FOOD SHOPPING FOR A FAMILY - ISH

r.mac_2

::)

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all their tips. I have just recently discovered this site - and think it is fab. I am off to try some of the household cleaning tips (i.e. vinegar).

Thanks Again
R

;D

System

there is a web site called futureferrets.com (I think this is the correct name) This website allows you to enter your favourite brands or goods that you would normally buy from the supermarket and then it searches for the best prices or the latest deals and tells you where you can buy them. I signed up for the alerts to all my favourite brands and they e-mail me when they come up on offer at one of the leading supermarkets. Examples are reductions, BOGOF, half price deals etc. Hope this may help ;D ;D ;D ;D

System

Hi guys,

Have been reading this thread with interest and would like to add some tips for making your own cleaning products that I have taken wholesale from an article handed out during a recent "Wellbeing at Work" day. The article is called "How to create a healthy living space" by Anat Cohen BMed. The tips let you avoid using dangerous chemicals to clean your home whilst simultaneously saving money. Perfect!

Here are her recommendations:

Product: Bleach
Safe alternative: Borax, lemon juice, stong sunlight

P: Window cleaner
SA: Vinegar in water

P: Ant repellent
SA: Spray cayenne powder in holes

P: Fly repellent
SA: Plant pots of basil

P: Mosqito repellent
SA: Citronella oil

P: Floor cleaner
SA: Vinegar and a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil

P: Mildew remover
SA: Hydrogen perxide to remove, borax for inhibiting growth

P: Shoe polish
SA: Banana peel(!)

P: Furniture polish
SA: A few drops of olive oil plus vinegar

P: Copper cleaner
SA: Lemon juice

P: Oven cleaner
SA: Baking soda and water: sprinkle inside, sit overnight then scour

P: Silver polish
SA: baking soda and sea salt

P: Drain opener
SA: flexible metal snake, plunger, salt

P: Stainless steel cleaner
SA: White wine vinegar

P: Dishwashing liquid
SA: Sea salt, lemon juice, hot water and a few drops of orange essential oil

P: Stain remover
SA: Borax and water

P:Carpet spot remover
SA: Sprinkle with cornflour, let dry then vacuum and wash with bubbling/soda water.

P: Fabric softener
SA: Use baking soda during rinse

Brass/copper/aluminium polish
SA: Paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar

To this list I would like to add that toothpaste also cleans silver and might be a little less abrasive. I've not tried most of these, but I do now clean my stainless steel hob with white wine vinegar and it is just as good as the shop bought product I was previously using. Let me know how you guys get on!

Re: food shopping. I do my shopping on the Internet from Sainsburys and get it delivered during the week (Tues - Thurs), when they deliver all shops over £60 free of charge. If you don't have a car (like me) then this saves you bus/taxi fare, and if you do drive it saves petrol and prevents depreciation, so well worth while. It also helps me stick to a list, and all the special offers are listed on the homepage so you can still take advantage of them. Only thing you don't get is the cheap food they discount at the end of the day.

If your kids don't like rice, try them with cous cous - it's a nice yellow colour and tastes a little different so the novelty might win them over. On the other hand, it's round so they might think it looks even more like eggs! Still, a local restaurant over here makes big fat "chips" out of cous cous, which are lovely and would avoid the egg connotations!

System

First time I've done this but thought I'd add my bit - glycerine can be bought cheaply at the chemist without a posh name.

I find that most thingas including marmalade (made with Marmade) last for ages if not opened - my motto is that if something is edible after its sell by date its preservatives are helping to keep me young .

I have found that getting to know the staff in local shops helps an enormous amount. In the local veg shop I somethimes ask for the bruised fruit that is about to be thrown away - the blackbirds love apples and I've found that robins adore pears - endless free entertainment watching them!! Aslo because the owner has got to know me I bought and enormous real Christmas tree - over 7 foot tall - for £5! And the staff tip me off to tasteless peaches or special offers. Although I use supermarkets for bogofs etc I try to use local shops and the market as much as possible.

