Single Money Saver living on my own

tink1981_2

GoToGal wrote: »

Single too and trying to stick to £15 a week - maybe we should start a challenge

Have just totalled up last weeks shop and it came to (dah da dah da!!!) £14.65 including washing power and washing up liquid!! :j

I'm a veggi which has saved quite a bit of money, but having planned all my meals and started up a soup club I've saved nearly £20 on shopping and lunches in my first week It's the first time I've spent under £25 on a weeks shopping for ages... and to top it off I'm eating a much more healthy and balanced diet and I'm feeling much happier :rotfl:

Have a healthly stocked freezer from making double portions of things so here's hoping I'll have spent even less this week!

hope you all well and surviving the lovely winter showers we seem to be having!

tink x :snow_grin

Badger_Lady

GoToGal wrote: »

If I was vegeterian, I'd save a whole load of dosh as I seem to spend most of my money on meat.

Maybe you could just save by doing more veggie meals? There are lots of great, easy recipes, and I recently read (where's that link gone?) that health recommendations are to eat 2 portions of meat a week!

dND

Another singleton for most of the time anyway. As I have a small farm I don't want to cook every night so I do tend to batch cook when there is a good offer on meat/veg available. I then portion everything and thanks to this forum, have started logging what I freeze rather than just lobbing it into the freezer.

As for my containers, my nephew I think will never be OS, he and his friends get at least one take away a week. My sister saves all the containers for me and brings them over when she comes to stay. So if you know anyone who lives on take aways it's worth asking them to save the containers. These aren't the foil type but translucent plastic that is dishwasher/microwave and freezer proof. Saves them from just going into landfill too.:j

catkinq

have you thought of getting a sandwich toaster - one of the old fashioned, non-trndy ones whihc cut and seal the sandwiches. they are very cheap (<£5 from some supermarkets) and v adaptable. Baked bean and onion toasties are my favorite, with cheese adn onion a close second but you can ut anthign in - things like egg, bacon, banana, chocolate etc. You cna also use them to make small pizza tpye things (make a bit of iizza dough from a mix, roll out and put in greased toastie, then fill pizza toping), and you cna use fillo pastry to make pies etc in them.

youngidealist

Hi, I'm not really living alone as I'm currently with 3 friends in London but we do most of our cooking individually so I hope I can still contribute and learn things of relevance!

It can be hard cooking for one but the key is variety, experimentation and a freezer, that way you don't get bored but also have things ready for when you're short of time. Lots of websites e.g. the BBC have good recipes.

I try to make sure I get plenty of fruit and veg so some of the meals listed below may not be your thing! I've just started learning to cook over the last few months and pick up tips from friends/family, so sorry if some of the ideas below seem obvious! Here are some examples of easy and fairly cheap dishes I cook (I spend about £15-20 a week on food):

PASTA SAUCES
Basic tomato sauce with vegetables - garlic, onion, tinned tomatoes, mushroom, pepper, courgette, also herbs like dried oregano. Add a chilli if you like. For a meat alternative add bacon / frozen prawns. Make in bulk and freeze.
Tomato and aubergine - garlic, onion, aubergine (thin slices), mozzarella mixed in (value bags from Sainsbury's - also use on pizza)
Carbonara - garlic, onion, bacon, mushroom, cream, egg, black pepper
Putanesca - anchovies, butter, garlic, fresh tomatoes, olives, capers
Bolognese - plenty of recipes already around for this one.

RICE DISHES
Chilli con carne - like bolognese except add chilli powder early on and kidney beans towards the end. You can also have this with tortillas instead of rice. Forget sour cream, use plain yogurt as a cheaper alternative.
Curries - mostly I use curry sauces when they're on offer but am going to try a spiced lentil puree this weekend which can be made in bulk and frozen.
Stir fries - fry garlic and ginger with some meat first (diced chicken or pork, or prawns) and then add anything you like: green beans, peppers, pak choi, broccoli florets, mushrooms. Add soy sauce. I also do a 'Thai' version where I fry green curry paste in coconut milk first. I often do a non-rice version with egg noodles instead.

MEAT/FISH
Best thing to do is to look for reductions/offers every time you shop, otherwise being a carnivore can be expensive. Always check the supermarket discount shelf and work out what time/days it's normally best stocked (every supermarket has particular times for this). Get things like minced beef whenever you can and freeze!
Salmon - buy when it's on offer, or Sainsbury's do a freezeable bag of 8 which works out at just over £1 each fillet. They also have a bag of chicken breasts for about the same.
Trout - can be cheap
Chicken breasts - these can be eaten with a tomato sauce (see above) or the usual potato and veg.
Chicken breasts/legs - for extra flavour smother them in a mix of soy sauce and honey a while before cooking in the oven.
With fish dishes add capers/bits of cucumber to mayonnaise for a little side sauce.

