Shopping and cooking for one... over budget

[Deleted User]

I do my shopping for myself on a budget of £60.00 per month.I make all my own HM soups and I stopped eating bread as I was just ending up binning it. I eat crackerbread instead and once you get out of the habit of 'sarnies' its easy Plus crackerbreads or ryvitas don't go off.I keep them in a lock'n'lock box for crispness
Bran flakes with a chopped banana or porridge for breakfast.Dinner in the evening can be piles of veg or salad and maybe a small amount of ham,salmon or even just grated cheese.I think you are buying too much as well.List all your stores and work your way through what you have first .A jacket spud with half a tin of beans and some grated cheese make a filling meal in the evening with a piece of fruit. My DD works full time and takes a take-away type box with her to work with a salad in it and some crackers and a yoghurt for lunch and it costs pennies.Celery wrapped in foil lasts for ages in the fridge ,also lettuce I never buy bagged lettuce as its covered in preservatives (ugh chemicals )A small bag with two little gem lettuces lasts at least a week if not more if wrapped seperately in foil.Plus try going into Aldi's or Lidls and having a mooch aroud you'd be suprised what's on offer at a fractoion of the price of the bigger supermarkets.
I spend about a third of my budget on fruit and veg and as yet have never binned anything (after I stopped using bread it seemed to go mouldy far too quickly ).I buy food to eat not throw away so buy less and menu plan it really does make a difference

One_broke_Girl

JackieO wrote: »

I do my shopping for myself on a budget of £60.00 per month.I make all my own HM soups and I stopped eating bread as I was just ending up binning it. I eat crackerbread instead and once you get out of the habit of 'sarnies' its easy Plus crackerbreads or ryvitas don't go off.I keep them in a lock'n'lock box for crispness
Bran flakes with a chopped banana or porridge for breakfast.Dinner in the evening can be piles of veg or salad and maybe a small amount of ham,salmon or even just grated cheese.I think you are buying too much as well.List all your stores and work your way through what you have first .A jacket spud with half a tin of beans and some grated cheese make a filling meal in the evening with a piece of fruit. My DD works full time and takes a take-away type box with her to work with a salad in it and some crackers and a yoghurt for lunch and it costs pennies.Celery wrapped in foil lasts for ages in the fridge ,also lettuce I never buy bagged lettuce as its covered in preservatives (ugh chemicals )A small bag with two little gem lettuces lasts at least a week if not more if wrapped seperately in foil.Plus try going into Aldi's or Lidls and having a mooch aroud you'd be suprised what's on offer at a fractoion of the price of the bigger supermarkets.
I spend about a third of my budget on fruit and veg and as yet have never binned anything (after I stopped using bread it seemed to go mouldy far too quickly ).I buy food to eat not throw away so buy less and menu plan it really does make a difference

How do you do it for £60 a month??!!

I know I'm spending too much but how do I ensure I'm eating healthy and on a budget? What would you say I should be aiming for? I'm not a sandwich person. The thins go well with Peanut butter or for dipping in soup..

icklejulez

Would pitta breads replace the thins? We keep them in the freezer and just take out what we need each morning, toasting them for around 60 seconds.


Kids love them filled with Nutella and banana as a treat for breakfast. Like someone mentioned above, Tesco do them cheap. We buy white and wholemeal ones.

JamesCR

I moved out about a year ago now and when I first had my own place I would spend about £50 a week. I have cut that back to £30 per week by doing the following:

1) Using Sainsburys 3 for £10 offer on meat. I usually get 2x chicken breasts and one Taste the Difference stewing steak. That is the base of 8-10 meals for the slow cooker.

2) Downshifting or whatever that phrase is for dropping brands and going for supermarket's own. Used to buy branded or 'Finest' everything. One example is dropping Dolmio (£1.80 for 500g) for Sainsburys Basic Tomato Pasta Sauce (£0.50 for 500g) and i'd never know the difference. Warburtons Brown Sandwich Thins £1.30 for 6...wholemeal pitta £0.60 for 6.

3) Offers. If you look hard enough whatever you want will be on offer somewhere. Also make use of special offers. I have a £6 off £60 Sainsburys voucher. I'll do 2 weeks at once and use that £6 on some offers to stock my freezer.

I can't recommend a slow cooker enough!

Upsidedown_Bear

One_broke_Girl, have you found the Old Style board yet?
If not do have a read - there's nothing they don't know about saving money especially when it comes to food

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=33

geordie_joe

PasturesNew wrote: »

I hadn't thought of that.... I meant to buy sensible quantities and eat it all ... not buy everything you like the look of and eat it all

I did realise that after I had posted

PlymouthMaid

I like blueberries in my porridge too so I buy the frozen ones from Tesco or Sainsbury and even if you cant freeze them they will last a week in the fridge. If you can squeeze one bag in freezer then you get 2 bags for £4.

tiger_eyes

It's tough to shop, cook and eat efficiently without enough fridge and freezer space. Any chance you can get another freezer?

kerri_gt

JamesCR wrote: »

I moved out about a year ago now and when I first had my own place I would spend about £50 a week. I have cut that back to £30 per week by doing the following:

1) Using Sainsburys 3 for £10 offer on meat. I usually get 2x chicken breasts and one Taste the Difference stewing steak. That is the base of 8-10 meals for the slow cooker.

2) Downshifting or whatever that phrase is for dropping brands and going for supermarket's own. Used to buy branded or 'Finest' everything. One example is dropping Dolmio (£1.80 for 500g) for Sainsburys Basic Tomato Pasta Sauce (£0.50 for 500g) and i'd never know the difference. Warburtons Brown Sandwich Thins £1.30 for 6...wholemeal pitta £0.60 for 6.

3) Offers. If you look hard enough whatever you want will be on offer somewhere. Also make use of special offers. I have a £6 off £60 Sainsburys voucher. I'll do 2 weeks at once and use that £6 on some offers to stock my freezer.

I can't recommend a slow cooker enough!

Even better than buying pasta sauce, make your own. Finely chop of mince a couple of garlic cloves and gently sweat in a pan for a few mins, add in 500g (about 40 - 50p for the basics range) and a handful of chopped basil (I buy fresh herbs while trying to grow my own and freeze, then chop and use as I need them). Season and reduce down to whatever consistency you desire. That's your basic sauce, and you can add anything you want to it, chunky veg, bacon, sundried tomatoes etc etc. much cheaper than bought jars. Keeps for a week or so in the fridge or freeze in portions. Also makes a fab pizza sauce base too.

saterkey

could you get a small fridge for your room? im just thinking that your flatmates may be eating your food. you could stock up on tins in your room, crackers, crispbreads etc.
on the other side, could you arrange to cook a meal each and share the ingredients? maybe one night a week so that's three nights covered. you can get half packs of bread I think just pull out of the freezer what you want to use and defrost.