Need to reduce my housekeeping budget urgently

meliaalison

Trinny that is exactly what my OH does and then moans at how much the shopping bill comes up to and I am like well what do u expect by the way to those that have suggested it I have informed everybody in the house of the need to be more fruggle with food and told the kids that the breakfast cereal will be going to budget varieties they normal use 3 boxes per week at £3 per box and have told them that I will be using cheeper brands (or they can eat porridge with me) and filling out with toast and jam! So far I have had no complaints and we dont tend to have sweets etc maybe once a month so that wont hurt them. I dont tend to buy fruit and veg from the market because quite often when I get home I find things in the bag that are already beyond use and the rest of it just doesnt last long enough.

Psykicpup

There is a recipe in the indexed collections for Celery Soup (for people who dont like celery)(or words to that effect) that is very frugal & filling & might even do for your B'day treat meal http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=661922&postcount=198
a head of celery makes easily enough for 4-5 as a starter & a head & a half the left over part one I always seem to have in my fridge lol will make enough for a main meal for the same amount of people esp if you make it nice & thick!

I've adapted this recipe for other veg too with great results

NJW69

Farmfoods for bread and milk.

Two large Hovis loaves (wholemeal, white or best of both) for £1.00.

Two lots of two litres of milk (skimmed, semi-skimmed or whole) £1.50.

If you buy these a couple of times a week it would save about £7.00 on supermarket prices which is your Sunday joint

ChocClare

I hear what you're saying about the fruit. It can be such a pain, when you've paid good money and it just sits and rots. Same with veg in the fridge - particularly if something happens and your planned meal therefore doesn't.

I think you're doing brilliantly to make such a big jump - as long as you're not propping everyone else up by yourself. My two penn'orth would be to avoid waste wherever you can and also to get a garden - however small - started. Salad, for example, is a piece of cake to grow and you can keep it going all the year round - and it's so expensive in the shops. I would be more than happy to send you a selection of all sorts of seeds (and instructions) if you pm me your address. I always grow salad, tomatoes and loads of French beans (because we like them and they're expensive) because they take so little effort and repay so well.

Fruit in the fruit bowl: in our house now gets chopped up and frozen (raw) in a plastic container the minute it starts to look iffy, then it turns into a mixed fruit crumble when there's enough fruit to make one. It's amazing how a couple of wrinkly apples and some going-black bananas become delicious when baked with a bit of flour, sugar and butter whizzed up on the top!

My lot are not great soup eaters, but I know you can make "bottom of the fridge" soup, where you fry off an onion and a carrot and then literally chuck in any veg or potatoes you've got sculling, add some stock and let simmer on the back of the stove or the slow cooker. Whizz up in a blender if you like your soup smooth or leave as is if you like "bits". A couple of handfuls of pasta chucked in would turn it into minestrone - this is a good way to use up leftover spaghetti, too.

If you've got a breadmaker, get it out and start using it; if not, let me suggest this step-by-step guide. I make mine in a Le Creuset casserole, but any cast-iron pot would do. If not, you can make it in the food processor and bake it with or without tins.

As others have said, there is no way you're going to stick to your budget if you have to have great slabs of meat at each meal. Could you get rid of meat completely for one meal a week or would that be too much of a wrench? Would your lot go for something cheesy but familiar - Macaroni Cheese for example? My lot LOVE Spanish omelettes (this is cheap for us as we keep hens though!) but also love my potato bake: slice an onion and soften in the microwave in some butter. Fill up your microwave dish with sliced potatoes, mixing in with the onion and butter and seasoning after each layer with pepper and salt. When you've put in as many potatoes as your dish will hold (a LARGE dish is best for this, LOL), cover with milk and cook on high for 10 mins; stir and cook for a further 10 mins. Test to see if the potatoes are cooked. This makes a very nice side dish (Dauphinoise-ish) BUT, if you cook some chopped bacon and stir it into the potatoes, top it with grated cheese and bung it under the grill, it suddenly becomes a filling main course on its own and you don't need to use much bacon, because the bacon and cheese flavour sort of permeates everything. Similarly, if you bake jacket potatoes, remove the middles and mash with butter, chopped cooked bacon, pepper and salt and an egg (you might need two for five or six of you), then pile the middles back into the potatoes, top with cheese and put back in the oven - I challenge you not to be full after eating one of these. If your lot are especially hungry, you could serve them with baked beans to fill them up further. Pasta bakes are also great, as are rice dishes. I'm not suggesting that you forego meat and two veg completely, just saying that you can swap some of the meals to make your money go further. And read all those threads!!!

Keep going, you're doing brilliantly! :T

cooking-mama

If you dont already have one then invest in a slow cooker(6.5litr size)...i already do all my stews,casserole and mince based dishes in mine,but im gonna try bulking the mince out with lentils,and so getting extra portions.
Theres another post similar to yours,heres the link https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2419575 .worth a read.

