cheap shopping

annelise29

hi i was wandering if i could get any hints or tips from anyone. I ahve 3 children and currently spend around £90 per week on food shopping including cleaning products. Ive seen alot of people on here spend alot less and i'm just wandering how they do it. I would love to get my bill down to about £60 but everytime i try it just seems to add up to more. Any ideas?

Queen_of_NO_MATTER_WHAT

Just a few things that might help...do you do a meal plan for the week? I find that doing a meal planner means I can then write my shooping list from there, before that though look in the cupboards and freezer/fridge and see what you've got stockpiled already, you can include that in your meal plan.

Do you cook from scratch? cooking from scrach as well as batch cooking and freezing can save you loads of money, bulking out your mince beef for example with oats or grated carrot can make it go much much further - there are loads of tips on the old saving board, also people post their meals plans for the week so you could perhaps get some ideas, they also have cut down on the cleaning products they use (and I have too since being a frequent reader of that board)

Just other little things that me and my boyf do which might help - shop around for the best deals which may mean visiting 2 or more supermarkets, but it brings the bill down, use up leftovers (well boyf doesn't but I often have them for lunch), use the slowcooker, make joints of meat go further...there are loads of ways...check out old style you won't be disapointed

Penny-Pincher!!

Make a mealplan for the week and stick to products you need. Then buy stuff for breakfast and lunches etc. Make cakes and biscuits.

First go through cupboards, fridge and freezer and make a list of everything you have in and see what meals you cn make with what you already have in.
HTH

PP
xx

1carminestocky

A major tip would also be avoid brand names like the plague (unless they are on VERY special offer). You are effectively paying for the name and the advertising that is required to keep that name in the minds of shoppers. Don't do it. We have almost entirely replcaed our previous brand name shopping list with sainsburys basics stuff - it's MUCH cheaper, it has the traffic light labelling system so you can tell how healthy (or not) it is. Don't believe people who say buying 'value' stuff is bad for your health - food from ANY range is bad for you if you pick stuff that is bad for you, lol. And also Sainsbug's basics range is frequently far 'healthier' than its brand name rivals on account of not using as much salt/sugar/fat in the product.

PS We live nowhere near a Sainsburys so have it delivered (£3.50 if midweek delivery and order is over £40, free if over £100). STILL cheaper than trudging round Tesco or Asda (and IMO the basics range is on the whole far superior to these supermarket's value ranges)

annelise29

thanks everyone xx