Budget: What's everyone's budget?
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Original post by smjwell
Can those who spend less than £20 on food a week make a list of the things they buy and the kind of meals they make?
Hey, I'll work on one now if you would like
Original post by lamyers1
I do mine weekly, I spend £25 on food (£5 of that on veg), then budget £20 for other things, like a coffee when I'm at the library or going out (I never spend more than £5 on a night out).
Your nights out must be wild mate!
Original post by Butterfly92
£550 pm rent (I pay rent, my partner pays the dual gas/electricity)
£40 on petrol (give or take, depends where I travel)
£10 mobile phone
£24 TV licence
£10 on products (sanitary towels, shampoos, body wash - good ol' Poundland)
£100 on food
£40 on petrol (give or take, depends where I travel)
£10 mobile phone
£24 TV licence
£10 on products (sanitary towels, shampoos, body wash - good ol' Poundland)
£100 on food
Lol, who actually pays their TV license
?Original post by SophieSmall
Hey, I'll work on one now if you would like
That would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Original post by smjwell
That would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I generally spend around £10 a week on food
General shopping list (not necessarily all bought in one week):
Chicken breasts (can get a large bag in Iceland for about £4 lasts about 2 or 3 week depending on how often you east chicken)
Fish fillets again Iceland or Tesco value can get about 8 for £3
Bags of frozen veg can get them for about £1 generally lasts me about 2 weeks
sweet potatoes 3 or 4 in aldi for 69p
onions, bag in aldi for about 69p~
cans of chopped tomatoes about 30p each
Noodles about 20p a pack, can be used to make some tasty meals (mix with scrambled egg and hot pepper sauce it's lovely)
eggs £1 for six
bag of potatoes in aldi about £1.49
Sausages 8 pack in aldi is like £1.20
Bell peppers, 3 pack in aldi about 89p
(basically any veg in aldi is about 69-89p)
Pasta can get a 500 gram bag for about 29p
Pasta sauces can range from 39p-£2 a pot I personally don't mind the cheap ones
greek yoghurt about 80p a tub in aldi
frozen berried about £1.40 in aldi lasts a few weeks when mixed with the yoghurt
tortilla wraps £1 for pack of 8 tesco
Typical meals:
chicken breast cut into strips, seasoned in whatever you like (sweet chilli, bbq, paprika, literally whatever you feel like) cooked in a frying pan, served along side sweet potato wedges (home made) and veggies cooked from frozen usually peas sweetcorn and broccoli
Chicken breast cut into strips again and cooked whichever way you fancy, mixed with pasta sauce and served over pasta and cheese if you fancy
sweet potato casserole, ingredients are sausages, sweet potato, chopped tomatoes and onions (I have written down the whole recipe and instructions and a picture on this thread: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2766022 )
fish fillet cooked however you like served with veg and sweet potato or regular potato mash
fajitas, made with chicken cut into strips, seasoning/sauces wanted, cheese and bell peppers cut into strips
stuffed bell peppers, stuffed with chicken, sweet potato mash and cheese
ratatouille chopped up courgettes, aubergine (ect) in chopped tomatoes I like it served with cheese (I love cheese)
Original post by samba
I haz enough.
So you pay 550 in rent, and he pays under 100 in bills??? sounds fair
You missed insurance and a whole load of other stuff!
So you pay 550 in rent, and he pays under 100 in bills??? sounds fair
You missed insurance and a whole load of other stuff!
The gas and electric comes up quite a bit as we live with other people, and insurance I pay yearly for car insurance which is 730£ (hopefully go down this year), what else have I missed? I am just writing what I pay out. It will be a lot more once I start uni due to using the train and whatnot.
Original post by JoshZ
Your nights out must be wild mate!
Pre drink plenty, walk, £5 entry. What more do you want?
Original post by lamyers1
Pre drink plenty, walk, £5 entry. What more do you want?
I thought the £5 was inclusive of pre-drinks!
And you do no drinking once you're actually out?
Original post by JoshZ
I thought the £5 was inclusive of pre-drinks!
And you do no drinking once you're actually out?
