More than three in five first-time buyers use their own savings for a house deposit, typically saving £24,261 themselves – yet 53% still need help from family to fund it, according to new data. The squeeze on household finances does not stop at the front door. For families already on the property ladder, rising food costs are forcing a daily reckoning.
Kezia Neusch, a 38-year-old student and mother of three in Sussex, knows the arithmetic well. Her weekly shop for her family of five – herself, her 39-year-old husband, and children aged 10, eight and four – costs £150 a week. She sticks to a strict plan, rarely buys processed food, and cooks largely vegetarian meals. 'With every pound we spend, I like to feel we are getting the maximum nutrition we can, so processed food doesn’t fit well,' she says.
“53% of first-time buyers need family help for deposits, while families like student Kezia Neusch feed five for £6 per meal.”
The average UK household now spends nearly £119 per week on food, rising to £170 for families with children. Some 61% of the UK say they have cut back as costs climb. Neusch keeps her family’s meals to between £6 and £10 for all five people, a benchmark she uses to judge whether supermarket offers are genuinely budget-friendly. 'Meal deals might feed two people for £10 but each of my family’s meals costs between £6 and £10 for five people,' she explains.
Her go-to five-minute dinner is pesto pasta with broccoli, but the family eats rice and beans 'a lot'. Her husband grew up on the Mexican border, so vegetarian tacos with beans, cabbage slaw and wraps are a staple – what she calls 'unicorn meals' that are both budget-friendly and loved by everyone. She does little batch cooking due to a small freezer, but will batch cook a big bowl of beans to add to rice, soup or tacos.
Breakfast rarely features cereal: 'It’s not very frugal because my children can demolish an entire box.' Instead, the family sits down together for meals, and the children finish their plates. Neusch, who is studying, also teaches her three children that life isn't about money. As the Bank of Mum and Dad props up a generation of buyers, the same parental resolve is keeping dinner on the table.