Food, my biggest expense....

troubrs

I think you're doing well at £100 per week! Last year I kept all my receipts & was shocked to see my average spend for a family of 4 was £140/week. I tried to cut down to £100 per week & managed since June to average £105! I'm going to try to get below £100 in 2013 but I'm not prepared to cut out too many nice things or scrimp too much but making from scratch has helped me a lot as well as shopping carefully, looking out for bits & pieces reduced. I'm also lucky that I work just a few hours a week at a major supermarket & get 10% staff discount.

kiss_me_now9

FireWyrm wrote: »

It's really a case of adjusting your expectations.

For a start, nothing that can be made is bought. So, if you want sausage rolls for the week, instead of paying £3.50 per 25cm sausage roll, you buy a pound of sausage meat for £1.16 and a block of puff pastry for £1. Therefore, where you would have bought two large sausage rolls from the supermarket 2 for £6, you actually made the same amount (or more) for £2.16. Before you say that making sausage rolls takes time, I timed it once and it took me 20 minutes including 15 minutes cooking time to make a dozen 3 inch wide mini rolls for the weeks lunches..

I completely agree with everything you've said but where on earth are you shopping where sausage rolls cost £3 a pop?!

YORKSHIRELASS

FireWyrm wrote: »

So, how? Firstly, ditch the supermarkets. Go fir the family butcher, the local Market and Aldi.

It always surprises me when I hear people saying this because where I live the local butcher, fruit and veg shops and even the market to a certain extent is more expensive than the supermarket.

I did an experiment once where I went without the supermarket and I spent a lot more. For me shopping twice a month online at one of the big supermarkets works. The less often I shop the less I spend. For us - two adults and two teenage kids - £75 a week is about right. I think I could probably do it for a bit less if I really had to.

Oh and mealplanning is a must.

I am interested what everyone says about Aldi. Our nearest one is 20 miles away so I do wonder if it would be worth a trip through occasionally. What sort of things are best bought from Aldi then?

HappyMJ

FireWyrm wrote: »

It's really a case of adjusting your expectations.

For a start, nothing that can be made is bought. So, if you want sausage rolls for the week, instead of paying £3.50 per 25cm sausage roll, you buy a pound of sausage meat for £1.16 and a block of puff pastry for £1. Therefore, where you would have bought two large sausage rolls from the supermarket 2 for £6, you actually made the same amount (or more) for £2.16. Before you say that making sausage rolls takes time, I timed it once and it took me 20 minutes including 15 minutes cooking time to make a dozen 3 inch wide mini rolls for the weeks lunches.

Or you could buy 50 mini rolls (800 grams) made by Jus-Rol the same company that sells the pastry for £1.50. 1 minute to take out of freezer put on a tray and put in oven,

Mrs_CB

There is, as usual, some excellent advice already shown on here about cutting down on food costs.
When I started cutting down I concentrated on all the non food items to start with and then gradually looked at how to reduce food costs.
How ever you do it don't try do it all at once, it will make your head hurt! :rotfl:

Mercurial

I grow my own tomatoes satisfying and cheap. I will be trying courgettes and chili's along with runner beans. I also make a mean dahl for very little. I also make soda bread which is quick, I don't have a bread machine and at the weekend make walnut and honey bread which is delicious.

FireWyrm

kiss_me_now9 wrote: »

I completely agree with everything you've said but where on earth are you shopping where sausage rolls cost £3 a pop?!

I caved and bought some from Tesco once, didn't realise until I went looking for sausage meat how much of a rip-off it was.

FireWyrm

HappyMJ wrote: »

Or you could buy 50 mini rolls (800 grams) made by Jus-Rol the same company that sells the pastry for £1.50. 1 minute to take out of freezer put on a tray and put in oven,

I only buy the blocks of pastry now, pre-rolled is £1.50 but a block is £1...:p

I figure I can manage 10 seconds to roll it out myself and save the 50p.

harrys_dad

I am lucky enough to be able to afford to shop where I like. I hate being ripped off however. I shop in Aldi all the time, especially for fresh fruit and veg which is much cheaper than other mainstream supermarkets. Their ranges are limited, but excellent value and quality. With "branded" products someone has to pay for all that advertising. B&M Bargains and Home Bargains are also great shops, provided you can find what you want.

FireWyrm

Mercurial wrote: »

I grow my own tomatoes satisfying and cheap. I will be trying courgettes and chili's along with runner beans. I also make a mean dahl for very little. I also make soda bread which is quick, I don't have a bread machine and at the weekend make walnut and honey bread which is delicious.

Dont buy Naan bread either. Flour, salt, water, garlic, olive oil, mix, flatten, pan bake in a frying pan...instant Naan.

Scones are beautiful as a snack with Jam and a little clotted cream. Quick and super easy to make as many as you want...or can stand.

I have a 'baking' cupboard which contains stuff like vanilla, dried fruits, baking powder, honey etc. I built it up slowly and always keep it well stocked. Anything snack wise we want, we make as often as we like. No artificial ingredients, preservatives etc. I'm convinced that this had much to do with my daughters' skin complaints and general ill health as a small child. Simple changes seemed to have worked wonders and I can't remember the last time we needed to break out the steroid gel for her knees.