And you do no drinking once you're actually out?
+£5 for a bottle of wine for pres aha. I do sometimes, but always end up vomiting in the morning, so tend to stick with pres. Does save me money too.
I spend around 80£ a week on food/drinks. I eat lots of expensive stuff e.g. exotic fruit etc. I spend 715£ a month on rent (large ensuite in house-share), 20£ on petrol (weekly) and save up 600£ pounds a month for yearly payments like holidays, clothes, items and car insurance.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by smjwell
Can those who spend less than £20 on food a week make a list of the things they buy and the kind of meals they make?
I've overspent the last month so I'm having a cheap week this week - just spent about £20 in lidl, and it should last me a week. You just have to have a lot of carbs, which are generally pretty cheap. I bought:
Loaf of bread - 45p
4 cans of tuna - £2.48
2 cans of chickpeas - 78p
4 cans of baked beans - £1.28
1kg pasta - 58p
4 lots of different sauces - £3
15 eggs - £1.29
1kg beef mince - £3.45
apples - £1
1kg bananas - 68p
Original post by smjwell
Can those who spend less than £20 on food a week make a list of the things they buy and the kind of meals they make?
Iceland, Lidl and Aldi will become your best friends
I'd recommend signing up for a bonus card for Iceland too :')Usually around £25-30 for food.
Apples
Grapes
Bananas
Strawberries
Kale
Spinach
Hemp Seeds
Lettuce
Ham
Tomato
Wholemeal bread
Milk
Eggs
Beans
Chips
Yorkshire puddings
Fish Cakes
Fish Fingers
Rice
Chicken
Bran Flakes
(Might buy bacon every few weeks but not every week, very unhealthy but can't resist a BLT with ham sandwich)
(Then you have items that you don't buy every week like toilet roll, shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste)
Might buy clothes every now and then which will boost up the spend in any particular week.
Apples
Grapes
Bananas
Strawberries
Kale
Spinach
Hemp Seeds
Lettuce
Ham
Tomato
Wholemeal bread
Milk
Eggs
Beans
Chips
Yorkshire puddings
Fish Cakes
Fish Fingers
Rice
Chicken
Bran Flakes
(Might buy bacon every few weeks but not every week, very unhealthy but can't resist a BLT with ham sandwich)
(Then you have items that you don't buy every week like toilet roll, shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste)
Might buy clothes every now and then which will boost up the spend in any particular week.
(edited 9 years ago)
There's no way a guy can survive on £10 a week unless u live on baked beans and super noodles. I've done some trial runs on mysupermarket and for cereal, packed lunch and dinner (meat with veg) + snacks/drinks your looking at £20-£25 and thats shopping in Waitrose.
It amazes me how little females eat, my ex (admittedly she was tiny) lived on 1 meal a day at uni. Usually oven chips + cherry coke. I would be a hypoglycemic mess on that diet.
It amazes me how little females eat, my ex (admittedly she was tiny) lived on 1 meal a day at uni. Usually oven chips + cherry coke. I would be a hypoglycemic mess on that diet.
Original post by RoundTrip
There's no way a guy can survive on £10 a week unless u live on baked beans and super noodles. I've done some trial runs on mysupermarket and for cereal, packed lunch and dinner (meat with veg) + snacks/drinks your looking at £20-£25 and thats shopping in Waitrose.
It amazes me how little females eat, my ex (admittedly she was tiny) lived on 1 meal a day at uni. Usually oven chips + cherry coke. I would be a hypoglycemic mess on that diet.
It amazes me how little females eat, my ex (admittedly she was tiny) lived on 1 meal a day at uni. Usually oven chips + cherry coke. I would be a hypoglycemic mess on that diet.
i dont think i could live of £10 a week, (but im sure people can if there not fussy) as i do a lot of sports so need the energy, but my average shop is generally £18 a week. I never have snacks tho (eg biscuits crisps etc) and only drink water or milk, never have coke or any fizzy drinks which saves alot.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by RoundTrip
There's no way a guy can survive on £10 a week unless u live on baked beans and super noodles. I've done some trial runs on mysupermarket and for cereal, packed lunch and dinner (meat with veg) + snacks/drinks your looking at £20-£25 and thats shopping in Waitrose.
