Desperate House....husband

carl310166 · 6 February 2005 at 5:42PM

Over the last month or so,i have sorted out my utilities,bank accounts etc.and in doing so,i discovered that myself and my wife,spend about £100 per week or more,on shopping!!! it's a shamefull waste of money and food.

I would like some help,as i mainly do the shopping and cooking.

Obviously,spending that amount each week,there are a lot of ready meals bought,and loads of stuff thrown out each week.

I would like to know,is there a basic guide for me to follow?

I assume you plan every evening meal in advance?

Breakfast is just a bit of toast or cereal,so that doesn't cost much or take any planning.

We spend a lot of money on fruit,then end up throwing it away because it's not eaten,but i find the quality from my supermaket is rubbish anyway,is it cheaper and better to go to local fruit shop?

The same from a local butcher?

I work nights,so i tend to do the shopping on the way home from work,so i go to the 24hr Tesco,but at that time of the morning,i have to buy prepacked meats etc.

I never freeze meat,as i am a bit worried about defrosting it,how do you do it,in the fridge?

Is there any difference between washing liquids/powders?

I am willing to change where i shop to achieve the reduction in spending,and i don't mind going 2-3 times per week.

Sorry,lots of questions,so any answers would be great!

VickyA_2 · 6 February 2005 at 6:03PM

No worries Carl! Welcome. I'm still finding my way through this, but there are loads of very helpful people on this forum.

I'll give you a run down of my situation and what we do:
There are two of us in my household - me and my boyfriend. Neither of us have small appetites! We went shopping this morning for the week and spent £44 - including meat, veggies, stuff for sandwiches in the week, milk and bits and pieces for making cakes. We normally spend less, but there were loads of moneysaving offers in Tesco that we took advantage of (stir fry sauces, for example).

We plan our meals vaguely, but no where near as much as we should do.
We freeze fresh meat - sausages are frozen in twos so that we can take them out when necessary, chicken breasts are frozen individually, mince (bought from butcher) is also frozen. All the meat is defrosted in the fridge - use a rough guide of about 24hrs.

If you do have a local butcher, then use them! I've found that ours sells wonderful sausages, eggs, mince (hardly any fat), some veggies - plus loads of other cuts that you wouldn't find in the supermarket. He can also get anything that I need. He also recognised me on my second visit there, and we've built up a good customer/butcher relationship. You can also get your repeat prescriptions sent there!

Sadly, there is no local veg shop for me, but boyfriend works at a fresh produce company so I'm lucky! Work out roughly what you need for the week - eg if you both have a banana in your packed lunch you need 2 bananas a day =10 per week. Any left over you can make a banana cake/banana muffins. If we have any carrots left over, then they get made into carrot sticks for packed lunch.

If we cook a chilli con carne or bolognese sauce then the meat is bulked out with veggies - carrots, celery, lentils. The left overs are then frozen in portion sized erm portions(!) in freezer bags.

As for washing powder etc. We use Fairy non-bio liquid because of my boyfriend's delicate (another !) skin. Have tried other brands, but he noticed the "smell". Washing up liquid is Tesco own brand. In fact most products in the house are Tesco own brand - our local supermarket. We have some of their value range - eg tinned tomatoes, rice. Sadly we don't have an Aldi or Lidl near us.

Ooooh, and any toothpaste/shampoo etc is bought when it's on special offer. Razor blades I've taken to buying off Ebay because you can save a few pounds, even when you've paid for the postage on them.

Take care and let us know how you get on!

pickle · 6 February 2005 at 6:10PM

I find LIDL really cheap (but don't know if they're open 24 hrs) - haven't actually sat down and compared to Tesco - but would say its cheaper - but can't get everything at LIDL. They do stock most staple foods. Ready meals can be cheap but making your own is often cheaper if you have the time. Fruit and veg from LIDL can rot very quickly so you may be better off going to the local fruit and veg. store for that. I defrost my meat in the microwave (on the lowest setting as 'defrost' setting can cook the meat sometimes) but ideally should otherwise be defrosted in the fridge which may take up to 2 days (i'm never that organised!). Things like pasta and rice are cheap and are good value for money. I think the biological powders are for more thorough cleaning and are harsher on the clothes (i tend to use this) - but i 'm not sure exactly. I buy it from LIDL in a big box and it lasts me ages (about £4 from memory) - in this section someone has posted a recipe for an alternative washing powder (laundry gloop) you can make yourself but i have not tried this as yet. I don't plan every meal but i have a basic stock of food i buy. Others here are much more organised and have posted some menu plans which they've made.

carl310166 · 6 February 2005 at 6:41PM

Thanks both! some really good ideas there.

