time to track spending and then in making a monthly budget, Julie found herself saving money. They actually treated themselves to dinner out at the end of the month since they had save several hundred dollars and now could say they could afford it.
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Our children used to love having a certain brand of cookie or snack, but unfortunately they were also the most expensive. I wanted to teach them about a budget without making them feel as if they were missing out on something so we invented "Family coupon night".
My food budget has been growing every week, so I sat down and looked at what I could start doing to cut back and still eat quality meals. . .
I am not working currently as I am a care giver for my elderly parents, so I eat lunch at home. I have set myself a budget of 1 pound a day (approx.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My husband decided to move in his mother, 2 sisters, niece and nephew in with me while he is in Iraq for a year. I only have a son at the moment. Can anyone tell me how much it will cost to feed 7 people! My husband thinks $400 will cover it and people I have talked to laugh at this amount. Please give me advice, I am going crazy with stress here.
Lorraine - Tell your husband that he is right - it should cost right around $400 (every two weeks) to feed the extra mouths.
I think it will cost way more than that to feed seven people. Our house is me, my husband, a four year old, and a new baby. And we spend about $400 a month on food, that does includ baby formula though, so subtract $100.
Lorraine, I would tell him more regardless if $400 is enough or not! That can be your "mental health money" for taking in his whole family like that:) Good luck to you. It's hard enough for your husband to be gone much less having to do it with in-laws!!
I spend $200 every two weeks to feed myself, my husband, a 5yr old, a 4yr old, and a 2yr old. I would imagine that it would cost a lot more to feed 6 adults and your son.
If you are extremely thrifty, cook almost everything from scratch, and serve meat/poulty only about three times a week, I would estimate about $500 a month. But that doesn't really allow for paper goods, cleaning products, etc. And if you work outside the home, chances are you simply won't have time to be as thrifty as needed.
Now, on to the "real" issue. Is it possible your husband may be trying to control you while he's away? Moving in the entire family of inlaws seems cruel, unless there is a reason based on reality. Did your husband support the whole family while he was here?
Surely these people will contribute to the family budget. I would insist on it!
If you are very, very thrifty, you can do it on that. I know this isn't what you asked, but I think your dh is waaaay out of line in asking you to do this (have his family move in with you). Unless there is a serious financial need in your family, I think you need to arrange to either get them out or get out yourself. To tell the truth, I'm a little shocked that he would do such a thing to you.
Lorraine,
I have a family of 4 and it runs 400 a month for us.Also I grew up in a large family and can tell you that for 7 people it'll run about 6oo a month.
What did it cost your husband's family in groceries before they moved in? What did it cost you, your husband and your son in groceries before they moved in? Subtract one third of your own budget as your husband isn't there at the moment - add on your in law's costs and that should give you a realistic amount.
I don't see grocery costs as the real problem here though. There are so many gaps in your request. For example - why did he decide to move his family in with you - for your sake or their's? Did he decide alone or was it a joint decision - did you agree? What are the arrangements for housekeeping? Are you expected to buy all food and prepare all meals? Have you asked your husband's mother this question? If she thinks $400 is a reasonable amount have you asked her to take over the housekeeping and buy the groceries for 7 people with $400?
This question is less about grocery costs and more about communication, or the lack of it. I think you need a good friend to discuss this with to help you cope with the situation and be your ally as you seem to be 'outnumbered' in your own home.
Regards
Jo
Lorraine,
Part of the cost depends on where you live. Most military bases are in expensive places - as far as cost of living. I have a family of 7. Myself, husband, 3 teenage boys and a younger boy and girl. I can feed them for about $675 a month for about 3 months and then I need a boost of $100 for stuff you buy rarely but run out of every few months. That doesn't include money to eat out occasionaly. Pizza etc. It gets awful hard to keep fixing meals every day. Sometimes you just want to run to the nearest fast food place. I would think that the extra people would be contributing to the grocery bill. What about laundry products and personal grooming products? Are you paying for all that too? Good luck
Things will only get worse.
Call a lawyer.
