Help!! Basic shopping list needed (merged)

Trollydolly_2

Firstly i guess id better say Hi and introduce myself as im a newbie!!

Im Clare and ive just bought my first house!! Woo Hooooo!!

I will be moving out of home for the first time in about 6 weeks time and have budgeted for everything (very proud of myself :A ).

BUT

I have only budgeted around £25 per week (£100 a month) for my shopping. Now i can see lots of u on here do it for this or less but i have absolutly no idea what i should be buying or looking out for. Please help me.

It will only need to feed me and a very tiny chihuahua called Lucy. I cant say im a good cook but im very willing to try!

This budget is to include toiletrys and cleaning products too (OMG just realised i will have to clean!! :eek: )

Thanks in advance

Clare

Bargain_Rzl

Hi Clare/Trolleydolly,

Congratulations on buying your first house!

Shopping for one on £25 or less is REALLY easy.

Look out for:
BOGOFs (Buy One Get One Free) - but ONLY when you would have bought the product anyway, or can use it in place of something you were planning to buy that would have cost more.
Reduced goods - especially useful for stuff that can be bought up at silly prices and put in the freezer until needed.
Bulk buying - for non-perishables.
The opposite - buying ONLY the quantity you need - for perishables.
Ideas on stuff you can grow in your garden. Hey presto - organic veg.
Coupons and vouchers - sometimes shops will accept these even if you have not bought the product.
If you have access to several supermarkets, shop around so you know what products are on offer where. I have a Co-op, a Sainsburys Local, a small Tesco, a Somerfield and a Lidl where I live - when I have time I pop in to each of these for 10mins on the way home from work once a week, buying whatever I need that's best value, rather than doing my weekly shop in one go.

Avoid:
Temptation - easier said than done I know!
Ready meals - very overpriced and overprocessed. Though when on reduced to clear, this can be a very useful part of the "filling up the freezer on the cheap" technique (see above)
Sticking to the same brand for everything. Change what you buy according to what is on special offer.

That's just a start. Welcome aboard!!!

Magentasue

How about posting seven meals (or however many you will be eating at home) and the other meals you need to do (breakfast? lunch? supper?) and see if anyone has a cost cutting ideas for you?

culpepper

depends what you eat really but I buy cheese in the big size,if you wrap it very closely and keep it in the fridge it wil last months.Put your bread in the fridge or freeze it ready sliced .You can freeze the contents of a tin (mostly) so if you dont want a whole tin of something a large tin is still cheaper (use the ice box for freezing if youve got no freezer).
If you cant get to the shops every few days,a bag of frozen veg is handy or youll be throwing away stuff you bought fresh as it wont last.We used to have our milk delivered but were off to work before the milkman so would often come home to find a bottle of gone off milk on the doorstep.UHT is useful or powdered for emergencies.

Debt_Free_Chick

I think the first thing you'll need to do is to start to build up your store cupboard essentials. You don't need to do this all at once, but a bit a week. If we all look at our cupboards, they're full of stuff we bought, some of it months ago!

Here's my standard Lidl list, which might help to get you going.
Cheese - Cheddar
Cheese - Feta
Cheese – Masdam (Leerdammer)
Cheese - Mozzarella
Cheese - Parmesan
Coffee – Espresso
Coffee - Ground
Dairy - Margarine
Diary - Butter
Flour – Bread
Flour – Plain
Flour – Self Raising
Herbs - parsley
Herbs - Oregano
Herbs - mixed
Meat - Black Forest Ham
Meat - Chorizo
Meat - Corned Beef
Olive Oil
Pasta
Pepper – Ground Black
Pitta Bread
Salt
Soup
Squash
Sugar
Tea - Earl Grey
Tea - General
Tinned Tuna
Toms - Passata
Toms – tinned
Vinegar - Balsamic

Household
Black Dustbin Bags
Cleaner - All Purpose
Cleaner - Bathroom
Cleaner - Bleach
Cleaner - Kitchen
Cleaner - Loo Freshener
Cleaner - Washing Up Liquid
Cleaner - Window
Cloths
Dishwasher Powder
Dishwasher Rinse Aid
Dishwasher Salt
Furniture Polish
Ibuprofen
Kitchen Roll
Loo Roll
Scourers
Shampoo
Shower Gel
Toothpaste
Washing Powder

Now, I only go to the Supermarket every 3 months, so weekly, I buy meat & veg locally. You'll need to adapt my list to suit your requirements too. And I think there are some things missing, that I seem to remember when I see them! I must update my list.

