Shopping - where and how much ?

Spendi

Perhaps im not on here often enough to have noticed a *competition* but i do have a problem with food shopping, i love it !

I could quite happily wander round a supermarket everyday and purchase a trolley load of stuff i dont need just because i want it.

OS helped me in the fact that i found my trigger points, milk, bread and yoghurt. I now freeze milk, make my own bread and have a yoghurt maker = much less trips to the supermarket !

Ive also found that when i do go now, i can just go in and buy 4 pints of milk or a loaf of bread, one my worst things was ooh i have no cash, need to pay on the debit card, so a few extras would creep in. Now i just make sure i go to the cashpoint, walk in get my bread or whatever and pay for it in cash.

Before OS ( please bear in mind im also a DFW ) i would spend £60/£80 a week on food for just me and DS, now i spend £80 a month. Im not proud of the fact i used to spend that much im ashamed - i used to buy loads i didnt need, the food retailers got me, i was sucked in by the clever marketing of placing the products you need most furthest away and being tempted by wandering up and down the aisles, its contributed towards my debt.

Im OS because i need to be, im a DFW, but even when im Debt free, i will still make my own bread and yoghurt and meal plan because it works and i enjoy it.

rosieben

I'm sad to read that people are put off reading these threads by the competitiveness. I'm content to use the good advice on Old Style in a way that suits me and not worry about others - our situations will always be different.

Its a bit like Flylady isnt it? - take what you can use and let the rest go by!

TAG

Spendi wrote: »

I could quite happily wander round a supermarket everyday and purchase a trolley load of stuff i dont need just because i want it.

You sound like my husband. He's seriously addicted to Asda.:rolleyes:

I'm supposed to do the weekly shopping but for the last 3 weeks I haven't done it. Cos he keeps buying I can't fit anything in the flippin cupboards, fridge or freezer.

Have to say though, it does help towards keeping MY bank balance healthy.

tr3mor

LilMissEmmylou wrote: »

if u cant afford to buy decent food then you should re-evaluate your life! I for one dont mind spending money on food because I know in the long run it benifits the familys health and happyness so a big :T for everyone that realises spending the least money isnt what shopping should be 100% about.

You have to define "decent" food though.

Being OS to me is about getting the best out of cheaper cuts of meat, using plenty of fresh fruit and veg and having cupboards full of useful stuff like tinned tomatoes or kidney beans.

I can feed me and my girlfriend comfortably in an OS way, and we're certainly not undernourished.

You know you're taking it too far if you have gruel thrice a day, seven days a week!

studentphil

The idea of spending as little as you can is not really just meant to be for the sake of it. Some people really can only afford £5 or £10 a week for a whole range of reasons. However, because some people have to do that it does not follow that people who can afford to spend more are in the wrong. The idea is to live within your means and to achieve good value forr money with those means.

LilMissEmmylou

tr3mor wrote: »

You have to define "decent" food though.

Being OS to me is about getting the best out of cheaper cuts of meat, using plenty of fresh fruit and veg and having cupboards full of useful stuff like tinned tomatoes or kidney beans.

I can feed me and my girlfriend comfortably in an OS way, and we're certainly not undernourished.

You know you're taking it too far if you have gruel thrice a day, seven days a week!

By that I mean that you buy what is needed for a balanced healthy diet. Your 5 a day fruit and veg, 3 dairy and meat if you eat it (i dont) rather than buying cack that does nobody any good in the long run