I need help!

kit

Ok.... yesterday I made a sausage casserole for dinner, saved some for DD's tea today and frozen another serving for her another day.

Also... today made DD boiled rice with peas and scrambled egg for lunch.
I have some left over..... will it be ok for OH to take to work tomorrow and warm up for his lunch??

Am feeling pleased with my efforts so far!!

thriftlady_2

Make sure the rice is really hot.Rice has to be reheated thoroughly,and can't be kept hanging around in the fridge for more than about a day-danger of food poisoning.Don't worry though just make sure its really hot.

jcr16

kit , i think your be surprised once u start looking at ways to help with the food budget it will all appear so easy , your wonder why u never did it years ago. well thats how it feels for me.
i have a 6 month old little boy and he eats whatever we eat. i slightly mash up food as he has 1 tooth so he can chew. and he loves his food. he eats everything.
heres some food ideas that might help u. this is what my son regually eats.
fromage frais with banana mixed in. ready break with mashed strawberries and grapes ( must peel the grapes tho) , ready break with banana, bread with butter and a little jam. soft toast with butter and maybe a scraping of marmite.
lunch , fromage frais with fruit , noodles ( only a little bit at time, ) cheesy veg , toast with cheese .
dinners , cheesy veg , roast , sausage casserol , spag bol , potato with any veg or mince beef or any meats. potatoe , beans and cheese , brocoli and cheese , cauliflower cheese .

he had loads more but just cant think. basically tho , give adapt whatever u and your oh eat.

also work out on tesco online , what u need for a week for meals etc. and then that will give u an idea of how much you would spend when not tempted by all the other items u see.

i am terrible when go round a supermarket. i buy stuff i don't need but like the look of. i now do tesco shop online. and i stick to my food budget . which is £200 for 2 adults , 2 kids , 2 cats. this inculdes nappies for both kids , formula milk for one and all tolietrees. but i have found meal planning is the key. and it can also be really good fun i love working out a meal planner

nic82

Hi Kit,

Just a quick suggestion, I know someone has already mentioned freezing things so they don't go off and you don't have to throw them away, but something I learnt when I went to uni was to freeze things in smaller portions.

For example, if I froze a pack of 8 sausages, I'd split them into two packs of 4 and then freeze them like that. It's so much easier than having to hammer them apart when you don't want a complete pack! And, if you do want a full pack, just get both packs of 4 out of the freezer.

Nic

beachbeth

play2day wrote:

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.

This really helps me too! If I go round the supermarket, even if Im being very strictly frugal, my bill will come to £100-£110 for four of us! If I shop online I can easily make it £80-85. At Sainsburys they have days when they don't charge for delivery too, so I have mine delivered for free every Thursday.

nic82 wrote:

For example, if I froze a pack of 8 sausages, I'd split them into two packs of 4 and then freeze them like that. It's so much easier than having to hammer them apart when you don't want a complete pack!

I do this too and also with multi packs of chicken legs.

Bogof_Babe

If you have a spreadsheet package on your PC, it is worth spending a couple of hours listing every single item you normally buy, roughly working out how much per week of it you use, and projecting it to estimate a month's cost. I did this when I started budgeting, and got a few surprises.

For example, fruit juice - I'd have randomly said we spend about £2 a week on it, but it turned out that given that my husband drinks it by the pint, it is more like £5.

Bubble bath - I'd have said £1 a week, but in fact a 98p bottle lasts us a fortnight.

Marmite - a jar is expensive @ over £3, but we only buy one about once a year, so the weekly cost is around 10p.

It takes time to complete your list of items - I was still adding them on two months later for things that are bought irregularly. But eventually I was able to work out a weekly budget that ensured we didn't run out of anything important, but neither did we overstock or waste stuff.

Another tip - don't leave things to the last minute to replace. That way you can hang on until you see a good promotional discount or a bogof. For that reason I don't shop with a list of "must gets", just one of things that are getting towards needing replacing, like tinfoil, loo rolls, shampoo etc. Obviously that doesn't work so well with food, although clever use of your freezer can contribute to the plan.

halloweenqueen_2

I kept all my receipts for a month to see what I was really buying, I still do it now (although have totally blown budget I do have 2 freezers stuffed to the gills and graoning cupboards!!).
Its amazing what the occasional 'we'll treat ourselves to this' or 'I have been good, this won't matter' actually add up to!

kit

Well in order to help our finances further I have got a part time job.... 3 days per week as an estate agent.
Hopefully that will help ease the presure but am still going old style.... hopefully will be able to save money for a change!!