My SOA

earwig

hi just wondering if you can help me we are a famley of 4 two adults and two kids one aged 20 months one aged 7 years my food bill per month is 400 and i am trying to cut it down at the advice of other mse i noticed that your food bill is 110 can you tell me where you shop what sort of meals do you have dose that inculed cleaning stuff ect im sorry to be a pain but with your help i might be able to get my food bill down i shop at sainsburry in one trolley dose it all stlye thanks

andrea75_2

earwig wrote:

hi just wondering if you can help me we are a famley of 4 two adults and two kids one aged 20 months one aged 7 years my food bill per month is 400 and i am trying to cut it down at the advice of other mse i noticed that your food bill is 110 can you tell me where you shop what sort of meals do you have dose that inculed cleaning stuff ect im sorry to be a pain but with your help i might be able to get my food bill down i shop at sainsburry in one trolley dose it all stlye thanks

Try looking on kwiksave/somerfield websites, they often have good bargains in the 'deals' section, providing the stores are near to you, I could be quite cost effective to shop around.

When I visit my inlaw's, I also pop into the local Farm Foods (for frozen foods mainly), they sell popular brands of foods and also have good deals on multipacks of some tinned foods too.

I find Asda much cheaper than Sainsbury's personally, but obviously if you don't have one local then it would be hard to swap.

I like you am part of a family of 4, my kids are 7 and 4. When I see a good deal I generally try and buy in bulk so that in weeks like this week when money is (very) tight I have got plenty of tins in the cupboard to keep us going.

Also, save any money off tokens that you come across because in Asda they will accept them at the till even if you haven't bought the product!! When my kids were little I always seemed to get the vouchers through the post and they came in handy quite alot

My shopping is usually around the £80 per week mark.

Hope this helps, :j

narabanekeater

Hiya
Wow so many replys thanks.
Our fridge and freezer (combined) was new last year as we got in silly cheap through an offer on here.
We do use a tumble drier sometimes but only overnight on economy 7 as we have a timer on it. Our home is a 2 bed but it quite large especially the lounge is something like 30 foot with laminate flooring.
We dont have a washing line outside as we cannot have one so all drying is done indoors or in the drier occasionally.
Loft is insulated and we are double glazed.
Even worse I know exactly what your saying about Asda and vouchers but ours will not take them unless you buy the product!
My usual board is the old style so I do my own cooking and baking around 90% of the time as it tastes so much better and gives us leftovers for work the next days as both me and my hustband take pack ups.
The money for childminding goes to my Mum so nursery vouchers wouldnt help.
My calls are through 1899.com with Ntl line rental. Most of the costs involve work related matters and like I said we have to have the mobiles. Ive been called into work at 3am before!
Ive been to my local Fe college before for haircuts and was very pleased but to be honest theres less than £1 difference price wise than at my local saloon and I dont have to pay bus fare to get there and they at the local Fe college wont touch children.
If youd have seen what we were wasting money on 12 months ago you have never have thought that we were in debt and getting things down to what were spending now has been brill for us but I hope im making sence I just knew that if I posted on here people would be able to point me in the right direction for saving a bit more.
Im wondering if our electric meter could be faulty?

chivers1977

Hi, your meter could well be faulty as we are 2 adults one baby and have tumble dried at least 4 times a wk during the winter, dishwasher, at least 1 washing load a day, electric oven, tv and computer are both on most of the time we are in and OH is terrile for leaving lights on and we only pay 39.50 for electric and 16.50 for gas. we have gas heating and water which is on constant throughout winter and autumn as no timer and gas hob.... Have you had meters read recently....that isn't based on an estimated bill is it? We are in a 2 bed flat with 25 ft living room with laminate by the way as well so sounds quite a similar set up

chivers1977

btw where do you get your disposables for 5p? I pay about 10-12p in tescos....

jaws77

I would ask for your electric company to inspect your meter as the costs seem far too high for your usage. I have a 3 bed house for 2 adults and 1 child and our combined gas & electric bill is only £32 per month.

It might be worth making note of the meter readings everyday for a month and work out how much it believes you are using.

Smiley_Mum

Maybe economy 7 isn't switching over and that's increasing your electric bill. Who is your supplier and what's your current tariff?

narabanekeater

Woe smiley mum what a great Taz!
Were supplied by Scottish Power on their duel tarriff.
As for the nappies I use the own brand Boots ones. If your willing to buy £75 at a time then they work out to be less than 5p each. The points I get on my advantage card then get spent on Xmas and Birthday presents. Also for household things that can be brought from boots. If youd like I more detailed explanation let me know. I know that ive saved quite a few people on here a lot of nappies using this method. Using the same way baby wipes come in at around 60p a pack as well, but it will only work if your happy to spend boots points on presents and similar.
I have phoned Scotish Power. They are happy to come out and check our meter for a cost of £150. If the menter is faulty they will refund that money if its not they keep it.
Am not a happy bunny at that one!