Could you live on £25 per week for a family?

[Chelle-82]

If it is a question of 'can you eat for £25 per week for a family' than the answer is resoundingly yes. I used to eat (alone) for 5£ (around 23 guilders) a week as a student for 6 years. I used to cook two meals a week. One was a homemade pasta (canned tomatoes, celery, onion, garlic, mince-meat, salt and pepper for the sauce plus 1kg of pasta which would last for two weeks, total cost around 6 guilders a week, enough for 3 days with ease) and frozen chips, dutch deep-fry sausages (frikadellen) and peas for 4 guilders for two more days. the other two days I'd have steak (5 guilders) on bread, omelette on bread (1,50 guilders for 12 eggs, life savers) or left over frikadellen or indeed pasta sauce on bread. I'd spend about 4 guilders for 3 loafs of bread a week and 3 guilders for chocolate-paste/peanut butter to put on it for lunch/breakfast.

 

As soon as my monthly stipend came in I'd invest in several frozen meals to interject some variation or I'd splash out at the neighbouring Chinese toko and create a stir-fry that would last a few days. I'd also 'swap' meals with mates. I was good at pasta, they were good at potatoes/veg/meat or stamppotten or whatever. So the meals were quite varied over a month. I needed to do this because I got around 400 guilders in sustenance payment per month (so after rent and all that) and I spent at least 250 of that in the bar.

 

Of course, as RonJeremy says, as soon as I started supplementing my income with jobs (after some time) my spend on the bar rose significantly

 

Oooof - i remember them days!

 

When i was a student i used to make big pans of stew and bolognaise and they'd last me a week.. i'd just change what i'd have on the plate with it ,one night giant yorkshire pud, next night chips, next night pancake etc. i dont miss those days!

 

I couldnt live on £25 a week, my favourite wine costs £9 a bottle!! i'd have to starve to death because i'm not giving my wine up!!