Need to stop buying so much food.......

lhead123

Thanks everyone.

I guess I just need to make food and give it to him....

I think I will work on shopping and paying attention to how much stuff costs. I shop in Aldi/Lidl/Tesco/Asda, depending on what we need e.g We only all like one type of squash from Tesco, Aldi nappies are the only ones that don't give my son nappy rash...I could go on.

I think I need to work out which shop has what at the cheapest price when I want to go shopping, and not do any top up shops.

Our freezer is tiny, and living in a small 2 bed flat we don't have any space to put another one or a chest freezer. I would love to bulk cook, but after freezing leftovers and having the basics in the freezer there's not much room for anything else. This also stops me getting reduced meats too often as I don't have the space to freeze them. I can buy a week's worth of meat and have all but 2 items in the fridge until they're used, but I can't do the same with reduced stuff as it doesn't last long enough.

I just need to work harder at saving money

Thank you all for the good advice

cuddlymarm

Hi

I have found click and collect to be an excellent way of not overspending. I shop with Mr T, that way I add what I need as I go along, have a look at the offers but the important bit is that I then go through the list before I send it and knock it down to what I can afford. No popping stuff in the basket cos you are hungry or it looks nice. If something's out of stock after you've ordered I have had some really good substitutions too.

Hope this helps a bit
Cuddles

saraih

Having no room to bulk prepare is a pain. Is it possible to try bulk buying in other areas, like sacks of potatoes, rice and onions? all you need is a cool dry cupboard. Asian stores and markets are good for this. Also try buying spices and condiments from Asian shops, they sell it much cheaper and in larger amounts most of the time.

My OH insists on meat but with a lot of it I can half the meat usually used and bulk it up with other stuff and he doesn't notice.

Agreed on the cleaning stuff, I used to waste a small fortune on that. You can make your own wet wipes and things but I find the time is not worth the savings most of the time. Bulk buying usually works well here, our Sunday market sells giant refill things for a lot of cleaning stuff.

Usually you can downgrade one step in the toiletries and not really notice the difference. If you really hate something just bounce it back up in the next shopping list.

I also almost always need a top up shop for one thing or another but now I take a list and buy exactly that and whatever is on oopsie and nothing else. I also just buy less of everything 'extra' now, when it runs out it runs out and they can have more next week

[Deleted User]

Make a list of ALL the stuff you have in stock at the moment I know that I have probably enough food in stock for at least several weeks before I'd start to run out.

Its suprising how many people glance in the cupboard/freezer and say 'Oh there's nothing to eat' and immediately go to the supermarket. I try to limit myself to three times a month for stuff.

I spend around a third of my food budget on fruit and veg.I no longer eat bread at all so don't have to buy it. I use crackers/crisbread type of stuff.But its different for you as you have an OH and family to feed whereas I am a single household.I do bake my own cakes or biscuits as I also have strapping grandsons who can wolf down a cake if its around
I neither buy nor eat crisps as I have never thought they were worth the money,20p for half a sliced up potato I think not :)I'd rather eat an apple or banana for a snack.I make my own HM soup which is so easy and cheap to do and costs pennies.If you have that as part of lunch or as a first course for dinner it fills you up so the main course can be smaller.Less meat more veg is good as well.If your OH thinks its easy to make bread then let him take over the bread making.I have a breadmaker on the top shelf of a cupboard in my kitchen and its sat there for at least 5-6 years never been used at all.I bought it with the intention of using it and it was a bargain price yet its still in the box.It will probably end up in a charity shop when ever I can climb up to get it down..Best gadget in the kitchen I have found is my Slow cooker .makes so many things and is cheap as chips to run.I 'bulk out mince with grated carrot or a handful of oats and it helps to streetch it a bit.Yesterday I mad a vat of soup using a reduced pack of carrot and swede (20p) three sticks of celery a tin of reduced chopped tomatos (22p)some left over diced red paperd, a dollop of lazy garlic and a spoonful of dried coriander,a dash of dried herbs and two vegatable stock cubes and some diced onion from the freezer.I made almost two litres of soup which will last me for lunch and starters for dinner until next Sunday.It probably cost in total about 10p a bowl if that.Cheaper recipes don't have to be just filled with stodge.I grew up during and after WW" so lived with rationg for almost 10 years.My late Mum was amazing in what she could find to make in the cupboard from very little in store we ate pretty well.OK sometimes it got a bit boring and often we were never quite sure what it was meatwise but if asking Mum we were told 'its meat ,eat it and be grateful!!.One cooked meal a day either at lunchtime or in the evening and the rest was often bread and jam or sandwiches and cake if she could get the sugar.Grated cheese streetches further than sliced cheese.Why do you think cafe's or restaraunts use it grated in their sarnies.I can make a resonable meal out of almost anything Even cheese and potato pie layered with onion and a few veg makes a cheap and cheerful meal.My grandsons like cheesey beans on toast sometimes as a filler up.Both full of protien and tasty.Meat is streeetchable with veg.My DD has five children three of whom are still living at home and the boys do have hollow legs but she manages to feed them fairly well by using a dollop of common sense and a few ounces of ingenuity.Thier favourite friday night eat before youth club is some pizzas from Iceland (89p each ) which Mum piles a few extra fillings on, cheese,tomatoes ,beans etc with a few home made chips she sends them all off happy for the evening .Have a good look at the recipes on here there are lots of them around and you can cut back on lots of unecessary bits if your careful
JackieO
P.S. I have pm'd you

