Help with further cut backs

musogirl295

Thanks for all your replies, they are much appreciated!

We're currently on one of the cheaper packages with Lovefilm but we occasionally top up with a film downloaded on Xbox live which is considerably cheaper than renting extra from blockbuster!

I think there are a few items we could drop a brand on still although most of the basic stuff (flour, rice, potatoes, tins) we do already buy value. I suppose our real luxury item food wise is that I buy a Free Range chicken (about £7). I do get a roast, 2 main meals and 3 lunches out of this. I'm not willing to compromise my principles in order to get a cheaper chicken and I have found you get more meat from a free range bird anyway.

I'll check online for pet food as our boy eats quite a lot and because we get a quality brand its costing about £25 a bag which lasts a month. He eats mostly dried and I top it up with a bit of Wilkinsons own brand tinned meat. Also, any treats are Wilkinsons own brand too.

I think one of the problem areas is lunch and snack foods. I do make most of my own cakes but towards the end of the week we'll have run out and I won't have time to make more so I end up buying some to finish the week. I would like to incorporate more fresh fruit and veg but whenever I try to the shopping bill increases greatly.

Does anybody know the best place to buy loo rolls? I've been buying a pack of 9 Iceland own brand for £2 but I find they're not much better than Tesco Value so they don't last very long. A bit of a false economy I think.

Thanks

slummymummyof3

Do you have a Somerfield near you as they currently have packs of the Nouvelle loo rolls on offer at £2.82 - you could stock up whille they are on offer.

Also don't know whether you have one of these - we have a 99p shop where our Woolies used to be and pumps of aquafresh toothpaste etc are 99p, as well as right guard deodorant etc. Loads of other branded stuff - worth taking a look if you have one of these.

I would look at Aldi or Lidl if you want more fruit and veg as they have great deals on their fruit and veg and it keeps really well in the fridge.

musogirl295

Thanks Slummymummy! Unfortunately our nearest Lidl, Aldi and Netto are about 20 miles away and we rarely pass them. I did manage to stock up on Stardrops when we last passed Netto though. No Somerfield either. Will keep an eye out in the pound shop been getting toiletries from Savers lately which has made a difference. Also started buying Wilkinsons ownbrand washing liquid and dishwasher tablets which are much cheaper!

Muso x

Butterfly_Brain

Go to the market for veggies they are fresher than the supermarket and therefore last longer and if you go as the market is closing you can sometimes pick up some really good deals.
Use a butcher because you only have to buy the quantity that you need and it is easier to find the cheaper cuts of meat.
Shop around for insurances I saved £400 on my house and contents cover this year and £200 on car insurance.
Go to the Library! you can find some real gems of books in there, Cookbooks, Sewing, Crafts, Home Maintenance etc.
HTH

Caroline73_2

Does your local cinema do a monthly unlimited card? You can cover the cost of it in about 3 cinema trips, and always buy your treats outside of the cinema.

I have saved loads by reading these threads, so good luck!

ifonlyitwaseasier

musogirl295 wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, they are much appreciated!

We're currently on one of the cheaper packages with Lovefilm but we occasionally top up with a film downloaded on Xbox live which is considerably cheaper than renting extra from blockbuster!

I think there are a few items we could drop a brand on still although most of the basic stuff (flour, rice, potatoes, tins) we do already buy value. I suppose our real luxury item food wise is that I buy a Free Range chicken (about £7). I do get a roast, 2 main meals and 3 lunches out of this. I'm not willing to compromise my principles in order to get a cheaper chicken and I have found you get more meat from a free range bird anyway.

I'll check online for pet food as our boy eats quite a lot and because we get a quality brand its costing about £25 a bag which lasts a month. He eats mostly dried and I top it up with a bit of Wilkinsons own brand tinned meat. Also, any treats are Wilkinsons own brand too.

I think one of the problem areas is lunch and snack foods. I do make most of my own cakes but towards the end of the week we'll have run out and I won't have time to make more so I end up buying some to finish the week. I would like to incorporate more fresh fruit and veg but whenever I try to the shopping bill increases greatly.

Does anybody know the best place to buy loo rolls? I've been buying a pack of 9 Iceland own brand for £2 but I find they're not much better than Tesco Value so they don't last very long. A bit of a false economy I think.

