FOOD SHOPPING FOR A FAMILY - ISH

System

will  haveto have a bash at that then, thanks judi, you are fab.

:-*

16011996

made some last night, had a bit this morning, its yummy, put a blob of jam oin and its was so nice, better than them corner ones.
thanks so so much judi, any more tips??

jue

Hi There 160 and everyone
Just found this great forum a few days ago and can't stay away.
Just wanted to say I'm so sorry for your loss and glad you are starting to feel better.
My family and I started out of need 6 months ago cutting our family food bill (due to a drastic cut in take home pay) before this an average weekly shop at the supermaket cost us around £75 now we have got that down to £45 ish (thats an annual saving of £1500)..not to be sniffed at. Mainly I've started making a menu planner and shopping with a list. We now rarely have pizza or processed food, mainly cook from scratch and use supermarkets own brands where possible, most of these we like occasionally we don't and don't buy again.
We ahve also cut down our sky subscription and telephone package,and saved more money here. I have enjoyed reading this thread and would like to thank everyone for their ideas. ;D

Spendless

Hi Jue
Welcome to the site. It is highly addictive on here,so perhaps look at internet package too!
;D
Have you also gone on moneysaving oldstyle?Alot of tips & recipes are on there. Basically I try not to buy before asking if there is an alternative and cheaper way.
Look forward to hearing from you soon.

System

160 Thanks for you comments.  Was really nice of you.

Jue, i think i learned a lot when i started to overhaul my shopping habits.

I used to go shopping every week, rarely getting change out of £100 for all of us.  However, the first thing i learned was, if i dont go shopping i dont spend.  So i started shopping online.  If you book a midweek slot the delivery is £3.99.  Brilliant for me, no heavy bags to lug around, and i dont get tempted to spend.  I am a compulsive shopper!!!

The tip is, to buy 7 lots of meals.  Monday in my house is fish, Tuesdays is Pizza, Wednesdays is Chilli, Thursdays are Sausages in barbecue sauce.  Fridays (tonight) is Spag Bol, Saturdays we alternate with Burgers on baps or Hot Dogs in rolls with loads of onions and sauces (we dont eat a cooked meal on Saturdays), Sundays is a traditional roasts, mash, vegs sort of dinner.  I also vary the meals every so often, so we dont get bored eating the same stuff.  We only have puddings on weekends.

I buy enough cereals for the week, stuff for sandwiches etc.  The tip is not to buy too much stock - i am a serial stockpiller too  >:(

Then when i have created my shopping online, i spend ages going through it, taking things off that i really class as luxuries.  The kids have a packet of crisps a day and a chocolate bar, and thats it.  If they eat more than one a day, then thats tough - they have to wait.

Only last night i took stock of a situation.  I like to keep a microwave meal or two in my freezer for when something unforseen happens.  But the kids have been eating them willy nilly - so that luxury is now to be scrapped.

I try to spend in between £60-£70 a week on groceries.  Anymore than that, luxuries will creep in and the kids wont eat their meals.

16011996

hi jue, nice to have you here and thanks for your kind comments. i hope you continue to save money, there are so many helpful tips posted here by everyone. i love this site, and think to look back now i would have been struggling without the help and advice given here. i agree with judi, don't miss the money saving old style, its good in there, (you'll never see so many references ti vinegar in one place).

take care

160.

System

Another tip i have, is to register with the Pampers website. My baby is now 8 years old but i registered 6 months ago, and got a booklet of 4 £1 vouchers and periodically get vouchers through the post which i use against my shopping.


Huggies

Pampers

System

I have also signed to Pinecone Research. Each time i do a survey i get paid £4 in luncheon vouchers which i redeem in Asda when i want something. Unfortunately they aint taking on new members at the moment unless you see one of their banners floating round the net, and you can join through that.

Pinecone research

I have also started using Quickwise. That seems pretty good but i havent put in a submission form yet.

Quickwise

Sarahsaver

Thought id share this recipe which fed 2 children and 2 aduts, very easy and very cheap.
In a slow cooker put a pint of stock, a tin of tomatoes, onion, clove of garlic, 1 tsp cajun seasoning, a cup of black eyed beans which have been soaked overnight, one apple cut into pieces (cored of course!) and 3 Tesco Value pork chops.
Leave it all day, and eat it with chunks of toast.
Yum.
The meat sort of breaks down into little bits so you dont even have to chop it

Peakma

i've just been scrolling through all your responses,this website has become quite a habit recently,but this is first response i've given. I love bargain hunting.carboot sales are great for clothes and often have fruit and meat stalls. I often think in terms of two days evening meal i.e chicken dinner one day, chicken curry next day(mr.pataks paste is great,although i think there are chaper versions.) spaghetti bolagnaise one day left overs on home made pizza(dont need much sauce. home made pizza is really easy and yummy.half a cup ish of warm water,teaspoon of dried yeast(cheaper to buy tub full,lasts well and always useful to have in)and teaspoon of suger, mix together leave a moment to form a froth add as much plain flour as pos and couple of desert spoons of olive oil,salt and pepper knead fo a while(i use an old kenwood chef that we got on bootsale for £3.with dough hook,brill)oil yor hands and trays spread/roll out as thin as pos,leave to rise for half hour or longer, reduce a tin of tomatoes or use left over bol,add cheese we use edam rather than mozerella,spinkle wih oregano and cook for about 10 mins(or until looks ready,and under base is cooked) on about 180 - 200. reading that back sounds a lot more complicated than is ! another good shop to try is homebargins I think it's nation wide i use he one in sheffield. look foward to reading more good ideas. ;