Check out "Saving Dinner" by Leanne Ely. She has a plan for cooking and allegedly saving a lot of money; I am only one person in my family so I couldn't give you an estimate! Also, once a month cooking...larger quantities. Definitely either ask your in-laws to share the costs OR ask your husband for more per month. Good luck. K.
Perhaps his mother or sisters can convice him that it is going to cost more.
I agree with some of the above comments about the food bill not being the biggest concern (I would rather be in the war than live with my in-laws!!). But... you MIGHT be able to feed them on $400 if that does not include shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Also, you will have to shop multiple places. I use Costco for milk, bread, cheese, waffles, meats, etc. The grocery store for BOGO items that I have coupons for and Super Walmart for things like bagels, cream cheese, cereals, pretzels, soups, etc. You will have to use small portions of meat and serve things like peanut butter sandwiches and pretzels for lunches. The budget is extremely tight. I feed 6 for this amount but I feel lucky to be a stay at home mom and don't mind pinching pennies. I would really resent doing all this unless the family really helps you out alot!! Don't feel bad if you can't stay within this budget. It is extremely tight and depending on where you live it may not be possible.
One suggestion I can offer is to only serve meat as part of the meal (for instance cassaroles, spagetti with meat sauce, you get the idea). I live near Nashville, TN and I feed a family of three including cleaning and hygene products for $150 a month by going to save a lot and NOT eating at restaurants unless it is a special occasion. If it is a really special occasion, we even eat a place that doesn't ask "want fries with that?" >wink< It is easier to feed many people on a small amount of money if you make it a challenge and set a reward for yourself if you succeed. If I succeed, I get an extra hour of crochet time. Works for me! Good Luck!!
This is an interesting proposition, to say the least, but to answer your question, it can be done. It goes without saying that you are severely limited in your resources, but if you have no other choice (especially if this is a tradition of your husband's culture), then you may not have a choice so here are some guidelines of what I would do if I were in your shoes:
1. Plan your grocery shopping very, very carefully and when funds start getting thin, the meals do, too.
2. Spend your monthly grocery money by weeks only. This will be especially difficult in 5-week months. However, if you spend only 1/4 or 1/5 of your monthly allotment, then you aren't going to be out of resources mid-way through the month.
3. If you are doing the grocery shopping and the cooking, then it is up to you solely what you serve, especially if the in-laws are not providing any funds. Eliminate all desserts from your menues and other non-essentials as well as convenience foods. If you want a special treat for your son, then go to a retail site where you can purchase only enough for him right then.
4. Eliminate all cookies, cakes, sweets in any fashion.
5. Plan your weekly menues so that you are not serving meat more than twice a week, and even then treat the meat as a condiment rather than a staple item. For example, if a casserole calls for 1-lb browned hamburger, then fudge it down to only 1/2 to 3/4 of a lb. Keep the rest frozen for another meal.
6. Always, always brown your ground beef the moment you get it home, drain it and freeze it.. That way, it will be more convenient for you to use and you eliminate the risk of someone taking the extra ground beef to make a hamburger for themselves.
7. Do not buy undue amounts of fresh fruit. Watch for bananas you can buy in bulk because they might be close to over-ripening, and then keep these in the fruit bowl. What is not eaten immediately can be mashed and frozen for later use.
8. Always keep carrot and celery sticks prepped and in the refrigerator for snacking. Most people can tolerate these but they won't eat as much of them as if they were cookies or cake.
9. Switch to non-fat dry milk and reconstitute instead of buying fresh milk.
10. Eliminate coffee, soda and tea. When you want coffee or tea or soda, go out and buy it for yourself to consume right then.
11. Do not keep more than a couple pounds of flour or sugar in your kitchen at any time because your in-laws may use up your staples at a rate fasting than you can afford if they get into the baking mood.
12. Find a day-old bread store in your area and make sure you religiously use it. Never buy any snacks, just the bread. No muffins or snack cakes, either.
13. Buy only generic canned veggies and no canned fruit.
14. DO BUY and use a good multi-vitamin for yourself and your son.
15. Instead of milk or other beverage with meals, always serve water.
16. Incorporate any and all leftovers into a meal within 48 hours of preparation.
17. Portion size is up to you as the cook and the person handling the groceries. Dish up plates at the stove, and do not put any remaining "seconds" on the table. If you plan carefully, you will find serving portions exactly equal to the number of plates you have to fix.