LameWolf

Re mealplanning - I do plan, but not "set in stone" planning; so, for instance, we'll have pizza one of the days this week, but it'll be the day I need the BM (sorry, I do use one, my hands are not up to kneading dough, and Mr LW loves the bread I turn out in it) to make a loaf. Probably tomorrow, and mushroom risotto the next day. If we've enough bread that I don't need to make a loaf til Friday, I'll swap the two meals round.

I always make a shopping list and stick to it (that last bit is important). I actually have an ongoing list, which I add to as things run out and I start the "spare one in the cupboard", and I just shop when there's enough to make it worthwhile. Often I get Mr LW to call in @ldi on the way home and grab some milk, as that's the only thing we tend to need to get "right now" iyswim.

I have a spreadsheet with the contents of the freezer and food cupboard listed, which i adjust when something is used and when I've shopped, so it's always easy to see exactly what's in the house.

drusilla

Hi

When you go shopping do you have a list.? Does your OH go shopping with you? We are a bit strapped for cash at the mo and only had £40 to shop with this week. I made a list for Aldi but checked out about how much it would have been at Tesco.

The reason I asked about OH shopping with you is that when we did go shopping I was going to stick to my list but he kept popping other things in to the trolley. Luckily, he had found some money in a suit pocket.

ahomemadetouch

lhead123 wrote: »

Thanks everyone.

I guess I just need to make food and give it to him....

I think I will work on shopping and paying attention to how much stuff costs. I shop in Aldi/Lidl/Tesco/Asda, depending on what we need e.g We only all like one type of squash from Tesco, Aldi nappies are the only ones that don't give my son nappy rash...I could go on.

I think I need to work out which shop has what at the cheapest price when I want to go shopping, and not do any top up shops.

Our freezer is tiny, and living in a small 2 bed flat we don't have any space to put another one or a chest freezer. I would love to bulk cook, but after freezing leftovers and having the basics in the freezer there's not much room for anything else. This also stops me getting reduced meats too often as I don't have the space to freeze them. I can buy a week's worth of meat and have all but 2 items in the fridge until they're used, but I can't do the same with reduced stuff as it doesn't last long enough.

I just need to work harder at saving money

Thank you all for the good advice

i live in a 2 bed flat, we have put a chest freezer in our living room you can get some that are less than 50 cm wide. i totally recommend finding space for one

lessonlearned

I would definitely recommend finding some space for a freezer.

I couldn't stand the thought of eating the same meals several days running, so I just batch cook and freeze for another day. Chillis, bolognese, shepherds pies and any casserole can divided up and frozen.

Also try and build up a well stocked storecupbiard so that you are. It ha I to do too many top up shops. It doesn't have to be in the kitchen. I used to store stuff under the bed or in the bottom of wardrobes when was tight.

Do an inventory of what you have in and do a meal plan before you shop - it should help stop overbuying and reduce waste.

