Advice and tips please!

charlie792

Hi, Im new to this part of the forum but it has been recommended to me that I post here as Im told you lot here may have some very insightful ideas to reduce costs etc.

Just for a bit of background me and OH live together, Im currently out of work and he works full time - over the next coming months (hopefully not too long) but all the time Im unemployed money is going to be tight on just OH's salary. Ive been through everything with a fine toothcomb and see no real places to reduce spending with our main bills (water rates the exception, but I live in rented and am not allowed to install a water meter). But I think probably the only place to reduce costs is groceries and household item spend.

Realistically I feel we should be able to reduce this but to be honest I lack the creativity to think of how. I won't lie, we like our food and although I try to cook meals from scratch Ive become stuck in a rut and we end up eating the same meals every week and our shopping budget widely varies (some weeks £28 others near enough £60 etc). Realistically I can allow up to £40 a week for ALL groceries and household items (cleaning products, loo roll, essential toiletries etc) but ideally would prefer to get it around the £30 mark. This cost also includes lunch for both me and OH as he works round the corner so we eat at home.

For reference this is roughly what we eat a week:

Monday - Lamb mousakka (Shop Bought)
Tuesday - Pizza and salad (Shop Bought - boring meal we both hate)
Wednesday - Fajitas/Enchiladas
Thursday - Toad in the hole + veg (Homemade)
Friday - Lasagne/Chilli/Spag Bol (Homemade)
Saturday - Takeaway (because I cant think of anything else to have)
Sunday - Pasta bake (Homemade)

Lunches often consist of either sandwhiches (cheese and pickle or tuna mayo) or pasta with tuna and cheese.

OH eats cereal everyday for breakfast - I don't eat breakkie

To be honest I know we A) need to eat more healthily reduce costs and C) have more creative and more varied meals

Ive had a brief look OS sticky index but to be honest Ive no idea where to begin!

If anyone can give me some hints/tips or just a general nudge in the right direction I would be so grateful.

bertiebots

How about joining the grocery challenge..there is lots of help and support on there as well as recipe ideas and offers in supermarkets etc. It is a good place to start.

Lucie_2

It is hard when you run out of inspiration & feel like you're eating the same boring things over & over again. We seem to eat similar meals to what you have listed above, so very quickly off the top of my head, here are some of our regular dinners:
Risotto - mushroom, goats cheese & vegetable, pea & prawn
Burgers - home made either beef or lamb mince
Chilli con carne
Fajitas/tacos
Spaghetti carbonara
Sausage casserole
Sauasge & spinach pasta
Cabbage & bacon pasta
Chicken cordon bleu
Mozzarella meatballs w. pasta & tomato sauce
Noodle stirfry
Fried rice
Chicken Ramen or Laksa
Thai green/red curry & rice
Fish pie
Spanish omelette

Why not head to your local library for some cookery book inspiration? Try Jamie Oliver, Bill Granger or Nigella Lawson

BOGOF_Queen

Try the BBC food website for inspiration http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/
you should find loads of recipes here and if you have particular ingredients in the cupboard, you can search recipes based on what you have to hand.

BitterAndTwisted

Angel, pizza dough is one of the simplest things to make from scratch. I don't want to sound harsh but there are too many shop-bought things in your example weekly menu. Presumably you're at home for a great part of the day so you do have the time. If you need some inspiration have a look at the cheap-family-recipes.org website for some fantastically inexpensive recipe suggestions.

bloomerang72

Just as another tip when we were kids my mum used to make pizza bases from a scone dough.... the advantage with making your own is you can use up what's in the cupboard, reducing any waste.

Some other suggestions

Baked potato with any topping
Home made pie (particularly if you can find cheap meat to make a filling)

When you make your meals do you save any leftovers? Even if we have only a third of a portion we will freeze it and then when we have enough of a particular one we throw it all together and have produced another meal for nothing!

Don't despair you have made a start by coming and asking for advice. Good luck

MaggieBaking

Charlie, it might help to have a more general plan for your food and you can just make it specific each time you go shopping.

Eg - Monday - Meat free
Tuesday - Salad
Wednesday - Spicy
Thursday - Sausages
Friday - Mince
Saturday - Something Special
Sunday - Pasta

This way when you fancy being a change you don't have to start your whole weekly dinners from scratch but if you want a change from what you normally have you can just think. Hmm, I fancy doing something different with my Monday this week I wonder what nice vegetarian dishes there are...

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=vegetarian&filterItem

It'll help you save money if you can start broadening out your dinners - that way when things are reduced in the supermarket, or in season - you can take advantage of what's good.

Edit, and as obvious as this sounds - if you start to eat more of what's cheap, your budget will go down. So fruit & veg from the market is cheap - if you get your salad from there, your Tuesday dinner will be very cheap. Mince is quite cheap so if you eat it 3 times a week, your food will be cheaper. A whole chicken isn't cheap - but could last you more than 2 meals if you plan well so that works out at a great cost.

