I would like to save money on household bills

Krisp_3

rentawitch wrote: »

What do you think? Is this hard? I am on the paleo diet which is meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. The food has to be good quality and unprocessed.

I too eat similarly to this - initially to deal with food intolerances. You don't need to spend tons of money eating like this. The ideal (of course) is to eat the best quality foods available, but that's the ideal, not what you should be sacrificing your financial stability for. For instance, the OH and I ate lambs liver the other night - 91p for admittedly more than we could eat, plus cooked veg from the freezer. The whole meal for the two of us probably cost £2.50 at the very most.

You absolutely don't need to eat branded stuff. I know I don't!

Good luck!

rentawitch

I would love to keep chickens. Unfortunately, I live in a flat (albeit in a park) in Fulham. No private land. And two cats that would probably try and eat the chickens!

I really found a huge difference with the Waitrose own and the Fairy Liquid.

Fairy lasts weeks the Waitrose was gone in one. And I don't actually wash up much. one cup, one plate, cutlery and the steamer and oven tray.

rentawitch

I try to go to shop not very often at all. The meat gets delivered (free!) and is all wrapped in portions.

I do want to keep the carbs down as this suits me better.

I still have 2/3 stone to lose.

downshifter

It's a lovely image, keeping chickens in a flat in Fulham! But no, don't try it, though I have cats and dog who don't bother the chickens at all.

I'm really shocked about the Waitrose washing up liquid, though I wouldn't usually go to Waitrose, it's definitely the expensive end of own brands. I'll give it a miss. I got 3 for £1, somewhere like Wilkinsons, lasted ages - and I use mine for floor/car/bathroom etc etc washing as well as dishes.

I eat very little meat and always bulk it out with something, lentils, loads of veg etc, so can't really judge that, though I bet London prices are more than up here. When my children were young I used to make spag bol with quarter pound mince and the rest veg etc. for 4 of us. We're all horribly healthy on nearly meatfree food.

Never mind, keep going though, you've made great progress - says she patronisingly!!! Sorry.

rentawitch

Hey no apology necessary !
Support is very valuable. Health is the most important thing but I am going to try and cut down on the amount of meat I eat in one go. I am quite greedy.

Sadly, I don't have a Wilkinson or an Aldi or a Lidl nearby. 3 for £1 on washing up liquid sounds great though.

I do shower at the swimming pool rather than at home cos this saves on gas and electric. (its a tiny pool complex and access is free with the rent so I am very lucky there.)

rentawitch

i got a free delivery from Asda so I have taken the opportunity to stock up on household staples.
I now have enough loo roll, body spray, shampoo, washing up liquid etc to last for months. Spent £66. Im going to keep a note in spending and see when I next need to buy stuff.

gonzo127

thats good Asda are usually one of the cheapest main supermarkets and i have found a lot of their smart price stuff is pretty good as well i have found - although i still can not use smartprice/value loo rolls 'shudder'

frugalqueen_2

Funny diets are for rich people. Deal with one thing at a time. Deal with your debt first and set yourself free to eat fancy food later. Funny isn't it........they don't have food intolerances where people are starving - just in wealthy countries. You have tonnes of money and could get by on £10 for food and £3 for the cats. We do! and we feed one cat and two dogs on £3 a week and ourselves on £2 a day so our total food budget is £27 a week, we spend £10 a month on laundry and cleaning products. We easily get by on a £65 a week budget and that includes clothes, glasses, hair cuts. We keep putting money aside for what we need. Google my name, check back through previous things I've written and see it can be done.

Mrs_Jojo

I did shudder when you said Waitrose - I know they are lovely (and I live 'up north' so don't have the temptation very often!) but if Asda or similar is too far away for everyday I am sure an online shop, maybe just once a month for basics, would save you money - also, I don't get tempted by special offers I don't need online (and can check all the special offers carefully)... you can then stock up on fresh fruit and veg at the market, check the quality for yourself etc and still save.

Also, the cats REALLY won't mind not getting meat, I know ours used to have pouches to supplement their dried food, then I decided to get cans as it was cheaper and now they barely get any because nobody remembers to open a can (!) - they still love us, honestly :-)

basmic

Make sure you add soda crystals to your shopping list. Next time you put the washer on, use half the amount of liquid/powder that you would usually use, and put a tablespoon of soda crystals in the drawer. You should find that your clothes will come out equally as clean, if not cleaner, while savings money big time!

The other thing I will say about washing detergents, is try to use powder where possible - or powder for whites (as it contains bleach, to make your whites truly white), and liquid for colours - but never for whites, as they will start looking gray!