shopping monthly for 5 kids and me! any advice anyone?

overdrawn

hi . i love this site and hope some of you can help me today.
my friend is selling her chest freezer for£50 and i am debating whether to buy it or not,and if i could shop monthly online.
any ideas anyone ?
these are my concerns;
1.would i miss out on BOGOFS etc by only shopping once a month?
2.what do i need to buy fresh and how do you budget for this?(no car)
3.how do you make sure you get everything needed for a month (memory not great!)
4.normally i menu plan for a week so how do i manage a month??

please help !!!!!!
thanks guys,
louise

moggins

I'd definitely get it, you'll wonder how you managed without it.

I divide my budget up by doing one big shop at the start of the month then dividing what is left by 3 for the remaining weeks. Do you have a local market you could get to by bus? Investigate the wally trolley thread for means of transportation of shopping?

Lidl is very good for cheap veg and they frequently have half price veg weeks, I don't bother with blanching, just chop and peel whatever needs doing and shove it into plastic bags and into the freezer.

To get you into the habit of planning for a month, just try planning for 2 weeks and then repeat those weeks, you just need to buy double the amount at the start of the month.

And no you don't miss out on BOGOFS by buying online.

thriftlady_2

Definitely get the freezer,sounds like a bargain and it will be invaluable.
I stock mine with bread,frozen veg and berries,hm stock,meat,fish and dried beans that I've soaked,cooked and divided up into meal sized portions.I also keep bread crusts which I cube for croutons,breadcrumbs and hm muffins.

I've experimented with buying monthly online from tesco when I was doing without my car.I found it worked quite well.I'd buy all my dry stores online then go to the butcher and farmshop at the weekend(or with my mum)for fresh stuff.

Penny-Pincher!!

Hiya

I have a huge chest freezer and theres only 3 of us. I would go for it. Meal plan is they key, but if you see offers etc you can grab them and freeze them. Feeding 5 kids I would assume is quite difficult. Do they all like the same food?

I buy fresh weekly fruit, veg and yogurts, but if you prefer you can buy frozen veg, then just use as and when you need them.

We tend to stick to the same rough meals weekly. Sunday is always a roast and any left over meat goes into a curry, pie or quiche. Thursday is Shepards Pie and Friday is Egg & HM chips. Other regular meals are Toad In Hole, Pie & Mash, Chilli & Rice, Stew, Spagbol, Curries, Chops & Mash, Mac & Cheese, Quiche, HM Pizza, HM lasagna, HM Fishpie & Breaded fish.

You can eat very cheapily whilst meal planning. You could always do a cheap sponge pudding with custard for desert or baked apple?

Just ask away with questions and you will recieve loads of support from the OS's..LOL.

What kind of menu plan do you have ATM? Whats your budget weekly/monthly? Do you need to provide any lunches with this?

Just wanted to say that I admire mums like you with more than the average amount of kids, but still putting their health as priority and not feeding them rubbish...well done:T

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))

PP
xx

elvis_bloggs

Get the freezer.

blue-kat

big freezer would prove very handy for bulk buying BOGOFs !

overdrawn

thankyou all for your replies.
elvis-you made me smile !!
PP- you inspire me yourself hun. i have read lots of your posts,we are the same age and i don't know how you face all the challenges you do and still stay so positive.
we tend to eat mostly the same,2boys don't like veg at all so i hide it where i can!!
typical week might be
spag bol
shep pie
roast
curry
lasagne
cheese and onion casserole
muffins cheese and beans



ds 2 can be cantankerous at times so will get cereal,but not if i can help it !!!

i think i will go for the freezer but might sit down and plan it all in writing so i know where i'm going !!!!
thanks again,
louise

BWZN93

elvis_bloggs wrote:

Get the freezer.

I second that! There is only two of us but my freezer is always crammed and the boyf complains that there is nowt in to eat :wall: Id love a massive freezer!

Jo xx

MATH

GET THE FREEZER GET THE FREEZER GET THE FREEZER

I think you should get the freezer LOL:rotfl: I don't know how you manage without one. I don't monthly shop but even going once a week I couldn't fit everything in the fridge. I buy 43pts of milk for a start! I stick loads in the freezer (sometimes just for a day or so). It's great for cramming with silly priced reduced stuff you use and in the autum when you can lay hands on windfalls and free berries. Also when cooking things like chilli it is as easy to make 12pts as it is six so double up and freeze half. Do get the frezzer you can't go wrong at £50

SueRob_2

Hi
If you have the room & are over 4'11, get the freezer. It's cheaper to run the freezer full, so if you see an offer of BOGOF toilet rolls, stock up & store them in the freezer too.
Sue

moggins

But remember to warm it on the radiator before you wipe your bum