Store Cupboard and budgeting help.

chirpychick

Quite often we run out of money for food, i.e we have £11.91 to last us the rest of the month (13 days) we end up using all our store cupboard up. For the tail end of this month we will mainly be living on cereals and toast or pasta, frozen veg and value pasta sauce.
What Id like to do is make up a box of "emergency food" which I will keep in a cupboard in the bedroom or under the bed for emergencies.
We always put our 6 month old first obviously and as he has had lots of problems surrounding feeding we always ensure at the beginning of the month we have enough formula and nappies but due to his problems with feeding he is on jars of food which i dont really think are expensive but obviously we could save money if i made his food up in advance, except i dont know what to give him and when ive tried blending food up from our dinners he doesnt like it and wont eat it
I need some help as to what to put in the emergency food box so that we dont end up living on cereals and toast or just pasta.

We need to do better with our food budgetting which we used to survive on £80 a month for 2 of us and then I put that upto £120 but now doesnt seem to last, I think because we are so tired (he isnt a good sleeper) neither of us has the energy to cook and so we go for easy options.

I am really struggling because we literally have no money left and my husband is this month working every weekend on top of his 40+ hours during the week to bring in some extra money so we can put some away for the next car seat, baby monitor, christmas, car tax and boiler service.

We had our IVA payments reduced a bit to help when the baby came along and before although a struggle we managed ok but now we just never seem to have any money and its getting really serious now to the point where I just don't know how to stay on top of the budget.

We have cut back everywhere, everything else is tied into contracts the only luxury we have is sky but i get 50% off for a year and we have no aerial so we use the sky box for TV and to be honest as this is the only luxury we have I don't begrudge it too much (we pay £23 a month) - I have cancelled in the past to save money.

I recently contacted the council to get our council tax reduced to monthly rather than 10 month payments. This makes quite a bit of difference.

I feel really quite upset that I can't manage to stay on top of it all.

For our son for his birthday and christmas we have been doing surveys so have used amazon vouchers to get him little bits and have got him stuff from carboot sales too. His Grandma is so very lovely and buys some formula, baby wipes and clothes and even toys and bibs as and when (usually monthly) so he absolutely never goes without a thing.

Mainly our overspend is on the food shopping and we end up using money meant for other things like car maintenance or something and this month have used up everything we had because I needed glasses. Which means now that we will have to pay in to those things even more to make up for it which leaves us even more short.

I should be old hat at this by now, I have before the baby helped many friends and family to save money and budget and clear debt because i have learnt so much but for some reason since his birth its just gone haywire and i really need to get it under control.

Any advice would be greatly received.

bargainbetty

Have you tried replicating the jars that he likes, but with home made stuff? If he has a favourite, work out what is in it and offer him that. He will adjust to HM foods fairly quickly, if you start with familiar foods.

The best way to reduce your budget a little is to reduce the meat content of meals and bulk out with pulses etc instead. A vegetable curry is cheaper to make than chicken curry, and you can still freeze portions for later. Batch cook shepherds pies with lots of vegetables cooked into the mince (and lentils, and porridge oats) and one 500g pack of mince will stretch out to seven or eight portions, served with veg.

What facilities do you have for storage? Freezer space? Local markets etc?

Tenyearstogo

Have you looked at baby led weaning? It's a much cheaper and easier option for feeding babies. It's also healthier than those jars.

Do you meal plan?

xxlouisexx56

I never throw anything away!!! Loads of random veggies in the fridge wilting a bit? Make a soup or a stir fry.
I buy reduced bread and rolls and put them in the freezer so it's always there when we need it. I use coupons and shop around

chirpychick

bargainbetty wrote: »

What facilities do you have for storage? Freezer space? Local markets etc?

We have a fridge freezer and a very small kitchen so not much storage space at all, we live in a small 2 up 2 down.
There is a market but it's not any cheaper than the supermarket.
We have a large asda which we frequently yet YS items from and a small morrisons where we sometimes get YS bread, I do a Tesco shop for nappies and pet food which I get delivered once a month.

Tenyearstogo wrote: »

Have you looked at baby led weaning? It's a much cheaper and easier option for feeding babies. It's also healthier than those jars.

Do you meal plan?

We do a mixture of puree and BLW - we had to start weaning him at 4 months which is too young for BLW so when he is having finger foods he gets quite impatient, so we do puree and give him finger foods too when he is less hungry and has more patience.

I do meal plan but we very rarely stick to it

tessie_bear

hi...u seem to have a lot of financial threads tangled together and might do well to try and tease them out a bit ...u may find things are a bit clearer...for example sky has nowt to do with your food budget...im sorry if i sound harsh but if you arent eating properly at the end of the month id cancel or reduce it

have a look at the grocery challenge thread and think about what you like to eat thats cheap...chilli/spag bol/sheps pie/sometimes chicken/on toast then write a meal plan and try hard to stick to it

do u think u might spend less if u shopped in one shop say once a week instead of getting bits from various shops ?

as for the weaning i would think u would save loads if u stopped gradually buying jars and weaned on your food

good luck

Tenyearstogo

chirpychick wrote: »

I do meal plan but we very rarely stick to it

There's your problem!

Work out your budget per day and plan accordingly. Do a couple of days at a time if its easier.

Aim to make use of BOGOF, half price, YS etc to stretch the budget.

Pur!e any leftovers or save them for blw for your little one.

If you have any money left after each trip, then buy something for your stockpile.

RAS

Hi

Your IVA budget seems very tight and should allow for car tax and boiler service and £120 for 3 is not really adequate with the recent price increases. Who is your IVA provider?

