I need help!

SueRob_2

Hi
I find that by only using cash, it stops me overspending. But making a meal plan & taking a list are good ideas too.
I've just buddy'd up with a work colleague, we were chatting about food & she spends £60 per week for her & 1 child aged 5.
So now I show her my meal plan each week to give her some ideas, she also is cutting down on waste by using up her leftovers. She arrives a work with a list of leftovers from the weekend & I give her a list of suggestions for using them up.
Sue

BWZN93

And another thing - if you think you wont get chance to use a particular item - stick it in the freezer so it doesnt go to waste, I often have something in the fridge with a few days left onthe date, I think ahead and if I dont think ill use it, put it in the freezer for another week. Ive got a couple of packets of sausages and bacon stored from exactly that!

Jo xx

frosty

Hi kit, where are you shopping at the moment? if you have a lidl near you I would maybe have a look in there.Its amazing what you can buy,I have spent £11.50 in lidl today and that was for enough food for about 4 days (5 adults),I have managed to reduce our food bill from well over a £100 a week to about £50 (5 adults,dogs and cat),I have only been able to do this with everyones help on OS.So keep reading all the tips and I am sure very soon you will be saving lots of money,GOOD LUCK.

play2day

Not really an old style tip but definately one that works for a busy Mum:
Have your groceries delivered! by not going into the store (especially with the little one in tow) you won't be tempted by sugary snacks and BOGOF that you don't really need and you will stick to your meal plan list without problem - remember if you don't want it or need ot it isn't a bargain. I use Tesco.com http://www.tesco.com/ and use a code at the check out from either here http://tescovouchercodes.blogspot.com/ or here http://loyalty-points.co.uk/forums/index.php to offset the delivary charge plus a bit more. The first shop takes a long time so allow yourself plenty of time to do it when DD is taking a nap, after this it gets much quicker.
Also when you do make a homemade meal, such as a shepherds pie or casserole double the quantites and freeze one for when you have neither the time nor the inclination to cook.
To put an end to throwing away so many veg: when you do get fresh prepare it all and put into family size portions in the fridge ready to cook. This is a great help after a stressful day and sleepless night when you are just tempted to bung in a pizza. Also remember frozen veg has the same nutrients as fresh so don't feel guilty about putting frozen cauli etc in your basket, yes gram per gram it probably costs more but there is no stalk to throw away and as you only take out of the freezer the portions you use there is less waste.
Good luck with your savings and king regards

Chipps

Hi, you've got some good advice from everyone here.

As you have 3 months, it's a good idea to find out what you are spending. Keep all receipts, and if you go to a market stall or local shop which doesn't give till receipts then write the amount down straight away, before you forget - either on another receipt from the same day or on a notepad ( I've been known to keep some paper and a little Ikea pencil in my coat pocket for the purpose) or even enter it as a reminder on your mobile.
If doing a monthly menu planner seems a bit daunting to begin with, start writing down each days meals for a month or more. Soon you will have come up with a list of your favourites. I know I can't always remember what we had over a long period, so having them written down helps.

Whether to shop in a selection of shops, or do one major online shop is a personal choice. I have tried both. My strategy now is to do one main shopping day each month (usually payday!) and go to a large town about 10 miles away, as there is very little choice in the small town where I live. I go to the large Tesco for some items, and fill up the car with diesel while there (a big saving compared with our local petrol stations), then off to Lidl for the bulk of the shopping. Next stop is the town centre, where there is a good market, Wilkinsons, a Boots with a points machine, Matalan and other shops I don't often get the chance to go to. Finally, I call into Aldi which is on the outskirts of the town on my way home. It's a circular route, and I am very glad it's only once a month!
Then I only need to shop weekly for things like fresh milk (we mostly use skimmed UHT - much cheaper) and fruit/veg and bread.

I hope you find the savings you need - hopefully even more than £40!?!

blue-kat

try cheaper brands, and if you don't like them at least you know it's worth paying the extra for middle or premium brands.

