How can I reduce the shopping bill further..?

clutterydrawer

would your son eat raisins instead of fruit flakes? i agree that fruit flakes are delicious but they're like...37p for a little bag? but you can get 500g of raisins for about 50p. (dont quote me on this i might be thinking old prices!)

bargainbetty

A quick note about the washing liquid - if you don't need Fairy non-bio, then Sainsbury's own non-bio is just as nice and a good pound cheaper. I don't use fabric softener, but put in a slosh of white vinegar which I get from the Chinese wholesalers at £2 for 5 litres. If you like a scent, add a drop of essential oil to the vinegar. Lovely soft clothes and not a lot of cost.

Haven't used fabric softener for three years now....

dandy-candy

I think you're doing great
The only thing that sticks out is that you all eat different meals! For example in the evening could you not make things like casseroles, shepards pie etc that you can all eat (even at different times, just keep it warm in the oven) because it should work out cheaper. Even if you follow a "weightwatchers style" recipe it should be fine for all of you - ds could have milk and yoghurt with his for extra fat, and dh a nice couple of nice crusty homemade rolls for extra bulk maybe?
Hope this helps!

phizzimum

clutterydrawer wrote: »

would your son eat raisins instead of fruit flakes? i agree that fruit flakes are delicious but they're like...37p for a little bag? but you can get 500g of raisins for about 50p. (dont quote me on this i might be thinking old prices!)

my girls really like dried cranberries (the ocean spray ones are very sweet so prob lots of added sugar!). I know they're much more expensive than raisins but they're cheaper than fruit flakes.

MindaJ

One thing I do is instead of looking at what I need and trying to get that for as cheap as possible, turn it around and try to buy as much as possible for what I have.

Like, I set a limit of how many dollars I want to spend and that's ALL I'm allowed to spend. I usually find then that I start looking at cheaper brands, looking through catalogues for the specials, looking through what I have at home already and improvising meals instead of buying new stuff.

And if you allow yourself a little extra at first, you can look at bulk buying and stocking up on specials, then over a few weeks you'll be able to reduce your grocery budget.

It might not be practial for everyone, though.

Bitsy_Beans

clutterydrawer wrote: »

would your son eat raisins instead of fruit flakes? i agree that fruit flakes are delicious but they're like...37p for a little bag? but you can get 500g of raisins for about 50p. (dont quote me on this i might be thinking old prices!)

I definately think your price is a leeeeeetle bit out of date. Cheapest I found for raisins was Aldi 99p for 500g.

The stuff you are buying is it branded? I buy loads (well almost exclusively ) Mr S's basics range.
What sort of money do you spend on toiletries and cleaning products. I buy Stardrops and that lasts me ages. Apart from bleach I don't use any other cleaning product - whereas before I'd be getting through a bottle of cream cleaner every couple of weeks.
Toiletries - I buy my Tresemme shampoo from Costco. Costs about £8 and lasts me nearly a year and I wash my hair nearly every day.

clutterydrawer

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

I definately think your price is a leeeeeetle bit out of date. Cheapest I found for raisins was Aldi 99p for 500g.

The stuff you are buying is it branded? I buy loads (well almost exclusively ) Mr S's basics range.
What sort of money do you spend on toiletries and cleaning products. I buy Stardrops and that lasts me ages. Apart from bleach I don't use any other cleaning product - whereas before I'd be getting through a bottle of cream cleaner every couple of weeks.
Toiletries - I buy my Tresemme shampoo from Costco. Costs about £8 and lasts me nearly a year and I wash my hair nearly every day.

wretched prices increases I wondered why i had no money - i eat too many raisins.

theyre still cheaper than fruit flakes though

seabright

I have found grated carrot in slowcooker meals to be a great stretcher. Grate a carrot or two on the finest bit of your grater and stir it in. It "dissolves". You can't taste it or see it, but it makes the dish go further and thickens it up a bit too, without the flour-y taste you sometimes get if you add flour to thicken.

Works particularly well with darker coloured dishes, I find.

maman

I think your weekly main shop is fine but it's the top-ups that are costing you. What are you buying?

I'd suggest you keep all your receipts for a month and see exactly what you are buying with those top-ups and what could be avoided. I only shop for 2 most of the time but I almost never go into a shop more than once a week. Totally agree about the shopping list, even my OH adds to it if he uses something up (but I usually cross it out because I have some in my storecupboard!:rotfl: ).

I know many people disguise the veg in bolognese for various reasons but as your OH likes veg I would just bulk out with diced/sliced carrot, mushroom, courgette, xtra onion whatever you've got. We've learned to love it that way and plain meat would be very boring now. Also wondered just how much pop and crisps you buy? I know there are lots of offers around on these but I'd limit it to just enough packets & cans for the week and when it's gone, it's gone.

P.S. Hope this doesn't sound bossy, I think you've got the right idea trying to sort it out.

Olliebeak

If going out for just bread, milk, veg and fruit during the week is adding £££'s to your shopping bill, have you thought about freezing bread and milk and maybe only topping up once a fortnight? The milk looks strange when frozen, but honestly it defrosts just fine! You should have seen my OH's face the first time I did it - he's quite happy with it now though . I often buy milk on whoopsie now and freeze it - lots of supermarket milk is 'sell by' quite a few days before 'use by' so they're often on whoopsie.

What about frozen/tinned veg or fresh veg that you can freeze yourself and maybe some tinned fruit for when the fresh has run out/gone past its best?

Basically anything at all that avoids that trip 'for a couple of extras' that turns into £20-£30 :eek:.