How much on average do you spend on food and drink in a week?

Not including drinks on nights out. I'm trying to work out a weekly budget for uni, but tbh I don't know where to start! :redface:

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Reply 1

claireestelle

Original post by kazzykat95

Not including drinks on nights out. I'm trying to work out a weekly budget for uni, but tbh I don't know where to start! :redface:

I spent about £20-30 a week when I was at uni.

Reply 2

BlueEyedGirl_

Original post by kazzykat95

Not including drinks on nights out. I'm trying to work out a weekly budget for uni, but tbh I don't know where to start! :redface:

At uni, I’d say weekly I probably spent around £20-30. My housemate often could shop for more like £10-15 a week because she was much more savvy than me, but I also know people who were easily spending £40 each shop! It depends quite a lot on what you like to eat (meat is quite expensive I found) and whether you bulk cook for example.

It might be an idea to have a look through online shops and fill a basket with your regular shopping stuff to help get an idea of prices and what sorts of deals there are? :smile:

Reply 3

2500_2

Original post by kazzykat95

Not including drinks on nights out. I'm trying to work out a weekly budget for uni, but tbh I don't know where to start! :redface:

Can you cook? are you likely to be buying stuff like noodles, pizza etc or stuff like vegetables and lentils?
Will you be eating any catered food at uni or all your own cooking/takeaways?
Basically you can get really cheap if you do the latter (without the takeaways).
Realistically you probably need to plan for between £30 and £50 a week.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 4

BurstingBubbles

Life & Style Forum Helper

I used to spend about £20-30 - but I do love my food :tongue:

£15 and less.

I normally spend about £50 a week on food and drink.

Reply 7

Anonymous #1

Original post by Karisa96

I normally spend about £50 a week on food and drink.

That is crazy.

Reply 8

Reality Check

Original post by kazzykat95

Not including drinks on nights out. I'm trying to work out a weekly budget for uni, but tbh I don't know where to start! :redface:

Are you including non 'going out' drinks here? Pre-drinks? This is probably going to be a big variable in your budget.

Reply 9

username5027880

Original post by Anonymous

That is crazy.

It's quite expensive down here on the South coast.

Reply 10

DrawTheLine

Original post by kazzykat95

Not including drinks on nights out. I'm trying to work out a weekly budget for uni, but tbh I don't know where to start! :redface:

I spend around £20 a week on food. Drinks probably close to nothing, I only drink water and tea. I'm not about to work out the cost per day for my tea :tongue:

- Shop at Lidl or Aldi
- Buy own brand, they are just as good as brands and a lot cheaper
- Meal plan every week so you only buy what you'll eat
- Cook in bulk to save costs. I make 2 or 3 meals a week and eat leftovers the other days

Reply 11

DrawTheLine

Original post by Karisa96

It's quite expensive down here on the South coast.

What are you buying? Where do you shop! 50 quid is insane :eek:

Reply 12

PhoenixFortune

I can spend anywhere between £8 and £25 per week, depending on what I need to restock on. I stick to the 'cheaper' supermarkets, buy things on offer if I know I'll use them, and stick to unbranded or supermarket's basic range products.

Reply 13

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Start with how much money you have! Everyone's budget is going to be different.

Some pro tips are shopping at places like Aldi, Lidl. They're phenomenal for students in my experience.
Some people have cars, some people don't. It depends what you want and have. I don't have a car so I had a nicer student accommodation with the extra money, and was able to be a little bit more liberal.

I live with my partner and we probably spend about £70 on food shopping to last us two weeks or more. We go to Morrison's and splurge a little, just because we can. Factor in eating out, takeaway, and other stuff, it can be easy to spend a lot :frown:

Joshua

Reply 14

Hozel Haggis

Original post by kazzykat95

Not including drinks on nights out. I'm trying to work out a weekly budget for uni, but tbh I don't know where to start! :redface:

much haggis

Reply 15

Liverpool Hope University

Official Rep

Original post by kazzykat95

Not including drinks on nights out. I'm trying to work out a weekly budget for uni, but tbh I don't know where to start! :redface:

Hello

I put together a budgeting guide which includes shopping, bills etc. It might be useful to look at get an idea of how to plan out your money.

Budgeting guide

If you need something for a reference hopefully this helps!

Patrick :lep:

Reply 16

Lyndsey.95

I spend £50-£100 a week

Reply 17

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

That is crazy.

I spend way more than that. I spend about £30 on a weekly shop, about £10-15 on coffee and £12 on lunch. Plus the odd snack here and there. I'm not a student though.

Reply 18

linctavia

I’m so shocked. How do y’all manage to spend under 40£ per week???
Any tips? Do you cook? What are your food choices?

Reply 19

Anonymous #3

I spend about £40 a week on grocery, don’t understand how people survive on £20 and less. A meal deal, a loaf of bread and milk costs about £7, then you may look to buy 2 boxes of eggs which already brings your total to £10. Basically the trick to survival is to train yourself to have sleep for dinner, water for breakfast and air for lunch.