How frugal can you be with food shopping?

skintchick

I'm single and spend £60 a month on food AND household cleaners AND most of my toiletries (shower gel, soap, toilet roll, tissues, toothpaste and brushes, cotton wool, etc).

I do packed lunches for work, cereal for brekkie (at work with work's milk) and cook for dinner, usually pasta or rice. The only meat I buy is BOGOF frozen chicken breasts, smallest mince available and sometimes a whole chicken to roast and I get about five meals out of that!! Sadly, can't afford red meat and my chickens are battery

But £60 is do-able even with a man's appetite like I have!

Jo4

We spend £40 to £45 a week on food and there is only the 2 of us, both adults. We both have special diets so I think we do quite well but reading how well everyone else is doing I think we could do better! Must get into the habit of making a food planner, seems to be a good idea.

I noticed that cheaper brands seem to have loads more carbohydrate or calories compared to the more expensive brands. Not good if you are trying to lose weight!!

HappySad

Black-Saturn,. What is "Weigh and Save" I have not heard of them?

I have just discovered iceland for their great deals. You can get loads of stuff there at e good price.

Bargain_Rzl

HappySad wrote:

Black-Saturn,. What is "Weigh and Save" I have not heard of them?

You know the pick'n'mix sweet shops you get in shopping centres and cinemas? They're laid out a bit like that, with stuff in plastic tubs with lids, and you measure out what you need into a placcy bag or container and buy it by the weight so you only pay for exactly the quantity you need, with no extraneous packaging. Good for dry baking ingredients, dry household detergents, coffee, leaf tea, dried pulses, dried herbs etc. I have to admit that I haven't seen one around since I've been in London - the last one I remember was in Durham where I grew up, and I'm not even sure that's there any more... anybody know if there's one in the general area between Lewisham and Dartford?

I eat very well for one on the same sort of budget skintchick has (£60 a month) - technically I budget £80 a month but in practice the extra gets swallowed up by other non-food items. However I'm very lucky to have a rich man to take me out for a posh dinner occasionally

Chipps

I didn't know weigh & save still existed. There used to be one in Colchester, we even had something similar (though not so good) in our small town but it wasnt there for long.

Katgoddess

Bargain_Rzl wrote:

anybody know if there's one in the general area between Lewisham and Dartford?

There used to be one in Dartford in the early 90's, I remember because my mother turned her nose up at it. I thought one of my friends was really cool because her mother brought powdered squash from there. _pale_

I haven't seen any around either. (I live in Crayford)

LittleJo

Hi,
I think maybe Black Saturn is like my Mum was, a super Mum who was a brilliant cook and manager and who fed kids first. What was left she had.
Hats off to you, you are a star!!!!
Jo

Bargain_Rzl

Katgoddess wrote:

I haven't seen any around either. (I live in Crayford)

Hello neighbour! You must be about 20 mins away from me on the 96 bus. I'm in Welling - the pound shop capital of Kent where our branch of Lidl has just decided to stay open until 10pm :j

Sometimes I wish the "Local MoneySaving" boards were split out a bit more thoroughly than just "England" :rotfl:

I'm not sure whether Weigh and Save was unique, or whether it had competitors. I don't remember my local one in Durham being called Weigh and Save, but can't remember it having any other name...

brokenwings

just wanted to say that thanks to THIS forum and the wonderful tips you have all given me - i have gone ( in the space of a month ) from spending £450 per month on food and household items for TWO people - down to £125 and yes that still includes household cleaning goods, dog food and biscuits etc and yes we still eat very well.

my major shop is at tescos and i have found that he doesnt notice the difference if i use value items at all! i now buy tescos own everything instead of named brands, and i now cook everything from scratch and use the freezer! - cant believe how much money i was wasting on ready meals before.

i buy diet pepsi in 6x2l bottle packs from lidls as sadly i am an addict ( i dont fel so bad as it costs much less than the 24 can packs of dietc coke i used to buy ), when i am in there ill pick up any other bargains i spot - but i have learned now that picking up things JUST cause theyre a bargain is sometimes a false economy, do a meal planner and only buy what you need - AND our local evening newspaper runs a special article on thrusday nights listing notable bogofs and 3for2s at all the towns supermarkets - so on fridays i make use of them.

breakfasts are always porridge for me and porridge or a fry up for him
lunch is always sandwiches/soup and a bit of home made cake
dinner is anything from roast brisket ( thanks to my slow cooker), chicken, sausages and cauli cheese, pigs trotters, brains, liver, stew, hearts, sheperherds pie, macaroni cheese,steak, lamb chops, pasty or stk/kid pie, cod and chips, egg and chips etc etc

and we always have a pudding , i make a couple of pies or puddings to last the whole week at less than 1/3 the cost of the bought ones we used to have before.

finally, as someone else mentioned a couple of weeks ago, this is now a kind of game for me, almost an obsession and a personal challenge... i really enjoy it!
( not to mention the fact that it has actually saved me from starting a dmp!!! yipppeeedoooo ) : )

moggins

Wow, I thought I was doing well with £50 a week for 5 people, 2 cats and 2 guinea pigs