food buying question

carlsberggal

newlywed - I agree, batch cooking is the way to go, the Hunters chicken I've got in the slow cooker is for double, so I can freeze half and have an easy dinner another time. I also have storecupboard foods, such as baked beans, chopped tomatoes etc plus stuff in the freezer from doing double portions. I'm sure you OH would never let himself starve LOL!!

newlywed

carlsberggal wrote: »

I'm sure you OH would never let himself starve LOL!!

No he'd eat all the cereal, then whinge till I gave him some of the food money for the chip shop or till I got up and cooked something :rotfl:

But that's why there's always a pack of sausages and some bread in the freezer, just in case he needs to make himself emergency sausage sandwiches

And there's usually smash in the cupboard and a smoked pork sausage in the fridge - in case I need to cook him something when I'm ill

Ches

My sister food shops this way and spends far less every week than I do. But she doesn't have lots of stock in cupboards and freezer so I think it would need a different mind set than I have to only buy whats actually needed.

I started a thread a few weeks back about having housekeeping money as my mother used to do. Unfortunately it got added to 'Shall I keep a storecupboard' thread so went completely off course. When I first got married I, like my mum, shopped for what was needed every week, ie 7 lots of meat/veg as well as groceries/toiletries/cleaning stuff. I did have as stock of groceries but not too much. Our 'housekeeping' was the same amount every week and we learned to manage on it. Nowadays I shop as and when I see bargains when I will buy several to freeze/store. Consequently the money I spend every week varies quite a bit and its harder to stay on budget as I just seem to buy more and more. Since my thread I have tried to go back to the old way of having weekly 'housekeeping' money but its a bit awkward to see if its working as I have so much food in the freezer. I did an inventry and I have meat/ingredients for nearly 70 main meals for the 2 of us thats how stupid it has got. I am aiming to change my shopping habits drastically although I can't promise to shop day by day.

Pink.

Ches wrote: »

I started a thread a few weeks back about having housekeeping money as my mother used to do. Unfortunately it got added to 'Shall I keep a storecupboard' thread so went completely off course.

Hi Ches,

Your thread wasn't merged into the 'Shall I keep a storecupboard' thread. It was you who started that thread. You can still find it here:

Dithering - shall I keep a store cupboard?

Pink

Ches

Pink I actually typed 'Dithering' as a title. I don't know where the' - shall I keep a storecupboard' bit of the title came from and it amazed me at the time which is why I didn't mention it on the thread but just went with the flow. Didn't matter hugely as it turned out quite interesting anyway, just not as I expected.

Primula

I quite like this idea too. I have been going shopping once a month for the bigger items like coffee, washing powder etc etc then just having a certain amount left each day for everything else. I like getting my meat from the butchers so just pop in there in my lunch hour for what I need.

minimiser

I like the idea of shopping daily as you get a chance to use reduced stuff but I admit I can easily buy extra stuff as well. What I try to do is make enough for 2 meals and freeze one eventually you will have a weeks worth and can take a shopping holiday!!

Bitsy_Beans

Good lord it's bad enough shopping once a week with 2 small kids, no way I could do that every day LOL!
I wonder if my grandparents did that out of necessity though? No freezer, no fridge - not much option other than to shop every day. Wouldn't work for me, its too easy to spend too much, not to mention I'd rather be doing other things than shopping every day (with 2 young kids it's not exactly a quick excursion )

kunekune

A lot of the pensioners around here seem to shop daily - it's easy for them, they have time on their hands. But for most working people it isn't realistic: where I work is nowhere near any food shops, and it's rare to get a lunch break longer than 15 minutes. I certainly couldn't use that time for shopping even if there was somewhere to store fresh goods. I was thinking how I would do it if I didn't work - there will come a time in a few years when caring needs for other members of the family will make it difficult - and concluded I'd still have to use the internet. I don't drive and if OH no longer works it'll be because he can't drive any more, so the big shop won't be on. He'd get a disabled bus pass but they don't go to carers, and I won't be a pensioner either. The nearest decent supermarkets are at least a £3 return away - any savings from daily shopping and using Aldi will be lost instantly.