My storecupboard nds to last me pls help...

sillybean

Can I give some general advise on food buying:

1. Always buy the following in bulk:
a. Rice (10kg or more for about £8 any Indian grocer). Being Asian we buy the 45kg bag for about £23 which lasts 5 people in my household about 2/3 months.
b. Potatoes never buy lose the big bags are much cheaper

2. Try to go to cash and carry for stuff. So I get PG Tips pyramids 1000 for about £6 to £9 depending on what deals they have on. I use a air tight jar and take a hand full out at a time and place in Jar. In tesco its about £3-4 for 300.


3. Depending on what area you live in there will be a market that you can buy veg / fruit in. This will be substantially cheaper than a super market. If you go on a Saturday about 3-4 pm then you can pick up entire boxes of “stuff” for 50p. I used to live near Portobello market, I would go down about 3pm have a look round and see what stalls I liked the look off, e.g., tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage etc. Then I would just wait, and between 3-4 pm the prices would start dropping like stones. First they go down to a cheaper weight rate, so instead of £3 a kg, it would be £1 a kg, then they would start shifting the boxes for a £1 and that’s when I would buy because id have a bigger choice of boxes. That is bellow cost rate, I have been down to western international market to buy fruit and veg an I can honestly say, you can get stuff in markets below cost.

whats the reason for below cost? Simple, they cant keep things like tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage etc, they would sweat and perish in the volumes they have in markets and the stall holders do not have the refrigeration units. Saturday is the best day because (a) busiest day and (b) Sunday its closed so they have to shift all their stuff or else it goes off. There is stuff you wont get a bargin on such as patatoes and onions because they can keep. But even so they are cheap if you ask them the cost of a sack or bag. If you take one of those shopping trolleys you see old people with its easy to carry. I did it all the time and as a guy It wasn’t embarrassing because I knew I was saving money that I really couldn’t afford to spend buying a few things at a time in a super market. The best thing is the quality is mostly better than super markets. Also and this is the even better bit, often I use to say when they were selling at 50p a box, id say give me 3 boxes for £1 and more often than not they would go OK!

then I used to basically give some boxes to friends and neighbours in exchange for the 50p and they would do the same for me i.e., on weeks I couldn’t go down the market.

4. Asian cash and carries are the best for anything bulk buy, also, they sell single stuff and usually cheaper than tescos, I get big bottles of fairy for something like 50p. Its also quite good to team up, go with two friends to a cash and carry and get a box of fairy liquid for cheaper and then split them up later and split the cost too. That way you benefit from the bulk buy.

Bit of random advice also,

One of the things that eats the most electricity in your house is always the freezer. So:

1. Make sure its not too cold, things need to be frozen but you don’t need them at – 400c! choose the appropriate temperature in the summer and winter.
2. Make sure the cooling vent of the freezer is well vented, don’t push up against a wall to much as that will reduce the cooling effect and make it less efficient
3. defrost things in your refrigerator section (place item in a bowl at the top of the refrigerator section) that way the deep coldness keeps your refrigerator section cool using a lot less electricity. It does mean a little more planning as obviously it takes longer to de-frost. You can save a lot on electricity by just doing those simple things. I've done it like that for years, first because I wanted to save money and now more for the environment and it saves money so I'm twice as happy.

Ace recipe that wont help now but may in the future. Oily fish is essential for good nutrition. So buy cans of sardines in tomato sauce they are about 28p each for the expensive ones and about 18p each for the cheaper one. I usually buy again a big stack of them!

1. take out sardines and split taking out centre bone.
2. drain sauce through a skive into bowl (keep for sauce)
3. place 1 or 2 onions (to taste) sliced into a frying pan with a little oil
4. wait till brown
5. crush some garlic add to onions
6. add some salt
7. add sardine halves
8. stir and break up sardines a little
9. add some coriander if you have any – not essential more for colour.
10. Add sauce back with some chopped toms from can and heat. I don’t add the chopped toms but some of my friends do as they like to have more sauce, I prefer it dry. If you are going to add chopped tomms then don’t bother with the salt as the tomms make it taste salty for some reason although they don’t have any salt :-S
11. eat with either pasta or rice

very very tasty and great for kids as it’s a little like spag bol but with fish and really good for them.

Melissa177

Great post above - I completely agree with you about veg markets. The one on Schlater Street, E1 on a Sunday is great for anyone in the East End of London. Romford Market is also fantastic for bargains, as is the one in Islington near Angel.

It's funny, because a lot of my friends - esp my male friends - think it's silly that I go off galavanting around to markets. But when you can save so much on supermarket prices, why would anyone go anywhere else?!

Queenie

jet77 wrote:

DD2 has DD1's hand me down - DD1 however keeps growing!! She needs lots of new things - trainers, vests (I know summers coming but it's unpredicatable), they both need lots of white socks for school, they both go to dancing lessons and I had to pay 20 pounds for this months fees plus 12 pounds competition fees plus buy the costumes plus pay 2 pounds to watch them (which I think is ridiculous as I'm a chaperone!!) last week and this week. Their Dad (******d) floats in to their life and makes them promises which I then feel obliged to keep. The latest one is football!! They have both been on about going to football lessons for a while now and he has said that they can. We are not on speaking terms and even if he offered me money I wouldn't accept it because it would get thrown back in my face at some point down the line. Going to the CSA would not be worth my while - I have already had to move house once because of him and am settled where I am now - it's a long story.

Basically I'm skint like the majority!!

