Single Money Saver living on my own

stilernin

Another singleton here....

whitevanwoman.... I've spent the last year making my Victorian terrace habitable too. There is still a very long list of jobs to finish, but I must get back out to work though, having had nearly two years off!!! Re the dating, I agree about the expense, but I fancy trying again this year after being on my own for more years that I care to remember.

pendine50..... I love making soup too. I began when I did Slimming World two years ago (lost 4st) and still have the habit. I also make loads of stir frys of any veg I have in and then add, rice or pasta or noodles or pulses or chopped cold potato .... well, you get the picture.

I have made good use of my slow cooker- cook six portions and freeze 5....also use my combi oven a lot particularly for baked potatoes.

MOCs!! Can't recommend them enough. Check out the threads on Discounts, Codes n'Vouchers. We save 'loadsamoney' on there.

The main advantage of being on your own does mean you can save money in your own way though. No one can tell me that I can't eat/do/buy something that I want to do. Oooh, re the dating then, am I talking myself out of it?

Lets keep this thread going, guys and gals and see how much we can save this year.

razra

I'm a singly too

I tend to cook meals that I know can be frozen, ie I'll make a big lasagne as if I'm feeding 4 and then portion it up have one portion that day and freeze the rest. That way I always have "ready meals" inthe freezer for the nights when I can't be faffed to cook from scratch and "on toast" isn't appealing:D

I also stopped buying the small tins of beans etc as I can get the normal size value ones for much less. Anything not eaten at that meal is either frozen or put into something else the next night

eg beans on toast one day, leftover beans rinsed and bunged into a chilli etc

HTH

PS I also have a slow cooker but one of those dinky 1 1/2 pints size which is perfect for me and generally I can get two portions out of it

tink1981_2

Have just been talking about the tread to one of my friends who is also on her own and desperate to save pennies and we've decided to start a soup club! :j

We're going to make 2 batches of soup each and add enough extra stock to make a few extra protions. Challenge is to not go over the £15 a week I have for food and household products. Just worked out we could save nearly £520 a year!!! :eek:

Will pop some recipes up later in the week when I've worked out how much they'll cost

tink x

onwards_and_upwards_2

Hello all,another single person here.
i'm going to pick up a slow cooker tomorrow as i've been reading about them on this site.:j
i spend far too much money on food,and like others end up chucking lots of it out.but after finding this place i'm looking forward to reducing my bills,and not waisting any more food. :T

Guapa1

Hello fellow single people!
I can cook quite well, but I'm used to cooking for more people and end up eating the same thing all week because I've made such a big pot.
I'm definitely need to made more use of the freezer.

A slow cooker sounds perfect, but my kitchen is tiny and I have no space for it.
I've made a little menu plan for the week and am going shopping tonight to get everything that I need.

tink1981_2

Ok first days soup... makes 2 portions for 53p :j (based on a potato from a 4 multipack for 55p and a box of 10 stock cubes for 70p!)

Fry 1 onion (14p) until goes clear, add one chopped baking potato (14p) and fry for further 2 mins. Add 2 chopped carrots (18p) followed by just over a pint of stock (7p) and a sprig of rosemary (free from garden!). Boil for 20mins and then wizz... yummy hearty soup for a cold winters day

hope you enjoy

tink x

anniewoo

I have been on my own for 9 years since my DH died.Up until last year it was me and the dog,now it is just me.

I have recently given up work and although my mortgage is paid,thank goodness,I still have a very limited income.

I make a lot of soups,carrot and red lentil is a favourite,a big panful lasts me 3 days for lunches.

I have something on toast one night a week and jacket potatoes are good too.

I eat a lot of rice,pasta and couscous,all of which are quite cheap.

The thing I find most useful is to make big batches of things like chilli,curry,bolgnese etc.and freeze in individual portions,then I only have to thaw one out and cook rice or pasta to go with it.I am vegetarian,but you could do meat versions of the above,although I have to say that I find being vegetarian is cheaper.