It amazes me how little females eat, my ex (admittedly she was tiny) lived on 1 meal a day at uni. Usually oven chips + cherry coke. I would be a hypoglycemic mess on that diet.
It amazes me how little females eat, my ex (admittedly she was tiny) lived on 1 meal a day at uni. Usually oven chips + cherry coke. I would be a hypoglycemic mess on that diet.
lol, I live on £10 a week and I eat loads, I snack a lot too and even gained weight on my diet. Those who say you can't live on that much a week either aren't really trying/ fussy on brands or don't know how to cook. I'll add an extra £5 a week if you are a guy and/or do a lot of sports because fair enough extra energy needed, even still it's easily done.
Original post by SophieSmall
lol, I live on £10 a week and I eat loads, I snack a lot too and even gained weight on my diet. Those who say you can't live on that much a week either aren't really trying/ fussy on brands or don't know how to cook. I'll add an extra £5 a week if you are a guy and/or do a lot of sports because fair enough extra energy needed, even still it's easily done.
Yeah it's doable if you like eating frozen chicken and frozen vegetables almost every night like your list suggests. £15 may be possible as you pointed out, especially if your near Aldi.
I'm gonna take a packed lunch to avoid the extortionate uni food prices. Once I've bought bread, ham, butter I've nearly spent £5 already. So I have £5 to spend on breakfast and dinners for 7 days? The alternative is spending £5 on a jacket potato and drink every day in the canteen.
Even after deliberately buying the cheapest value brands and avoiding all snacks I still get well over £20. That's including milk, cereal, bread, ham for packed lunch, fruit (extortionate), fresh green beans, carrots, brocolli for dinner, fresh meat/fish (3 for £10 deals seem quite good, easily get 6 meals from these if u add the veg), squash.
I'm not arguing with you btw I am just genuinely curious as how it's possible to have 3 meals a day, 7 days a week including drinks for £10.
Original post by RoundTrip
Yeah it's doable if you like eating frozen chicken and frozen vegetables almost every night like your list suggests. £15 may be possible as you pointed out, especially if your near Aldi.
I'm gonna take a packed lunch to avoid the extortionate uni food prices. Once I've bought bread, ham, butter I've nearly spent £5 already. So I have £5 to spend on breakfast and dinners for 7 days? The alternative is spending £5 on a jacket potato and drink every day in the canteen.
Even after deliberately buying the cheapest value brands and avoiding all snacks I still get well over £20. That's including milk, cereal, bread, ham for packed lunch, fruit (extortionate), fresh green beans, carrots, brocolli for dinner, fresh meat/fish (3 for £10 deals seem quite good, easily get 6 meals from these if u add the veg), squash.
I'm not arguing with you btw I am just genuinely curious as how it's possible to have 3 meals a day, 7 days a week including drinks for £10.
I'm gonna take a packed lunch to avoid the extortionate uni food prices. Once I've bought bread, ham, butter I've nearly spent £5 already. So I have £5 to spend on breakfast and dinners for 7 days? The alternative is spending £5 on a jacket potato and drink every day in the canteen.
Even after deliberately buying the cheapest value brands and avoiding all snacks I still get well over £20. That's including milk, cereal, bread, ham for packed lunch, fruit (extortionate), fresh green beans, carrots, brocolli for dinner, fresh meat/fish (3 for £10 deals seem quite good, easily get 6 meals from these if u add the veg), squash.
I'm not arguing with you btw I am just genuinely curious as how it's possible to have 3 meals a day, 7 days a week including drinks for £10.
To be honest I am a believer that these people who spend such a low amount eat the same food for dinner every single day because they dont't have enough food for variation.
Also, pretty much all of the meals these people tend to suggest are very small, I for one am skinny but have a big appetite, If I were to eat a dinner suggested by one of these people who spend such a low amount I'd be hungry again within the next 1-2 hours. The stuff I eat tends to fill me up for like 5-6 hours.
(edited 9 years ago)
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