18. Eliminate keeping boxs of crackers in the house or anything else that could be used for snac king.
19. Ask neighbors or friends who are gardeners if they would keep you in mind when they harvest and find they have an overstock.
20. Make sure your menu offerings are palatible, sufficient in quantity for who you are feeding (but with no leftovers or planned seconds), and don't worry about if they are interesting enough. Eliminate all baked goods such as yeast rolls, cakes, pies, or meal extras such as fancy salads, desserts such as jello or ice cream, etc. Economize as much as you are able, and then let the chips fall where they may. Your "guests" should not be dictating to you what you will be serving. If your husband feels you should be offering more variety, then he needs to fork over more $$$ so you can!
Ok, I think I spend a lot on groceries. About 400 to 500 dollars a month for a family of 3 (and that's not counting eating out a few times a month!). I am pretty sure this is quite high? More than that, we are living paycheck to paycheck and I want to have some savings. Our child is now 4 and I am wondering what you folks do to cut costs?
What would be a more reasonable food budget? And what are some tips for planning meals, grocery lists, etc. I really don't know where to start on this but this seems like the right place to look, I have already found some useful tips on this site.Marcee:
It would be high for my budget (boys 8 and 4 husband and myself). You are wise to break the chain if you feel that you're currently spending more than you want to spend.
My best advice would be to start by looking at:
(1) What you purchase at the store.
(2) What you have in your pantry.
(3) What your calendar looks like.
You can easily follow why I suggested the first two of my three suggestions.
#3, the calendar is very important.
If you know that you have dinner plans on Tuesday night and a party that you've committed to making a pan of brownies for, you need to know what days you "NEED" to have which items in the house.
If daughter has dance every Thursday at six, you may be swinging through a drive through to pick up a happy meal. When you know that the expense is there you can plan for it and won't have a meal going bad (money wasted).
However, if you purchased $125 worth of perishable food and then go out to eat, some food may spoil and your out both grocery money and "entertainment/recreation" money.
Whether you are a SAHM, WAHM, WM, I don't know. I work four days/week and try and bring my lunch at least 2-3 days, splurging the 4th. Your lunch budget would likely vary, depending on your situation. Today, I brought a PBJ sandwich to work and purchased a fountain beverage (1/2 price for our office) from a local restaruant that delivers.
Knowing what you have in your pantry and using up as much of what you already have will likely save money, as it's money already spent. Make a grocery list of remaining ingredients needed to make a recipe.
We have company coming in a couple weeks, and I just realized that I have all of the ingredients but the meat for a dish that will feed all of us for two meals.
Hope it's helpful!
Watch the sale ads; that's important to my budget. If chicken is on sale then I buy more of that and find "interesting" ways to use it. Even if you work it's pretty simple to make a extra batch of pancakes, muffins, etc. to freeze. They are alot cheaper and that really helps the budget. Buy in-season fruits, and vegetables. That saves a lot. Have one soup/sandwich night a week, one night go "meatless". Buy in bulk when possible. In my area there is a no frills store that you can save 40-50% you can't buy everything there but it helps alot. Use up the "left-overs". Make your own pizza (you can make and freeze the pizza crust)--that way it's faster to get dinner on the table on those nights when things are very rushed. Have acouple simple casseroles in the freezer and when you are tempted to go through the drive-thru you won't have to :)
Hope this helps.
well, I live in the NW area WA state and only shop at the Grocery Outlet store (in 8 western states including Hawaii) or buy store brand name products at the regular grocery store, and I am spending at least $300 a month doing that, and I have a hubby and a 5 year old, plus two cats and a rabbit that I also have to buy food for. so your bill doesn't sound that high for my neighborhood.
and also, looking in the store ads for great sales (we only buy chicken breasts when they are on sale for either $1.99 or $2.79 a LB. and stock up on it because it will be at least three weeks before we see another good sale on it.
I found a website that has helped me a lot with menu planning, shopping, etc. This makes it so easy. Take a look at http://www.savingdinner.com. There is a sample menu there. Also some more sample menus on the flylady.net website. Since I started doing this, I've saved lots of time and money at the grocery, and the meals are easy to fix.
