The Student Room Group

How much do you spend on food per week?

I read on average that a student spend 30-40quid per week on food!:eek:

How they manage to spend so few money?

I spend 110-130quid on average per week on supermarket food. (thank god I've got a part-time job:biggrin: )

Can you help me cut down my spending? give me some advice please on how you manage to eat for 40quid per week?:smile:

Any specials places to find student/discount prices?

btw, i don't cook: i buy sandwiches and ready meals:p:

Cheers:smile:

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Reply 1
i currently live on my own ( with flat mates ) and normally spend around 30-40 per month on food and daily living things like toilet roll, shampoo etc. Ive found that normally its cheaper to buy bigger bags of things like meat etc, and put it into the freezer and get it out when needed. Also if you have a set meal that you really really like you can make a lot of it, and freeze it, normally works out cheaper ( and all you need to do is put it in the microwave!)
its pretty easy to be honest, look out for the deals when your wandering around and theres always pasta/toast/baked potato's etc. which are filling and fairly cheap :smile:
Reply 2
Shop at midnight for reduced stuff!
Reply 3
i'm budgeting £30, no more. hahaha.

i fail to see how that will work though as i love love love fruit and vegetables which are usually the most expensive! i am also addicted to luxury muesli and porridge, and i am a sucker for quaint little organicy whole food shops which are always notoriously expensive. i don't eat meat though, so at least i'll save some money there.

the tips that i'm going to be using are buy in bulk (pasta, and bread which can be frozen) and also if you want to get veg and stuff then those frozen packs of steamed vegetables you can get can work out a lot cheaper than fresh veg which is obviously nicer but tends to go off far quicker!

i really hate cheap and horrible food (e.g. lidl stuff) but if you don't mind it then i guess those sorts of places are really cheap! and there's always cheap student staples, so you could easily live off cereal and biscuits if you were a bit short of money one week haha.

stuff like potatoes and stir fries are really cheap and can make filling meals if you add stuff to them. it's not exactly gourmet but baked beans on a jacket potato with cheese and salad is really filling and should only cost you about a £1 per meal! also, if you don't mind ready meals then tesco often have them on like 3 for a fiver or whatever.

this is probably really obvious and unhelpful but my main advice would be accept that you're going to have to give up the things you love and eat like a student for a while! it'll make you appreciate nice food much more when you do get to eat it on the rare occasion :smile:
Reply 4
Get yourself a makro card.
Reply 5
I try not to spend more than £20 pw but will be cutting than down to £15 soon.
Reply 6
I think I spent about £40 p/w last year, that felt like a lot for me!

What on earth do you buy?! I'm not judging because I'm pretty greedy but I really hope that price includes alcohol or something!

Buying basic stuff (flour, eggs, veg, fruit, milk etc.) and making your own meals is the cheapest, tastiest and healthiest option, but if you totally hate that... some of the value ranges in supermarkets DO taste good (and trust me, I'm fussy). The best thing to do is cut out the really bad stuff that you don't need.
elixira
I think I spent about £40 p/w last year, that felt like a lot for me!

What on earth do you buy?! I'm not judging because I'm pretty greedy but I really hope that price includes alcohol or something!

Buying basic stuff (flour, eggs, veg, fruit, milk etc.) and making your own meals is the cheapest, tastiest and healthiest option, but if you totally hate that... some of the value ranges in supermarkets DO taste good (and trust me, I'm fussy). The best thing to do is cut out the really bad stuff that you don't need.

no alcohol included:o:

i dunno why i spend so much on food!:s-smilie: I eat quite a lot (i'm very slim btw:p: ) and never cook.

like for example, i need 3 ready meals for lunch to feel i ate something lol
Reply 8
elixira
I think I spent about £40 p/w last year, that felt like a lot for me!

What on earth do you buy?! I'm not judging because I'm pretty greedy but I really hope that price includes alcohol or something!

Buying basic stuff (flour, eggs, veg, fruit, milk etc.) and making your own meals is the cheapest, tastiest and healthiest option, but if you totally hate that... some of the value ranges in supermarkets DO taste good (and trust me, I'm fussy). The best thing to do is cut out the really bad stuff that you don't need.


