Old style ways for first house

LeaLea89

We moved into our house two years ago, it all comes naturally after a while don't worry! The biggest thing that has helped me is finding deals on here, from groceries to major purchases. I always buy a big shop once a month and then little bits in between, but one tip is always shop around, for example i found that the large 3kg bags of pasta ended up been more expensive than buying 10 smaller 500g bags!!

Good Luck and i hope you settle in well x

Clara_Cottage

You can cook a whole chicken or gammon joint in a slow cooker and a fantastic lasagne. I have no kitchen at the moment and I manage to feed 4 adults using my slow cooker, microwave and steamer. There are lots of great recipes on the web. If you're nervous about leaving it all day, try it on a day you're home for the first time.
There are some good tips on this forum. Thanks from a newbie 😊

katyboo123

Hey! Sounds exciting, I've done it once over almost 10 years ago and me and my current squeeze just did it againabout a year ago. We'd been living with my Mum and when we moved out, my OH didn't have a clue about how much things cost, what bills there were to pay, etc. Her Mum and her family are a little brand orientated, they'd rather be skint and have lurpack, etc than have a supermarket's own brand and save a few pennies here and there.

However, I've been brough up 'to look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves'...

My OH hates veggies, so it's challenging. But I buy Sainsbury's own mini chopped frozen veg (they are literally 1/2cm cubes) and I put a handful in just about everything - spag bol, curry, chilli, stew, soup, lasagne, pasta bakes, etc... Because they can go in the freezer I always have loads in. They're not to my liking, I like chunky fresh veg, but hey, at least it's something. They are usually £1 a bag, sometimes £1.50, sometimes on two for, or Buy One Get One Free, etc...

Each week we look at what we have in - this is key. Don't buy loads of stuff in if you already have stuff in for meals. We do a mini itinerary even when I know pretty much what's in. We then will decide on the meals we'll have, adding in a couple which we have nothing in for. We get these meal ideas from a selection of recipe books we have in which we got given, bought from charity shops, car boots, reduced in supermarkets, for Xmas, etc [tip: old fashioned ones are the ones with the healthiest recipes, less cream and expensive butters, nuts, etc more staples that you will almost certainly have in your cupboards... plus the recipes tend to be easier - no one had fancy equipment in the old days haha and they tend to be tastier!]. My recommendation is 'Grub on a Grant'. It's for students, but you can see the principal. Cheap and quick nutritious recipes. We then write a list of just what we need, nothing else. Tip: do your list in the order of the store layout (roughly) that way you won't have to fight temptation twice as you wind back through the aisles for something you forgot.

We always eat before going shopping so we're not hungry. Even if it's just a banana! That way we don't get tempted by the special offers, or more importantly in store bakery. We tend to go to Sainsbury's, Lidl and Aldi. Asda, Tesco and Morrison's 'basic' or 'smart price' range isn't that nice in our opinion, whereas we can do a white and orange shop at Sainsbury's and it tends to be pretty great quality still! In fact, I'm having their fromage frais (6 pots for 46p) and their onion rings (potato snacks, 12 bags, 75p ish) for lunch!

We don't really deviate from the list and if we do it's because we're stocking up on something (see below) or we're getting treats. You can't be perfect all the time and often, treats are cheaper in the supermarket than buying from the petrol station or movies, for example!

Our shopping for two of us (plus at least one set of dinner guests a week) is between £15 and £30 (depending on how much meat, toilettries we need). It can be higher if we stock up, if we've got a lot in already and have been stocking up we've been known to only need to spend £9 on top ups! :j also ensure that you use supermarket loyalty / price guarantees, etc and always look at your receipts - you never know what money off they might give you

It sounds long and meticulous, but after a few weeks it's second nature and now the whole process takes me around an hour and 15 - 30 minutes max, including unpacking :T

A few people have listed meal ideas but here's my two penneth... :eek:

- Home made pizza (use bread flour and breadmaker yeast that way it only takes 40 minutes to prove, top with cheap passata / chopped tomato, mozzarella ball and veggies. Cheap and yum
- BBQ Chicken Pasta Bake, BBQ Chicken Lasagne. Buy cheap BBQ seasoning and add to passata (cheap and healthy). Then add to chicken and pasta / lasagne sheets. Amazing!
- Sausage casserole. Slow cooker favourite
- Humble beans on toast or jacket spud. Packed with good stuff, cheap and really, really filling :A

And, some final tips...
Fruit and Veg - go to markets, In Shops, etc. We get a bag of veg from a green grocer in town which includes a turnip/swede, a cabbage, carrots, onions and a couple of spuds for £1. They also do bags of salad and cheap class 2 fruit. It just needs eating up quicker. I just buy the greenest bananas and most under ripe fruit I can find because it's all loose you can take your pick. Also consider foraging/pick your own. There's brambles on our back lane and there's a pick your own farm about 15 minutes away from our town which has apples and plums at £2 a kilo right now!
Meat - buy in bulk and freeze when you see it with a yellow label on. I buy extra lean pork or beef mince regularly for a quarter of the price. I buy all of the trays that are on the shelf (within reason!) and I portion it up at home and freeze it :T
Fabric Softener, Loo Roll, etc - look out on HOT DEALS, the forums on here, supermarket flyers, etc and ask friends if they shop there. For example, I shop at Sainsburys and my Mum shops as Asda. If I see a great deal at Asda on loo roll, rather than going to Sainsburys AND Asda, or worse just Asda (where I don't like a lot of the own brand stuff so would buy their mid range brand or premium brand), and spend more money negating the saving, I will ask my Mum to pick them up for me. And vice versa... I have a couple of friends who shop in Tesco and I return the favour for them.