Pasta is a good staple; do not knock it. But you need to have it with something more than budget sauce.

If you are using bought sauces their flavours will be too strong for a baby; they have more taste buds that adults.

Stop worrying about Christmas and birthdays for LO; he will not remember anything for the next three years and will probably enjoy playing with wrapping paper more than having loads of presents.

Have you joined www.freegle.org.uk or your local freecycle?

This was an ultra cheap budgetting thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4416655

The big problem is getting enough calories in for an adult even on a very restricted diet. I would not regard that diet as appropriate long term or for a small child/baby.

There is some discussion on the thread on cheap foods to provide calories; you need oil and fat as well as carbs to get the calories up. Even then there is very little protein.

davenport151

Yuor space/storage sounds the same as mine. 2 bed terrace, small kitchen,fridge/freezer. I do have a small understairs area for the rare times I have extra food.
I do a large shop fortnightly. When I have batched cooked that fills my freezer up.
Think double when you do cook (or more). Cook a large bulk of mince for example (padded out as suggested with lentils etc). Divide this into portions to freeze. This can then be used for;shepherds pie, spag bol, chilli and so on. I often cook half then use 1/2 to make meatballs. Same with chicken - do a search for 'rubber chicken.'
If you think like this when cooking you will soon have a supply of 'almost ready' foods.
Dont forget with brought sauces you can add a touch of homemade with herbs etc.

Talk

We're in a similiar situation this month. There was a problem with direct debits that should have been set up with the bank, but for some reason weren't (apparently someone had accidentally marked my OH's bank as not being eligible for direct debits) which cancelled them all and because direct debits need to be set up 2 weeks in advance of being taken there has been some overlap of bills this month where we've had to pay two lots at once, thank you HSBC!
We have to make as little as possible stretch until the 25th of this month. I worked out a food plan using what we have in the cupboards and what basics we'll need in this time and our shopping for this period will come in at £17.54 which includes basic toiletries, toilet roll, cat food, cheese, pack up stuff for OH (and a few things we don't really need, BAD OH!), etc. Most supermarkets being online now is a huge help with making a meal plan and sticking to a budget, even if you don't get a home delivery you can still price check.
We don't have any children yet (35 weeks pregnant though!) so I'm not sure what to suggest there, but like others have said maybe try replicating what flavours are in their jars?
It sounds like the real problem you're having is sticking to your budget so I would start there, be brutal! Work out your meals and stick the list on the fridge, including whatever you need to make each meal, as you use something up cross it off so you can see at a glance what you're out of. The meals don't need to be complicated, plan them to be simple, even if it's just a bacon sandwich and chips or something, write it down there.
At the moment we don't have a cooker, so everything needs to be cooked in the microwave, on the george foreman grill or in the toaster (lol), so we don't cook too many complicated meals either. But with that said we still have pancakes, spaghetti bolognese, etc, you'd be amazed at what you can cook in the microwave and on the grill, I was! Even runny eggs!
The meals on my meal plan for the rest of this month range from bbq chicken wraps and nachos to bacon sandwiches with animal potato shapes (an impulse buy a few weeks back lol) and sausages, mash, peas, etc! Just keep it simple and varied.

I can't wait until we get our cooker because it's killing me not being able to bulk cook things like lasagne, stew, etc.

Butterfly_Brain

Do you have an Aldi or a local butcher nearby?.
What sort of foods do you like to eat?
Could you batch cook a few meals and put them in the freezer, for example 800g mince in Aldi is £2.49 add a couple of chopped onions and a bag of mixed vegetables, 50g red lentils £1 a 500g bag = 10p some mixed herbs, salt and pepper with some gravy and you have the base for ;

A shepherds pie - just add a mash topping

Mince and tatties - just add a tin of new potatoes (14p)

Make some pastry (225g p flour 45p a bag = 4p, 50g
lard 59p for 225g = 14p , 50g butter 99p for 225g =24p and water and a pinch of salt. Total cost = 42p) add a tin of potatoes to the mince and you have a meat and potato pie

Total cost for these three meals (That will feed two of you two meals each) so this is really six meals worth

Mince £2.49
1 bag frozen mashed potato 69p
2 Tins potatoes 28p
2 onions 20p
1 bag mixed veg 89p
HM pastry 42p
mixed herbs (19p a tub in asda) use to taste (2 or 3 tsps so say 2p)
S&P 1p
Total cost for enough for six meals is £5.10 divided by six = 85p per meal for two of you or 42.5p per portion.

OR

A pack of mince £2.49
2 tins tomatoes 62p
mixed herbs 3p
a squirt of tomato puree 48p a tube so approx 10p worth
A clove or two of garlic or to taste (30p a bulb so approx 10p worth)
tsp of sugar 3p
2 sliced onions 20p
half a bag of sliced mushrooms ( 2 bags of sliced frozen mushrooms in farmfoods for £1) so 25p worth
Half a bag of mixed sliced peppers is £1 a bag in farmfoods so that is 50p worth
From this make :

Spaghetti Bolognaise add pasta 5p (spaghetti is 19p 500g) in Aldi

Lasagne add lasagne sheets 38p a box plus a white sauce which is just flour, milk and butter or buy a packet for 35p in Aldi

Use another portion with some chilli flakes (10p) and a tin of kidney beans 21p as a chilli con carne with rice (10p) or use in another bolognaise

Total cost £5.51 (But remember you will still have 1½ bags mushrooms, half a bag of peppers, rice, puree and pasta) so that is 91p per meal 46p per portion.

So as you can see you have enough mince based meals for 12 days at a total cost of £10.61

I will post a few more ideas for other things later, I must go out now x