saving on food

fkelanne

hiya all, do not Know if this is in the right place but here goes..
I am on my super power save mode..
I get £2771 per month at the min..
My outgoings are £1376, this leaves me with £1395..:j
And surpise surpise i dont no where this money goes...:eek:
So ive worked out all my incomings and outgoings.
I have set a standing order up for £150 per week to go to my savings account.

I have also paid off my car insurance in one rather then monthly, also did this with my water rates to.

We will be starting to walk to and from school rather than me get the car out so that will save me on fuel hopfully..

I seem to spend alot at asda, there is only me and my 2 sons living in the house, and i really struggle with shopping and ideas on what to buy that will make enough food which is healthy too..

i always seem to have to throw food away before i get to make it.
I did buy myself a slow cooker for xmas and have done a few things in it..
My kids are not fussy eaters and will eat anythink..:rotfl:

I have set myself a limit on food shopping as £50 per week just need to tips on how not to waste food... and save me money...

jimjames

One place where you will find lots of tips for living below your means is here. Keep a record of exactly what you spend for a month at least and that should start to give an idea where it goes.

http://boards.fool.co.uk/living-below-your-means-50074.aspx

The first thing to avoid is throwing any food away. If you can plan your meals for the week ahead and make sure you have the right food for them then that will help. Sell by dates are generally advisory for shop purposes so you don't have to ditch a tomato that was sell by 2/1/11 today for example. Use by dates are for more perishable goods but as long as the item has been stored properly it should be fine to use within a couple of days of the date. Alternatively if the date is getting close and you don't expect to use it in time then either cook it into a meal and freeze it or freeze "as is".

Paying a bill in one go when it will cost you more like car insurance is well worth doing. Paying up front for water/gas/electricity is less clear cut as there is no cost to you to pay monthly and it can help with budgeting.

fkelanne

thanks im going to sit down tonight and write a list on what meals i need over the week, and what to make. then write a shopping list.
But with only 3 of us eating.
If i make cottage pie, cassaroles or things that i would say are good meals i aways make to much and end up throwing it away.
Can i freeze food that is already cooked? if i buy some freezeble dishes and then i could make the same amount and just defrost the meals as and when i need then? also would save me money in the long run.

sleepless_saver

Yes, you can freeze food that's already cooked. Cool it down to room temperature as quickly as you can (safer), put it in suitable containers (I like freezer bags clipped at the top), remember to label, put in fridge to chill down a bit more, then stick them in freezer. Make double quantities and freeze half for another day.

Have a look at the old style moneysaving forum, it is full of helpful tips on this sort of thing (and is probably where your original post belongs!)

SnowMan

Sleepless saver is right that the oldstyle moneysaving forum is the best place to ask, I offer lurk over there to get some ideas.

In terms of freezing: With the cottage pie make the mince mix first (i.e. by frying and simmering the mince, carrots, tomatos, worcester sauce etc depending and based on the instructions in your recipe). Then get a dish that is about the right size for a single portion for you and your family and add the mashed potato (and grated cheese if you like that) and cook that in the oven.

The remainder of the mince mix can then be frozen as per sleepless saver's post, and you can use that to make another cottage pie later by adding mashed potato and cooking.

If you have a really large portion of fresh mince that hasn't yet been frozen (sometimes the two for one offers lead to this) you can also freeze the mince you aren't using. When you want to use the frozen mince just leave the mince to defrost for a number of hours and then proceed as above. You can then freeze the mince mix (even though the original surplus mince was frozen - it is OK because the original freezing was uncooked meat and the subsequent freezing was cooked meat).

The following website which I think sprung out of the MSE forums has some useful recipes for moneysavers

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

Jake'sGran

It's really good that you are going to save on food. I hate throwing food away. You will have to learn how to make just enough for three. Pasta dishes are often easy to make and lovely to eat like Macaroni Cheese, Spag Bol and Spag Carbonara. Tomato sauce is very easy to make and you can freeze it.I have always made my own hot dishes and still can't imagine buying ready meals.

Like you I pay bills in full and always check each year to see if I can get recurrent bills, like house insurance, cheaper.

There was a programme devoted to not using the car on the Radio this morning.Your intention of walking to school is great.

I hope you achieve your good intentions.
You sound like a good Mum!

atypical

There's quite a comprehensive guide on what can be frozen and how here:
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/freeze.html

Note that quite a lot falls under the 'prepared foods' section.

fkelanne

thanks all, i sat down and made a meal planner for all week. Then made my list, not before looking to see what i had in my cupboards...
I only spent £39.23 and i have meals for all week, plus extras for next week. eg, meat been halfed and one half cooked and other half froozen.. that will save me £6 next week as i wont need to buy a joint of meat for our sunday roast.. lol going to write my list for next week on friday night. as i go shopping on the sat.
And im only planning on spending £35... wish me look.

opinions4u

Another hint.

Eat before doing the main supermarket shop.

That way hunger won't drive impulse purchases. Your bill will be lower as a result!

jennifernil

Now that you have the food shopping sorted, you need to start on the rest of the £1395 you have left every month. Have you worked out your monthly spend? You could do a spending diary to keep track of everything.
What have you included in your regular outgoings of £1376?

Primrose

Try, wherever possible to double cook a batch of food, which will save you fuel too. For example, making up a double batch of spag. bol. sauce means that you can either freeze it or the next day just cover it with mashed potatoes with a little grated cheese mixed in and turn it into a savoury cottage pie.
Trade down on brands and instead of buying well-know names, buy the supermarket's own brand. I guarantee few people will notice the difference.
A good way of freezing surplus cooked food if you're short of suitable size storage containers s to line plastic boxes with cling film or foil, and when the product is frozen,remove it from the container. It can always then be thawed out and microwaved into another suitable now to reheat.