System

?????? forgive me, this is my first time. most supermarket savings are common sense and just need you to be strong and not let the supermarket tell you how to shop, you are in control. the best tip i have is regarding multibuys and bogofs. if you buy items that are reduced in price but are being promoted with one of these offers you may get the original discount. this works in tesco and sainsburys, i dont know about else where . let me explain, if you see items in the reduced bay say a pizza reduced from £2.99 to £1.49 and it is a bogof and there are 2 of them buy them ! you will be charged 2x £1.49 (£2.98) but refunded the original bogof price(2.99). cheap food !! . this works the same for multibuy offers (buy 2 save £1.00 etc), and on offers that give you extra nectar/clubcard points. things get interesting when the supermarket reduce things to a price of a few pence. i fill my freezer ! , this is crazy!, i often get paid to take away there stuff. i have for example took 12x salmon steaks at £4.99 bogof reduced to £1.00, so 12x £1.00 minus 6x £4.99 discount means £18 odd to me plus the product, (freezer comes in handy). i have done this on dodgy looking fruit and veg, dumped it in the bin later but enjoyed being given the money. in fact i often have to do a mental check on my shopping basket as it is often at a minus (i.e. if i went to the checkout they would owe me ! ) this requires a stock up on every day items, cheese, loo rolls, etc. this works and when the opportunity arises clear the shelves! . also check your reciept before you leave the store, i was double charged in tesco and sainsburys last week.

System

First time I've left a message, so bear with me!

Got up this morning at 4.30 (insomniac!!), put some washing in, and logged on to internet (had some banking to do!), picked up e-mails & my MSE newsletter had arrived. I was intrigued by the Supermarket shopping on a budget and clicked on it, and I've just sat and read (nearly) all of the messages (!), and firstly, let me pass on my sincere condolences. I moan about my lovely hubby, but can't imagine a day without him in my life. Love to you and your children. Anyway, one thing I do, which I haven't seen is to bake your own buns, flapjacks, biscuits, etc. every week (as opposed to just when it's wet and windy), and use them in the kids pack-up. They love taking buns to school (as they are often seen as a treat (normally only seen at birthdays, etc)), and the other kids (depending on their ages, of course) are really impressed that "Your mum bakes? Wow!". The no frills brands flours are usually only a few pence for the big bag (9p at Morrisons), and as one lady said, they're all the same product, just different packaging. The thing with doing this is that most of the other products are things you have in the cupboard anyway, e.g. eggs, sugar, marg, etc. If you need a good book for this, get a Be-Ro book from your supermarket (I've seen one recently) - they're only about 3 0r 4 quid, and it tells you how to batch bake and freeze the products, too. I love Morrisons (don't know if you have one), as they do good, practical BOGOF offers (usually products you actually use). They ALWAYS have an offer on shampoo, toothpaste and shower products (although not always a BOGOF, sometimes 3 for 2, or reduced, so check), and your savings is printed on the bottom of your receipt in big numbers. It's now a game to see how high we can get the number each week for us! Best we've done is £17.13.

Take care & look after yourselves.

Plumpud_3

I'm a bit confused about Superhoop's reply above. Neither Lidl or Aldi are discount supermarkets. They are ordinary supermarkets, both originate from Germany. In the same way that Walmart originates from the USA, and you get Tescos and Sainsburys on the Continent.
They are just cheaper for most items.

They are cheaper because they employ far fewer staff (but both pay their staff far better than other supermarkets). You also have to take your own carriers. They don't have such big stores, so have smaller business rates etc. They don't have such a wide choice either, but the quality is very good.

If you don't like anything you buy from Aldi, you can take it back within 12 months for a no quibble refund. No trouble either, just take it to the till and they refund you immediately, no calling the manager, no 20 questions.

Lidl will refund on anything faulty or not as described. They will also refund on any shoes or clothing as it may not fit. Nearly all of their electrical items have a 3 year guarantee.