Phew, hope some / a little of that helps. Good luck and above all enjoy this... :beer: have some bubbly (Cava £5 a bottle in Aldi) and a chinese on moving in day - it's a splurge, but worth it X

katyboo123

Frugalista wrote: »

Any chance you could post that recipe on here, please.

I'm not on Faceache and OH loves all things cinnamon.

Thanks in advance .

yes please, for me too! Only it's not my other half, it's me that loves the cinnamon :j

Ami-Rose

katyboo123 wrote: »

Each week we look at what we have in - this is key. Don't buy loads of stuff in if you already have stuff in for meals. We do a mini itinerary even when I know pretty much what's in. We then will decide on the meals we'll have, adding in a couple which we have nothing in for.

...

We don't really deviate from the list and if we do it's because we're stocking up on something (see below) or we're getting treats.

I agree with everything katyboo123 said but especially the bit above! We have a whiteboard with a list of everything we have in the cupboards/fridge/freezer so that nothing gets forgotten. Every Monday I pull everything out again and update it to allow for what we've used in the week, then plan meals based around what we have in. I have pretty small portions so often we'll end up with 3 portions in a meal and one will be my lunch the next day.

I often make double/triple batches too and freeze. One thing you can never have too much of is tupperware! My partner has gone mad lately with the amount I've been buying but you need a really good mix of large, medium and small pots for anything from entire meals to just that small amount of coconut milk left from making a curry!

As for supermarkets, I shop at Asda because it's the closest big shop we have. Top ups occassionally in Tesco but I try to avoid them. I know we could probably cut our food bill more at Aldi/Lidl etc. but we're at a happy medium of not overspending but not scrimping too much either. Plus I love their price promise - I regularly get vouchers of £1-2 which all adds up. Weekly shops ranges from £30 - £80 depending on whether we've run out of meat/are bulk buying etc.

Bulk buying - I often take advantage of the 3 for £10 meat trays and other offers on meat and freeze it in portions although my worst habit is forgetting to defrost it on the day!
We also bulk buy toilet roll, washing powder/fabric softener, cereal, breakfast biscuits (for OH lunches), toiletries, cleaning supplies (more on this in a moment) etc. We have a section of our wardrobe devoted to all our bulk purchases. For example Asda had Crunchy Nut 1kg boxes 2 for £6 instead of £8.04 (I know some of you will shudder at the branded cereal - as I say, we're a happy middle ground!) and we now have enough to last til after Christmas! Along with about 3 85-wash fabric softeners that I grabbed for £3 each and also water down when we're getting near the end.

Slipping the OH veggies was a huge problem for me - we both like different ones as I'm a fusspot too. I do the tiny pieces trick everyone else does - especially with onions as I HATE them but they're such a staple in most recipes! Another meal we both love is vegetable soup - I grab whatever's going cheap/we have leftover (usually carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, parsnip, kale, butternut squash, tomatoes, garlic, onion, peppers etc in a single soup!) chop it all up small (saving the peels etc to make your own stock) simmer it in water with a stock cube or homemade stock for 30-45 minutes then blend it all and spice it up with whatever herbs and spices you like. My OH was very skeptical at first but now doesn't even flinch when I suggest a veg soup.

Which leads me onto my biggest tip - have a well stocked spice rack! Ours is now overflowing and could probably fill 3 because we've got so many. We have the giant bags of Garam Masala and Paprika from the Indian section now because we use them so often!

Cleaning products - you'll want to ferret around the Old Style board for more tips on this stuff but a basic cupboard should always have: bicarbonate of soda, lemons and white vinegar. They can be used for almost all cleaning needs - they've even saved me from bolognese sauce on our cream (rented!) carpet!

In regards to money I'm not sure how to approach it. The OH and I joined money from the moment we moved in together, but it was more a necessity than anything. He moved down from Leicester to Bristol without a job to be with me (young love!) so we were surviving on my paltry wage and some JSA. We still have separate accounts (really need to sort that!) but not a penny is seen as his or mine - it's all ours. Bills are split between us and anything left over is for food, transport etc. We're very low income but that's rising in the new year so we're really looking forward to adding a holidays/fun budget to it (savings is already small but covered)!

Lunches - my OH for over a year bought a meal deal from Tesco every day and it drove me insane. £3 a day on lunch was extortionate to me! After much nagging he agreed to try out making his own sandwiches and is finally a convert. What was £12/week (he works 4 days) is now £4.20 a week. We could do better, but like a said - happy medium!

Hope that helps. We've been living together 2 years now and I think we've finally got it balanced well. I've had to have a lot of time off this year due to health & operations, but somehow we've managed to get through without help from others through a number of frugal tactics. I'm still hugely proud that we've never had any debt.

Enjoy this time together - it's so exciting! Check out The Simple Dollar blog for some great tips/recipes or watch SuperScrimpers for some more fab ideas.

Trixsie1989

Thanks for all the replies everyone,g lad to know I'm not the only one who's doing it this way :-) does anyone know where I can get cheap Tupperware containers from? Xxx

physicsgirl

Trixsie1989 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies everyone,g lad to know I'm not the only one who's doing it this way :-) does anyone know where I can get cheap Tupperware containers from? Xxx

Poundland do the clear plastic ones that Indian takeaways usually come in - 8 for £1, plus some smaller pots, but the range of sizes isn't great. If you have a Wilkinsons near you, then that's probably the best in terms of range and price. The clip-lock tupperwares are definitely better at ensuring nothing leaks out, but take up a bit more space in the freezer!

EstherH

If you have an Ikea near you, they have a good set for around £3. Esther x

Trixsie1989

Thanks Esther, even more reason for a trip to ikea now :-) xxx

Trixsie1989

Does anyone know if you can do a lot with cous cous? Been hearing a few people talking about it but never cooked it lol used to buy it already made from asda! Xxx