When I was a little girl …many moons ago !! My Dad would give my Mum house keeping money to buy the weeks groceries. A set amount that had to last. There was 6 of us so things were tight. We didn’t go hungry but we didn’t get lots of treats either. Today I buy what I need and a few treats but with the cost of food rising every time I seem to go shopping it’s left me wondering how much a really do spend a week/ month and I’m trying to add it up as I go along. Do you have a set budget or just buy what you need regardless.
Depends if we go shopping together .
Mr M is terrible he is always putting in unnecessary treats !
Seriously though the bills seem to be getting bigger .
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The treats here are all for me 
maybe I need to try to cut some out.
I agree it’s getting very expensive to eat.
What counts as treats ?
I don’t vary what I eat much really so tend to buy the same things .
Remember when I was a poor housewife though and had times when I didn’t have a penny in my purse .
The odd bar of chocolate, chocolate biscuits/ bars, crisps, small trifles, sweets I would class as treats. Anything that’s not used to make a meal basically other than fruit.
When on holiday we treat ourselves to whatever we want,but when in reality we are careful of spending.
We both love bargain hunting.
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I stopped buying salmon , you know the two pieces from the chiller because it went up from £4.50 to £6.50 also I used to treat myself to a piece of rump steak but that went up and I refused to pay it . Pink lady apples I stopped buying so my treats became much less my bottle of blossom hill merlot is now £5.75 instead of £5 but its my must have . I rarely buy sweets or pudding, I buy activia yoghurts and sprinkle Dorset grain cereal on the top . I buy a small fresh chicken , it does me 3 days , because after the meat is almost gone I boil the carcass and use up the veg to make chicken soup for the soul .
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Everyone’s treats are different, I don’t drink so my treats are possibly cheaper but why should we go without them.
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Unfortunately, yes, I have to count every penny. Food shop is just food. Enough for the week’s meals. Treats are for birthdays, Christmas and Easter
I don’t buy treats then apart from digestive biscuits and fig rolls .
My tinned prunes have gone up to E2.15 a tin but they’re part of my breakfast and I buy four tins a week .
I was in that position as a young housewife . There was always worry in my mind what I could afford to put a meal on the table every day .
I hope things improve for you .
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I don’t have a set budget I just buy what I want…having said that I’m aware of what I spend and I do check prices.
Actually I might start keeping a tally of what I spend on food that might be interesting.
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I never buy convenience meals, yuk , I like to cook good wholesome meals from scratch. I never buy tinned or jars of sauces I make my own with stock and purees . I’m a good basic cook . Love vegetables , always fresh, never frozen.
I’ve never been a big earner and always had a low budget so I guess we get used to it , but good food is nice . I was given a pre cooked sainsburys carbonara for tea once , I didn’t enjoy it at all. So easy to make and nicer.
My mum and dad used to do that, she called it her “wages”
I don’t have a set budget, my treat limit is trying to feed us healthily, we limit sweet treats but do have good meat and fish
But I am granny’s girl and incredibly thrifty (tight! 
) in the kitchen so we probably save a lot through that
Hi
I have been growing my own, but I am closing down my polytunnel and only keeping two raised beds for next year.
I also buy the Lidl veg boxes when they have them, only £1.50 for a selection of stuff nearly sell by date.
I am also fortunate enough to live near a couple of very large meat packing plants.
They have once or twice a month packaging faults on fresh meat.
Nothing wrong with it but they cannot repackage, the supermarkets will not allow it.
Great stuff, sold to staff at very cheap prices, as in £1 a ribeye or sirloin steak and £5 for a 3 kilo beef or lamb joint.
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I don’t have any set budgets.
I shop online for groceries ending up buying the same items over and over …if anyone wants green lentils and raisins I’ve got plenty more than I need 
chocolate is my treat
I shop in town for clothes & home goods .
Sometimes I try to stick to a budget, but that’s only because I like to be able to transfer money into savings, build it up. My aim was to set aside a third for monthly bills, a third for shopping and food etc., and a third to savings, or even some into my second current account. I have just now done that, not been possible because of recent high spends.
My Mum lived to nearly 97 and kept housekeeping books until she was 92 and was diagnosed with dementia.
Every penny would be accounted for, food, school meals, stamps and postage, newspapers, bakery, milkman etc.
She did it by necessity as we had to work to a tight budget. My parents never owed anybody a penny but they were never able to save money either after all bills were paid.
Every year she made her Christmas cakes and listed and costed all the ingredients. When I got married I carried on the tradition until about 20 years ago when I stopped making them. It was fascinating seeing how much things went up in price.
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My mum had a little money box with various compartments for all the household costs .
Poor woman she had a crap life .
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I’m loving these replies, it just goes to show our parents and grandparents might have struggled but they passed on some very good
House keeping tips and in many cases taught us how to be frugal.