Stressed - Help needed :-(

m0nkeymrs01

Thanks All - Some great tips.

I generally am very money savvy - I use Nectar and Quidco for online purchases, nectar generally for ebay and Amazon but Quidco for everything else. Just bought my dog insurance via Quidco and got £50 cashback 20% off and double nectar points for 3 years. I pretty much will not buy anything unless I can get a decent code/cashback... accept food shopping.

I am already a member of every baby club under the sun but I havent heard of the Healthy Living Club so I will look at that - thank you. I also store my CC points - we used a lot at the end of last year for return ferries to Ireland to visit family and I have just used more for return Eurotunnel for holiday this year.

I too have a disused airing cupboard which has become my store cupboard and I have a good supply of DTD stuff.

I like the idea of evening shopping as well - get the discounts and I can do that when the hubby gets home to get me out of the house for some "me" time (how sad is it that shopping can be "me" time)

Ericsmum - I dont like porridge unfortunately but am thinking maybe the 48 packs of weetabix will probably be cheaper than anything else?

Thanks again for all the responses.

pickle54

Hi, sounds like lots of changes ahead for you!

I work 4 days a week but have to keep spend down due to the cost of childcare (20month and a 3yr old - £80 a day, 3 days a week:eek:).

Anyway, you mention you didn't want to use value products, but lately I have started branching out, and the pasta (lasagne, penne and spaghetti), passatta, garlic bread and porridge oats (that I use to make hm hob nobs) and flours are fine.

Hopefully when you have more time on your hands you will be able to look around the supermarkets more and be able to grab the bargains whenever you can. Prices vary so much - milk is 2 x4pts for £3 in Tesco but only £2 in Asda for a basic example. Also grab the introductory deals for on-line shopping where you can, most offer £10-£15 off your first shop?

Plus there might be some other bits you can cut down on - like washing powder - I only use 2 tbsps per wash.

ixia

If you have an aldi nearby they do weekly fruit and veg offers ranging from 39p-69p called the super 6. I don't use it often but check it out to see if it's fruit and veg I will use. I think their milk is 79p for 2 litres and their free range eggs are cheap too.

good luck

sorryaboutmywife

Hi, it's nice you can spend a bit of time with your son now:o

Before I had my two kids (4yrs & 20mths) me and OH both worked and spent about £120 pw on food. We started a family, moved house and got a bigger mortgage, I gave up work too. I looked at it as a challenge and now I spend about £60-70pw, and that's with two extra mouths to feed.

What's got the shopping bills down for us are:
Only buy what you can eat, so you don't end up throwing stuff away
Prepare fresh, it's loads cheaper
Do a weekly meal plan and stick to it
Cut down on takeaways, snacks, lattes etc
Get whoopsies and special offers wherever possible

You sound like you're already a good MSEr, but just need to apply it to your supermarket shop!:money:

Clowance

Reduce waste - probably you buy stuff and throw it away at the end of the week?
Cut down portions of meat / sauces (eg freeze half a jar and use half) and bulk up with carbs like potato pasta rice.
Try sains basics, many things quite nice (tea bags, sweet and sour)
Shop in all the supermarkets cherry picking and using vouchers if poss - you will have time now.
Give up unnecessary things like magazines
You won't have the costs related to work like travel, lunches etc. HTH

prettyflamingo

also if you are going to have salad for an evening meal, have it the same day you buy it or the day after- that way you wont have the salad sitting in your fridge and then going off. in our house it's only me and OH, so when we have salad we will then have it again the next day to finish it off so none is wasted.
When we make spag bol we also often rinse off a tin of baked beans in a sieve to wash the tomato sauce off, then put this in to bulk it up. cheaper than canellini beans in tins etc, and I dont like kidney beans. tastes really good too and can almost double the quantity of sauce you have if you also put peppers and onions in. We use one of the larger packs of mince from tesco, add all these things, and it will last the two of us at least 3 evening meals if not 4!

sellingmysoul666

if you like baked beans without the tomato sauce just buy harriot beans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baked_beans

geordie_joe

pickle54 wrote: »

porridge oats (that I use to make hm hob nobs) and flours are fine.

I was looking at value porridge oats this morning, to make hob nobs, flapjacks etc. I decided to wait and ask in here if it was any good before buying it.

So thanks, you answered my question before I even asked it. :T

flippin36

Where do you buy your toiletries and cleaning products? £shops, wilkinsons, B&M, homebargains sell them cheaper than Supermarkets. Oldstyle board has loads of suggestions on very low cost cleaning methods. Have you got a good size freezer? I batch cook everything from scratch and freeze it. I can also take advantage of offers and reduced items by knowing what I can freeze and what needs to be eaten quickly. Do you meal plan? I don't go to the supermarket without a list and I'm fairly strict at sticking to it. Also I try and go only once per week and avoid the second "little" shop which starts to really add up. If I run out of something I prefer to use the corner shop, more expensive than SM but no distractions and temptations, I just get what I need.

Good luck I think we will be going down the same road as you as OH wants to reduce his hours to spend more time with our kids before they are grown up. See it as a challenge!

maman

geordie_joe wrote: »

I was looking at value porridge oats this morning, to make hob nobs, flapjacks etc. I decided to wait and ask in here if it was any good before buying it.

So thanks, you answered my question before I even asked it. :T

They're also fne for ust making porridge. I prefer them to some branded ones which can be a bit too 'smooth'. Enjoyed some for my breakfast only today!