Both Aldi and Lidl are excellent for electrical items. Don't be put off by the strange brand names, compare the specification. My family has the following from Lidl - 28" widescreen tv, 14" tv, microwave, 4 x sandwich toasters, 3 x kettles, video, mini cd/radio/clock/alarm, radio/cd/cassette stereo system, rock salt lamp, xmas outdoor lights, fax/phone/copier and a toaster. From Aldi we have had Medion computer, 15" tft screen, scanner, graphics pad, surround sound speakers, chrome deep fat fryer, 2 x microwave/grills and telephone. Haven't had a problem with any of them. My Husband, who is a Builder, has had loads of drills, saws and other DIY stuff from both Aldi and Lidl. They are substantially cheaper than 'trade' suppliers (quite often 3 or 4 times cheaper) and are at least as good quality, quite often better. His workmates have been impressed with them when they have used his, that they often buy them (I quite often have to get them for them!).

System

Very sorry to hear of your recent loss.

This may be a time when you are rethinking your patterns of eating. It's very easy to slip into a pattern of not eating properly so don't be too hard on yourself because even budgeting for meals can sometimes feel like that.

Back to basic home cooking is always a good one and don't forget all those lovely comfort foods that are so easy to make. Make two. Freeze one.
Buy one get one free - although consider the health aspects of processed food.
Start at the end of the store and work your way around to the beginning. Don't bother doing this in Aldi/Lidle but the more expensive supermarkets, definitely.
Look at bottom shelves - the cheaper stuff is at the bottom because nobody likes to bend.
Look at the bargain shelf - can it be frozen? Sometimes the most unlikeliest things can be.
Look out for store points.
Get children to drink and enjoy water (maybe be adding an ice cube and a straw). Tell them to look at all the fat people in the supermarkets - they nearly always have fizzy pop in their trolleys.
Buy longlife milk in bulk, thus making less visits to supermarkets.
What is the most expensive item on your shopping list? Toilet rolls. How I begrudge three to four pounds a week (and I always go for the softest, most luxurious). I now buy in my local market - industrial toilet rolls. The cost works out to ONE POUND per week for a family of four. I find this an incredible saving. I did used to buy the ones without the perforations (which were even cheaper, but the set of drain rods I had to purchase made these a tadge on the expensive side as it all flushed away in a huge lump). I now spend the extra and buy perforated!! I don't have the job of changing the toilet rolls constantly either!
Use Aldi/Lidl/Markets and Superscoops.
Don't always buy cheap - I love nice washing up liquid. Ecover is my favourite. I don't begrudge the cost for one minute (I nearly always have to do the washing up).
Don't buy oven cleaner. Yeuk. All those horrible nasty chemicals. Dissolve a tablespoon of bicarb in water, put in a spray bottle and put on oven after use. Wipe off with a damp cloth.

And one last note. Recycle, rethink, reuse.

Regards.

16011996

wow, more wonderful tips, will be trying out the alternative cleaning ones, as I always feel that I use too many chemicals. went to aldi yesterday, and found it excellent and cheap for basic stuff, spent quite a while wandering round and took some notes, don't need much this week, as we have been emptying the cupboards. AMazed how much stuff I had stockpiled, only been out for veg and fruit this week. Freezer almost empty, cupboards nearly bare (but all had a good clean) and decided i'm not going to let them get that full again as I have more room to put things away which normally end up on the worktops.

kids made up a new (well someone will have done it before no doubt) way of having bananas, they are always the last to go in our house. We split the skins and sprinkled in some brown sugar (don't even remember buying it) and baked them in the oven for 10mins and had them with some milk. was lovely and highly recommended.

also we had a vegetable hot pot with left over frozen veggies that theres never enough left in the bag to use up for a meal with a cheese sauce topping, that was good.

also, penelope, we do try and recyle as much as possible, we go once a forthinght to our ocal recycling plant with cans, glass, materials, paper, wood etc and they recycle it all. Also, chop up plastic bottles for paing pots/water pots and the kids have been making pencil holders for fair at school with old baked beans cans and covering them in old wall paper etc.

If you buy eggs locally, my butcher lets me reuse my egg box (had it about 8 months now) just take it with me and he fills it. I also never ever take carrier bags from stores. I have a four of the very strong bags for life (about 75p in sainsbury) also they do a bottle on which is 50p i think, holds 6 bottles and has plastic handles, and take them with wherever I go. Well worth the money.

Take care,

16011996

Penelope or someone, having re read your message, can you tell me what super scoops is? never heard of one

Thanks.