Grocery Bill

lynzpower

Oh god you poor thing. Must be a nightmare trying to feed so many fusspots. I agree it should be get what you are given. Children seldom allow themselves to starve they will eat something in the end.

Saying that, you can start making your own homemade versions of pizza ( you can get pizza base mix from tescos for 50p for 2 just add water) then you can put whatever toppings on you happen to have in ( sometimes I just have onion sweetcorn & a couple of mushrooms, bit of old cheese) still way nicer than a frozen one. Get your kids involved, they tend to eat things "they" made .

HM burgers are a revelation and so easy to make too .

Why does your hubby have to have a fresh loaf daily. Can I just let him know ( as I used to work in tescos on bread for a while, and in the instore bakery) that if you go to tescos adn buy a loaf it will have most likely than not come in on the same van the one you bought yesterday did. Some are fresh instore bakery, but vcan me made m,ore than 24 hours before you buy it. Pre-made bread ie your kingsmill etc, well Most have spent at least 4 days since coming out of the factory.

Why not get a breadmaker? You can set them to come on overnight too so you will get fresh bread, so fresh you can smell it in your home? A bag of fluor will get a couple of loaves out of it adn you can ewasily make "fancy" bread with seeds, onion whatever, for pence. Loads of discussion on the OS board about them!

Say you are not buying ready meals cos of all the chemicals they put in them and you dont want your kids to get sick. End of.

doelani

Well I think I am going to see whats in my freezer tomorrow and try and plan some meals, I would say I probally have enough to make about 10 days meals although would need to make other things in between, don't think hubby would appreciate burger, sausages, chicken burgers, fish and pies every night for the next few weeks lol

Just had a root through me cupboard, need to seriously clear it out I had 2 tins of soup that were 18 months out of date!! I keep buying things and not using them.

My biggest expence is drinks, coke etc, chocolate biscuits and crisps. Hubby will jsut not comprimise on haveing to drink branded soft drinks and OMG if teh kids knew they were drinking Lidl orange cordial tehyw ould go mad. I bought 3X1L for .29p each and put them into a big branded bottle I have lol.

I think I need to keep thinking along those line, now if I could just get my hubby to drink cheap coffee and stop drining Pepsi and eating chocolate biscuits and crisps!!!

Maybe the answer to is get rid of my husband lol

Emmzi

get a soda stream for pop

put unwrapped biccies in a tin. he won't really notice. or tell him you're putting him on a diet cos he's porky!

Jessiepig

If you do not buy choc bis and crisps then no one can eat them .i buy a certain amount and when they are gone they are gone till next week. Every month I run my freezer down to use up things( can lead to some interesting meals)lol.
I know serveral people that buy cheap but pour into different bottles Very clever no one knows.
Also I was very much brand person and have been gradually weaning myself off. Somethings taste the same but there are few where it is false econmey so look out for special offers.
We also now have a Costco card from my company so buy all toilet rolls, catfood, kitchen roll, soap powder, and dishwasher powder from there. So much cheaper.

LJD1_2

I remember my daughter being a very fussy eater when she was about 2. One day I decided that if she didn't eat what she was given, because I knew she liked it most of the time, she got nothing else. They're now 7 and 5 and fantastic eaters. I have friends children for tea and get told....'we don't like that kind of pasta'...well, I guess you'll go hungry then. They usually come round. Get tough and make your life easier.

Good luck!

doelani

Main problem I have is if I try and be hard with stepkids and say "eat what I make or eat nothing " I am worried they will tell their mum I am not feeding them. then I am the wicked stepmother.

We already have the issue of pocketmoney with them, his ex get £70 per week for the boys and he gives them no pocket money as such, maybe a pound on a friday night for some ice-cream or sweets. Are we mean? CSA awarded his ex £30 per week and then it was dropped to "NIL" due to me being off work and having 3 kids in our house too at the time. They have joint custody and the kids stay 2-3 nights a week. CSA has never been reviewed as this suits showing "NIL" as it means his ex gets her rent paid and he then gives her £70 in her hand everyweek. He has never missed this even when we are short her money is first to be paid. If kids are going on school trips etc we usually give them £20-£30 and they get £20 for birthdays, school shoes bought and usually £200 each at xmas. So as far as I am concerned they get plenty. The issue of pocket money rears it's head every few weeks but we feel that this should be paid from their mum.

Since we entered into IVA my 2 teenagers have recieved no pocket money of us as they both now work, one fulltime and one part-time.

sorry bit off topic as nothing to do with grocery bill but would welcome opinion.

Prudent

One of my friend's was having similar difficulties. She made up a rota and asked everyone to cook one family meal per week. She gave them a budget and told them they would have to find solutions that everyone agreed to. The main agreement was the four teenagers all agreed to eat what each other cooked. Her hubby cooks one night, which now only leaves her two meals to cook. The teenagers can go and buy the food herself or add it to the shopping list, or go shopping with her.

lynzpower

"Main problem I have is if I try and be hard with stepkids and say "eat what I make or eat nothing " I am worried they will tell their mum I am not feeding them. then I am the wicked stepmother"

Shame when this happens
but I guess if you get them involved to help and help them choose what they want ie spag bol or lasagne then they may be more inclined to eat it. YOu can only do your best, but I agree, if you dont have sweets, choc in the house,then they wont eat them. Worth a stab We have angel delight or yogs for puds. Quite a bit healthier and not quite as filling as say, bars of choc