Kimitatsu

Which supermarkets are you within easy reach of? I do a bog monthly shop splitting my shop between the big ones and then the discounting ones such as netto, aldi and lidl (to give you an idea a tin of sardines is 39p in netto - it was £1.08 in Morrisons yesterday :eek::eek:)

I meal plan for the week, we have 2 fish, 2 veggie and 3 meat dishes a week, and any leftovers go for lunches the next day. That way, I have gradually cut down the amount of meat that DH expects to see on his plate, he was like yours in that unless you had half a dead animal on the plate it "wasnt a proper meal". So I sat him down and told him that it wasnt good for his health, and I wouldnt serve him nut roast :rotfl:and actually it has really worked, now one of his favourites is 3 bean chilli (no meat in sight!)

So if I were you I would start with a meal plan, and then plan your shopping around it - most of the supermarkets have newsletters that go out weekly, so you should be able to stock up your storecupboard too. That will help with subsequent months of meal planning. Batch cook where you can - if I am making one meal, I usually make 2 or 3 so they go in the freezer, it then keeps you out of the supermarket for a bit longer!

Good luck, I find that living OS gives me great satisfaction to be honest, my family eats really well, and I know what they are getting!!

bunny_too

The things that made the biggest difference to my food budget

1. Plan your meals and stick to your shopping list.

2. Shop on line MRT or MRA, also make use of appr0ved foods.

3 Soup, sandwich,and dessert for dinner one evening.

4. Going veggie for one dinner......i've now this going 3 nights a week. I introduced it slowly.

I cook from scratch........I can post recipes if you like. 4 week menu plan this is Week 1

Mon pasta night
Tue Fish night
Wed Quiche night
Thur Savoury rice night
Fri Something inside puff pastry night
Sat Pizza night
Sun Roast

All the above servred with salads and breads too.

I hope this gives you a few ideas IYKWIM. Good luck with the cutting down. Love BTx

cdodd

keep an eye on mysupermarket.co.uk as it shows special offers of the major supermarkets and allows you to compare prices betwen them but sometimes can be sig cheaper, i only buy wash powder, fab cond, coffee etc when on sp offer

skintbint_2

hi found myself in the same position, losing a large chunk of our budget, work full time and find it hard to find the time to go round all the supermarkets and make "real food". i have to cook for 3 adults and 2 kids (15 & 12)
i get the creamfields 3litres of milk from mrT's for a £1, buying 2 at a time, recommend their Daisy Loo roll - quilted 9 rolls for £2,
make irish soda bread - works out about 40p a loaf and you dont have to wait on it rising, really filling with lentil soup. £1.60
crumble i bulk out with the value tin of peaches and cheapest apples £1.00
i've started growing lettice, radish and spring onions, in pots.
fish pie - any smoked fish thats whoopsied bulk out with carrots, sweetcorn usually £2.70ish (if in a rush - microwave fish, make white sauce and get the frozen tatties from morrisons,bung together and throw in oven for 20-25mins)
bought a slow cooker, even throw the tatties in. best buy ever!
meatballs - usually use pork mince bulk out with breadcrumbs, onions serve with homemade tomato sauce and pasta - £3.00ish

hope that gives you some ideas

meliaalison

Thank you all so much I can not believe how much useful help and advice I have got off here in the last few days, my OH is getting a bit sick of me raving about it lol. I have just been on bargain foods and ordered 10 bags of flour at 35p a bag very impressed have spent £12 on various bits and the best thing is as it is in leeds I get freee delivery . Cooking mama I do have a slow cooker gathering dust on the shelf alongside my bread maker, ice cream maker, juicer and pasta maker :S, I will go to that link asap so thank-you. Kimitatsu I have 2 co-ops a tesco extra, tesco and tesco express and an asda and a lidl and netto all within walking distance, I have a sainsbury's and m+s food iceland and home bargains all within 5 mins drive, I have a cosco card (i buy milk, eggs and dog and cat food there) unfortunately morrisons is too far away to make it a feasible ever day option but would travel if bargain warranted it lol have tried talking my husband into healthy eating and it has always been a no but this morning I pointed out that if he wanted a new mobile phone we would have to make saving somewhere and he has accepted the whole 5oz of meat idea however he also seems to be implying that the only reason he eats so much is because I cook it (I did not ask him to go for 2nds of last nights tea lol!). Bunnytoo would love some of those recipes especially the something in puff pastry, do you make your own? and the fish recipes I love fish but find it so expensive to feed a family of six with fish (OH will not eat tinned tuna). Skintbint ghank you 4 the tips I will deffinately be using some of those especially the soda bread I used to make it all the time. Right time to roll sleeves up and find a recipe for lentil dahl and onion baji's for tonights T x