ChatterBank23 mins ago
The Cost Of Living
48 Answers
I've just sat and mulled through what we have spent over the last month on groceries alone. We each have our own current accounts and savings, but we also have a joint account and 2 joint savings accounts.
Into the joint account we put £1k each per month. That covers mortgage, all household bills, petrol, mobile phone, groceries, drinks out, takeaways (not that we have that many takeaways). I've gone through and tallied up what we have spent in grocery shops / supermarket visits alone and it's £614.69 since we did our last big shop on pay day, until our next big shop this Friday. That's £24.59 per day. That in itself doesn't seem huge, but when I look at the sheer number of visits we've made to the shops during this last month, it's quite alarming ... £20.51 here, £30.72 there, another £28.46 in Tesco ... and that doesn't include what we've variously spent at Debenhams, the garden centre, Mothercare.
Do you think £24.59 per day is excessive, for groceries alone, for 2 people in their 40s with a nearly 4-month old baby?
What do you think is a reasonable amount of money to live on per day / week / month?
Into the joint account we put £1k each per month. That covers mortgage, all household bills, petrol, mobile phone, groceries, drinks out, takeaways (not that we have that many takeaways). I've gone through and tallied up what we have spent in grocery shops / supermarket visits alone and it's £614.69 since we did our last big shop on pay day, until our next big shop this Friday. That's £24.59 per day. That in itself doesn't seem huge, but when I look at the sheer number of visits we've made to the shops during this last month, it's quite alarming ... £20.51 here, £30.72 there, another £28.46 in Tesco ... and that doesn't include what we've variously spent at Debenhams, the garden centre, Mothercare.
Do you think £24.59 per day is excessive, for groceries alone, for 2 people in their 40s with a nearly 4-month old baby?
What do you think is a reasonable amount of money to live on per day / week / month?
Answers
I'd match you on the wine & pub (except for this month when I'm mainly drinking duty free) - so approx £150 for one person - but nowhere near another £150 on food & supermarket bits - significantl y under £100 I'd estimate. My problem is "nipping to the Co-op for a paper" - my lack of self discipline all too often means a theoretical 60p purchase turns into a...
07:34 Tue 22nd May 2018
Hmmm... of course it's impossible to tell purely from looking at my transactions online how much of the £24 odd per day is refreshment of the fermented variety.
I'd like to think we could live on £10 per day for just our groceries. I'm not a big eater but I do tend to buy fancy ingredients and make recipes complicated.
I'd like to think we could live on £10 per day for just our groceries. I'm not a big eater but I do tend to buy fancy ingredients and make recipes complicated.
Does that include your grown-up sons, Ummmm?
I never eat 3 meals a day. Sometimes just 2 boiled eggs for breakfast (no toast) and a salad later on in the day. My husband isn't a big eater either, although he would sit and eat a big meal if I put it in front of him.
When I say live on £10 per day, I mean just food. Not electricity, petrol, phonebills, etc. Just food.
I never eat 3 meals a day. Sometimes just 2 boiled eggs for breakfast (no toast) and a salad later on in the day. My husband isn't a big eater either, although he would sit and eat a big meal if I put it in front of him.
When I say live on £10 per day, I mean just food. Not electricity, petrol, phonebills, etc. Just food.
WBM, I totally get what you are saying about life's luxuries but we stopped short of submitting an offer on that house that needed renovating as my husband felt it was too much of an undertaking with a young baby.
We are now looking at a house which is significantly more expensive but requires less renovating. We have a viewing later. If we are going to spend £70k more on a house than we intended, somethings got to give.
I have worked it out that we are probably spending upwards of £300 per month on wine / drinks alone.
We are now looking at a house which is significantly more expensive but requires less renovating. We have a viewing later. If we are going to spend £70k more on a house than we intended, somethings got to give.
I have worked it out that we are probably spending upwards of £300 per month on wine / drinks alone.
During the past few years I've had several extended periods where I've tried to live on £15 per week for food but usually ended up spending more like £20 per week.
Even though I'm slightly better off now that I get my state pension, as far as just food is concerned (and therefore excluding occasional treats of an alcoholic nature) I'd find it hard to spend more than £30 per week unless I was eating out. I still prepare plenty of meals that cost under £1.50 for two courses (and I often only eat one main meal in a day anyway).
Even though I'm slightly better off now that I get my state pension, as far as just food is concerned (and therefore excluding occasional treats of an alcoholic nature) I'd find it hard to spend more than £30 per week unless I was eating out. I still prepare plenty of meals that cost under £1.50 for two courses (and I often only eat one main meal in a day anyway).
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