My husband went to Tescos once and found the per 100g cost for own brand cornflakes and then walked around the supermarket saying things like "Wow, that's cheaper than cornflakes! Put more of that in!" It made me laugh, but you get the idea :rotfl:

barneydee_2

hi just a few ideas of the top of my head I like you when I first started was stuck eating the same old things.
Sunday Roast chicken
Monday chicken Curry or chicken with a creamy sauce with pasta made with left over from the roast chicken.
I then make stock by boiling the chicken carcas with an onion,bay leaf, carrot,black peppercorns this can be frozen and used as a base for home made soups.
Tuesday turkey mince chilli with rice.(cheap as chips:j)
Wednesday beef casarole(Cheap cuts) with plenty of veg, carrots, swede, parsnips in done in my slow cooker any left overs are either frozen for an other day when i don't have time to cook or taken to work for lunch.
Thursday omlete with mushrooms ham and cheese(or any left over bits of veg or bacon) with a side salad.
Friday home made quiche with salad.
Saturday's we usually do a themed night(indian, italian, Chiness)
Hope this helps you will find some great recipies on these boards I have invested in a note book which i keep next to my laptop so that when I see something I like or a tip for saving money I write it down also do an invantory of your cupboards, fridge/freezer befor you go shopping and see what you can make from what you have already got in,then make a list and stick to it.

Barneydee

tootoo

Hi, not had chance to read all posts above so sorry if I repeat anything!
Meat free is a great way to bring costs down (I never do this though as my hubby has to have meat!). Incorporate cheap meals into your menu such as roast chicken one day then the next left over chicken, chicken legs for lunch etc.., mince is a cheap meat usually (if you cook a chilli, cook a bigger portion so you can put half in the freezer and give you a day off cooking too!).
the grocery challenge is great as it really makes you think about everything you buy. There is also a meal plan thread each week for inspiration. I would start off small (baby steps) and try not to overwhelm yourself. I'm a newbie myself and these quick tips are from the wise people on this board!
Good luck
Tootoo

FatVonD

charlie792 wrote: »

Chilli/Spag Bol (Homemade)

Both of these are easy to bulk out with either grated carrot (my choice) or porridge oats to make enough extra to have as a jacket potato topping the following day.

Butterfly_Brain

You are home all day so you have time to make your own bread, jams and preserves, bulk cook ,grow your own veg, and go foraging, Have you got a garden? If so why not try growing some fruit and veggies it is comparatively easy and you save so much money in the long run and if you sow seeds every 2 to 3 weeks you will always have something to hand. Easy stuff first, such as lettuce, cucumber, courgettes, tomatoes, potatoes,raspberries, strawberries, runner beans and peas. With the added bonus of a good work out too.
I manage to do all of this and I am disabled

You don't say where you shop - Try Aldi or Lidl it is all good quality stuff , Sainsbury have a great range of basic foods much better than Asda's range, We also do an occasional iceland shop. I find Tesco much too expensive. Approved foods is a brilliant site too. Find a good local butcher who will give you help with cheaper cuts of meat and even tell you how to cook them, with the bonus that you only buy what you need. pork Hock is cheap and tasty, so is lambs liver, kidneys and ox heart

Build up a good stock cupboard , enough for 2 months if possible, then if there is an unexpected bill you have a safety net, you only need buy a few extra bits a month such as flour, yeast, sugar, some tinned foods, pasta, rice, dried mushrooms etc.

Farm foods are cheapest for milk

Breakfast...... Change to porridge ( lovely with a handful of fruit and a drizzle of honey) own brand cereals such as malted wheaties, egg on toast, fritatta or pancakes

Lunches....... HM quiche, salad, HM soup and roll, Jacket potato with cheese, beans, left over chilli, bolognaise etc

Make your own wedges and freeze them Just chop a potato into chunks par boil them and then drizzle with oil, mix well (you can sprinkle with all purpose seasoning , paprika etc for something spicy) and pop in a freezer bag, so you have them to hand - I do this with Roast potatoes too... just do them as normal - par boil them then put in the oven until just coloured then put on a baking tray and open freeze them then pop into freezer bags.
HM Yorkshire puds can be frozen too. So that is the basis of a roast dinner.

Buy Joints of meat, such as beef, pork, gammon, cook and slice into freezer bags and you will find that you get a lot more meals out of one joint I recently got a large joint of beef from Asda for £10 and I managed to get 5 meals for 4 of us out of it = £2 a meal for roast beef
Gammon can be cooked and sliced for sandwiches, much nicer and cheaper than pre packed ham
Don't forget rubber chicken, easily four meals for two of you.

Get some books from the library on frugal cooking such as the paupers cookbook by Jocasata Innes, Economy gastronomy, Delias frugal food or even student cookbooks if there are just 2 of you. You could also get books on gardening, making your own jams and pickles, even self sufficiency books, alternatively google food on a budget and you will be surprised what you can find.

Never be afraid of trying a new recipe - it is only a set of instructions.