HELP! Have cut back all I can but am still over-spending!

maman

Sorry you're having a bad experience with Aldi f&v. It does seem to vary from shop to shop, what you buy and maybe on what time you get there. I buy frozen veg (Farmfoods is good if you have one anywhere near). I don't like cauli & broccoli as it either goes to mush or doesn't cook! I buy leeks and peppers (easy for adding to casseroles, no cleaning, no wastage) and broad beans, green (French) beans and peas. I find cabbage (particularly white) lasts really well for later in the week and I cook my own red cabbage and freeze it in portions.

Farmfoods have Wyke Farm mature cheddar on offer this week. I'll check the price in a moment but really good value. I got some yesterday to freeze. I go there from time to time to stock up on toilet rolls and kitchen roll.

ETA: £1.50 for a 350g pack which is excellent value, they had mature and extra mature for the same price. I grate it and use in cooking but would be fine for sandwiches or jackets.

theoretica

Frozen spinach works well too and adds to sauces. Carrots (fresh) are among the cheapest vegetables and keep well so I always have them in stock.

[Deleted User]

ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »

The blueberries I got were going off after 2 days.

Why not freeze them?

Yet buying fresh is obv more expensive and they have a limited fridge life. Any tips?

Buy fresh and freeze.

suki1964

Also buy only seasonal and if at all possible locally sourced

The other thing is to meal plan if you are only shopping once a week. Use the more delicate fruit and veg first, and leave the carrots and swede types for later in the week. Or if you have bendy veg, soup

Fruit can be cooked as well if its turning , used just as a pur!e on porridge even will stop it being wasted. A batch of buns or banana loaf

Frozen veg can be useful, as can tinned.

And make your coleslaw. It's so much nicer and as its usually much chunkier you use less in a sandwich and its more economical if using it as a side order

theoretica

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Why not freeze them?

My freezer has lots of things I shoved in there because I realised I wouldn't use them before they went off. I am reminded I must be better at taking them out and using them up. Soup tonight perhaps.

ScrimpingandSaving

I don't want to slag Aldi off too much as I'm aware that it's just a matter of getting used to it and knowing what is good and what isn't. It's very much trial and error.

Yet from Aldi so far I have thrown away a full bag of carrots that went black and slimy within 5 days. A tub of tomatoes that went mouldy, some kiwis that were overripe within a few days and some blueberries.

I shall freeze things like blueberries from now on since I mainly use them in cooking and cakes but you can't freeze tomatoes and we do use a lot of these, I like to pop them in their lunchboxes and use them to make pizzas so it's a pain when half are mouldly.

I have bought another bag of carrots since and they seem fine so I shall have to be more careful in making sure there isn't one going off.

I don't think you can freeze your own broccoli and cauliflower successfully can you? I need to make a list of what freezes well and what doesn't.

I need to be more organised with meal plans and make sure that the first few meals use up the more delicate veg, saving the hardiness till last. I do use up over-ripe apples and pears (I make mini fruit pies for lunchboxes) and bananas can be used for banana cake. I'm at a loss as to what to do with acidic fruit though like kiwis, oranges and tangerines.

I've also started running the washing machine on quick washes only. I reckon they come out just as clean and I've halved the energy we use.

I'm also making my own cleaning solutions with bicarb, lemon juice and white wine vinegar.

The end of this month should give us a clear indication of how well our budgeting is doing. The nuisance is that we need new front tyres for one of the cars but it was our grocery bill that was extortionate so I hope to bring that right down as well as saving more on energy and other bits and pieces. It all adds up right?

maman

ScrimpingandSaving wrote: »

It all adds up right?

RIGHT!!

Couldn't agree more!:D

WiseOldBird_2

KHaven't read all the thread so forgive me if someone's already mentioned it. I buy all my fruit and veg from Aldi and when I get it home I 'prepare' it if necessary, ie. cauli/broccoli, then put it in the 'green' bags that Lakeland sells and put in the fridge They are a bit expensive but they are reusable and they really do stop the veg from going off. I never leave any veg in the plastic bags. Open them, sort through in case you have a carrot, etc going off, then put in green bag and in the fridge. Potatoes are taken out of plastic, put in a potato bag (again bought from Lakeland) and stored in a cupboard.

Another tip for blueberries which works - sort through them discarding the odd one that might be going off, put in a tupperware box, sprinkle liberally with vinegar, then run a little water into the box, swish them round and empty the liquid out. The residue of the vinegar kills the spores which rot the fruit and honestly you can't taste any vinegar! Keeps the blueberries fresh for ages. (This works with other fruit too).

Hope this helps.Good luck with all the moneysaving.

Kantankrus_Mare

Think you are doing really well S & S.

Watching your thread with interest as I am also a wine lover and really need to lower my weekly shop spend.

I really wish Aldi took credit cards as ours is quite good, but I put all our petrol and grocery spends on tesco card ( extra points ) and pay off full each month. Would throw my system if I put Aldi on debit card and never have the spare cash to go with.

We are quite lucky though that we have access to a company shop near us that gets random stuff in from marks and spencer and waitrose and other places, that for some reason they cant put on shelves. Its pot luck what they have in so we are going to go there first each week and then top up from either tesco or sainsburys depending on who is offering a deal.

Currently probably spending about 130 a week but thats for two adults and two teenage children (17 and 19) so 4 adults really.

Would like to get it to £100 a week really if I could.

tesuhoha

I haven't been able to read all through this thread so forgive me if some of my suggestions have already been mentioned.

I see that you spend approximately £25 a month on clothes mainly from Ebay. I am just wondering if this is a false economy as you will have to pay postage on a lot of things. Maybe you should have a look in Primark. As well as being new some of their clothes are incredibly cheap.

Your weekly curry - you say you're going to make it from scratch. I've been making curry from scratch and after buying the meat, spices and vegetables plus all the effort, its not much cheaper and I very much suspect its more expensive. I think you should stick with your Asda curry treat.

I shop on line with Tesco and you can pay a fee up front so you don't pay a delivery charge for 6 months. This does work out cheaper. If you are shopping on line go through your bill at the end and look at every item and ask yourself if you really need it. You can save yourself money by deleting items you have not yet run out of/don't strictly need. I always look at the special offers and only buy things like crisps and sweets which are on offer. You can also buy wine and meat etc on offer every week. Its easy to do this and you can pinpoint the bargains. I don't know about Aldi but if you are throwing away fresh produce then its probably another false economy and I would return to Asda. Berries are very expensive this time of year though. It might be better to look on line each month at which fruit and vegetables are currently in season and stick to them.

As for alcohol consumption I buy 4 cans of lager a week for my husband and once its gone its gone. I sometimes drink half a can and he drinks the rest. I don't buy wine every week but when I do its usually one good bottle on offer.

Try buying Barkeepers Friend for cleaning. The price has gone up to about £3 but its still wonderful stuff and lasts for ages.

As for your mobile phones I read at the beginning that you have three PAYG at £15 per month. Is that still the case? You might be better offer looking for a contract. I have one from Tesco and it costs me £7.50 per month. I never go above that and don't economise calls and texts.

With regard to energy saving we are gradually replacing all the bulbs in our house with LED lights. My husband worked out that when this is complete the total wattage in lightbulbs will be 100 watt that includes 12 downlights for the kitchen and bathrooms and a lamp in the living room with 5 bulbs and 3 in my daughter's bedroom. They are an initial investment but will pay for themselves within a year.