shopping bills

kittycatfan

hi all i have read lots of your posts with great interest and am inspired to save lots of money and get my cc bills slashes at least by 2014 , my challenge this week is to only spend 80 or less on food shopping compared to my normal 100 to 120 ???? will be very interesting to no if i can do it i would be very interested to hear anyones shopping saving tips :j

Moneymash

Hi Catfan,

First have you done a stock take of your cupboards, fridge and freezer? Inspect everything, throw out what's out-of-date. Then do a meal plan using the contents of your cupboards etc.

Second, how many people are you shopping for? £80 seems a lot for one person, with meal planning and cooking from scratch you can easily reduce this?

Third, have no supermarket loyalty, shop where it's cheapest, have a good look in reduced sections, and of course Martin's personal favourite drop a brand or two.

If you have a smart phone, then download the barcode scanner app which will give you the cheapest prices of your usual items.

Dig out some cookbooks, or have a look at the old style boards for food, meal,receipe ideas, invest in a slow cooker for cheap meals and freeze.

I think that's enough to be going on with.

Good luck

lindens

i echo whats above, firstly write down everything thats in your cupboards, plan meals around the contents and shop for whats needed only. You will be surprised how much you have! Meal planning is the best advice i can offer - i slashed how much food i was wasting.

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi,

You are definitely right, its one area where you can easily waste money. My tips?

Mealplanning. Work out what you are going to have for your main meal for the next week or fortnight - and only shop for the ingredients you actually need.

Ignore special offers. Most of them only encourage you to buy stuff you dont need.

Cook from scratch. Dont ever buy things you can make yourself. If you are not a great cook search out some easy recipes and have a go. You will only get better with practice.

Downsize a brand. Try value products or supermarket own - many are better than you think.

Go veggie one night a week or have a soup and pudding night.

If you have kids learn to make homemade pizza, chicken nuggets, fish fingers etc. Cut down on the crisps and kitkats and make your own cakes and flapjacks.

Shop less often. More visits to the supermarket = more money spent. If you run out of something between shopping trips try and manage without.

Cut down on cleaning products or search them out in Poundland etc. Many cleaning jobs can be done with hot soapy water or a drop of bleach.

If you are first starting out I would actually make a list of what you have got in the cupboards and freezer because if you are anything like me you probably have more in there than you think. Others will disagree but I think overflowing cupboards and freezers are wasted money.

Good luck. If you find it a bit daunting try and bring your spending down gradually.

Oh and read up on the Old Style Boards - loads of good advice on there.

Good luck!

tina_malteser

i did a cupboard/fridge/freezer stock take today and have enough for 17 meals for 2..and i'll only be replacing the things ive ran out of from now on..cleaned the kitchen cupboards inside and out and tiles using a wire soapy brillo pad..very little elbow grease needed...my spend this week will be roughly £7..:T

kittycatfan

wow thanks to all for your very handy tips and info , i am shopping for 4 people , i have checked all my cupboards and freezer and actually very surprised at how much good in date stuff ive found , im going shopping soon so will defo write a list and stick to it ,im also going to make some lovely homemade soup for tomorrows lunch so thatll be good ,cant wait to use what i save on helping to pay of one of my dreaded credit cards , well thanks again for all your replies , have a great saturday

whiteguineapig

go to aldi!
then make a note of stuff that you couldn't find and the next time you go shopping if you still can't get it at aldi then nip into tesco or wherever you usually shop

kittycatfan

whiteguineapig yes thankyou i will go to aldi i have 2 stores near me so i should hopefully get all thats on my list i will update later on how much ive saved

kittycatfan

hi all well whoo hoo ive been shopping and cant believe i only spent 75.98 thats about 35 less than normal well firstly i went to aldi which isnt where i would normally go im normally go to tesco , so i was very impressed with aldis prices and the meat and veg all looks great , i also popped to sainsburys to get bits that aldi didnt have and got a £6 voucher if you spent 40 or more so ill use that next week , heres hoping that the shopping lasts as im going to use the dosh i saved to now pay a credit card bill online , im actually excited to be a careful shopper today:T

boobiebonboo

hi all:wave:well pay day was yesterday and all bills or shall i say debts:( payed for this month:T now the shopping:D well after thinking how much money is wasted on food in our house i have decided it is time to cut down so this week i spent 59 pounds for 4 0f us:T so pleased as i know that this can be reduced evan more as the weeks go on:) normally spend round about 120 a week on food and take aways:eek: which i now realise is such a waste of money as this could go towards my debts.:) love the site and love reading peoples ideas and thoughts as it has got me motivated to stop spending and start paying. good luck everyone and im sure you will hear a lot from me in weeks! months! and years to come:rotfl: