Single mum-of-4 on benefits slashes food bill to £121 by easy budgeting method
With the country facing a Cost of Living Crisis, many families have had to alter their spending habits due to the soaring prices.
A single mum-of-four has shared how she managed to get her monthly food shop down to £121 by using a simple budgeting method.
Kimberley Shannon, who is self-employed and on Universal Credit, says the key to making big savings is buying in bulk, using vouchers and meal planning.
Her income fluctuates depending on demand for her bespoke cake-making business, so buying a bulk food shop at the beginning of every month has helped her.
The money-savvy 33-year-old is also very structured, and spends an hour at the start of every month meal planning which means she can feed her family, even if business is slow.
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The mum shops for all the meats, vegetables and carbohydrates (Kimberly Shannon / SWNS)
The mum says planning ahead is key (Kimberly Shannon / SWNS)In addition to this clever budgeting method, she also uses Healthy Start Vouchers and Tesco Clubcard points, which bring prices down further.
Healthy Start is an NHS scheme which helps people who are pregnant, or have young children and are on benefits, buy food items such as milk or fruit. The free vouchers can be access weekly.
Meanwhile, the Tesco Loyalty scheme is available for anyone to join. As well as saving up points which can be used in exchange for vouchers, you can also buy items at reduced prices.
Kimberley dedicates an hour at the start of the month to plan her meals (Kimberly Shannon / SWNS)Kimberley, who has four children aged between two and 12, said: "Some months I'm better off than others, but the point of the monthly shop and plan is so I'm always prepared for the worst.
"My tips are for people who, like me, worry about coming up short in terms of feeding their family each month.
"It's organisation and planning that ensures my children have always got full bellies when they go to bed at night - no matter my financial situation."
The family's main food shop, which includes meats, vegetables and carbohydrates, comes to about £121 a month, but sometimes it's necessary to do a top-up shop for essential items.
Kimberly said: "I create a meal plan, just for evening meals - and shop smart and cheap.
"I do one big monthly shop to minimise daily trips, because it saves time, fuel and money. And, I keep my meal plan on my fridge and stick to it!
"I do a four week meal plan as week one and three, and week two and four.
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"This way I minimise the amount I have to buy, by using the same ingredients in different ways.
"The £121 figure doesn't include toilet roll, toiletries, animal foods or sanitary products - I'm simply talking about a food shop."
The Healthy Start vouchers gives her an extra £4.25 a week or £17 every four weeks. To see if you're eligible, check the government website.
The mum said: "If you have more than one child under four, you should get at least that per child - it's worth finding out."
A breakdown of Kimberely's food shop shows that the mum spends:
- £27.71 on fruit and veg (frozen, tinned and fresh)
- £43.97 on meat and fish, including chicken dippers and fish fingers.
- £66.22 on snacks, other cooking ingredients such as pasta, rice, cereals, oats bread, crisps and drinks
The savvy mum says she likes to create simple lunches from any food she has left over.
She said: "The point of my monthly shop and plan is always to be prepared for the worst.
"If my electrics go out, or I can't fill up my car, I can work out ways round that, and we'll survive.
"But if my kid's are going hungry, that's a huge problem, so it's always my priority to make sure they go to bed full every night.
"It's not easy, and at the minute, times are tough, but I just hope some families read my advice and it gives them a helping hand this winter."
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