Martin did a piece of the various supermarket ranges on the 'make me rich' prog.

as Chipps said, long life milk is much cheaper. I bulk buy value skimmed long life milk from tesco online. about 39p a litre. ( I'm not very good at food budgetting, but every little helps.)

we also get T value rice pudding for convience. open a can of rice pud, add some fruit = instant baby food

value apple and orange juice are fine too. value jelly is exactly the same, but half the price, and lovely made with 3/4 OJ.

the kids didn't like the really cheap weetabix substiture so we get the 'healthy eating' one which is still cheaper than the big brand. mushed weetabix also good for filling up hungry baby?

as other poster said, I recommend getting baby onto cut up read food rather than relying on jars so she/he becomes accustomed to the texture of HM food.

cheese is much cheaper at Lidl, they also do dishwasher powder is a big bottle, which I decant into old water bottles so I can (1) lift it and (2) control how much goes in !

there's big savings to be made by changing clothes and dish washing powder, and just using a little less each time. also reduce the temperature of your wash and you'll see savings on the elec bill.:j

look at trying cheaper brands of loo paper, t-paste etc. pounds to be saved every week:)

I'm not very good at meal planning either due to tiredness. but am giving it a try not so much for money-saving but to ensure that we get an evening meal, as it doesn't always happen (ooops !:o) , and try to increase the family's f+v consumption. leftovers are sued for lunches.

there's 5 in the family, and have to take into account 1 wheat free, 1 veggie, 1 fussy autistic spectrum child, + usual kid fussiness in the other 2 ( which I'm working on !) they won't eat stews or mixed on foods

here's my plans for this week.
Sat – veg curry, HM popadums, turkey bits in chickpea batter,
rice

Sunday– roast chicken/ veg sausages + roast pots, parsnips, y-shire puds, gravy

Monday– waffles, egg, beans, bacon.

watercress soup for lunch
leftover chicken

Tuesday – sausages (meat/veg), Wheat free alternative, mash, chicken gravy, p s carrots, cabbage/ broc

Weds - pasta + pesto / cheese, p s
wheat free - leftovers

HTH and good luck:D
-
Katya

ChocClare

Hi Kit
There was what I thought was a really good idea on here the other day if you're inclined to chuck fresh veg away, and that is to chop it all up/prepare it as soon as you get it home from the supermarket and put it in the fridge in tupperware containers (or old plastic pots if you haven't got any tupperware!). Then, when you're tired at the end of the day you've got "ready to eat" veg which you just have to chuck in a pan. I know when I'm tired if it's a choice between frozen petits pois or peeling and chopping fresh veg, then the petits pois win every time! The good thing with this is you can bung it in the freezer as is if you realise you're not going to eat it in time.
Also, joking apart, are you checking you're not buying too much? I think it's really easy to get a bit carried away with fruit and veg, and now buy far less than I used to but waste nothing. And yes, check out Lidl's fruit and veg - really good quality and often half price!

kit

Wow thanks all.
Lots of suggestions there.... have got to take one small step at a time otherwise I know I will go back to my old ways.

Haven't had time to work out what I normally spend on food but will do it as soon as I can.

Am going to do the 'chopping veg' thing - I think that is a great idea.
Am also going to use my diary more and try and keep tabs on the dates of products in my fridge.
Buying online is also going to be given a shot!

Going to just work with these things for a while just to get my head round it. Menu planning is a good idea but a bit too much for me to start with..... need to work up to that.

Thanks guys... keep the suggestions coming and I will keep you updated!

magentadreamer

Don't forget if you're going to do an online shop to check out the discount codes on here plus these sites are good.

https://www.tescovouchercodes.blogspot.com/
https://www.loyalty-points.co.uk/forums/index.php

I don't think I'll need to pay for delivery at least until about June with all the codes about!

halloweenqueen_2

What about the other things you chuck in the trolley like cleaning materials and loo rolls, are there any cheaper alternatives you could try? Ifs it acouple of pounds a month its a start. The other thing I tried was to not go food shopping for a whole week, shopped at lidls on the sunday and didn't shop again until the following monday, its amazing what meals can come out of the cupboards and freezer when you don't buy any more in that week. i finished off with a great fish pie, something I'd never made before. try www.astray.com/recipes and type in budget in the search box, quite a few things will come up, or try the same on www.recipezaar.com although I find this a slower site.