Reducing food costs

notanewuser

JackieO wrote: »

Wow that an awful lot of coffee beans isn't it How much did they cost ??? I love coffee but I buy ground coffee and decent stuff costs me a fortune

It is! 36kg cost me £100.

barbaraemmerson

notanewuser wrote: »

It is! 36kg cost me £100.

wow - where was this from please? Use loads of coffee beans - my one real indulgence - and I am not worried about use by dates at all - and not poisoned myself yet - even fresh food - the sniff test works for me!!!

barbaraemmerson

I can highly recommend shopping in Aldi - bought 2lbs of mince yesterday at 30% off and a lb of lamb mince again 30% off along with 2 chickens - 30% off yesterday - made a saucepan of chilli yesterday - used a third on nachos last night, a box in the fridge for chilli con carne in the week and an extra meal in the freezer. The lamb was cooked this morning for shepherds pie which we have just had for lunch - again an extra box in the freezer for next week - the two chickens will be cooked together for roast chicken dinner tomorrow and the remains will be frozen for chicken pie next week - when you get into the way of home cooking/buying reduced price goods then your shopping bill will come way down...... and the meat in Aldi is absolutely fine!!!

notanewuser

barbaraemmerson wrote: »

wow - where was this from please? Use loads of coffee beans - my one real indulgence - and I am not worried about use by dates at all - and not poisoned myself yet - even fresh food - the sniff test works for me!!!

Bloke on eBay. Was local so I collected.

hairypitz

Hi
My partner and I both left our jobs (combined come of 60K) and returned to uni to retrain(student loan combined income= !!!!!! all)
We wanted to eat as well as we could on as little as possible. Aldi, Lidl and Home Bargains became our holy trinity.
Every weekend Lidl has half price specials and they're different every week. I always know what's coming each week and stock up on whatever's good.
Aldi has super 6 and it's a great way to get a good range of fruit and veg at bargain prices. If pears are on super 6 they go in my lunch box, if it's apples then that's what I eat.
Both supermarkets have meat offers and whenever they're on I stock up my freezer. I'm also a big fan of 1kilo boxes of chicken thighs and/or drumsticks and big boxes of mince for meatballs, spag bol, chilli etc.
We make packed lunch every day, bring picnic food on long journeys, eat lots of eggs or porridge for breakfast as they keep you full for ages and don't buy what we want to eat so much as what's good value to eat this week. We eat incredibly well and healthily too.
For sweet treats, like a bar of chocolate, some Jamaica cake Home Bargains really is very good value. Once you buy toiletries and household products here you'll also wonder why you ever paid more.
Lidl and Aldi also sell good quality household cleaning supplies and toiletries at a low price.
Me and the OH are now both back in full time employment but our shopping habits haven't changed that much. The quality of food in Aldi and Lidl is so good we haven't traded up and I still look out for reduced stickers on meat for the freezer. I sometimes get teased for my packed lunch but then I'm not spending £15/week on a sandwich.
All I can say is give these places a try. You'll be surprised at how well you can eat and how much you'll save.

Prothet_of_Doom

Involve the older kids in this adventure too. Show them the figures, show them what you spend, explain that you want to cut it by 50% and ask for ideas.
Get them shopping for bargains.

My son (20) is great to go shopping with. Being a tight student he has an eye for a bargain. Take the kids shopping and give each the task of obtaining one meal for all of you for say £5.

camNolliesMUMMY

We are a family of four we average £45 a week shop. Once a month I buy 5kg of chicken breast from makro £19.99.

Weekly shopping done at aldi, and we are very happy with the food and cleaning products from there.
Nappies are a must they are as good as pampers n loads cheaper £4.49 for a pack of 40 in a size 5+ the wipes are 65p and are good.
We love their version of walkers 30 packs for £2.69 even my mother who is fussy loves them and is now a happy shopper at aldi too.
Washing up liquid £1 for a huge bottle that lasts us 1 month.
Super six on fruit n veg and I find they last longer than from asda n tesco.
Mince £2.69 I think for 750g I cook it all in a home made bolognaise sauce with carrots onions chick peas etc chucked in bulked out with soya mince and oats. I have managed to make three meals out of it. Bol, shepherds pie, chilli.

Tonight will be shepherds pie just chucked in the gravy in half of what's left from the Bol, added thyme n frozen mixed veg. And Monday night will be chilli, so I've already chucked in kidney beans, crushed chilli, cayenne pepper n frozen it ready to go.

We cook fakeaways either from scratch or if I'm in b&m or home bargains to pick up super cheap cooking sauces to keep in the cupboard.
I've learnt to make our takeaway fav by buying the takeaway secret recipe books such as, chinese chicken curry, piri piri chicken, chicken chow mein, chicken bhuna n tikka masala., and even doner kebabs (but can buy kebab meat at farmfoods for £2 a bag already sliced, I cook tandoori chicken n mix it together in pittas with salad n garlic mint mayo).

Think of buying big sacks of spuds, rice, pasta, toilet roll etc think about letting the kids make their own packed lunch if they are old enough.

Keep takeaways to a minimum, but I guarantee if it's made at home it tastes loads better! And cheaper I find making curries in the slow cooker taste fab!

If your buying chicken in supermarkets it's more expensive, try a local Asian/ethnic butcher or supermarket and buy enough for a month or borrow someone's makro card.
I can get 2kg of chicken breast at a near by ethnic supermarket for £7.99 or boneless chicken thighs £5.99 for 2kg. And they do not shrink, I individually bag them and freeze so I only get out what I need.

But I would look at aldi on mysupermarket and try adding your shopping list online to compare the price, it's been known and advertised that their products are either beating or are rated as good as brands in blind tests.

grubbynuts

This week I shopped in Aldi rather than Sainsburys, did a comparable
shop to what I usually buy and was amazed to find it cost HALF the
price.Got three large shopping bags full but no meat or fish this week.
It must be the cheapest supermarket around.
PS; always make a list and stick to it.

Good luck

rockm87

you can always make your own home cleaners. there are loads of recipes online.

many are based on products already in your cupboard, white vinegar & bicarb usually.

but check our the recipes online, as these can save you a fortune!!

ElkyElky

I bought a loaf of bread from Co-op that was reduced to 15p, going out of date that day. This was in November 2013.

Stuck it in the freezer and pretty much forgot about it till this year. I enjoyed the last 2 slices last week, toasted with cheese spread on it. Tasted just fine, although noticeable that it wasn't fresh. Still, it provided me with a perfectly adequate meal.

I'm a huge believer of using my senses for determining out of date products as opposed to what the label tells me. Also refuse to waste food unless it can make me seriously ill so for as long as people continue to go starving in this world, I won't bin food the moment it reaches best before.