how much do you spend on food and drink each month?
Discussion
Been a little surprised by just how much money we are spending as a couple of food each month. REcently done some very accurate money counting and the value have surprised me.
Each month, excluding going out (ie take-aways, deciding to eat as a treat whilst shopping etc which we're counting in the entertainment budget), we spend £340/month for 2 of us, this includes food for lunch at work, and wine.
Does this sound like a lot to anyone else, and does anyone else work out to the penny what they are spending?
i konw i'm fat b
d (and i really am), but i didn't know i was an expensive fat bd!
Each month, excluding going out (ie take-aways, deciding to eat as a treat whilst shopping etc which we're counting in the entertainment budget), we spend £340/month for 2 of us, this includes food for lunch at work, and wine.
Does this sound like a lot to anyone else, and does anyone else work out to the penny what they are spending?
i konw i'm fat b
d (and i really am), but i didn't know i was an expensive fat bd! 
I recon £75 per week (£340) is about adequate for nice food with the occasional alcoholic drinks and washing powder etc. thats what we used to budget (2 people)
Lately however i have been saving a fair whack by going to waitrose an hour before closing and clearing out their meat and fish discounts and filling the freezer- that normally costs us about £80 but lasts for 3-4 weeks and i pretty much grow all of the veg i need. so have managed on around £150 a month doing it this way. we also end up with some pretty nice stuff as it is often the high end stuff that doesnt sell, can also end up with some weird bits and pieces also but thats part of the fun.
Lately however i have been saving a fair whack by going to waitrose an hour before closing and clearing out their meat and fish discounts and filling the freezer- that normally costs us about £80 but lasts for 3-4 weeks and i pretty much grow all of the veg i need. so have managed on around £150 a month doing it this way. we also end up with some pretty nice stuff as it is often the high end stuff that doesnt sell, can also end up with some weird bits and pieces also but thats part of the fun.
Interesting one.
We used to just spend as we fancied, but then the wife going down to part time a year or so back made us look at where we can trim costs.
We set ourselves a budget of £70/week for shopping, this is food, dog food, toiletries etc...
We only buy alcohol out of that when there's money left over though, usually we buy alcohol out of our 'play' money.
Surprisingly easy to stick to when you think about what you are buying, try to plan your meals weekly and look out for offers.
We do treat ourselves quite a bit eating out etc as well, and the occasional trips to Costco aren't included in that.
So all in all, yeah probably £300-350/month. Used to be around £500, but god knows what it was spent on!
We used to just spend as we fancied, but then the wife going down to part time a year or so back made us look at where we can trim costs.
We set ourselves a budget of £70/week for shopping, this is food, dog food, toiletries etc...
We only buy alcohol out of that when there's money left over though, usually we buy alcohol out of our 'play' money.
Surprisingly easy to stick to when you think about what you are buying, try to plan your meals weekly and look out for offers.
We do treat ourselves quite a bit eating out etc as well, and the occasional trips to Costco aren't included in that.
So all in all, yeah probably £300-350/month. Used to be around £500, but god knows what it was spent on!
The Ocado bill is about 50-60 quid a week. The butcher's bill is about 40 quid a week. That's for two of us. There's a bit of ad hoc stuff bought too. We could cut it back dramatically if we had to, especially the butcher's bill which includes the regular Saturday night pair of big fillet steaks, but I think there are worse things to spend money on than nice food.
More than I care to admit to but at a conservative estimate (per month) £600 on food and £250 on wine for a family of 4. Now this is probably quite reasonable until I add I am in a job where my employer pays for *all* food, breakfast, lunch and dinner!
So that means £600 is on prepared or "luxury" foods that I would not expect them to buy me, ie. I want a lobster buy it myself, want a kilo of mince then that's their department.
So that means £600 is on prepared or "luxury" foods that I would not expect them to buy me, ie. I want a lobster buy it myself, want a kilo of mince then that's their department.
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