Saving money on food

Mr_Proctalgia

I'm finding the trick to keeping it cheap is to plan ahead, I use this site to work out my needs http://www.fixtureferrets.co.uk/index.asp and plan a route around the local supermarkets for my shopping. This I do on the cheap by going at the right time of day and I also have an ikklebittie LPG powered car for pootling around in. General store cupboard stuff is generally cheapest in Aldi or Lidl but when the "right" bogofs are there for me I fill my boots, even to the extent of buying by the case full.

Own brand "value etc" stuff is usually on a par with branded names, frozen veg is usually frozen much faster than fresh get to the shop so is thought to have better vitamin retention, value mince makes the best burgers and is better in anything that can soak up the extra fat (for instance mixing with soya to stretch the amount)
I never buy stuff that is something "flavoured" because that means it isn't in it, decent butter is worth it when cooking, sausages called "Irish Recipe or "Butchers Choice" or "Choice" are so named because they contain less than the legal minimum meat required to be called beef or pork. Some Bernard Matthews stuff that looks like ham or chicken is only 80% meat. Find a pasta you like and wait for a bogof to come up, use cheap passata to base sauces on. Cheap rice can be cheated if you fry it gently in a little oil (straight from the packet) till the grains turn bright white and shrink a bit, then cook in watered down chicken soup mix, add a slack handful of chopped peppers or a few peas for interest. Use the really cheap value skimmed milk ( You'll get used to it) for cooking with milk use powdered, most pulses and spices are much cheaper from the ethnic shops.
One thing I do do which will probably set things moving on her is that I do refreeze stuff, I get bulk meat from a catering butcher and if I want a smaller amount I will happily thaw it in the fridge overnight, use what I need and refreeze, I will not do that with stuff that has sat in a warm kitchen, to date I have never been caught with a dose of the Egyptian Two Step. Most cooked meals cook from frozen, I use Bacofoil to make freezing trays/sachets and just chuck them in the oven in a small roasting dish theyy thaw as the oven heats up and if you wish you can open them up after 10 minutes or so.

fruityslh

Not exactly old style but is money saving on those Pasta sauces, I use the Campbells Condensed soup range (about 47p a tin) the medditeranean tomato is great for a really fast pasta dish, I just cook some bacon and mushrooms, put on some pasta, drain, throw everything together mix with the tin of soup and it's all done in 15 mins, really useful for when I'm working late and haven't got the energy to start cooking from scratch, I used to resort to cardboard ready meals.

scuzz

ag359 wrote:

There is a co-op nearby, which is more expensive, although we do buy odd bits and pieces from there.

Well if you do go to the Co-Op, make sure you get a dividend card, so at least you'll earn a penny for every pound you spend.

squeaky

It's four pence in the pound if you join and get a share number.

caffeinehit

Do you have a bike? You can easily get two weeks' shopping home from the supermarket with a combination of cheap panniers and a rucksack for heavy items and lighter items in bags for life hung from the handlebars.

I find this arrangement much less stressful than squeezing on to a crowded bus with 10 bags.

Bogof_Babe

squeaky wrote:

It's four pence in the pound if you join and get a share number.

How do you do that Squeaky? I have the ordinary dividend card and wouldn't mind upgrading! What's the catch?

squeaky

There isn't one. I joined as a member years ago and have a share account, or divvy for dividend as we know it, and I have no idea what your cards are. Are you sure your card only gets you a penny?

Bogof_Babe

Oh yes, I flash it religiously, even if I'm only buying milk and bread. It is dark blue with white text, and has the coop logo in the top left corner, and the word "dividend" writ large across the middle, and "earns you cash" in the bottom left. The running total earned is shown on the till receipts.

It earns 1p on every £1 spent, and sometimes they have multi-buys that get extra points, They send out vouchers twice a year, which can be exchanged for goods or cash. I usually manage about £18 - £20 per year just through top-up shopping trips, so I was quite chuffed - until I read that I could be getting four times as much!

I must enquire .

squeaky

I don't get all the other things though. Maybe it should be ME complaining!

I wonder which works out better on average.

mah_jong

My card is the same as B O B's and I joined years ago....in the days of the stamps (remember those!!!).

I only got a couple of quid last time round, hardly shop there now. Its not the cheapest shop , though my biggest supermarket, the main reason its just too far to carry stuff home. taxi adds to much to cost.

Love the thought of cycling wth rucksack and panniers..... Nope not me!!I must be getting lazy!