10 more days - help needed

linniloo

Dear all,
I hope you may be able to help - New Year's resolution was about spending less on food. I'm clearing out the cupboards and freezer and have managed the whole month on less than £150 for all shopping including cleaning stuff and loo roll etc - probably half what we usually spend so it's an achievement for me and a great start to the year (2 adults, 1 2yr old) by using up stuff we already had.
(We also potty trained my dd so we wouldn't spend more on nappies, cream and wipes apart from 1 nappy for night).

I have £29 left of my budget for the next 10 days. I have 7 evening meals and breakfasts mostly sorted but I need to do one final shop and I don't want to mess it up!!

I need 3 loaves and about 8 pints of milk, plus 3 packs of butter as a basic list, plus I need a few other bits for sandwiches and 2 other evening meals. Where should I go and what should I buy?! I'm desperate to get it right... I have a Tesco, sainsbo, morrisons, aldi, lidl, FarmFoods and Iceland I can access.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards,
Linniloo

tessie_bear

that seems a lot of butter are u baking ?....8 pints for 10 days is that enough ?be careful with what you buy for lunches as i find that can really mount up mince is good for cheap meals....spag bol/chilli/sheps pie eggs are cheap and can be used for a few dishes

id be tempted not to do a big shop and just spend some and keep some incase u need summat

u sound like u doing a ggod job....have a look on old style board u will get lots of hints
hth

linniloo

Ha ha, hi Tessie Bear! Thank you for your reply. It IS a lot of butter but hubbie won't have anything cheaper and he layers it on. Also, I prefer not to give dd the additives/chemicals in margarine just yet so butter it is!! We have about 7 pints of milk already so the 8 would be to finish us off till I get paid. Husband drinks loads of tea but takes it black so it's just me and the little one to worry about... I have 3 trays of mince already, one defrosting for tomorrow night's tea! I went to Iceland earlier in the month and although it was mostly junk food I liked the fact it was in 75p/£1/£1.50 denominations so I could keep track of everything in my head, plus the lady who served me was lovely! I might do that again tomorrow. Even their sarnie stuff was a fair bit cheaper than the big 5. I almost fainted when I saw how expensive Sainsburs meat is :0

I will look at the old style board for some hints, thank you for the suggestion.

georgia1

I would buy a bag of lentils to add to the mince to pad it out. I would also add loads of veg eg grated carrot, peppers (you can buy a bag of frozen ones for £1 in Tesco and used them from frozen). Then you could get double the usual quantities of bolognaise sauce from one mince pack. You could use this sauce for lasagne/shepherd's pie as well as Tessie Bear suggested.

Mrs_Rachel_Trelfa

Don't forget the humble potato. So much you can do, boiled, mash, roast, chip, jacket, potato cake/rostie, gratan. Beans on jacket potato with cheese is a tasty cheap meal.

maman

Just called by to wish you luck.

Agree about the huge amount of butter. Do try and get DH on board and perhaps he can, at least, spread it a little more thinly.

rachbc

if your hubby is eating a lb of butter a week then you have more than your grocery budget to worry about!! I agree butter is better than marg but 1 pack lasts us a family of 4 (inc a toast guzzling teen) over a week.

I'd go to lidl and get their half price weekend bacon - its the good dry cure stuff this week - maybe a bacon and pasta dish one night or bacon sarnies for lunch? Aldi super 6 is always worth a look too. What about soup of lunch instead of sarnies - educe he butter usage and avoid expensive cut meat? Or look about for a small gammon joint that could be a evening meal then cold the next day - both morrisons and lidl have had reduced post christmas joints here.

Squirrel85

Spag bol has got to be one of the cheapest things to make and if you drain the cheap stuff well i don't think it's bad at all. I also have a trick of adding qourn mince to pad it out. Mixed with real beef my fussy hubby can't tell the difference. I think it is on offer in tesco. I make bulk and freeze it in 2lt icecream tubs which does my fam (2 adults 1 2yr old) for a meal a tub. Dried Spaghetti is so cheap and i believe the value brands taste exactly the same as the branded.

I also agree that lentils are great for padding out all sorts of meals, sausage casserole, soups etc. Cous Cous is quite good too. Potatoes are fab. We have jacket potatoes most weeks.

Have you tried going yellow sticker shopping in the evening for reductions? I then build my menu around whatever cheap meat i can get.

For vedge i find Lidl to be cheapest.

I avoid Iceland because i don't think it is a healthy way to eat although i know it is cheap.

Home made pizza can be very cheap, esp if vegetarian- although don't need much topping so good for using up dregs of meat.

I have a bread maker and find that a fairly a cheap way to make bread although it does need to be made fresh each day, or frozen.

Smoked sausage pasta bake when the sausage is on offer is a reasonable and large meal.

We enjoy pasta in a basic homemade tomato sauce with a little cheese and olives. Very inexpensive.

Frozen Tesco Value Chicken pieces are good value and can be very versatile: marinated, casseroles, currys, crumbed etc.

You can get away with using very little meat in stir fries as well.

I assume you are already avoiding brands and going for value label alternatives?

Lunches:
Eggs are versatile and very cheap - omelettes, quiche, sarnies, boiled, dippy, scrambled, poached, egg fried rice. Tesco Value cream cheese tastes same as philadelphia.

Hope helps, all the best.::T

Squirrel85

Just thought - -corned beef hash and tuna pasta bake really cheap to make.

Places like B&M and home bargains good for some bits, esp. condiments.

linniloo

Thank you all do much - I've just written a massively long reply and it didn't post so I'll keep it brief!! What a fantastic lot of ideas though, thank you!

I have remembered, from reading your replies about corned beef hash, an old recipe my nan used to make which is corned beef, tinned veg, potato and beef stock in pastry - if I make a big enough one it'll last us for days. And it's delicious!! I have everything in stock apart from the spuds so they'll have to go on the list.

I do agree about the butter, it is unhealthy and it will have to stop soon.

My plan is to read all the replies, make a list and go to aldi first thing tomorrow when it's quiet and I can concentrate. I have even managed to get my sister to swap to Aldi and she was a devout Morrisons lover. Fortunately they refitted our local one and now it's horrible - the layout makes no sense so she was looking for a change.

Yes, you are right about the eggs, Squirrel - I remember the adverts of the 1990/2000s about the versatility of eggs - boiled egg and onion? It's a bit basic.

I'll let you all know how I get on. I think we're going to make it!!!

Gigervamp

If you want meat for sandwiches, buy a small roasting joint, cook and slice. It works out much cheaper than buying sliced meats.