How have I decided on the sum of £30 a week for food?

This is the question I've been asked by family and friends in recent weeks while researching into a sum to aim for and how can they do something similar just for food/grocery shopping? This is not a number I have plucked out of the air. I have worked on keeping our food bills down for the last few years without compromising on variety and quality. However it has to be a balance of what a) you can afford and b) what is a realistic aim.

It's surprising how many people do not have an accurate idea of what their food shop costs. My first thing to suggest is write down everything you spend a week on food. You may choose to include food eaten at restaurants and snacks eaten while out and about or just food bought as part of the groceries. It's up to you. It's surprising how just popping into a shop for a pint of milk on the way home results in spending £10 on yummy treats that catch your eye after a long day. Some prefer to log spends on their phone with an app, other on a good old fashioned pen and paper. At first I used to put all receipts into a pile and add up at the end of the week so I wasn't influenced by a running total. I was shocked! From this you'll be able to see where your money goes, you could even mark which were planned and impulse buys.

There is little point drastically cutting a grocery budget overnight, instead aim to reduce it bit by bit. I have seem two main ways in which people do their grocery shopping. One is a monthly shop with weekly top ups for fresh items such as bread, milk, fruit and veg. The other is a weekly shop buying just what is needed for the week. I've converted to weekly shop. I find it is much easier to buy what I need rather than what I may need later in the month.

One idea is to cut costs is to change branded products to own supermarket own brand products. This is trial and error really, some are better and tastier than others. For example I find 'proper' Shreddies compared to own brand 'Shreddies' are very similar. So I buy the cheaper option now. You'll be able to find what you will and will not compromise on. Meat is normally one area where people are torn. For me, due to slimming world I need lean cuts of meat, however this does not rule out cheaper cuts of meat. I will do another post of the ways I make my meat go further as it in itself is quite long.

Another way that I have to try and stick to budget is to have limits for certain products. One example, I look at a branded fat free yogurt at 60p. So weekdays hubby takes one to work, I might also have one for lunch or a snack, that's £6 on yogurt! that's 20% of the weekly budget. I set a limit for 20p per yogurt. I'm not saying that yogurt is an essential that's just one example. Either we buy supermarket own brand or branded ones we like when they're on offer.

Other examples I have are....
Washing powder - 10p a wash (going by the number of washes on the packet)
Fabric softener - 5p a wash
Dishwasher tablets - 10p each
Teabags - 1.5p each
Crisps - 20p max (we don't eat many these days)
Breakfast cereal - £1 per 500g

So this is a little of how I have come to my £30 a week to spend on food. Food prices are ever increasing so I am aware that this may not be possible for the entire year, but at this point in time I'm positive it can be done.

Starting on my challenge for 2013

Hello and welcome to the start of my challenge to live on £50 a week. I'm aiming to feed myself and family for £30 a week. There is me, my hubby and my five month old son  'Bubba' to feed. In addition, hubby and I are also following Slimming World's plan to loose weight there needs to be plenty of healthy food especially fruit and veg. The other £20 will cover cat food/litter, eating out, trips out, household items (such as toilet roll and cleaning products) and toiletries. It will not cover Bubba's formula or nappies. 

I'm very excited although a little nervous about this. With our new son we need to cut back on our expenditure, but we want to still enjoy life. I have read many tips and ideas on how to do this. 

My plan so far is: 
1) to meal plan. This will enable me to buy the food we need and not random items, reducing cost. I will only cook what we need so reducing waste. By knowing what we are having will stop the panicky brainstorm at 5pm of the dilemma of what to make for tea and then grabbing an impulse take away. 
2) use coupons. I have seen this on tv shows, but have seen people in England do this. I need to look at what coupons I have against the items I need and not be fooled into being things I don't need! 
3) an accurate spending diary to see where the money is being spent.
4) I would like to use the 'second purse' system. Before I went on maternity leave I stockpiled many tins, packets, drinks and toiletries. This system allows me to 'go shopping' in my larder and put the money into a second purse/pot to be used at a later date. By using this system I will have money to buy items on offer for future use without it coming out of the weekly food budget. This will make more sense as I use it. 
5) Take drinks out with us. Either eat before going out or take food with us.
6) Do more free things, like go for walks in the nearby countryside, canals, woods. Use coupons for cheap entry, or seek places with free entry. Eat out using vouchers and deals. 

As food is the biggest expenditure this is the area I have given most thought about. However in addition, this week I will document how many times I use the dishwasher and washing machine to incorporate this into my budget.

I will work on my first two weeks of meal plans and post these with costings. 
I would welcome any tips or ideas. 

MSE x