I suppose it helps if i can learn make a meal out of what is left in the cupboards and fridge etc

I am deffinately going to try different shops instead of using Tesco for everything,but my points are going to suffer!

Be assured though,i will be reading as many posts as possible!

Thanks again.

VickyA_2 · 6 February 2005 at 6:49PM

I thought that at first about the Tesco points, but the quality of the stuff from the local butcher is really incredible. Make sure you're signed up to every Tesco clubcard club that they have - like the world of wine and Healthy Living clubs. I got 50 extra points the other day (courtesy of the World of Wine) club just because I spent money in Tesco - I only bought a Saturday newspaper!

Rex_Mundi · 6 February 2005 at 7:02PM

There are only three of us at home, and we also spend over £100 pw on shopping. We have found that if we shop online (Tescos/Asda) we save on average more than £30/£40 on a shop. This isn't because we don't buy the same weekly stuff. When we shop online, we tend to buy just what we need/want. When we go shopping we tend to pick up a lot of stuff that we don't need. You see it on the shelf and think oh I'll give that a try. I'm terrible for this, I love my little luxuries. It's so easy to put them in the trolley when they're in front of you in the supermarket.

carl310166 · 6 February 2005 at 7:19PM

Funny that,it's the other way round for me.

Up until the last 2 weeks,i had my groceries delivered by Tesco,but when i was going through my bills,i found that a was spending £300 per year,just having it delivered!!

That is why i have decided to go myself (with a list) and just get what we need.

Online,i would click on "my favourites" and reorder virtually the same thing every week,wheather we needed it or not,i used to buy a chicken,even though we might have arranged to go out for sunday lunch,can you believe that?

Obviously it works for some.

Ticklemouse · 6 February 2005 at 7:22PM

Do you have a market near you? I visited our 3 day market last week to get some veggies and had a look at the butchers stalls. He gets his meat from local farms and it's good quality. I bought 5lb (yes he still uses 'proper' weights and measures) of pork steak for £6.95 and it was lovely. Also 3 big pieces of Braising steak, a large piece of Brisket and some lovely home-made sausages. Total cost was under £17. I have bagged up the unused pork steak and frozen it and the rest till I need it. I don't know what Tesco's charge for that amount of meat, but I reckon it must be cheaper as well as the fact I know it's good meat and local.

I don't make up menus, but I do bag up and freeze in amounts suitable for our use (2 adults and 2 or 3 children depending on whether I'm child-minding) I have found that Tesco's fruit and veg often lasts longer, but it is more expensive (unless you can get there just before closing on a Sunday)

VickyA - have you used Ecover or Surcare washing liquid? My kids have sensitive skin too but I hate the artificial perfumes put in things like Fairy. Bio powder might get your clothes cleaner, but I use Oxiclean and/or use a longer wash and prefer better skin.

I can also agree about shopping online. You can't get caught for those little luxuries/extras you just have to have. I do a big online shop now and again, especially when I need loads of heavy or bulky items ie tinned tomatoes, cereal or fruit juice. I always use a code so effectively have never paid delivery. Go every once in a while and pick up things you would never have seen

VickyA_2 · 6 February 2005 at 7:25PM

Thanks Ticklemouse. I'll give that a go. Honestly, my boyfriend may as well be a child the way he goes on sometimes...........!

[Deleted User] · 6 February 2005 at 8:44PM

There are lots of ways of economising with shopping such targetting special offers and if you can afford it and have the storage room - you can take advantage of the BOGOF offers or 3 for 2s.

The only thing I never compromise on is meat. I NEVER buy the value/cheap stuff, especially where mince is concerned.

Don't forget to defrost any meat at the BOTTOM of your fridge on plate and to wipe up any drips ASAP.

carl310166 · 6 February 2005 at 9:09PM

Deleted_User.

So do you go to a butcher,or still buy from the supermarket?

I have always bought the prepacked meat from Tesco,you know,the bright red beef,and it's tasteless,so i am going to try an alternative source.

This is going to sound silly,but can i buy chicken breasts from a butcher,as i have never visited one before.

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Desperate House....husband

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