High food/goods costs

MoodyBlues

Hi all tallyhoh suggested I post here.

I currently spend anything between £240 and £300 on food/ cleaning stuff for 2 people and a cat.
My cat can't eat dry food as it has a urinary tract issue. The cost there is about £35 a month.
I have a long list of food I can't eat/ am allergic too. I have an olive and gluten allergy (so there's a ton of food I have to avoid there). I can't eat too many potatoes. I also am a lot healthier when I eat organic whole foods.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to reduce our food/ cleaning bills?

Linda32

Hi, I take it thats £240-£300 per month? please tell me it is

I did the grocery challenge for a few months recently and was coming in at about £260 per month for 2 adults and this was for food, wine, cleaning and toiletries.

I see you have allergies etc, is your GP giving you guidence on different products to buy? or alternatives.

What sort of items do you buy now for cleaning for instance, perhaps we can come up with a cheaper but still as good alternative, which is likely to be a bucket of hot water and a microfibre cloth if it was me.

MoodyBlues

Linda32 wrote: »

Hi, I take it thats £240-£300 per month? please tell me it is

I did the grocery challenge for a few months recently and was coming in at about £260 per month for 2 adults and this was for food, wine, cleaning and toiletries.

I see you have allergies etc, is your GP giving you guidence on different products to buy? or alternatives.

What sort of items do you buy now for cleaning for instance, perhaps we can come up with a cheaper but still as good alternative, which is likely to be a bucket of hot water and a microfibre cloth if it was me.

Yes sorry £240 to £300 a month. I work in a lab so like to get my work clothes I use under my lab coat blasted with a good laundry detergent but one that won't react and give me hives or eczema.
I have to be specific with the toilet paper I use as well as scented/ extra perfume ones can react to me so plain white ones are usually OK. Usually the cheap deal ones aren't so good for me. However some of the recycled stuff is OK.
We usually bulk buy this and it's relatively cheap.
We use Ecover washing up liquid. As for other cleaning materials I would have to check on that.
My GP has told me what to avoid but hasn't specified any particular types of food to buy.

brummiebabe

Just a quick thought...have you got a Home Bargains near you? They're great for toiletries, cleaning stuff etc. They do a pack of 18 Niki (I think..) Loo rolls which are white & quilted for around £3-4!!! We can't use coloured/scented papers either, and have been fine with these. They're very good quality. It's worth a try.

Also - have you tried Aldi & Lidl? I've been very pleasantly suprised by the quality of a lot of their stuff!!

Rebob

I too use the nicky loo rolls as I am sensitive to many household items. I also use netto washing powder as it is unscented, cheap and works well.

Hannah_10

£35 a mont in cat food? My cat (Maine Coon size) eats one tin of Felix or Whiskas a day, depending on which is on offer. He will eat supermarket ownbrand at a push, but I refuse to pay more than 50p a tin. That means my cat is costing £15 a month. Even if you feed 2 tins a day (which should be more than a normal cat will eat) that would be £30 a month. £35 seems really high.

Rummer

Why not try the laundry balls, we have been using them for the last year and highly recommend them saving you having to buy washing powder. As you say buying in bulk can be a real saver, why not look in the world foods section for large bags of rice/grains for meals and dried beans which will save money. If your cat needs a specialist diet then check online for it as the prices can vary greatly between suppliers and you may also be able to get it on offer.

Hannah_10

I've got hyper sentitive skin, it has better times and worse times. It's worst when I'm pregnant, I can't even touch a fir tree and there are virtually no commercial toilettries or cleaning products I can use then. I use the laundry balls too, there is some rubbish out there, there good ones are the originals- EcoBalls by EcoZone (available from ethicalsuperstore .co.uk and from lots of other places). I can vouch for it that they will remove blood, lily pollen, general greasy black filth from making motorcycle repairs, well festered rugby kit sweat/mud, childrens paints and they'll clean washable nappies from a baby with a poorly tummy. You do need to follow the instructions properly, including cleaning out the machine first and only half-filling it. Laundy is far from the worst problem, the worst problem is shampoo- there is not a single one that doesn't hurt me when my skin is sensitive *sigh*. Laundy is a pretty easy issue to solve.

ScarlettsMum

Hi,

I don't know if this will help or will be any cheaper, but a friend of mine has a gluten allergy and his GP prescribes him gluten free bread mixes and stuff like that. He buys a pre pay prescription card and says that this is loads cheeper than buying gluten free bread etc from the supermarket. It might be worth looking into.

How much meat do you eat? We also eat organic food and find that by having one or two meat based meals a week and the rest pulse/bean/veggie based really cuts down on cost.

You can by dried organic beans quite cheeply and then cook and freeze them for when you need them.

You could also try more old style cleaning too - there's a thread somewhere which might help cut down on cost of cleaning items.

Hope some of that is a help

ScarlettsMum

anguk

Hannah_10 wrote: »

Laundy is far from the worst problem, the worst problem is shampoo- there is not a single one that doesn't hurt me when my skin is sensitive *sigh*. Laundy is a pretty easy issue to solve.

Have you tried Purenuffstuff products? I've got really sensitive skin, most shop bought toiletries bring me out in hives but their stuff doesn't. I use their hair and body bar £2.95 and conditioner £5.50, it's a bit more expensive than the big brands but cheaper than most other natural brands, it lasts ages too and worth the extra to not itch. They list all their ingredients so you can check you're not sensitive to something.
http://www.purenuffstuff.co.uk/

Nimeth

For anyone struggling with laundry items, I recommend Soap Nuts. I just bought a 1kg bag of them for £11, you only need 3-4 nuts for a wash and they last for up to 5 washes before you need to use new nuts. I expect these will last me 6 months, maybe more and they've done fantastic things for my eczema. Plus I don't need fabric conditioner or dryer sheets.

Brummiebabe, thanks for bringing up HomeBargains! I've just had one of these open near me so I will try them for my toiletries.