As I’ve mentioned, I’ve committed to living on £500 ($730) a month including rent, insurance, car costs, food, recreation, medications, make-up, clothing, toiletries, phone costs and anything else which arises! This plan involves a lot of “sacrifice” but five days in, I’m amazed at what I’ve already learned!
One of the most common questions people have asked me, is how I intend to eat on £20 a week, while still being committed to my food principles which include: making sure I get my 5 fruit/veg a day, buying local & organic where possible and supporting fairtrade.
So how do I plan to do it?
1. I’m shopping at home first!
2. I’ve stopped buying most drinks – 99% of what I drink now is water! Not only is this better for my body & skin, but it instantly cuts money off the grocery bill!
3. I’m shopping as much as possible in season via the local green grocer! I’ve recently moved, so it will take me time to find my feet within my local area, but I’ve always found buying from my local farmers or independent shops an economical way to shop! However, I’m also realistic that with a full time job, a volunteer position and my allotment, there may be weeks where I need to do a supermarket shop and I will not be hard on myself when I have to make that choice!
4. I’m focusing on simple, nutritional meals! Some of my favourite quick meals which are healthy and economical are exceptionally simple – last night I enjoyed a baked potato, topped with bean meadly, cooked peas and chive cottage cheese! Total cost was £0.70 ($1) for a meal which gave me two portions of veg, a portion of dairy, two portions of protein and was filling and yummy!
5. I’m planning meals via a system which works for me! I have admitted before, I’m not someone who likes a strict menu plan of what I’ll eat on each day, in fact if I try to stick to one, I usually fail. Instead I plan 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 dinners and choose that day (or the day before) which meals I’m going to have! As I have all the ingredients it isn’t any less organized than a stricter menu plan! It works for me 
6. I’m practicing delayed gratification! The reality is, we did not always live in a time where we could open our fridge and cupboards and find 5, 10, 15, 20+ different foods to eat! Before I began living a more simple life, I would often fancy a pizza or Chinese food and simply give into this whim! What I learned was it was an expensive way to eat! The reality is, in the past I’ve had too much disposable income and in all honesty I no longer think that is a good thing. There is nothing wrong with having to wait to enjoy a take-away or dinner out. Small “sacrifices” like this, can change your financial picture and life!
7. I’m making use of my freezer! This weekend I plan to make my carrot & lentil soup, fish cakes, plus chickpea & kidney bean “burgers”. A few hours work will give me at least 10 meals! I also plan to make ginger flapjacks!
8. I’m cutting out snacking and focusing on simple, frugal snacks!
9. I’m making meat the side dish, not the main course! In actual fact, I haven’t eaten meat at all this week (unplanned)…!
10. I’m growing my own!!! And yes, still petrified!!!! 
Using this system previously, helped me shave 75% off my grocery bill!
What is your food budget? How do you ensure you eat well & get the recommended minimum intake of fruits/veg/protein/calcium without spending a fortune?
Your doing so well ft. These posts on your food intake are great; following similar priciples to your own, I’m determined to get our food spending to £50 a week.
Thanks for the inspiration
I hope your first week is going well.
I think you’re doing great but can you help me? Can you imagine how much your budget would be if you had 3 school-age kids and a tall hungry husband? Seriously…how much would you reckon on spending, in accordance with your principles. Plus how much extra for cleaners, toiletries, loo roll etc etc. I am really keem to know!
BTW we currently spend around £100 a week including all the above and a few bottles of wine (!) but don’t have ready meals, take aways or shop bought cakes.
Let me know wht you think!
Yes Carolyn!! I have been in that very position so I will do a post on what worked for me, I’ll try to have it up within the week!
Your suggestions are great: buying locally, few trips to the shops, making ahead and freezing.
I would add, for those with kids, to make your own snacks. Make muffins, cakes and other treats yourself. They are way cheaper and taste so much better. Also, the “value” brands at the stores are just as good as the others at a fraction of the price!
You’re doing really well! Hope your first week at work is going well too.
I’m impressed with your food spending. We have a similar budget – £40 a week for 2 of us, which we could probably get down a bit more if we tried harder. We cook from scratch, make our own bread, yogurt etc, grow some food, mostly herbs, which we wouldn’t buy fresh, but which are very tasty and add variety!
Some things we buy value brands, some things we buy local if we can (like milk). We usually buy fair trade tea.
We shop in the local Co-op supermarket, the local greengrocers, and a discount shop for a few items.
We do what you do and don’t rush out to replace things as soon as they run out, we just eat something else instead. We don’t always eat our ‘favourite’ dinner! And we eat a lot of soup and home made bread.
Strangely enough, I posted about this yesterday…
Look forward to hearing more about your growing adventures!
I’m really impressed that you’re able to stick to this budget in regards to food. I really had no idea what exactly you were going to eat on your budget but seems like you have it under control. Good for you. =)
You are inspiring me to try harder to cut my spending on grocery shopping and this week I succeeded!
I did it by going shopping only twice a week, instead of 4 or sometimes more times. I always plan meals in advance, but like you don’t choose on which day we will have which meal, so there is some flexibility.
This week, though, I looked for the cheapest ingredients possible (e.g. reduced price due to short use-by date, special offer, cheaper chicken thighs rather than more expensive chicken breast, buying in bulk where possible, and buying no-frills ‘value’ brands where possible).
Guess what! I reduced our weekly food shopping total from A$200 or more to A$137 (about GBP68) for a family of 4.
For me, that is a MAJOR achievement – I have been trying to get the food shopping under $200 per week for months now and this is the first time I have succeeded. Partly it is through desperation as I don’t know when we’ll next have a regular income, but perhaps that is life’s way of telling me that I can meet challenges like this head on and succeed no matter what life throws at me!!
Anyway, I hope that you have had a wonderful first week at work and that you enjoy your first weekend in your new city. I agree with you – planning ahead is definitely the way to go if you need to spend as little as possible.
Best wishes,
Roz
Your meals always look and sound so appetising and I should certainly take a leaf from your book with regard to cutting our food budget. I’m looking forward to reading about your allotment as I want to make more use of our garden to grow some stuff we can eat and need some tips. Have a great weekend.
fabulous ideas, as ever!
Good luck with the new budget (new job, new city, new living arrangements :p hope it’s all going well!!)
ps SO excited about your allotment! xx
Pingback: Weekending « Notes From The Frugal Trenches – A Downshifting Journey
I’m moving to London in a month and it depresses me that my rent alone is going to be more than £500! That’s without bills, transport or anything else. How do you live so cheaply rent, bills and transport-wise?
Our weekly food budget for the six of us is about $115. I cook from scratch, including bread, which saves us a ton. I make my own yogurt, so I can get organic yoghurt for the price of regular and we also buy organic milk which really is rather expensive, but worth it. We eat lots of fresh fruit and veg and make smoothies for snacks/deserts in the summer. We don’t eat a lot of meat, but when we do I try to get the best I can afford. We do lots of stews, stir-fries etc. using brown rice and beans which are cheap and nutritious. Most breakfasts are oatmeal, again cheap and nutritious. Probably the biggest money saver? Drinking water. Your budget/meals looks great. It’s so sad that so many people think they have to eat junk if they are on a tight budget. Look at you, what a great example.
Pingback: Family Size Menu Planning! « Notes From The Frugal Trenches – A Downshifting Journey