I'm trying to find out how large my food budget should be; I have this as a rough guide to what I will prob eat:

9AM
Scottish Oats / Porridge Oats / Oatabix
Dates/Sultanas
Honey
Soy Milk

11AM
3 Large Free Range Eggs
Olive Oil
Bit of Cheddar Cheese

2PM
Salmon Fillet(3)/Chicken Breast Fillet (3)/ Steak (1)
Vegetables: Broccoli, Peppers, Tomatoes, Spinach, Peas, Lettuce, Cauliflower, Aubergine, Betroot
/Brown rice

5PM
Tuna
Cottage Cheese
Clove of Garlic

8PM
Eggs/Cottage Cheese/Milk + Oats

Snacks throughout: Apple/Banana/Mandarine/Kiwi/Pear/Grapes?/Strawberrys?

Aiming for around 2500 to 3000 calories of clean, nutritious food. Any ideas whether this is feasible?
I spend about 50 pounds a week depending on how many times I eat out.
Reply 10
Lentils. Very cheap, store well, filling, high in fibre & protein, one of your five a day.

Is there a more perfect student food?
destination unknown
I read on average that a student spend 30-40quid per week on food!:eek:

How they manage to spend so few money?

I spend 110-130quid on average per week on supermarket food. (thank god I've got a part-time job:biggrin: )

Can you help me cut down my spending? give me some advice please on how you manage to eat for 40quid per week?:smile:

Any specials places to find student/discount prices?

btw, i don't cook: i buy sandwiches and ready meals:p:

Cheers:smile:

:eek3: what on EARTH do you buy?
over a 100 a weeks thats a lot,

i would say 30-40 will do me for about 2 weeks, if you don't mind living in the cheaper foods, tesco value as well:p:

you don't need to buy the high end stuff, the cheaper stuff is just as good
£0.00
Reply 14
destination unknown
i buy sandwiches and ready meals:p:



I think this might be the problem...

Buy £10 worth of meat, £5 of veg and £5 on a range of carbohydrates, and if it doesn't last you a week, you're doing something badly wrong.

Bought sandwiches and ready meals are both incredibly expensive and remarkably bad for you.
stop buying crisps and choclates. Never go for a deal blindly....supermarkets are really good at tricking customers buy loads.......always make a list at your home of what you need to buy......dont go to supermarket without a list, as this would make u end up with shopping what u dont need. For example in sainsburys u get strawberries are on offer like 2 for 3 pounds. 1 pack of straberries is 1.75 and just to save 25p u r actually spending 1.50 more thinking that u saved 1 pound and hey u acutally overspent 1.25. There are also some deal with choclates, 3 for 1 pound and 1 for 36p........some people buy 3 thinking that they have saved 14p...but again end up paying more.....so just use ur mind and do ur math before going for deals........go for deals like mix and match..........like any 2 for 3 pounds. Always buy fruits and vegies in corner shops as they are cheaper than sainsburys and i realised that some of the corner shops near my place actually get the fruits from same suppliers as sainsburys..
do your research and shop the best without compromising on quality........My advice would be cut down frozen or ready meals and try to learn how to cook.......u can save money.......eat healthy and make a new hobby.........self control is what it is all about. I normally save a lot of money because I dont smoke or drink.........lol
Reply 16
destination unknown
no alcohol included:o:

i dunno why i spend so much on food!:s-smilie: I eat quite a lot (i'm very slim btw:p: ) and never cook.

like for example, i need 3 ready meals for lunch to feel i ate something lol


You sound like my boyfriend, he's super slim but eats like a horse!
Learn to cook. It's much cheaper than buying pre-cooked food (and healthier).
£20 - £25 a week - at uni, my cupboard is all green and white... (ASDA Smart price colours lol)

learn to cook - raw ingrediants are much cheaper and produce healthier and nicer meals then "5 mins in the microwave or 20 mins in oven" meals.
Reply 19
Ribbits
Lentils. Very cheap, store well, filling, high in fibre & protein, one of your five a day.

Is there a more perfect student food?


Especially for vegetarians! :p:

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