Collective Brain Power Required Please

superscotsman

Breakfast like a (super)scot: porridge.
If you can, buy fruit/veg in the market rather than the supermarket, or cheaper still, grow it yourself.

apple_mint

I 'mentally' cost up each meal. In the old days it was easy to spend almost £10 on a series of ready meals (different one's for each member of the family) - now I aim for no more than £2 - £2.50 per meal. It's horrifying how much we were giving away to food manufacturers / supermarkets for the 'convenience'. Cooking from scratch is a lot cheaper, tastier and the meals are far better than ready meals.

I also picked up a range of cookery books from car boot sales and charity shops ... this helps to provide meal ideas. I also borrow one from the library every week. OS also provides a huge range well tried and tasty meal ideas;).

Could you help her through this for a couple of weeks? Sit down and make suggestions for a week's worth of meals and then take her shopping? Remember thought that it costs a little more for the first few weeks as you build up your store cupboard supplies (rice, pasta, herbs, spices etc.)

Dobie

What I did was to start by looking for ways of cutting down on things nobody likes to have to spend on anyway eg. cleaning stuff. If she starts by using some of the tips like vinegar, washing soda, making your own laundry gloop or powder etc she may enjoy making these painless savings & be motivated to try it with food.
This way she'll see that you don't necessarily HAVE to make sacrifices, just use your imagination & you really can live better on less.

jellycat40

I am just beginning on the budgeting thing and not doing wonderfully well. However, one thing I have learned is, it is not a bargain if you don't need it. In other words if you wouldn't have bought it full price then you don't need it half price and you definitely don't need 2 in a BOGOF!

Louise

dooj

Not sure how your friend spends money, but if they start to pay for everything they buy in cash that should soon make them realise exactley how much money they are actually spending a week/month or whatever. This was the scare that i needed and although meal planning seemed like a total chore initially it is now soooo easy and i save a fortune. This weeks shopping for two adults (this also includes lunch for work) cost £19.36. I eat really well and healthily and also look forward to meals rather than coming home from work to open the freezer and feeling uninspired. I waste very little and because i have slow cooker i dont actually cook that often as everything is made in bulk and frozen untill needed. Since starting meal planning i have more time in general to spend doing other things other than cooking and shopping. Being organised has had has a positive outcome for all aspects of my life and because i spend less time cooking and shopping i have more time to do fun stuff and exercise. Saving money isnt the only outcome of being well organised.

Have other money savers found that by meal planning they save so much more time which has had a positive outcome in other aspects of life????

ti1980

Last week I had a really bad back so spent hardly any time in the kitchen as I could barely stand up without being in severe pain.
Thanks to the 'ready meals' of food that I made extra of the previous couple of weeks and had in the freezer, I was still able to eat well though.

Need to do some more bulk cooking for meals for work now though as I ate almost all of them last week!

Bargain_Babe-a-Licious!

I buy all organic chicken, turkey, fruit, veggies, sauces etc.

My grocery bill is high compared to lots of people, but the way I stay in line is by setting a budget and shopping on line.
Also, I DEFINITELY use vouchers & codes to trim the bill at the online checkout.

Maybe your friend could try my approach. It may make her more aware of what she is actually doing.

monkmorency

Maybe your friend could try buying in bulk from somewhere like Costco, then she could get some of her brand names cheaper. My in-laws also swear by Costco for meat, although being a veggie I wouldn't know

Rebob

Suggest that she does the pain free savings first as this might inspire her to budget etc.

I saved over £220 this month by changing my house insurer. It makes me feel good for minimal effort.

nearlyrich

I started using the smaller trolly, missing out aisles in the supermarket where I DON'T NEED ANYTHING, only buying what we need, only buying special offers on things we use, if it's loo roll or washing powderor anything that doesn't go off I buy as much as I can store when it's on offer.