update from dazzanator

dazzanator

hi well i thought i would update you all on last week you may rember we spent the best part of hundred and sixty pound on food in 6 days our aims where

to take water and snacks out with us done 4 out of seven i keep forgeting
to
have lunchs at home done

to get all our shoping at the weekly shop done

our weekly shop cost 110 pounds but we did buy every thing and thanks to the only suppermarket burring down in our village we have spent no more
so we have saved 50 this week now all we need to do is cut back our weekly shop a bit
any ideas i dont want it trimed to the bone or that will encourge midweek spending but at the same time a hundred and ten pounds for a weekly shop for two adults and a seven year old and a two year old is a bit much so that what needs work on at the minute

next weeks goals are

take snacks and water with us every day

to have lunch at home everyday

to cut back on weekly shop

to take savings to bank before i spend it on things we dont need

so if you can think of anything that would help please let us know

lynzpower

HAve you done a menu plan? Including drinks snacks etc?

If you do this then only buy what you NEED, ( check you dont have whatever you think you need lurking in the cupbaords)

spud30

Thats a bit extreme isn't it?

Burning down the village shop to stop you being able to spend !!!

dazzanator

hi lynz
the problem with me is i change each week when it comes to food i did meal plan brought the stuff and didnt eat most of eat instead using other thing i had for example brought beef for sunday ended up with fishfingers and chips the same happened on saterday was to have pork chops had bacon and eggs tonight we should be having sweet and sour chicken i know we will end up with sauasge and mash
i have thing anoning habit that i never know what to have for dinner untill that day and if i dont fancy it i wont cook it so when i go shoping i tend to buy to much just in case that happens which it dose or otherwise it will be takeaway for dinner i mean its nearly two dinner is at five and i am still not sure what im doing there is no hope for me realy is there lol

savingpennies

Have a look on the OS board for ideas about food shopping and menu planning.

dazzanator

spud30 wrote:

Thats a bit extreme isn't it?

Burning down the village shop to stop you being able to spend !!!

i know i was certain it was my oh lol but is bad realy as the nearst suppermarket now is three miles away and i dont drive so like it or not the weekday spending has stoped it turned out to be a 16 yearold who was refused fags so he set fire to the trees what fell on the shop and that was it gone he is in a young offerders place at the mo for his own good the old dears round here want to kill him lol

Littlemiss-lotsofdebt

dazzanator wrote:

hi lynz
i have thing anoning habit that i never know what to have for dinner untill that day and if i dont fancy it i wont cook it so when i go shoping i tend to buy to much just in case that happens which it dose or otherwise it will be takeaway for dinner i mean its nearly two dinner is at five and i am still not sure what im doing there is no hope for me realy is there lol

Hi Dazzanator

My OH is exactly the same as you, but basically, these days he's gets what he is given! I'm not strict in my meal planning but before now, I've taken mince out of the freezer to make a lasagne for tea, and we've had an impromptu BBQ, so I made the mince into burgers instead. I hate wasting food and class it as money in my fridge these days, so always use left overs wherever possible.

The OS board are fantastic and will give you great advice on how to meal plan, budget for groceries and how to use your leftovers.

Good luck x

dazzanator

thankyou for your help i will go over to os now as i do want to get this food bill down

CAFCGirl

I used to be of the mindset too, where I decided what I wanted for dinner when I should have started cooking it, but that led to me walking to the local tesco metro and buying meals each evening, or was too lazy so either didnt eat, or ate absolute poop or got take away.

Now I've become more definite with myself. I know there is stuff to eat in my house so I dont need to go out, I've got less inclined to see it as a "I fancy" and more of an "I eat because nutrionally I need to", because normally what I fancy is never good for me!

Sometimes you slip up ad I think thats ok, you have to train yourself into the ways of MSE I think otherwise you go all out and then it gets a bit too hard to do it all at once and then you fall even further down the spiral and then its definitely more difficult to move back up!

eamon

Where I live there are dozens of takeaways etc and the temptation is high. However I manage to resist (most of the time) and todays dinner was a Spanish style tortilla using stuff in the fridge (peppers, mushrooms, eggs & cheese) and some spuds + onions that we bought on Sunday. As an added bonus I've enough left for my lunch tomorrow. Lovely as well!

Eamon

bargainbetty

I'm as guilty as anyone - I did get a (v cheap) takeaway this eve after the day from hell ended in my remembering I hadn't gotten anything out of the freezer. :rolleyes:

When you meal plan, try working out seven or eight days worth of meals, but don't restrict yourself to when you eat them... if you fancy sausage and mash when you thought you were having chicken, the chicken will last an extra day in the fridge. I tend to make double of everything, and then freeze batches so if I don't fancy real cooking, I can usually just heat up something nice, healthy and cheap.

Got to be worth a shot....?

Good to hear you are making progress though - keep us posted x