£50 a week to feed family of 6, does anyone do it cheaper??

maman

Really enjoying this thread, well done Mum of 4. I was just about to own up to being the one in the checkout queue with a trolley full of wine when kune beat me to it! I'm so glad I'm not the only one! To balance our alcohol intake (both health and finance wise) I try to make sure we eat as healthily and cheaply as possible. No children at home now so I don't need snacks or treats any more. I'd certainly like to see any cheap healthy recipes you find.

~Chameleon~

Pennylane wrote: »

Lidl have tinned tuna which I buy as dog food. It is SO cheap and indeed cheaper than the little cartons I buy for my 2 small dogs. Very good for their coats and general condition too. I don't suppose it would be so economical if you had wolfhounds though!!

Sorry to go OT for a moment but just noticed this post and wanted to offer a word of caution before everyone goes racing off to buy cheap tuna for their cats and dogs

It's ok to feed occasionally as a treat but it's not advisable for animals, especially cats, to eat 'human grade' tuna on a regular basis. It's far too high in sodium and has something else in it which can be especially harmful to cats (forget what now) which can cause quite serious health problems long term.

jessielet

Dear mumof4, I think you're an inspiration! I wish I had done that kind of intelligent saving when I was a really poor single mum. At least you feed yourself and your kiddies better than most people. I was so bad at working things out that I sometimes went hungry in order to feed my little boy; but I'm not complaining as I did learn a lot about life and hopefully became a far better person for it. Thanks

FairyElephant_2

Hi MUMOF4,

I too think you are doing great!

I have 2 adults + the cat to feed full-time, and DH's 3 kids for alternate long weekends (now all teenagers and can eat us out of house & home!). I have got my spend down to £30 -40 week on food & cleaning stuff (not incl. alcohol - LOl - I was maybe the one with the 3-4-a-tenner wine and 3-4-twenty cider & lager in my trolley!) and think I am doing really well!
I agree - I can't spend all your time making everything from scratch when I work full-time and want to have a life! I do a lot of meals from scratch, bake bread etc. occasionally, but I like to keep dried stuff like noodles, flavoured rice and few jars & packets for when I am in a real hurry or just too tired to do 'proper cooking'!

One cheap little meal I knock up when in a hurry is with Asda's GFY Tuscan Bean Soup (sure Tesco probably do a similar one) - it is really thick & yummy on it's own, but to make a filling meal I cook some pasta, warm the soup, mix together, sprinkle with grated cheese & grill for a couple of mins so the cheese bubbles - cheap, quick, healthy & delicious!

I've got 'beef casserole' in the slow cooker for tonight - 'whoops' reduced stewing steak form Mr A's last nite, plus a couple of chopped onions, dried 'soup mix' bought on offer the other week, some past-their-best carrots and an end of celery from the fridge, and a few spuds which had started to 'sprout' in the veg basket - all chopped small & chucked in with a stock cube....I'll thicken it as necessary when I get home and DH will never know it was made using up the odds & ends from the fridge!

Keep up the good work!

FE

luckyJ_3

I just wanted to let you know how much I admire you for managing to feed your family so well on your budget. It is hard work cooking every meal from scratch, and the people telling you to make your own bread need to get a grip on reality as well as a life! The cost of the ingredients alone would exceed what you pay for a loaf, not to mention the cost factor of baking it! The same applies to cakes.
Tinned and dried fruit is nutritious and healthy! Government statistics prove the health of our nation was at it's best during rationing, a time when everything was home grown, seasonal and in short supply. People ate what they could, and fruit was not readily available, but it did not appear to have an adverse affect overall.
So what if you buy cheap eggs, they're still eggs!
In an ideal world I would probably buy more organic fruit and veg, but cannot usually afford the inflated prices they charge for them.
You know, if you wrote a cookbook using your thrifty recipes it would probably be a worldwide best seller!
Keep up the excellent job you are so clearly doing and ignore the detractors!

Pennylane

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Sorry to go OT for a moment but just noticed this post and wanted to offer a word of caution before everyone goes racing off to buy cheap tuna for their cats and dogs

It's ok to feed occasionally as a treat but it's not advisable for animals, especially cats, to eat 'human grade' tuna on a regular basis. It's far too high in sodium and has something else in it which can be especially harmful to cats (forget what now) which can cause quite serious health problems long term.

---

Thank you for highlighting this Chameleon but I did say I was feeding dogs. I made no mention of cats.;) I think you'll find there is more harm feeding chocolate and treats to dog than tinned tuna.

The Tuna I buy is for humans and is canned in sunflower oil (which is why I said it was very good for their coats;) ). I didn't think for one minute that anybody would buy Tuna in Brine (ie SALT) for their pets. I wouldn't even eat that myself!! :rotfl: :rotfl:

All dog owners know that it is good to vary their food occasionally and I swap between brands, some fresh fish or chicken now & then and tinned tuna in sunflower oil. In case anyone is STILL confused, you drain most of the sunflower oil off and the dogs are positively drooling. I have had dogs all my life and I have never had one die under the age of 15, so I must be doing something right.

Very occasionally, Tuna in Spring Water is on offer somewhere and I buy that for the dogs too.

