With the cost of living going up, many people are finding it harder to afford food. While a budget of £2.40 a day is not easy, and it’s definitely not ideal, it can be done with careful planning and a bit of thriftiness.
How Far Does £2.40 Go?
£2.40 doesn’t sound like much – because it isn’t. When you break it down, it’s about 80p per meal if you eat three times a day. That means you have to focus on the cheapest foods you can find, like oats, rice, pasta, tinned and frozen vegetables, and discounted items. Fresh fruits, good-quality meats, and branded snacks can be very hard to fit into such a small budget.
What Kind of Meals Could You Make?
Simple foods are the key. A bowl of porridge made with water or milk for breakfast might cost around 20p. A lunch of beans on toast could come to about 50p. A dinner of pasta with a basic tomato sauce could be made for about 70p. Adding vegetables or proteins like eggs or lentils would cost more, but careful shopping in discount stores or buying in bulk can help. Batch cooking is another good strategy. If you cook a big pot of soup, stew, or curry and divide it into several meals, you can stretch your ingredients further. Frozen vegetables like sweetcorn or broccoli are often cheaper than fresh and can help make meals healthier without costing too much.
While eating for £2.40 a day can be tough, some workplaces offer office lunch catering, like at https://www.crumbsdelivered.co.uk/shop/office-lunch-delivery, which can help ease the pressure by providing free or low-cost meals.
Stretching Your Ingredients
Choosing flexible ingredients can help you make lots of different meals without spending more. A bag of rice can turn into fried rice, curry, or a rice salad. A tin of tomatoes can become pasta sauce, soup base, or part of a stew. Eggs are also a great option – boiled, scrambled, or made into a cheap omelette with whatever veggies you have left.

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