Staples........What Should I Buy?

charley24

I am off shopping tonight for my first month OS.

I have £160 to last me 21 days (pay day in 3 weeks)

I need to buy 3 weeks worth of nappies, wipes, cat food, litter (I baby 1 cat)

I also need to have meals/ingredients to last me this period.

We are a family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids).

Could you share some suggestions on what to buy ?

I have an empty freezer (have been using everything up) a few tins/packets of noodles in the cupboard and a few sauces, tomato, salad cream, jams etc)

I really want to make the most of my money and make sure I have plenty.

Planning to make a lot of the meals from scratch.

I am starting OS properly (an amount for each week) when Hubby is paid on 25th.

Is this possible and what are your suggestions? I haven't done a shop for 2 weeks because I wanted to use what I already had and also have money to do this larger shop!

Thanks in Advance !

Magentasue

Well, I think you need to decide on meals first and then buy around them. For me, I have to have potatoes, rice, spaghetti and pastry ingredients (smartprice plain flour and butter) for the stodge in our meals. Can manage without all them but have to have one of them on a plate to fill us up.

Then we need veg every week. I spend quite a bit on fresh veg (always have carrots,onions and peppers in fridge) but have a bags of peas, brussell sprouts and green beans for lazy days.

For us non meat eaters, I have to have tinned tomatoes (chilli, pizza, stew), eggs (we have chickens) for Yorkshire puddings, quiche, egg and chips and loads of cheese.

If I have a jar of jam, some custard powder, self raising flour, dried fruit, cocoa powder and some cooking apples I can make some puddings - apple crumble, apple pie, baked apples, brownies, chocolate pudding, chocolate cake,chocolate mousse, jam sponge, bread and butter pudding etc

Finally, I need yeast and bread flours to feed the breadmaker, milk, cereal and oats for breakfast and plenty of good coffee for mornings and cheap red wine for the evenings.

HTH!

Queenie

I agree - you need to draw up a menu plan based on *your* families likes/dislikes, dietry needs, appetite needs.

I tend to make quite a lot of HM Soups so that I can eek out the budget and make a relatively "small" meal look more substantial. (Potato and Leek is very filling and really quite cheap!)

I have a farm shop so I buy a sack of spuds (less than £5 but they do half sacks too)
Pasta/rice/flour.
Bacon offcuts are really cheap and can be used in a variety of ways to stretch the budget.
Cheese and eggs are always needed in our house.

Porridge oats (not just for porridge but also for sweet crumbles and savoury crumbles)

Ultimately, if you haven't read it already ... call your local library and ask if they have: "How to feed your family for £4 a Day" by Bernadine Lawrence (mine is the original version and I think the last one was £5 per day) - it is a fantastic source of ideas for wholesome, budget meals (even gives shopping lists and menu plans).

HTH

squeaky

We have a thread on store cupboard essentials. You don't have to use all the ideas but between them they'll help make up your own pick list.


Store Cupboard Essentials?

LearningToSave.

that sounds like a fantastic book queenie! i rang the library and they dont have it-nor does the central library or any other here!! no luck on ebay and the £4 a day one has 2 buyers waiting on amazon and the £5 a day one has 6 buyers waiting!!!
think i'll be adding it to my hopeful list as im trawling car boot sales and charity shops!!

Alfietinker

I don't know if you have a Makro card, but the Thomas (yellow) cat litter is so much cheaper than the supermarket ones. 20 litres for about £2.50ish. I find washing powder is much cheaper there too.

freyaluck

have you thought about using terries nappies ,all you need costs about £40.00 from boots,or make your own using old towels,then is all you need is plastic pants and nappy nippas or pins.I save a fortune using terries. And I also use flannels as wipes,just put em in the wash with nappies.I got my flannels 3 for 2 in wilkos 29p ea.
just a thought

Queenie

LearningToSave. wrote:

that sounds like a fantastic book queenie! i rang the library and they dont have it-nor does the central library or any other here!! no luck on ebay and the £4 a day one has 2 buyers waiting on amazon and the £5 a day one has 6 buyers waiting!!!
think i'll be adding it to my hopeful list as im trawling car boot sales and charity shops!!

For a very small fee, your library should be able to get hold of it by checking with other libraries (not just your local/central one's). I.L.L. books I believe they are called (Inter-Library-Loan). They may not do it over the phone, but if you fill out a card, they should be able to check the databases of other libraries and order it in.
NB: Should they get it for you from another library (maybe from another County) do make sure you return it on time otherwise you can incur higher than normal fines

Queenie

Alfietinker wrote:

I don't know if you have a Makro card, but the Thomas (yellow) cat litter is so much cheaper than the supermarket ones. 20 litres for about £2.50ish. I find washing powder is much cheaper there too.

Did you know you can make your own laundry powder?

HM Laundry Powder

Or even ... HM Laundry Gloop (but, I haven't used the Gloop)

charley24

Hi, my daughter is attempting potty training at the mo, so no idea how long I will require buying nappies anyways !

I bought some BOGOF washing powder so I am covered for that ! However I may try the washing powder in the future !

I have made a list based on everyones ideas/links and going to make a meal planner so I know what I am at and what I need !

Thanks All!

Queenie

How did your shopping trip go, charley? Did you enjoy making your menu plan?

Did you manage to get everything you needed and stick to a list?

Hope all went well