We are a family of 6 (mom, dad, 4 kids ages 4 - 13). We live in a remote part of coastal Canada where food is quite expensive. Since we are so remote, we get shopped food only once per month and spend about $350 - $400 per month. From this, I have learned several things that might be of help to anyone wishing to reduce their grocery budget.
1. buy staples and make it yourself as much as you can
2. plan ahead and shop less frequently
3. eat only at meals (snack only for special occasions)
4. reduce the number of meat meals per week
5. look at each food item and ask yourself how much nutrition you are getting for the price. (1/2 lb cheddar cheese for $6 vs 3 doz. eggs or 1 pound raw almonds. They all cost the same. Which provides the most meal and nutrition for the same buck?) Look at how much each snack item costs and ask yourself how much "staple" you could buy instead. For example how much flour, or potatoes, or milk or eggs could you buy for the same price as a bag of chips? How long will the snack food feed you as compared to the bag of chips?
6. plan ahead for those times when you need a quick meal. We can't run out for a burger but we can grab something from the freezer and pop it into the microwave or pop open a jar.
7. Plan ahead
8. Plan ahead
9. Plan ahead.
10. Choose one small area. Work on that. When you have it mastered, choose another. It won't be stressful that way and as you gain confidence you may find yourself having so much fun with the money you saved that you will want to save even more. Remember you are eatingprimarily to nutritionally sustain your body and secondarily to please your tongue.
Rene
I live in north central Alabama and spend around $300 for groceries and that includes things such as dish detergent, laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner, soap, fabric softener (although I have not used this lately and clothes are still soft) and bleach. My advice would be to plan menus and cut out all the junk. My family has very little stuff that we call junk. We buy popcorn for snacks at night and little debbie cakes for snacks during the day or dessert. I fix a lot of casseroles and since we now have a garden I have canned and froze lots of veggies for winter and have been cooking out of the garden. We eat a lot of chicken and ground beef as that is what my family prefers. I watch the sales and try to buy several of those things that I know we will eat and store it in a pantry. Hope that helps
Check your weekend paper every weekend-plan your meals around what is on sale. Clip coupons and use them everytime you shop. There are 3 in my family and I spend 30-50 dollars weekly. That includes milk, bread, eggs, meat and snacks and ice cream. If it's on sale-stock up-meat can be frozen. Paper products don't go bad. Stores often offer buy 1 get 1 free items-use a coupon-save BIG!
Like Rene from Canada, I live in Alaska. Although we are not in a remote area of Alaska, it is still expensive for groceries and we still have to drive an hour to get to a bulk food store.
I have read that if you start keeping a spending diary and sitting down with your spouse each night or once a week and agreeing on what is needed verses what is wanted and make those changes in your spending habits that will help a lot. We don't realise what we throw our money to. A latte here, an ice cream there, eating out for lunch and dinner on a regular basis, etc.
We go to the bulk food stores and this saves tramendously. It took us a long time to work up to where we could do this, but if you work it out to go twice a month and divide your grocery lists between pay days, etc. it isn't as bad. But you have to force yourself not to make those trips to the store for one item and buy fifty. And if you can keep the discipline of only going in for bread or milk in between and not the many other temptations you can save. For what it costs to buy one gallon of milk at the grocery store I can buy two at the bulk food store.
Also, avoid a bunch of pre-prepared frozen foods and junk foods like pizza, sugar cereal, etc. Oatmeal goes much further than cereal any day and is much more healthy. Once in a while I get Corn Flakes on sale, but usually my kids have eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. I add cinnamon, vanilla and a little brown sugar to the oatmeal as it is cooking and they devour it! Winter time I pre-cook pancakes and freeze them. They can pull them out and microwave them as they want them. Summer time when kids are out of school they would rather play than eat and tend to eat less. So we usually do taost and fruit or eggs since we have our own chickens.
