FOOD SHOPPING FOR A FAMILY - ISH

zingbah_2

i tend to write down a whole weeks menue plan,that way when i go shopping i know exactly wot i need and how much i need of it. : :

Sarahsaver

I do menu plans too and its been a great help in terms of saving money and being organised.
It also helps at times like recently when i decided to clear the freezer and the cupboard, and some creativity was required!

16011996

SSaver, how thoroughly do you do a meal plan. is it every meal or just tea time?

Sarahsaver

tea time, bcos the oldest 2 are at school for lunch. An example week may go something like this:
monday - stew or curry from sunday's leftovers (chicken, lamb or beef)
tuesday - homemade pizza
wednesday - baked potatoes with toppings
thursday - pancakes with choice of fillings
friday - toad in the hole, mash and peas
saturday - pasta bake made with a chicken breast and a tin of chicken soup, plus veg
sunday - roast dinner

deserts, or 'afters' we always have fruit or yoghurts, and a 'proper' pudding 2 or 3 times a week, like jelly or homemade cheesecake, or rice pudding, bananas and custard...

Hope this helps.

For the new year I am going to make an inventory of the freezer so i can plan even better. For a month before christmas I didnt do a 'big shop' at all and made do with a £10 spend on fruit veg and odds and ends a week. Never seen kids SO pleased to get tesco value cola when i finally did a shop just b4 xmas!

Sharp_Eyes

Happy New Money Saving year to all!!! I've been following this thread for a while and it's time to add my 1 penny - I AM moneysaving after all  ;D

I am a Sainsbury's shopper but I do check out Safeway, Tesco and Budgens from time to time. Mores the pity that I don't have an Aldi, Lidl or even an Asda close by. Anywho, thought I'd try out the shopping late thing at Safeway today and to my disgust  >:( absolutely NOTHING was reduced even at 5 mins to closing time on a Sunday!!! Maybe I am just unlucky but I did check the dairy, bakery, fruit/veg and fish and they were all still FULL PRICE!!! Did get some good BOGOF deals so it wasn't all a waste.

Tip 1: I find it handy to go to the supermarket with a calculator. Just so I don't look too conspicuous  8) I use the one on my mobile. The calcu is good why?

- so that you know IMMEDIATELY if you've been over charged. I once had a reduction from 2.19 to 99p and the girl made a mistake and entered 9.99!!! it's not so bad if you are undercharged of course *smile*

- people who collect points only get it on the full pound value, so if i find that my bill tots up to over anything X.05, i chuck it out of the trolley and tack it on the next shop if it's not on special or non-essential. this ensures that i get almost the full value for any points i'm saving.

This last one doesn't always work for me as whenever I tend to buy cereal, it normally takes off more than I've expected. Not sure if this is specific to Sainsbury's but when you see 2 cereals for 3 quid, it tends to knock the prices back to things like 2.79, 2.17 etc. Not sure why since they all came from the regular shelf and not the reduced prices bay. While I'm on that topic....can anyone tell how to recognise the reduced bay? I don't think I've ever noticed one...I normally get reduced items from the same shelf as all the other items just look for the bright orange sticker!

Tip 2: Group all your items together and WATCH THE TILL! Sometimes the discounts don't show up and it's not really practical to check your list of shopping when there are other people waiting to cash. The calcu thing is also useful so if my bill tots up to more I always say, "Was this BOGOF credited?" or "Did you pop the reduced price in for that?" They normally correct it str8 off. Once in Safeway I bought off the shelf something that was supposed to be 99p and they charged 1.49 at the till. When they finally found a manager to check (5 mins later) they gave me the item and gave me my 1.49 back for having kept me waiting!

Tip 3: ALWAYS speak up. It can't hurt. Remember that it is YOUR money, you've worked hard for it and the people that scoff at you are not the ones who have to pay your bills.

Cheerio!  :D

elona

Ssaver
I enjoyed your comments especially how annoying it is when nothing is reduced and you have made a special trip.

At the moment I am agonising over whether or not I can justify getting a breadmaker- any opinions?

tillytot_2

what a fantastic thread, I can't wait to try some of the fantastic things recommended here.

LearningToSave.

Bumped!! was browsing through as a major cost cutting exercise going on and found this fabulous thread.....so thought i'd bumnp it back for others who may not have seen it and maybe can add to.

Sarahsaver

glad to see this thread re-emerge. I went on a rare trip to morissons yesterday, and got a (small) trolley full for £24, but that included some things I will not have to buy next week, kitchen paper, bin bags, squash, bathroom cleaner, BOGOF multipacks of crisps for ds who is on a playscheme. I am very pleased It included enough fruit and veg in case anyone is worried! Apart from milk I will not need to do any more shopping this week.

margaretclare

elona wrote:

At the moment I am agonising over whether or not I can justify getting a breadmaker- any opinions?

Hi

Well, I wondered this, but in fact I make bread without using a bread-maker. Not quite the 'old-fashioned way' because I use sachets of powdered yeast which cuts out one of the 'rising' processes. It's not difficult at all. I get Hovis granary wholemeal flour and there are recipes on the back of the bag for both methods - breadmaker or not.

For the interest of money-saving and cheap food. I would recommend a read of Felicity Lawrence's book 'Not on the Label'. You'll never see supermarkets in quite the same light again. I never intend to enter one again as long as I live. My husband still goes, but only for branded goods that can't be bought anywhere else.

Best wishes

Aunty Margaret