Making the most of what you got

sara86pink

Hi everyone and happy new year!

I have a very simple query which I hope you will all be able to assist me on (and be gentle!)

Me and OH are trying our best to keep to a budget with our food but we arent very experimental with our cooking. We only every used to stick to cheap jars of sauce, meat and carbohydrates (rice, pasta etc)

Our budget is £40 a week for both of us (no pets, kids etc) we dont buy alcohol and although OH smokes, he pays for it out of his own pocket. This month our budget is £30 - £40 as I can only afford £15 for my share due to christmas costs etc.

Can anyone give any advise as to how to get the most for my money? We usually shop at Sainsburys as we have a nectar card but we also buy the basic variety.

I would also love some advise on cooking tips too (if this is the place if not then please feel free to re-direct me) as my cooking sense is very limited and also OH is a coeliac so it makes things slightly more tricky when buying staple foods (gluten free pasta is much more expensive than normal!)

I look forward to any suggestions you may have to offer

spendingmad

Hi Sara

Head over to the Old-Style moneysaving board with a list of what is in your cupboards/fridge/freezer and we will all try to help!

madras79

post up whot you have in your cuboards fridge freezer, then it will be easeer to assist ,good luck

betterlife

hi, i`d suggest popping over to the old stylers board, we have some great money saving tips re grocery shopping on tight budgets etc, doing a meal plan will help, bulking your meals out with oats, lentils and veg (this can be easily done in cottage pies, spag bol, lasagna, soups and stews) and batch cooking, there are loads of recipes, plans, and threads similar to this one that may help. try listing everything you already have and see what you have to make meals with and what you need, google `supermarket comparision site` they compare 3/4 of the main supermarkets and compare ther prices. hth

Apricot

Look at cheap family recipes it's a site created by a fellow mse'r showing how to feed a family of 4 for £100 per month (all meals) if you look at the meal planners and shopping list it should help you out.
With what you already have in your cupboards you should easily be able to do this.

sara86pink

Oooh lovely thanks for that! I shall go and have a nosey over there

haycorns

sara86pink wrote: »

Hi everyone and happy new year!

I would also love some advise on cooking tips too (if this is the place if not then please feel free to re-direct me) as my cooking sense is very limited and also OH is a coeliac so it makes things slightly more tricky when buying staple foods (gluten free pasta is much more expensive than normal!)

You should be able to get pasta , bread and flour on prescription for him if he is a coeliac. There are now government guidelines to what each person can be prescribed. Its 18 units for a man where one unit is a loaf of bread or bag of pasta etc.

I have a 3 month prescription prepayment card and stock up. Alternatively you could pay the prescription charge and get 12 loaves of bread for one charge which will be much cheaper than buying it off the shelf. The products on prescription are better too.

Recipe wise, risottos are quite cheap to make as I find you don't need so much meat per person - if any. Jacket spuds with a variety of fillings are good too. Cooking in bulk will save you both time and money. Make a batch of mince that one time is bolognese sause , another time is a chilli and the final time is shephers pie.

Hope this helps