'I spend £22 per week on my food shop by ditching meat'

Yorkshire’s Molly Spencer, who goes by @feedmewhenim64 on TikTok, became a vegan in 2022 and has since found her shopping bill has drastically decreased.

The 24-year-old has taken to TikTok to share her new frugality and help others cut the cost.

It was after moving in with partner Jake, 24, in September 2024 that she decided to tighten her belt and last month decided to share her journey online.

Molly, a learning support assistant, from 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'.”

Molly advises planning ahead to help curb spending.

She said: "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 revealed she spent just £22.80 on her food shop, with enough to make six lunches and dinners for the week ahead.

She said: "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".

Molly's favourite meals to make are Gochujang tofu and chickpea and spinach curry, using "leftover spinach in a different meal".

She said: "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