Thanks

ok re the chicken, good idea making it "rubber" are you making stock with the carcuss tho? this then becomes lovely soup so an extra meal from it

try the twinks the cook really quickly and can be frozen, maybe have a big bake off once a fortnight and freeze the goodies, banana cakes are lovely defrosted in the microwave, taste almost freshly baked

loo rolls, well i used to buy the largest pack of own brand, but not value, that tesco's do, tho i have tried the lidl one (10 for £1.21 i think) so it might be worth a trip to lidl's once a month to stock up on things like that.

only other thing i can suggest is board games (unless you OH is ultra competitive and hates when you beat him!!! )

good luck and maybe pop into the grocery challenge, near the top of the board, for some recipes on the first page and see if you get any more inspiration.

ioiwe

Gigervamp

£25 sounds a lot to be spending on dry food. We've got a lab and buy her a 15kilo bag of working dog food that costs around £13. That lasts her a month.

She doesn't have any tinned food, but if there is food left over on the plates, she gets that rather than binning it and she occasionally gets a raw egg or a couple of weetabix.

EagerLearner

Hi - at Sainsburys and Tesco we get the value 12 x roll loo rolls for around £1.20, they seem fine. You can also get toothpaste £0.38p and if you go to the deli you can buy just the ham you need, or just the cheese you need, so no waste. Also uses less packaging.
When you bake, you can make more cakes than you need, then freeze the extra so you don't run out end of the week. I do this with muffins etc.
Bulk cook chickpeas and then once cold you can make your own hummus which saves money, saves packaging and is more nutritious as it is freash - so easy to do with some yoghurt, lemon, tahini (lasts ages) and seasoning. The rest of the chickpeas can be frozen and used for tuna & chickpeas salad, to bulk out meals etc. The hummus itself can be frozen in small pots and you just take a pot out whenever you need to.
Re lunches, bake say 6 baked potatoes, then freeze in tin foil once cold. Can then be reheated in microwave as needed (at work or at home).
Have an omelette once a week - quick and easy to do and if you have it at the end of the week you can sling in whatever needs using up in the fridge like bits of ham, half an onion, bits of pepper etc.
Don't buy things like grated cheese - grate your own and only buy cheese on Buy 1 Get 1 Free - you can then freeze one.
Bulk out meals with split peas or lentils if you can.
Buy the aluminium foil take away containers at £0.99p store - you get around 5 double size ones, or 10 individual portions in a pack. You can then freeze rice that you have made in bulk, or lasagne, spag bol sauce etc etc to have a lazy meal during the week. We made our own sweet and sour sauce on the weekend to have with Hong Kong style prawns, I made 500ml of sauce and I used what I needed then froze the rest for 2 more dinners. This is so easy to make (less than 5 minutes) and will save you lots on take aways as you will already have the sauce to pour onto chicken etc.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
From http://www.chiminea.me.uk/sweet-and-sour-sauce.shtml
But I amended quantities to make a bulk batch

Ingredients to make 500ml - change the veg/pineapple as per your taste:

3 Peppers and 1 large red onion - cubed
8 tablespoons malt or rice vinegar
6 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoon tomato puree
4 dessertspoon cornflour
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pint of water
2 or 4 x small cans of chopped, drained pineapple (buy the value ones from Sainsburys)
Pineapple juice (drained from cans)


Method
Fry the peppers and onions.
Blend together the vinegar, sugar, tomato puree, cornflour, pineapple juice and soy sauce.
Transfer the mixture to a pan, bring to the boil and simmer gently until the mixture thickens.
Stir in the pineapple, peppers and onions.
Freeze whatever is not used into portions for future meals.


You can also make pizzas in advance, then cover in clingfilm and freeze.

Hope these help!

maman

Our lazy treat is an indian or a chinese from Asda's counter section. It comes to about £6, much cheaper then a takeaway and invariably much hotter. As we are very greedy we also have oven chips and mango chutney/chilli sauce from storecupboard. I also keep spare pakoras/spring rolls in freezer. I know there are cheaper ways (own rice etc) but this is a compromise instead of going out/ordering in.

Chell

Check our https://www.vetuk.com for the dog food. My parents dog has to have prescription food, they've saved over £100 a year by buying it online rather than through the vet.