Groceries! Where am i going wrong???

Horace

The OS board is a little scary but as Skint Catt says it can be a little addictive. It is down to them that I bought myself a Remoska which is used constantly although I have yet to bake a cake in it:D

They're great when you say you only have a potato piece of cheese, half a tomato and a tin of spam and they come up with something wonderful to eat.

Oh and make sure the fruit bowl is always full - I can remember when I was a teenager that I used to have to ask for biscuits or cake but if I felt hungry I was told that I could always take fruit from the fruit bowl without having to ask. Even though I left home years' ago my mum's fruit bowl is always full whereas mine is always empty because I never buy any:rolleyes:

Toni_Broke

I find this whole thing addictive! I couldnt get back from the school run fast enough to get back on line lol!

I aggree about the fruit bowl and that includes OH as well!

Its been great today i'm glad i decided to post. I just might even be brave enough to attempt a diary.

Tonixx

Toni_Broke

Hoorah i've been converted! lol

Jacks_xxx

I am guilty of always looking at peoples food budgets on SOAs - cos usually when people are in dire straits it is an easy place to make cuts - and it made such a massive difference to us when we did it.

We paid off over £7k of debt in two years just with money I saved on my Grocery budget when I was doing the Grocery Challenge over on Old Style.

When I added up my receipts in August 2007 they came to £650 for the month but since being a Grocery Challenger I've never spent more than £455 - and that month included a Christmas! :dance: We average out at about £321 a month though for 3 adults, one teenager and a grumpy, old and finicky cat!

We had to change a lot of our habits to get here though - but gradually step by step so it wasn't too painful.

My daughter and I bake our treats now. For about £3 or £4 worth of oats, butter, syrup and demerara you can make enough flapjacks to force feed an army flapjack until they beg for mercy.

A reduced to clear loaf becomes bread pudding...

For about a fiver I can do a nutritious high quality ingredients chilli and rice that feeds all four of us to bursting at least twice.

You can do a huuuuuuge veg curry for the same money - and I very often use Lidl sauces for quickness cos Jamie's basic curry base takes an hour, a blender, and coconut milk as well as fresh herbs and other stuff that makes me want to give him a slap. It's nice but I don't have time to do that when i get home at night and I don't have big enough pans to make it in enough bulk to freeze. (and I don't have a freezer at the moment either but that's by the by!) Bless you Jamie Oliver, I love ya - but we don't all have a professionally equipped kitchen complete with prep chef and a washer upper you know! :rolleyes:

Spag Bol is a cheapie too... I chuck lentils, porridge oats, and chopped veg into everything for bulking and extra nutrition.

Old Style and a book by Gill Holcombe called "How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even If You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three Saucepans (one with an ill fitting lid) and No Fancy Gadgets Unless You Count The Garlic Crusher" really helped me rethink our shopping and eating habits whilst still working for a living.

When I have helped friends out with their food budgets we've looked hard at anything that comes in plastic packaging such as chicken drummers etc. They are often surprising expensive.

Ok that's all I've got for now. I s'pose I'd better go and get the tea on!

Keep plugging away and making changes hon, and don't worry too much about what other people spend. Everyone's circumstances are different.

Love Jacks xxx

Lois_and_CK

Toni_Broke wrote: »

I spend £100 per week and possibly another £25 at weekends!

Don't worry too much - I used to spend that just for 2 adults :eek: AND that didn't include the 2-3 takeaways we had a week :embarasse

I agree with the poster who says shop online - it does help and you can swap things for value/basics until you get to your budget. I did this at first until I got used to it.

I've just started bulk buying at Costco which is saving me LOADS - although my freezer is fit to bursting now! Is this something you could do?

The other things I do are to use cheaper cuts of meat (not value, pumped with water versions; I mean shoulder of lamb instead of leg; beef brisket, etc) and slow cook them - then stretch them to a second or third meal. I get 2 or 3 meals out of 1 chicken for example. (I do find it false economy to buy cheap (ha ha get it?) chickens though. I get more meat from ones that aren't).

Bulk meals out with red lentils and veg - cutting down on the more expensive meats. Plus doing this makes it nice and healthy as a bonus.

I find the cheapest meals to make are things like sausage casserole, fish pie, bolognaise, chilli and curry. I use chicken thighs for curries because they're cheaper than breast - and taste much nicer if cooked slowly.

There's a page on this website that tells you when supermarkets have their cheap times. Not sure how to do links, but hope this will work: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cheap-supermarket-shopping#secret

Lois_and_CK

xnatalie81x wrote: »

i always scour the tesco voucher codes and rarely have to pay for delivery

Edited to delete question 'how?' because I saw the link to the voucher codes thread when I bothered my lazy as* reading this full thread!

Toni_Broke

Hi Jacks and Lois and CK,

Thanks for your comments! Well i'm definately doing all the right things - i have that Gil Holbourne book (purchased cheaply from Amazon lol). I think i'm going to try and 'pad' out my chillies, curries etc and freeze half, at the mo if theres a bit left over i just pile the plates a bit higher!

I could perhaps try to go to the market,butchers etc and see if that works out any cheaper but that is such an effort when youve got a family/house/part time job etc etc(poor me!) Supermarkets are sooo convenient. I do shop on line but def going to check out vouchers.

Tonixx

poppysmum_3

You water down the milk ?
Toni I spend a lot on groceries too. I have a 15 year old who would eat for the country, a 12 year old and a 3 year old. I also have an 18 year old.
I think I roughly spend the same as you - I try to get it down but it seems to go up.

Toni_Broke

Hi poppysmum

Have skimmed and semi anyway! Really cant imagine it any more waterey lol!

After posting this i dont feel so bad or guilty for spending 4-500. Its a realistic amount for us.

Tonixx

jenjade

i spend £40 a week on me and a 6 year old daughter but i have started looking at it and the house is full of food so the last 2 weeks i have only bought cheese, crumpets and milk! The i asked myself why am i shopping every week when the house is full of food!?!

I also write a list of the freezer contents and check the fridge and cans before i go to the shop. I don;t mine spending £40 on 2 of us as we don't eat out and it includes cleaning and tolitries!

Good luck with your shopping budget