What will you be doing over the Easter break? >>

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Food Budget

Not sure if this is in the right board....

But as from August 1st, I will have to be buying my own food. I get 60 quid a month, and anything extra is to come out of my own wages.

I was just wondering if anyone else does this (students), and what sort of things to you go for?

Realistically, how much does it cost you a week to eat, assuming you eat all meals at home?

Cheers

MC

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Reply 1

_poptart_

i dont personally (at the moment) have to budget myself, but I will soon when I go to uni.
All I can say is £60 a month doesnt seem that much, so your gonna have to be really strict on what you buy.
I think Tescos give you discount if you buy online (if u have a clubcard) or something like that, so u could save money that way.
its best to concentrate on buying basic items such as bread, eggs, etc and cooking everything from scratch to save money.

Sorry i dont really have any more info, but i'll check back and see what ervy1 else says cos I am crapping myself about having to start buying my own food ans budgeting soon!!!

Reply 2

Lil' Miss Smiley

Buy lots of packet Spaghetti and rice. These foods only need a little amount and will leave you feeling fuller.Make a big stew, plenty of potatoes, carrots, peas and add chicken, beef or pork and put it into individual tubs and freeze for when you can't be bothered. Make soups and freeze these too. Saves money in the long run and worth the hassle at the start.

Reply 3

TOD100

make stew hey........im a cooking novice. Any recipes?

MC

Reply 4

Lil' Miss Smiley

Motherless Child

make stew hey........im a cooking novice. Any recipes?

MC

Tis easy honey. :p:

Chop up veggies into eatable chunks, same with meat, add an oxo cube of whatever flavour you like. Boil until all stuff is cooked and put into tubs. Allow to cool before you freeze them.
Onions also add a great taste too. :biggrin:

Reply 5

TOD100

poptart86

All I can say is £60 a month doesnt seem that much, so your gonna have to be really strict on what you buy.

Well I can obviously add my own money to it if needs be.

I will be earning around 60 quid a week when college goes back, so I should be ok for cash, but learning to budget is a useful skill.

MC

Reply 6

midnight

I think i spent about £10 a week on food last year. Just bought huge bags of pasta and rice, made sure that i bought own brand stuff if i could and made stuff in bulk to freeze it.

Reply 7

BlackHawk

you can easily lie on £10 a week if you shop right. Asda, not Marks and Spencer. £20 a week for food should be plently.

Reply 8

TOD100

So what recipes can you do to freeze? Can you freeze cooked rice and pasta?

Reply 9

TOD100

BlackHawk

you can easily lie on £10 a week if you shop right. Asda, not Marks and Spencer. £20 a week for food should be plently.

Well I work in a supermarket so have a rough idea of prices...

Shopping at night or on Sundays is good to pick up reduced things

Reply 10

BlackHawk

I wouldn't recommend freezing cooked pasta. It can be done, but doesn't taste as good. You can make up a sauce and freeze it. Soup can be frozen, as can stews. Look on google for quick and easy recipies. A lot of bokstores have student cookbooks which use minimal ingredients.

Reply 11

Juno

Money Saving Expert is great! The old style section has lots of cheap recipe ideas. There's some recipes that feed 6 for about £2!

Reply 12

Sopheh

Freeze mince, spag bol sauce. Then when you take it out you can either use it as a pasta sauce, add spices and eat it with rice as a chilli or put mash (or smash) ontop to make it a shepards pie. Of course, if you're a veggie like me use the mince stuff that isn't Quorn, I think it's called Vege-something. Doesn't taste as authentic, but it's cheaper.

Reply 13

JoeCool_Lemming

Don't freeze rice. It's bad to reheat rice, unless you like food poisoning. I went on holiday recently, and for 5 of us to eat for about 4 days it cost £50, so that's only about £10 a week. Like everyone else said - lots of pasta and rice. Eggs and potatoes are also a good idea :smile: