Single person, London, living on £80.00 per month - possible?

~Chameleon~

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Hello

Be careful with the Amazon free delivery - if its the Amazon Prime thingy:

Amazon offer free delivery anyway without paying for Prime, that's just for free next day delivery but in my experience most deliveries arrive within 1-2 days anyway.

furndire

I find this quite an interesting site for slow cooking - american slant on it. Its one email that I tend to look at at the recipes tend to have a slightly different slant. http://stephanieodea.com/
If you sign up for the email, its called a Year of Slow Cooking

Toonie

paddypaws101 wrote: »

Glad someone mentioned Walthamstow Mkt.....cheaper than cheap, in fact the only difficulty is carrying it all home. I know you say the bus takes 40 mins, but I still think it is worth the trip...nice stroll down the market and to the International Supermarket at the bottom.

Also, if you do make it to Walthamstow one day, check out Akdeniz (not sure of spelling) at the top of the market. They are a fantastic Turkish supermarket with a butchers counter. You can get lovely big chicken breasts in there which are dirt cheap and don't shrink when you cook them. Also, they have very cheap passata and tomatoes along with lots of lovely veggies out front.

Corelli

Hiya,

Some cheap local shops you may not know of. Minas (Meenas?) Big Asian supermarket cash and carry along the Romford Road twards Ilford just past the Three Rabbits, Queen Street Market in Upton Park - not sure what days it is open and of course there is Lidle near East Ham station if it wouldn't be too inconvenient to come home that way sometimes. WF market is fantastic as others have said. Check the Co-op website for occasional bargains to get in Wanstead, otherwise forget Wanstead for affordable shopping. George Lane in South Woodford has good charity shops and a great Turkish supermarket for veggies, pickles etc.

If you get margerine, save the pots for freezing and storage, much better than the bought ones which disintegrate after a short while.

paddypaws101

Toonie wrote: »

Also, if you do make it to Walthamstow one day, check out Akdeniz (not sure of spelling) at the top of the market. They are a fantastic Turkish supermarket with a butchers counter. You can get lovely big chicken breasts in there which are dirt cheap and don't shrink when you cook them. Also, they have very cheap passata and tomatoes along with lots of lovely veggies out front.

OOh, don't think I have ever actually been in that shop, will check it out next time I go shopping.

rising_from_the_ashes

Ohhhhh I'm with you on the water - we don't have water tanks in the houses so it's straight off the mains & it's also chlorinated as it comes into the village (guess who's in the 1st street in ......).

When you run the water for a shower, you can actually smell the chlorine it's that bad and horrid to drink.

I've been buying sm own brand bottled water (sparkling) but was given a Soda*stream for Christmas so have been trying to do my own (unfortunately the cartridges are expensive - and I still need to buy water as mine is vile).

I'm sure I've a water jug / filter thing somewhere (used it when I lived further south and the water was horrible there too!) - must dig it out!

Thanks for reminding me of it!!!

SpikyHedgehog

Toonie wrote: »

You're right about Wanstead Park area the lack of shops is dreadful (I work nearby) and like you I don't drive. Luckily I do live near a market, so that makes it easier.

Try checking out some of the ethnic food shops in Manor Park, some of them have great deals on things like tinned tomatoes/herbs/pasta etc. Also if you can, one weekend check out Walthamstow market as you could pick up a lot of fruit and vegetables and do a batch cook and freeze (obviously need to make sure there is room in the freezer for that).

The 99p store in Leytonstone is probably your best bet for good sized containers, they are fairly robust too.

Good luck with it all, I know how tough it is

Wish you'd all stop talking about Walthamstow Market ;-) ! You're making me home sick & we moved away when I was nearly 9 :-). Mum used to go there every Saturday, & sometimes would get a currant bun from the bakers for us to share on the way home.

If family/friends ask you what you want for birthday etc, I'd ask for toiletries, being specific about the types you want. If you get enough, they could last all year so you don't have to spend on them.

I can't remember if it's been mentioned yet, but you can likely also cut back on what you're paying for cleaning supplies - I get toilet roll in big packs when on offer, there's 3 of us, but I now only buy every couple of months. We also use it as hamster bedding or it would last even longer. I do get washing up liquid, but for most other cleaning I use home made stuff or stardrops - I'm on my phone right now so can't do links, but there was a thread last year on Old Style about not buying cleaning products that had some great suggestions. I make laundry gloop & use diluted vinegar instead of fabric conditioner.

lostinrates

It sumda like you have a long work day, so I am wondering if its some distance away, and what opportunities for market might offer there?

Also.....is it worth cleaning work kettle?

Toonie

paddypaws101 wrote: »

OOh, don't think I have ever actually been in that shop, will check it out next time I go shopping.

It's definitely worth checking out, the bakery section is also fantastic and they have a great range of tins and packets, it's where I get most of my shopping now as it's walking distance to home as I don't drive.

Dippypud

ScarletRaven wrote: »

Definitely reckon you can do that quite easily, hopefully with still getting some healthy fruit and veg in your diet as well I'm currently trying to work out how to live on £50 a month for food/toiletries etc and that's for two adults and a toddler! :O Wish me luck lol.

You've certainly come to the right board for this sort of thing, I've been hanging around the OS board for about a year now and what I've learnt from others on here in that time is proving invaluble now we're in this crisis.

If there is a Lidl anywhere near you (can't remember if you mentioned this or not) I definitely recommend them for toiletries - currently a LITRE bottle of shower gel costs just £1.29 - that should last one person a good while I shop there for most things anyway, but like others have said on here it is worth checking out other supermarkets just for their value ranges or occasional amazing yellow sticker (reduced) finds The general concensus on here seems to be that Tesco have the best/largest range of Value products, and if that is where you shop anyway even better Try to work out if it will be more cost effective to pay for delivery of shopping rather than bus fare, also shopping online allows you to check prices beforehand against others to get the best deals.

As for not wanting to leave the slow cooker on while you're out at work, have you considered prepping it when you get in from work and leaving it on over night to cook? My mum finds this the easier option for her, although she says the smell sometimes makes her hungry!

You say you're trying to avoid bread and potatoes at the moment, how about pasta/rice/lentils? If you're happy to eat those, lots of meals can be made using these as a base - healthy, filling and room for lots of variety! Also suitable for lucnhes as well as dinners.

Thought I'd jump in and mention that Mr M has own brand value type shower gel for 30p for 500ml, I use it to top up the hand soap pumps...smells nice too.