SOUPS
Chorizo - chorizo pieces (get a sausage from Lidl), garlic, onion, potatoes, stock. I make stock with Marigold Vegetable Bouillon powder which I think is cheaper than stock cubes.
Good to have a food processor for the following:
Leek, onion and potato soup
Broccoli and stilton soup - garlic, onion, broccoli, stilton, vegetable stock

OTHER
Macaroni cheese - use penne as a cheaper alternative. Strong cheddar cheese is essential, or vary it with red leicester instead. Add slices of tomatoes or mushrooms on top for variety but this isn't everyone's thing.
Pancakes - flour, milk. Don't add too much flour. Add bacon/cheese/mushrooms while cooking for savory versions.

PUDDINGS
Rice pudding - pudding rice, full fat milk, sugar, raisins if you like.
Crumbles - boil fruit (apples, plums, black fruit) first; make crumble topping with flour, butter sugar. I like to add oats too.
Bread and butter pudding - great for getting rid of stale bread. You'll need raisins, and then egg, milk and sugar for the egg custard.

COUPLE OF LUNCH IDEAS
Avocado, with prawn mayonnaise and paprika in the hole where the stone was
Use pita bread or tortillas instead of normal bread for sandwiches so you don't get bored!
Use dips like humos instead of meat in sandwiches, again for variety or a vegetarian alternative

Most of the above meals take about 30 minutes to make, which isn't much more than the 15/20 mins or so it seems to take my friends to prepare their microwave meals!

I also make home made pizza dough. You just need dried yeast, olive oil, strong white/brown flower and a little sugar. Possibly an egg too. Oh and a bit more time!

If you're bored of vegetables like green beans, try frying them with garlic (or even ginger) and sunflower oil instead of boiling them.

Tinned tomatoes are an essential: buy the value ones for 20p as they're basically the same.

Things like plain yogurt, runny honey, lemon juice and dried herbs are really useful to have around to make a meal more interesting.

Check out local shops. They often seem more expensive but sometimes basics like eggs and milk can be cheaper, and it's good to support the community anyway! Also weird things like capers/olives are sometimes cheaper too. Go to markets for fruit and veg. I live in London and am still exploring this.

I don't bother with most supermarket pre-packaged and cut veg, as I find it normally doesn't last as long as the loose stuff and is normally more expensive anyway.

I like to have a good fruit bowl around so that I snack on this rather than chocolate/crisps etc. Cut down on snacks and you save a lot anyway.

My advice to avoid the plastic taste from freezer plastic boxes (this happens during heating) is to microwave on defrost for a short while first until the content is defrosted enough to put into a new bowl, then return to the microwave to continue defrosting. Plastic containers can be kept from take-aways or picked up in various hardware shops by the way.

Finally, I've recently broken up with my girlfriend of 18 months but I should point out that dating/relationships don't have to be that expensive all the time! At least not expensive enough to make a person want to avoid it altogether, surely!
- Cut down on lavish gifts and spend more time on small things and gifts of sentimental value. If you've put effort into it she may appreciate it more.
- Plan your nights out to the cinema, theatre or restaurants in advance and see if there are any deals you can take advantage of.
- Make your own romantic/birthday/Christmas cards (takes more time but can be fun).
- Sharing cooking makes use of all those things that come in 2s! And you benefit from new ideas.
- Borrow friends' DVDs.
- Go to museums.

By the way, try to get non-British friends to cook for you occasionally as they may have ideas you've never thought of.

Just a few ideas anyway.

nanamags

Hi can I join in as well:hello: I live on my own and I agree that it can be difficult cooking for one. I try to plan ahead but it doesn't always happen. I am with slimming world and I have lost 21 lbs but I know that could loose weight quicker if I followed proper receipes.

I shall follow this thread with great interest.

Mags

givememoney

Going to bed now so haven't had time to read all the threads so apologise if this has been said already.

I am not a singleton but there is just two of us. I always buy large loaves as they work up cheaper than small but I always split them in two and freeze the two halves, saves wasted bread.

ceridwen

Whew....well...young idealist....I've got news for you:

We're all coming round yours.....Saturday dinnertime okay for you? how many of us can you fit in?

hint....just drop these sort of comments into conversation with anyone you have in mind for "replacement girlfriend" and this....might(!;) ) help swing things in your favour.:beer:

MushyPeas

Wow youngidealist what a great first post Welcome to MSE

lainz

Hi

I'm new to the money saving site, I have been inspired to take stock of where I spend my money, it is only me spending it as I live alone! I bought myself (with Christmas money & in the sale!) a Tefal 4 in 1 cooker (not having much space, which is a rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer and porridge maker). I've not used it for making porridge as the minimum quantity for it to work is for 2, but it does the rice perfectly, works fine as a slow cooker and the steamer is ok.

I use my freezer a lot to freeze batches of spag bol, chilli, stews, soups etc and also I check out the bargain sections for reduced meat and fish. This is all working far too well and my freezer and cupboards are stuffed full and I should be able to eat for well over a month with what I already have in the house (apart from fruit and veg - which I will have to get)

I am a massive fan of Lidl/Aldi - their fruit and veg is excellent and sooo cheap! I also get my chopped toms and passatta there.

My goal for this year is to only buy stuff I need and not to stockpile loads of stuff (I also have enough toiletries to last me the year!). I need to find a balance as I live in the sticks and the nearest shop is 3 miles away so I do need to have some stuff in the house!

Look forward to reading more of your ideas