Molly Spencer, 24, says she now spends just 32p per meal
A budget-conscious woman has demonstrated just how affordable a grocery haul can be, managing to spend a mere £22 per week. Molly Spencer, known as @feedmewhenim64 on TikTok, embraced veganism in 2022 and said she noticed a significant reduction in her shopping expenses.
She uses the platform to share her newfound thriftiness and offer tips to others looking to slash their grocery bills. After moving in with her partner Jake, also 24, in September 2024, Molly decided to tighten her purse strings and began documenting her journey last month.
Molly, who works as a learning support assistant in Bradford, said: “I’ve always hated meat, and I became a vegetarian in 2020, and then a vegan. People are generally curious about it.
“They think being vegan would be so expensive, but it’s so much cheaper. I went shopping with my mum last week and she got the exact same meals as me but meat versions, and it came to £65 in comparison to my £22.
“Everyone’s really interested in it and are commenting asking for advice on what they can do to make things cheaper. They ask for recipes too. There’s people in my comments saying they’re spending £400 per month on food and asking ‘what am I doing wrong’.”
To help keep costs down, Molly recommends planning meals in advance. She explained: “I usually look at the things I already have in my cupboards that are fresh to use for the next week. Then I think about protein and base my meals off of that, and think about cheap ingredients.”
In a recent video, Molly shared how she managed to spend just £22.80 on her weekly food shop, which included enough ingredients for six lunches and dinners.
She explained: “I usually focus on cheap protein, so a can of chickpeas from Aldi are 49p and I’d usually do two meals with that. Aldi’s tofu is really cheap too.”
Her go-to dishes include Gochujang tofu and chickpea and spinach curry, cleverly utilising “leftover spinach in a different meal”.
Molly added: “I nosy around lots of shops and see what’s cheap, but also suitable for vegans. I make my food shop as low as possible so I can enjoy other things.
“I budget so I can afford to live, but it’s so important that I enjoy nice things, so I save up and spend money on going out to eat at restaurants.”
Molly’s £22.80 food shop
Two tubs of houmous
Oat milk
Fruit – easy peelers and grapes
Bread
Pasta
Spinach
Five blocks of tofu
Courgette
Rice noodles
Carrots
Red cabbage
Cucumber
Spring onions
Butter beans
Tinned tomatoes
Kale
Chickpeas