Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

My £19.56 week meal plan.

Scroll to see replies

Can't believe how cheap that whole chicken is :redface:

I think for my own fussy-ness at quality of meat and guilt at how supermarkets are taking over the world to achieve these low prices (and animal welfare), I would have to buy slighty more expensive meat. But most of the other stuff i'm all for own-brands! (minus baked beans :biggrin:

)

Reply 101

Artemis 97

£17 a week plan, 2 sausage rolls and a bottle of coke per day at Greggs!!!

Reply 102

Manitude

I like this idea, although I could save yet more money by doing what I normally do and skip breakfast and not having bread and butter pudding.

I might make some modifications to it to suit my tastes and give it a go.

Reply 103

urmyeah

In all fairness don't really need the bread and butter pudding.

Reply 104

think1

Original post by Elipsis

It definitely does get cheaper the more people you cook for, but a £30 food budget wasn't out of reach for me when I was in first and second year and I spent hundreds of pounds per week on weed and alcohol, purely from working in holidays and bashing my overdraft. I don't think you can compare a braising steak to a fillet steak though! Plus it's nice to have duck once in a while. I would recommend everyone gets down to Argos and buys a rice cooker though, £10 and you can have perfect rice that keeps warm for ages.

£30 will be a lot for me, I'm poor :frown:

. Until I get a job I'll have £20 a week to live off of, at uni and I can live off of around a tenner. I spend around £20 now and that's with my siblings eating out my food. I don't just shop in one place I look around for bargains and buy things that last. There was a shop around near me that used to sell good cuts of meat on a sunday really cheap. They don't do it anymore though. :frown:

I don't really drink so I wont be spending too much money on that and I don't smoke, so once a get a job I can spend more money but still don't need to spend £30 on one person, I'll probably spend that per fortnight. Duck! That's for special occasions. Bah! you don't need a rice cooker its not hard to do, I've been doing it since I was 9. :tongue:

I agree with you about the steak though.

Reply 105

The West Wing

Original post by i.am.lost

I know, it's seriously shameful. Basically all I eat is salads and sandwiches from Pret/Eat/Starbucks etc and maybe the occasional M&S wrap.

Typical day might usually involve something like...
Mid-morning: Frescato @ Costa
Lunch: Salad and cold drink @ EAT
Early evening: Granola bar and Frappuccino @ Starbucks
Dinner: Salad/sandwich bought earlier @ Pret and Evian water

Which comes out roughly to about £20, I tend to follow this Monday-Saturday (we have Saturday lectures at Cambridge) and then on Sunday I tend to not leave my room so I will buy some extra M&S stuff or some salads from Pret/EAT on Saturday and keep them for Sunday.

It's totally ridiculous, I don't need anyone to tell me that. Even my friends rightfully take the piss.

That sounds grim beyond belief. Do you know how to make pasta or your own sandwiches?

Reply 106

deadwing

Even for a week I don't think I could handle that amount of repetition. There doesn't seem to be much fruit and veg and too much red meat. I'm sure someone's said that already though.

Reply 107

fallen_acorns

Original post by The West Wing

That sounds grim beyond belief. Do you know how to make pasta or your own sandwiches?

presuming you do this each week (like you said) for a full 3 years at uni- 90 weeks tuition (minimum)... thats

10,800 on food...

i spend, £15 a week and live comfortably...

Now i have no problem at all with you spending your money however you like... but at the end of uni, id much rather have the £9450, that you have just spent on eating food (which could be made at home)....

your either very very rich, or really stupid...

either way...

Reply 108

EggmanD

Very good plan although IMO i would budget twice that much to get some decent food and maybe add a few more vegetables and not rely on cheap meat.. maybe splash out on a better chicken for your roast and get the £2.79 bacon as most smart price meat is horrible :P

Reply 109

Dalimyr

Original post by insignificant

For those who are on a budget, and don't mind eating slightly repetitively , then here is something that you might find interesting

THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE MADE EVERY SINGLE WEEK, THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING YOU CAN TAKE.

While I find it quite admirable that you're trying to emphasise that people don't need to spend a fortune on food to survive, I can't help thinking that the level of repetitiveness in your menu might not be helping your cause.
You've got some very versatile ingredients there (like mince, chicken and flour) but you're only using them in a couple of ways and repeating their usage several times over the week. You're using 500g of mince to have chilli con carne three times in the week. Why not make burgers with some of it, or have spaghetti (whether with cheap shop-bought pasta or since you've got flour and eggs perhaps even have a shot at making your own if you're confident enough). Add a little block of cheese to your list and stuff like homemade pizza and cheese toasties could also help break up the monotony of it all. If there's any spare flour and milk then pancakes would be an easy thing to make for your breakfast at the weekend as a treat (or yorkshire puddings for your Sunday roast using the same ingredients). And don't get me started on the many ways you could use a whole chicken :p:

Reply 110

espada00

Original post by AntiMonarchist

I know people who spend 5 to 10 quid a week on shoppiing, they eat mostly soup and canned veg

Its possible to do it for the same price but with more filling food (sacrificing variety of course). I go on £10 every 2 weeks (ergo £5 a week) by having weetabix and milk for breakfast, spaghetti and pesto for lunch, soy sauce with rice for dinner and fruit as dessert, everyday. Its obscenely boring but every month I treat myself to an irrationally expensive dinner and drinks with mates.

Reply 111

jakemittle

Original post by peachesandcream77

Live on half of that.. How is that possible?!
What do they buy/eat?

I'm living on less than 10 euros a week in Salzburg, which has no Tescos/Asda :erm:

Reply 112

Racheld25

I could probably live off £10 - £15.
I don't eat much.

Good for you for getting by on that though
I'd get bored

that's nice!! :wink:

I could stretch £19.56 over a month.

Reply 115

ArcadiaHouse

Insignificant, you are a goddess.

Reply 116

ArcadiaHouse

I've just spent £30 on Asda online, £4 of that was the delivery fee :mad:

and not all of it was on food.

Just worked out £17.44 was on food; fruit, vegetables, soup and chicken. lol.

Reply 117

Shuvel

Or go to farmfoods and survive on around £12 a week. WINNING.

...but seriously, this is hell, I had Weetabix for dinner the other night.

Reply 118

ArcadiaHouse

Original post by Shuvel

Or go to farmfoods and survive on around £12 a week. WINNING.

...but seriously, this is hell, I had Weetabix for dinner the other night.

But it's all ready meals :frown:

Reply 119

Hravan

£20! That's expensive for a budget meal plan.

I have (and really should) lived off £5-£7 a week and then every month spending an extra £5 to £10 stocking up on the stuff I used over the month.

Of course, all the money I save gets spent on cigarettes but whatever.. :tongue:

Days like today also help with money... I've been up since 9am yesterday, it's now currently 5am and I still haven't eaten anything....
Although that is because I've only got £10 left until I have no idea when but I only have 3 cigs left.. If I have to choose between smoking or eating, I always go with smoking...