Feed a family of four for £20 a week challenge

craigywv

butterfly_brain wrote: »

an electric slicer is a great investment when you are trying to stretch any meat.

i just love my meat slicer its the best buy along with my slow cookers i have in my kitchen. Xxx

Butterfly_Brain

I was reading my copy of feed your family £4 a day by Bernadine Lawrence and thought that I would see how much the prices have changed since the 80's early 90's while wages and benefits have stagnated.

Her original list on page 17 was £27.98. The same list today would cost £67 :eek: That is tesco prices and I believe that Bernadine shopped in Waitrose:eek::eek:

moments_of_sanity

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I was reading my copy of feed your family £4 a day by Bernadine Lawrence and thought that I would see how much the prices have changed since the 80's early 90's while wages and benefits have stagnated.

Her original list on page 17 was £27.98. The same list today would cost £67 :eek: That is tesco prices and I believe that Bernadine shopped in Waitrose:eek::eek:

Wow, that's an amazing increase and when you work it out like that, it's no wonder people are struggling with the cost of food :eek:

Today I have some stewing beef with bendy veg in my thermal cooking bag and should have enough for 4 meals as I added sweet potatoes, butternut squash, onions and carrots so it might be a case of 'hunt the beef' but it smells lovely so I am sure DH will love it!

Today's dinner will cost...
Stewing beef £2.40
Onion 4p
Sweet potato 27p
Butternut squash (1/3 used) 19p
Sachet of beef casserole mix 49p
Carrots 10p
Rice 7p

Total cost £3.56/£0.89p each.

Rather than having the same meal again tomorrow, I might make some pastry (not got any shop bought in) and make a pie with it so will increase the cost tomorrow by about 70p making the cost of tomorrow's dinner £1.24 each ��

Butterfly_Brain

I am doing liver and bacon tonight for four of us with cabbage........

Liver 85p, 2lb potatoes 40p (mash) 2 julienned carrots 16p, 1 onion 10p, ½ savoy cabbage 25p ¼ pack Sainsbury cooking bacon 28p.
Total cost £2.04
51p per portion
Nom,nom,nom

joedenise

BB - seeing that has really made me fancy liver and bacon - not had it for ages. Will see if I can change something in the plan next week!

Denise

Butterfly_Brain

We are having a bonfire party tonight for twenty :eek: Which would normally blow the £20 budget.

DD is helping out because it is actually her party.
A good rummage in the freezer has gleaned lots of veg, and a bag of grated cheese that I forgot was in there, So that is a vegetarian curry and a couple of pizzas sorted, one meat, one vegetarian, I also found a couple of bags of the aldi chicken portions, so I will cook them up half with spices and half plain.
If DD wants anything else she will be paying for it.

DD's friends are bringing some fireworks, beer, cakes and one is doing toffee apples.
We have lots and lots of sparklers which is everyone's favourite part of the night and DD bought a couple of boxes of fireworks last week

Not too bad seeing as I already have most of the stuff in

patchwork_cat

Sally_A wrote: »

Have found that the £3.50 750g gammon joint (Asda) will stretch to at least 12 portions.


Hubby just likes to see meat on his plate, so the thinner you slice it, the more plate area is covered, which keeps him and other meat freaks happy.

Have you tried the 750g one from Aldi for £2.99?

pelirocco

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I was reading my copy of feed your family £4 a day by Bernadine Lawrence and thought that I would see how much the prices have changed since the 80's early 90's while wages and benefits have stagnated.

Her original list on page 17 was £27.98. The same list today would cost £67 :eek: That is tesco prices and I believe that Bernadine shopped in Waitrose:eek::eek:

rubbish............

Butterfly_Brain

pelirocco wrote: »

rubbish............

It is not rubbish!

Wages and benefits have stagnated

I went through every item which had the price of the day next to it, and punched it in at today's prices and I used Tesco prices not Waitrose that Bernadine used, so the disparity is even higher :mad:

In the Guardian today

"From 2008 to early 2014, the cost of energy had risen by 67% and the cost of food by 32%. Over the same period the retail prices index – a measure of the cost of a basket of goods and services – had gone up by 22%."

Maitane

Hmm, that seemed like a poorly thought out reply in order to stir up some bad feeling there pelirocco.

ButterflyBrain managed to post some statistics from a reasonable source and it would be useful if you did too.

Personally, I haven't seen or heard of any 22% benefit or wage increases since 2008 and certainly not during the period I was employed by the DWP but I'd love to see the proof of them happening.
It would help me feel somewhat less depressed about what seems like a lack of dignity and humanity shown by the Government to those truly down on their luck.