I use red lentils a lot and also various types of tinned beans,Sainsbury's do 3 tins for £1.I know it is probably cheaper to buy dry beans and soak and cook them yourself,but I find it too much of a faff.

Badger_Lady

Yep, I'm one of you!

But I admit, most of my moneysaving has been concentrated around cashback, bargain hunting etc... when it comes to food, I just haven't been bothered since I split with my ex.

When I was two people (2.5 years ago now!), we used to get the organic vegetables delivered and I'd be creative in the kitchen every night, making fresh, healthy (veggie) meals - my incentive was his response.

But now I'm on my own, I very often don't bother to eat at all, or just have a bowl of cereal in the evening. And I'm putting on weight!

So it sounds like a slow cooker could be a really good solution - certainly, the idea of dumping a load of veggies in it before work and coming home to a hot, healthy dinner sounds much more appealing :-)

PasturesNew

I am single too. Always lived alone. Everything I do is for me by me, I share no aspects of my life with anybody else.

It IS very expensive isn't it! As somebody above said: dating is too expensive. Yes it is. Cost of being wherever you meet them, cost of clothes, cost of the date itself.

I eat on under £10/week. My staples are: potatoes, eggs, long-life bread, cheese, baked beans. I have no freezer.

I buy spuds by reading the £/Kg price and buying the cheapest that I can in quantities of 2.5kg or below.

I buy either the cheap packs of 15 eggs at supermarkets, or lately I've spotted a small local shop that sells very large eggs at 65p/6 which is a great price each for the size.

Bread is long-life. Lasts 10 days from when I buy it - which means I don't run out as most other bread seems to have a 1-3 day lifespan.

Baked beans I use the supermarket own brand, reduced sugar/salt and I wait until they're priced at about 97p for a pack of 4 then buy about 8 cans.

Cheap noodles are good too for an instant meal for 20-25p.

I have a thing against pasta. I find it bland and dull so I don't cook it. Although I do like it if there's a point to it: macaroni cheese, lasagne, spag bol or even a pack of noodles... but cooking pasta and thinking of it as a meal just doesn't do anything for me!

I rent a bedsit so space is limited and I have no gadgets. So no blenders, shakers, stirrers, mixers, breadmakers or other gizmos that make sense for families/those keen on cooking/those with more space.

I cook what I call "rolling menus" and, making one up off the top of my head, it might go:

Day 1

---

Cook 8 sausages; cook 1Kg of potatoes
Immediately have 2 sausages and mash; portion up the rest of the mash and the sausages (in 2s) in the fridge.

Day 2

---

Lunch: Sausage sandwich
Evening: Take a portion of the potato and mix it with some cheese, nuke it for 3 minutes then shove it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve with 1/3 of a tin of beans

Day 3

---

Lunch: Sausage sandwich
Evening: Nuke the last 2 sausages and mash, serve with 1/3 tin of beans

Day 4

---

Lunch: Cheese/pickle sandwich
Evening: Nuke beans, scramble 2 eggs, make toast

etc etc. So I try to mix/match from about 6 basic ingredients most of the time.

Olliebeak

Congratulations to all you singles and well done on trying to live OS while on your own. It's so easy to drift into not cooking when by yourself!

I was alone for while after separating from my ex, but lived 'in digs' sharing a kitchen with the landlady and another female lodger (one cupboard each plus one shelf in the fridge!). I think I lived mainly on cup-a-soups, things on crispbreads and also 'discovered' the benefits of long-life skimmed milk. (20 years ago - wages were around £54 per week and rent £32 per week plus rates/community charge and share of phone bill. Tried to keep shopping to around £7 per week - main item was a full jar of coffee per week!)

I now have 'another OH' and there are times when I wish I could completely turn him around to OS! It annoys the heck out of me when I buy OS and then he goes and wrecks it by getting unnecessary stuff - almost as if my moneysavingways are there to pay for 'his little luxuries'. Occasionally I feel like saying how about paying for our own items? - we'll soon see how he goes on then :rolleyes: !!!