We also try to plan several meals together with the same ingredients and try to make enough to have leftovers for lunches the next day or dinner the next day. Our older kids have microwaves at school for their use and they love taking food to heat up. Also, a tip to save on school lunches in winter is to make soups and keep in refrigerator. Warm up in the morning while kids are getting ready for school and put in thermoses for their lunches. My 7 yr. old prefers top ramen to anything. It is inexpensive and you can microwave it in the morning and put in the thermos. Not as nutritious, but the kids eat very healthy meals in the morning and evening and they don't have it every day for lunch either so it isn't bad for something different.
My husband saves on his lunches for work by me making iced tea and putting it in one of those igloo cooler thermoses. Or he will drink water. We stopped buying sodas about a month ago and realised we were saving about $30 a month on that alone!
Making your own food saves so much. If you have to work and struggle with coming in from work and having to cook you can spend a few hours each weekend and cook ahead or prepare ahead and freeze. Or have sandwich night one night a week and have that as your cooking night for other days of the week. Have your kids help you make cookies one night a week verses buying packages of cookies.
Something else I do with like ziplock bags. If I use a ziplock bag to put something like bread or a package of crackers to keep them from going stale, I will re-use that bag for something else or sometimes save them to use for bundling toys at my yard sale each summer. My mother use to hand wash every ziplock and re-use them until it would no longer zip, but I just don't go that far, but it is an option in order to save a little here and there.
The big thing is things like chips, snack foods, etc. I buy the big barrel of animal crackers at the bulk store and we use that for an occasional snack and sometimes in place of chips at lunch. I try to have fresh veggies in place of any chips at all, but many times my kids get a sandwich for lunch with veggies or fruit and that is all they need. The chips you buy for lunches only have about 12 chips in them anyway. Not enough to fill them up or curb an appetite. Waste of money and not at all healthy.
I live in the Philly area and have a family of four. I do one big grocery shopping trip a month and spend about $150, but spend probably another $100-$150 a month buying quick items I've run out of at the local store with not so good prices.
If you don't get a Sunday paper with manufacturer coupons, you should subscribe. Your savings will pay for your subscription.
Check out manufacturer websites for printable coupons or other websites that let you print coupons. But check with your grocery store first because some won't take them--mine stopped a few months ago.
Double coupons are terrific, too. Sometimes my store even offers a week of triple coupons. If they offer a bonuscard, forget about privacy issues and sign up. Not only do you save more, you often get coupons from manufacturers, at the checkout, or for spending a certain amount during like Thanksgiving, you can earn a free turkey or opt for a percentage off your groceries. I've even earned two free turkeys and donated one to a needy family. Who says charity has to cost anything?
Also, check out your grocery store website. They often offer one check rebate programs that they don't advertise in the store or the flyer. This is so simple! Not like the old days when you had to send away for stuff. All I have to do is sign up during each rebate period by submitting my bonuscard number. I can see what items are being offered and print out a shopping list. The grocery store gets the qualifying items from my bonuscard when I shop, notifies me how much my rebate will be, and mails me a check at the end of the rebate period. I usually get at least a $5 rebate per six week period, but have received as much at $10!
Also, don't over pack your kids lunchbox! I work as a lunch monitor and the amount of food these kids throw away each day could feed an entire homeless shelter! Ask your kids to bring home what they don't eat (even if its inedible) so you can see what you're wasting your money on and revise what you send them for lunch.
Hope this helps!
Hi! Here in Indiana, the sunday paper in my area costs $1.50 . I'm not sure it's really a good deal anymore because alot of the coupons are for overpriced items that i don't buy. There's also a lot of "junk" such as decorative plates or electronic bug repellant. I only keep the coupons for products i usually buy. :)
My mom subscribes to the newspaper but rarely uses the coupons, so I pick up from my mother the coupon sections and sale ads every Sunday afternoon. Also, we get the sale ads from our local grocery stores in the mail every Tuesday or Wednesday. I try to combine the grocery stores' sales with coupons from the papers for extra savings. None of our stores offer double coupons so combining coupons and sales help add up the savings.
I was surprised when I went to my local library at how many books there were on this subject. Check it out! Titles I came home with are "Shop, save and share" by Ellie Kay and "Cheap talk with the frugal friends" by Zalewski and Ricks.