And I agree, if possible shop alone withoutyour OH or the little ones. Im sure you will spend less.

suki1964

Never shop when tired or hungry and try to shop on your own, esp when you are short of time. With a list

I shop in lidl and tesco and there's only about four aisles I go down in tesco. So many aisles of ready made processed foods that we don't eat

First port of call in tesco is the reduced section. If there's something on there reduced enough,the meal plan changes there and then. Tesco has free wifi so I look up recipes when I'm in there if need be to make the best of what's on offer

Our main meat staples are offal and chicken. I'm very lucky that I live pretty close to a chicken processing factory and can buy poultry for peanuts. I still buy the cheaper cuts, the thighs and legs as they take flavouring so well and are never dry. I curry them, use tomato based sauces, add whatever I fancy. I keep a whole shelf of herbs and spices and always have onions,chillies and garlic in the house. A roasting joint is a rarity and only when on special or reduced. A small amount of sliced meat and then fill the plate with veg and yorkies. Never throw anything away I had one cooked lamb chop sat in the fridge that mum had delegated for dog food. I stuck it in the food processor, added an egg, breadcrumbs and spices and made little kofta type things, served in a salad pitta, me and mum fed very well indeed

Pizza, home made. Easy peasy. Needs very little topping. A ball of mozzarella will do three or four pizzas, packet of pepperoni and a few tablespoons of passatta and a sprinkle of basil leaves- delish , cheap and very filling

Only buy seasonal fruit and veg wherever possible. Salad don't have to be boring. Add home made croutons, nuts, olives, fruit. Just chop it all up and dress with a light dressing

Home made soup with home made bread is a very satisfying meal in itself. Make toasted sandwiches to have with it to ring the changes

Buy a small gammon joint. Have it hot on the Sunday. Cold ham egg and chips on the Tuesday and the scraps used in a quiche for Friday or Saturday. It will keep fine in the fridge if stored wrapped

Look at your usual meals and see if you are stuck in a rut and cook the same things week in and out. The what are you having for dinner tonight is really inspirational

Cleaning stuff, for me it's bleach, flash and fairy, hot water and micro fibre Soap powder is bought on special offer, fabric conditioner is vinegar

Bathroom stuff is also bare minimum. Anyone wants extra they buy it themselves

But tbh, no advice in the world is going to work unless you get hubby on board. When I started this frugal lifestyle my hubby kicked and screamed lol. He was always well off as a child and couldn't see the need to cut back. It's now we have a reduced income that he sees the benefit. We do still have a steak once in a while,,but it's a real rare treat. Tonight he's coming home to slow cooked lamb shanks with mash. And he's not even going to get a whole one to himself either lol. But he asked for it as it's now one of his favourite meals. Cheap, tasty tender meat cooked long and slow in a lovely rich gravy and chopped root veg

[Deleted User]

We' ve just started a major savings drive so that we can try and retire early in ten years' time. This means that all budgets have been cut, including our food budget.

We are currently spending £50 a week for two adults and a cat. This is for all food, cleaning products, toilet roll, shampoo, tin foil, cat food etc. This is for all meals, except for four dinners. Husband has a really good, highly subsidised canteen at work where he eats four times a week when he is in the office (costing about £4-£6). So in total we spend about £55 a week.

We save money by:

-Growing some fruit and veg.

- making our own bread. I cook in batches and then freeze. Today, I made two small white loaves, some wholemeal rolls, two small french sticks and two herby cheese loaves.

- I have started shopping online as I can easily stick to the budget and take anything off the list that is not really needed.

- Home brewing! We have just started home brewing. We sold some things on ebay to raise the money for the kit so our first batch, kit and bottles etc has cost us nothing. Fingers crossed it tastes OK.

- Using leftovers. The rule in our house is whoever is being fed does not complain about what is served up even if it is the same meal over two nights.

- Meal planning. Only buy what you need so that food is not wasted.

- Baking instead of buying chocolates / treats.

- Portion control. Make sure you are not eating food for one meal that could be used for leaftovers the next day.

It does take some time to do, but I see it as a job. If I can work at cooking and save £15 a week then over ten years this will be £7,800 extra for our pension fund.

I tend to batch cook and swap what I cook each week. Every week I make a dessert, pudding, or cake and also something else. This week it was lots of bread, next week it will be pizzas for the freezer and then the week after meals for the freezer such as fish pie, lasagne.