Rather than making a list of what I need each time, I have a standard list saved in Word. I print it off and then do a "stock check" on my cupboards.

You'll find a way to suit you, but I hope this gets you going

rchddap1

One tip. When you freeze anything split it up into 'meals'. For example, when I buy chicken I put bags of 2 portions in the freezer for my other half and I. It means that I don't end up defrosting more than I need at any one time. I pick out a bag before I go to work, and when I get home it is all nicely defrosted and ready to cook.

If you use potatoes keep your eyes open for somewhere to buy them locally, eg, a farm shop etc... I find them expensive at supermarkets and not as good quality either. Mind you whenever I see my Dad every couple of weeks he hands us a free bag of tates, so you can't really get cheaper than that.

Also, this weekend I'm going to part cook some individual shepherd's pies and stick them in the freezer. I've found a local butchers (at last) and I will pop up there at the weekend to try and get my lamb mince. Remember, sometimes if you make that little extra effort to go to a butcher's or a green grocers you can make savings.

elona

You can use white vinegar as a rinse aid in dishwasher and instead of fabric conditioner.

Instead of j clothes buy a pack of old fashioned dish clothes for cleaning and wash them every day when you have used them - they will last for ages.

Instead of ironing liquid - use a spray bottle of water with a few drops of essential oil and spray garment with this when you iron.

Pooky

In my store cupboard...... (bearing in mind there's 4 of us and I do a lot of baking)


Flours, plain, self raising, bread
Yeast
Oats
Herbs and Spices
Baking stuff - cake cases, baking powder, cooking choc,cake decs etc.
Custard powder
Salt - table and course sea salt
Pepper - White and black
Vinegar
Sugar - brown, granulated, castor
Dried fruits, raisins etc
Popping corn

Tinned goods
Tomatos
Baked beans
Spahetti hoops
kidney beans
Tuna
Corned beef
New potatos

Range of different dried pasta, spaghetti, lasagne etc
Rice
Cous cous

Tea - regular bags and fruit teas
Coffee - Instant and for cafetair
Cooking oil and olive oil
Cereals
Marmite
Jam's
Marmalades
Mustards
Relishes
Pickles
Chutneys
Sauces - Tomato and brown

Tin foil
Cling film
Food bags

Fridge stuff
Butter
Marg for baking
Sunflower spread for sandwiches
Cheese
Mayonnaise
Salad cream
Squash
Fruit juice

Fresh veggies, salad items.

Frozen
Bread
Milk
Selection of veggies
meat
homemade stocks and soups
Ice cream (bailys haagen dazs of course!)


It will take a while to build a store cupboard up but if you try and get a few things each week when they are on offer, if stored well most will last for ages.

Once you have a meal plan sorted out you'll be able to see what to buy on a week to week basis to see you through.

I remember moving out of home for the first time, I had all this nice cupboard space that I filled with pots and pans and china, my mother called round on moving in day and said......"when are you going to get some food..and where are you going to put it???" The answer of "can't I just take what I need from your larder" didn't go down to well

Pooky

Oopps forgot the cleaning stuff....

Bleach - value (does the job)
Soda crystals
Cream cleaner (gets used on everything)
Washing up liquid
Dishwasher powder
Washing powder - fabric conditioner for some items
Basic value multi purpose cleaner for floors etc
Disinfectant
Rubber gloves (for all those messy things)
Dish clothes/ sponges
Dusters
Spray polish/ wax polish for wood
Shoe polish
Toilet cleaner ..i.e. a limescale remover (hard water area)
Wet wipes for quick wipe overs - Lidl's own are great

Pet food

I try and buy in bulk - works out cheaper if you have somewhere to store it.

Trollydolly_2

Wow !! Thanks everybody, ill print all that off and work out my own list from that!

I love this site!

Turning_into_scrooge

I have started doing most of my shopping on our local market with is really good. I can get all the veg needed which i can get 2 weeks for the same price as the supermarket for 1 week. They even sell gallon containers of thick bleach for £2 and cleaning products such as toilet duck for £1 and washing tablets cheaper as they are in a plastic bag and not the box, but they have the brand name logo on them. I bake all my own bread and buy milk now in bulk from Tescos and freeze it when i go for anything i cant get on the market. As another poster said i buy big blocks of cheese and wrap it in tin foil to stop it going hard and mouldy, lasts ages. Having said that i have time on a Friday to do this, not everyone has the same time. Saving loads of money :T