Icemaiden

luckyJ wrote: »

I just wanted to let you know how much I admire you for managing to feed your family so well on your budget. It is hard work cooking every meal from scratch, and the people telling you to make your own bread need to get a grip on reality as well as a life! The cost of the ingredients alone would exceed what you pay for a loaf, not to mention the cost factor of baking it! The same applies to cakes.
Tinned and dried fruit is nutritious and healthy! Government statistics prove the health of our nation was at it's best during rationing, a time when everything was home grown, seasonal and in short supply. People ate what they could, and fruit was not readily available, but it did not appear to have an adverse affect overall.
So what if you buy cheap eggs, they're still eggs!
In an ideal world I would probably buy more organic fruit and veg, but cannot usually afford the inflated prices they charge for them.
You know, if you wrote a cookbook using your thrifty recipes it would probably be a worldwide best seller!
Keep up the excellent job you are so clearly doing and ignore the detractors!

I don't think anyone has said that cooking from scratch was easy, and as for making your own bread, may I draw your attention to the many threads on Old style that members have kindly costed out both ingredients and the cost of gas/electric it takes to produce not only a cheaper loaf but one that knocks spots off any shop bought mass produced one. If planned well cooking/baking can be fitted in with your daily life... oh sorry I forgot we don't have one:rolleyes:

Ice
x



x

suzanandboys

Its hard to find the time coming up with a meal planner thats my downfall i buy things in the aim of making stuff but never get around to it. My hubbie is immune to eating out of date food!!,

We are a family of 4 (plus 2 cats but i wont count them as they are on prescription diets!), Kids 3 and 6 though they eat more than me. To save money I actually have swapped to an organic veg box, i can chose want I want in the box so not much goes to waste, they also deliver my fruit ( fruit box) , milk, eggs and they have a fortnightly meat box which I make last 4 weeks, husband does complain about only having bacon once a month! So this lot costs me on average £34 a week.

I then do a once a month visit to the supermarket, to pick up all the other stuff, so crisps etc have to last a month when they are gone they are gone. We also are members of costco so I buy a years supply of washing powder, catering packs of rice/ pasta etc..

I tend to buy as large as possible, and 'll buy 50L of fabric softner etc so most household essentials last us a year ( the garage has to be used for something!)

I am now saving about £100 a month compared to my weekly supermarket shop, and still buying organic food , though not getting as many clubcard vouchurs!!!

~Chameleon~

Pennylane wrote: »

---

Thank you for highlighting this Chameleon but I did say I was feeding dogs. I made no mention of cats.;) I think you'll find there is more harm feeding chocolate and treats to dog than tinned tuna.

The Tuna I buy is for humans and is canned in sunflower oil (which is why I said it was very good for their coats;) ). I didn't think for one minute that anybody would buy Tuna in Brine (ie SALT) for their pets. I wouldn't even eat that myself!! :rotfl: :rotfl:

All dog owners know that it is good to vary their food occasionally and I swap between brands, some fresh fish or chicken now & then and tinned tuna in sunflower oil. In case anyone is STILL confused, you drain most of the sunflower oil off and the dogs are positively drooling. I have had dogs all my life and I have never had one die under the age of 15, so I must be doing something right.

Very occasionally, Tuna in Spring Water is on offer somewhere and I buy that for the dogs too.

Hi,

I'm aware that you were talking about feeding your dogs, and although it isn't as potentially harmful to dogs as it is to cats, it can still cause significant health problems if fed regularly, in particular kidney disease.

I was merely highlighting the risks for the benefit of those who might decide to start feeding their pets tuna fish having read your post.

Also, and I'm not sure whether you're aware of this, but tuna in sunflower oil actually contains higher sodium levels than either of the brine or spring water varieties

Anyway, this is OT for this thread and I apologise for diverting the conversation. If you'd like any more advice on the subject perhaps you could start a thread on the pets board where there are a number of knowledgeable people, including vets and vet nurses, who are willing to offer advice

OrkneyStar

luckyJ wrote: »

I just wanted to let you know how much I admire you for managing to feed your family so well on your budget. It is hard work cooking every meal from scratch, and the people telling you to make your own bread need to get a grip on reality as well as a life! The cost of the ingredients alone would exceed what you pay for a loaf, not to mention the cost factor of baking it! The same applies to cakes.
Tinned and dried fruit is nutritious and healthy! Government statistics prove the health of our nation was at it's best during rationing, a time when everything was home grown, seasonal and in short supply. People ate what they could, and fruit was not readily available, but it did not appear to have an adverse affect overall.
So what if you buy cheap eggs, they're still eggs!
In an ideal world I would probably buy more organic fruit and veg, but cannot usually afford the inflated prices they charge for them.
You know, if you wrote a cookbook using your thrifty recipes it would probably be a worldwide best seller!
Keep up the excellent job you are so clearly doing and ignore the detractors!

Yes it is hard work doing the above, and if you work FT or have kids to look after or a busy life in other ways then it is hard to make everything. I am not for one minute saying the OP should be up to her elbows in flour all the time :eek: , however I think saying people 'need to get a grip on reality' is a little OTT. If you have a Bread Maker (can get cheap decent ones nowadays) it only takes about 10 mins to put all the ingredients in (if that) and if you buy value/cheap bread flour (you can mix it half with more expensive flour or use seeds/oats etc if you want fancier breads) it is not that expensive in the long run. Making it by hand is great fun too and kneading is a real de-stresser! Ditto maming cakes etc. I am a SAHM to a 13 month old, who keeps me very busy but I find some baking/cooking time actually relaxes me.