I can empathise with the demands of children’s wants and even the lack of paternal support but even at 4 & 5 yrs old your children can understand the principle of “choice”. I can understand why you would feel obliged to carry through the promises their Dad makes, but the very plain simply truth is you can’t afford to! So, if you are determined they have something, tell them to make a choice of which one By the same token, if the financial demand of just the dancing lessons is proving too much, then maybe you need to exercise your choice muscle and prioritise differently? It’s clearly a very expensive pastime. We all want to give our children the best we can and sometimes that isn’t always what they want and we have to lead by example. That means making tough choices and prioritising.

Something which struck me, and why I’ve come back to this thread, is that you may have to re-think your spending and budget if you have reached a point where you need to spend your food budget on clothing.

I’ve been reading the “Unnecessary Challenge” and while in theory having a weekly budget of £10 to spend on unnecessary tea’s, coffee’s, beers, chocolate to oneself sounds wonderful, you’re actually not doing yourself any favours budgeting that amount for yourself when you haven’t included necessary expenditure such as clothing. I appreciate that your dd1 is growing fast and needs new things, but it’s unlikely that the need has arisen overnight. Children grow, it’s a simple fact of life and that makes it as much a necessary expenditure as any other periodic/annual expense such as road tax, annual insurances, birthdays/Christmas.

Perhaps another way of looking at your finances may help you to make some hard choices.
Of your £82.40 budget your commitments, when put into percentages reads like this (these are approx only):-
Food (£30) = 36%
Travel (train & Petrol £32.40) = 39%
Personal things (baccy & UC £20) = 24%

Unless it’s accounted for somewhere else, you haven’t made any provision for clothing, annual expenses, repairs/replacements. When it’s broken down into percentages, you might want to consider if you can really afford a quarter of your weekly expenditure on personal things?

Likewise with the dancing, have you sat down and worked out how much it is actually costing you per year and divided that by 52 to see how much it's costing you in reality each week?

Food is a necessary expense; clothing is a necessary expense and so are annual expenses; travel could be if it’s the way you get to work.

If you don’t regularly set aside a regular amount for necessary items like clothing, you are going to find yourself in this situation of choosing between food and a necessary expenditure several times during the year and that would only prove demoralising when you are clearly trying so very hard to get on track and take control of your situation.

jet77

Thank you for all the replies and gr8 ideas/advice

Queenie wrote: »

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Unless it’s accounted for somewhere else, you haven’t made any provision for clothing, annual expenses, repairs/replacements. When it’s broken down into percentages, you might want to consider if you can really afford a quarter of your weekly expenditure on personal things?

Likewise with the dancing, have you sat down and worked out how much it is actually costing you per year and divided that by 52 to see how much it's costing you in reality each week?

The breakdown in my Sig is purely for the Unneseccary Challenge and my envelope system - its the amount of physical cash that I withdraw frm the bank each monday. Everything else is accounted for.

The dancing is one of the only things that has remained constant in my childrens lives over the past 6 months so even if it meant getting more in to debt I am paying for it regardless - I'm sorry for moaning about it in my previous post but I was on my way to a dancing competition and v. stressed (mixed with a bit of a lot of pmt:o)!

My debts just really getting to me and I seem to have so much food in the freezer/cupboards but feel like I need to go shopping because my budget says I should. But then I cdn't really think of any 'proper' meals to make with what was there (until I read all of the gr8 ideas that hv been posted :beer: ) and couldn't justify spending money going shopping and then withdrawing more money to go and get the things the kids need when I've already got lots of food in the cupboards

As far as their Dads concerned and the football promise - they've been badgering me for about 2 months about it now and they know I simply can't afford it and so do they. They understand that Mummy goes to work to earn money to pay for things and until they're older its not an option - I just feel bad and guilty which I know may seem silly but I think it was built in to me when they were born

Melissa177

Does your ex give you money for the kids? Wouldn't he be alarmed if he knew his children were going without food and clothing (potentially) because of your financial situation?

If he's offered money for football lessons, and you won't take it, why don't you take it and use it for your children's wellbeing and basics?

You sound like you're struggling - there is no shame asking for help from someone who should be giving it to your children: their father.

jet77

My ex doesn't give me money at all - what I was trying to say was that even if he offered me cash I wouldn't take it. If he bought them material things/paid for school dinners/paid for football lessons that would be fine. The problem is that he has told them they can do it and is just expecting me to pay.

jet77

My children never go without the vitamins/nutrients they need and are well clothed even if some of their clothes are from charity shops - we do have milk but only enough to last until the morning when I will buy the essentials including milk and eggs and on tues I will spend a fiver in the greengrocers. I do struggle but because I'm trying to pay money off my debts as quickly as possible and am setting my personal standards high.

shell2001

Jet honey, no-one doubts for a minute you are doing a wonderful job all by yourself. Just wanted to send you a hug.

Maybe for future reference you could have a look at some of the meal plans on here (black saturn's is good/cheap) a few extra veggies may be needed though as I know her family have problems with too much veg/fibre.

Melissa177

I agree - it sounds like you're doing a superb job.

I just wondered if you could get ex to help - "deadbeat dads" who don't face up to their responsibilities annoy me a lot!!

I've just read your sig - blimey, you do seem to be doing a good job with those debts, well done!

jet77

Thank you - It was down to under 3 grand before the nightmare that was Xmas. Due to my ex I had to fork out alot of money (approx 1.5k). There is no point in even talking to him about it. We aren't on speaking terms and it's def best that way.

Thank you again for all ur gr8 replies and sorry if I've been a bit defensive - u guys are all gr8 and this site has helped me soooooooooo much its unbelievable and that wdn't have happenned without the support of people like all of u xx