Please help my family!

sillylittlejill

Hey guys
Ive been a lurker on here for years, I'm now 23 with a 10 month old daughter and a lovely other half who works his bum off for us.

We are spending waaaay too much on food, we tend to get a takeaway at least once or twice a week. We also struggle to decide on meals despite having loads of food in the house. I've just gone through and thrown away a load of things that havent been touched in the freezer, going to do a big food shop tomorrow and want to make a list and stick to it, but OH works til 6 or 8 most nights and I'm exhausted from running round after the baby so we end up having something easy (not particularly healthy!)
Is it worth us getting a slow cooker? Not sure if there are any good ones in sainsburys? We live minutes away from sainsburys and dont drive so only really shop there. I'm hoping a slow cooker might help us, I can get everything prepared before the baby wakes up and stick it on then it'll be ready for our tea.

I need a few tips to help us get in the OS way of living, we're also moving house in the next few weeks so any help of saving money there would be brilliant My dad and OH are getting boxes from their work, my dad will be helping us move everything but we might need to rent a van to move bigger items like sofas etc, not sure how else we can save money?

Pleeeeease impart your wisdom!!
Thanks in advance

RAS

Hi

I would start by listing what you have in teh fridge and freezer and cupboards now.

The we can help you devise a menu plan for a few weeks that minimises the amount of shopping you need in the big shop. That will save a lot of money.

maman

What a shame you didn't post before you threw stuff out from the freezer. That's one very obvious way of saving money, don't waste anything.

As you're about to move I'd suggest you buy the absolute minimum of food in the next few weeks and try to eat up as much as you can from your freezer and cupboards. You don't want to be moving loads of food (and toiletries and cleaning stuff) unnecessarily.

Do your inventory and take it from there.

P.S. Ban take aways!!

rosie383

I know you say that you have chucked away a lot of stuff from the freezer. Did it all need to be thrown away? Things can lurk in the freezer for quite a while and still be okay, but if they are already in the bin you may have to write them off.
As I know everyone here will tell you, ditch the takeaways, except for special days, for example, the couple of days when you are moving and it's difficult to cook. Then make it as maybe a monthly treat only. You will save maybe £50-100 per month on that alone.

pesky85

Slowcookers are fab (coming from a mum of a 2 year old and 3 year old!). I don't use mine daily, in fact I don't even use it weekly! But when I do it's great (mine is on today coincidentally - BBQ beef stew!).

There are pretty much limitless options of what you can cook in them too, most people just think stew / curry / bolognese...google slow cooker recipes and you'll see. If I have people round for dinner I will use the slowcooker for a chocolate fondue dessert - low maintenance and cheap, ready when you want it!

Ditch the takeaways, they're sooo expensive. Not only that but you'd probably find you could make it yourself far cheaper and tastier. Maybe try and leave the takeaways as a fortnightly / monthly treat?

I have to say, in the nicest way possible, that you will generally find less time for yourself / cooking / cleaning etc the older that children get. When I look back on myself with one 10 month old I remember stressing too but it was pretty easy in comparison now. It's all about changing your daily lifestyle and being organised, for me that came about quite slowly but I think I'm there now!!

Also I know you said you shop at Sainsburys for convenience as it is local to you, have you thought about doing online shopping with Asda? I find I get so much more for my money when I shop online, and it means not having to get the baby ready for a shopping trip!

My last tip is to try writing a "menu" for your food for the week, don't get any extras and your food won't go to waste

pollypenny

I think you've answered your own question, Jill.

No takeaways!

I used to prepare the meal, do the vegetables etc while toddler was having a nap, usually in the morning, then all I had to do was light the gas rings.

Other times, she'd be playing happily while I got on with things.

I'd often make things to last two days, eg a pan of ratatouille or a big lasagne.

xxlouisexx56

My daughter is 20 months old and my 7yr old is at a school.

Dd2 naps between 12-1:30. If we are having a good homemade dinner like spag Bol, I will cut mushrooms, onions and grate carrots and put them in the fridge and even grate the cheese in advance.

So when it comes to dinner I just have to chuck it all in the pan

TheThriftyScrumpers

Slow cooker is definitely the way forward. We are a family of four and we have a 3.5 litre sc. you can make up a big pot of curry/bolognaise/chilli/stew etc and then freeze in portions to save time and money. You can also do joints in the sc. I bung a chicken in or a gammon joint is also nice. If you can give a rough idea of what your food budget is and what food you have already we can help with suggestions.

Good luck

Sambucus_Nigra

Menu plan definitely.

Don't throw stuff away if you can eat it!

And for moving - put heavy stuff like books in boxes, but only half fill then put light stuff like clothes on top. then you don't end up with loads of very heavy boxes , and loads of light boxes. And mark on the top where the box is to go so it goes straight there.

trolleyrun

As you and your OH struggle to agree on what to eat, could you sit down together and make a meal plan for the week? Lots of ideas on this board

I would definitely recommend a slow cooker. It's my most treasured kitchen gadget. There are lots of recipes online and on this board as well, of course.

Does your little one have a nap during the day? Perhaps you could use a little bit of that time to prepare for dinner later? For example, you could peel and chop veg and/or potatoes and then put them in a tub with some water in the fridge. Then they're easy to cook later when you're tired.

Once you've moved, you might want to buy a batch of things like onions, garlic, carrots etc and chop them up and freeze. Then they're always ready to cook.

I agree with others about the take-aways. Try to avoid them as much as you can. They're expensive and (most likely) unhealthy.

Good luck with the move - I hope it goes well for you

Okydoky25

I have a 21m and 1m old and Ive had a slw cooker 1m also. No idea why I didn't get one sooner! Not only does it take mi uses in the morning to prepare the meal. The meal itself is gorgeous even using the cheapest cuts of meat and I always do so much I freeze the left overs. Handy for getting rid of odds and sods in the fridge you normally bin.

If you do this with most meals it only takes a week to have another week worth of food ready in the freezer saving you from cooking at all. I use those silver takeaway tins you can get them very cheap in the ££ shops.