We live in Denver, CO. What I relied upon when I had a small freezer was an organization called "Share Colorado." THIS IS NOT A FOOD BANK. It is located in, I believe, 9 western states with lots of outlets. On Monday afternoon, everything is for sale. Anything not sold on Monday goes for free after at least a $2 purchase from their tiny in-house grocery store. It's a good way to try different fruits and vegetables; also, on Wednesdays, eggs, milk, bread, butter, etc and always changing. Wish I could give you an address, but just moved and don't know which box I put their newsletter in - just dozens and dozens of locations in this town and New Mexico. I spend time on an evening after my visit, putting things away. Will take it back up after we settle into our new apartment and buy a small freezer.
Editor's Note: www.sharecolorado.com/
I have a 23 year old guy living at my house and he has a big appetite. How do I cook for him on a budget?
By Rachael from Lodi, CA
Hello everyone:
I have a question. We are now down to the two of us.
How much should it cost for food and basic toiletries (toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, etc) for a family of two.
I have a family of 3 people, 3 large dogs, 4 cats and a pig (not counting the chickens or turkey or turtle) and it costs about $75 a week for people food and pet food and everything else we need. We have some kind of meat every nite. I shop at Pic-n-Sav grocery and Wal-Mart. I do not buy meat at Wal-Mart, it has too many preservatives in it.
I noted with interest your question because the title asks how much should it cost to feed a family of two and yet your text asks about food and sundries.
First rule of thumb is NEVER to combine these two costs. If you do, you will shop a grocery store for the non-food items and it will cost you more than what you would pay at a dollar store or discount house.
Other variables that would affect the answer you are seeking:
-- do you have a garden?
-- any dietary restrictions (low sodium, diabetis, etc.)
-- do you include snacks and soda pop or beer as part of your food budget?
-- do you eat lunch at home or brown bag to the work site?
-- are you loyal to name brands or do you use generics or store brands?
-- do you have and use a price book?
-- do you use the grocery circular and then make meal plans built around the sales ads?
All that being said, we are a household of two with moderate dietary restrictions. I will not allow myself to spend more than $150 maximum on groceries, which includes our lunches. I allot $15 a month for personal care products and cleaning supplies.
When our income gets tight, I simply cut the expenditures which includes grocery shopping because I have a large back-up of frozen foods. When money in general is tight, I find I spend a lot more time preparing foods and doing whatever it takes to make it taste and look great.
Lunch today would be a good example: we had delicious cream of broccoli soup, crackers, thinly sliced beef roast (deli style) on assorted crackers, and cake. Three-quarters of this meal was planned leftovers, meaning I had the broccoli frozen from the garden last summer as well as the onion, I substituted celery leaves for the chopped celery, added my own homemade chicken stock; reconstituted dry milk, margarine, flour, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese. The beef was a leftover that I very thinly sliced it such as a deli would. Cake was last night's dessert.
The cost of this substantial lunch for the two of us was minimal, at best. I was very pleased that I was able to use up that many ingredients that I already had.
To my mind, it's not what you spend but how you spend it and further, how you use it up that counts.
I live in Tennessee, and I spend about $150 per month to feed myself and my husband, BUT I try to shop wisely-- using coupons, buying the "loss leaders" featured in weekly ads, using a price book to know what a good price is, stocking up when there is truly a sale, etc. We eat meat nearly every day, but I ONLY buy meat when it is on sale for 1.99/lb or less, I just make sure to stock up. I also do some shopping at a salvage grocery store. I hope that helps!
I have a family of 3 people, 3 large dogs, 4 cats and a pig (not counting the chickens or turkey or turtle) and it costs about $75 a week for people food and pet food and everything else we need. We have some kind of meat every nite. I shop at Pic-n-Sav grocery and Wal-Mart. I do not buy meat at Wal-Mart, it has too many preservatives in it.
I think Two people could live, comfortably, for £30 per week. (food wise)
(Thats about $55,)
I think, by shopping at bargain stores, making sandwiches for packed lunches, buying cheap meat - freezing leftovvers and not having luxurys you'd be ok......
Baked beans on toast, mac and cheese & fish sticks taste great and cost next to nothing, but think about the quality of your life.....
Julie in London
