Eating for one month on £60

FrugalJo

fairy3 wrote: »

Have been watching this thread with interest and have got some great ideas thanks dbelle for starting it.


Frugaljo - your situation sounds like mine! Have 3 teens a dog, the packed lunch nightmare and after school munchie dilemma, if you do a challenge I will gladly join you.

MRSMCAWBER - you are so inspiring keep it up!

G
X

Hi Fairy3
Because my payday is midmonth I 've never joined in the monthly grocery challenge sticky at the top, I suppose it wouldn't be out of place there, might go have a read see if we can jump in at any point..
Hopefully work my way down to £80 - £100 a month.

Thinking of setting up a 'pac-man budget' cos that's what the kids are like when it comes to eating ! Finally it's sunk in I'm not buying anymore junk. and they are starting to eat more fruit, however think a few attempts at HM Cereal bars and hobnobs are called for, they do need some bulk, even it just stops then fridge raiding for 30 minutes !

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

Thanks Lynzpower... that recipe looks lovely, I may have to have a go at that if hubby hasnt eaten the pistatios soon ... bet he remembers them tonight :rolleyes:

FrugalJo,

My hubby gets paid every 28 days, so our pay day moves too... i now work on a 4 week basis rather than a monthly... so much easier for me... mind you i got my "housekeeping" on monday.... and im still spending last times :rotfl: I find shopping weekly much better, i know ms SIL tries monthly - but all that happens is that all the "goodies" get eaten in the first week or so.. then she ends up topping up and spending a fortune...

If you get short on ideas for goodies for the "hollow legged" members of the family, let me know as i have a stupid amount of cookery books/mags and id happily dig you out some "snacky/goody " recipes(i always have my head in a cookery book....when im not cooking, or buying food to cook:rotfl: ).... i have spotted some lovely recipes for cakes, biscuits etc but im doing Froggas weight loss campaign at the moment..so i haven't dared make them yet .... may start doing some soon..... portion them up and put them in the freezer in the laundryroom (in the cellar)..that way i wont eat them on a whim...if i cant see them they arent there :rotfl:

MRSMCAWBER

Hello everyone....

Well week 4 shopping complete....:T only actually "needed" milk, but whilst i was in there i picked up some stuff that will make the next 4 weeks even easier (in theory :rotfl: )...thought id get some stuff cooked and frozen - Im managing to get a few portions put away.... planning on keeping to this budget :j ...and anything left over from the 80 Euros is going in a pot, for when i need toiletries etc...so thats 10.50euros to save this time :j -at this rate i will have more tins/pots with savings in :rotfl:, and im opening a German bank account when i get my next housekeeping, and then every month when i get my new housekeeping, all that left from the month before is going in there... should build up quite well hopefully....

So i spent 16.60euros, and got :-

• 2 packs of bacon lardons...great for throwing into a creamy sauce for pasta, omellets, etc
• 2 x 1 kilo pork joints
• 2 x 1 kilo pack soup pork - pretty much like spare ribs -but with plenty of meat on.... and 50c a kilo....about 35p :eek: .. will get turned into broths/soups
• 1 x 1/2kilo meat - kind of a cross between gammon/proper hand carved ham but heavily smoked like bacon.. ... which is again great in pasta or im putting some with a chicken portion to make a chicken n ham pie...as its a strong taste you don't need much:T
• 3 lt milk
• 6 x 250g yogurts
• 2 blocks fresh yeast
• 1 pack lard.... found it at last
• 1 tin pineapple
• lrg tin peach halves
• 1 tin mandarins
• 2 tins sweet corn
• 1 tin kidney beans
• 4 x 500ml passata

I have allready had one of the pork joints in the slow cooker, with -carrots, onions, dried soup mix (barley, peas etc) some frozen mushrooms, then added some gravy and its gone all thick, so i have frozen 2 portions, and made 2 pies (each to serve 2) -1 for tonight and one to freeze.

Think next shop i want to get a big pack of mince to turn into sausages, meatballs, etc - wouldnt get it yesterday as the other supermarket i use has it on for roughly £1.70 a kilo..its half beef half pork and great for that kind of thing.... oh and another box of chicken portions....as i will have plently of pork dishes frozen,

Hope you are going OK dbelle - and anyone else thats doing this...

Must go and alter my signature:D

dbelle

Hello!
Christ i've been busy! Work has caught up with me and I've been away at the weekend too.

Did my shop that I put on there before, £21 which is a bit over but I had to leave it in the hands of the Mr!

Next weeks shop should be fairly cheap so that should make up for it.

Glad you are all getting on ok.

I am still :eek: about how cheap food is in germany!

lynzpower

I feel like getting a 1p ryanair flight to germany and not coming back :rotfl:

UNbelievable :T

Mind you they say we are the most expensive place in Europe to eat, I can now see why :eek:

MRSMCAWBER

hi Dbelle

So glad that you are ok.....apart from work... i reckon you are doing a great job, still on target - its amazing when you think how much you "could" spend isnt it!!

Lynzpower...

We have a spare room ...

We are here for 3 years.... possibly 5 if we are lucky and then it will be back to the UK .. i don't know what im gonna do then :eek: , mind you by then we will be debt free and mortgage free - well once hubbies army pension clears - his lump sum is paying that off :T

I think that shopping is so cheap here as the Germans pay such high taxes... i believe it works out at about 50% of their earnings...(although their services are amazing - i have been in the hospital here once - it was like a hotel) so they keep food prices lower - we have all the benefits without the taxes. .... We pay no tv liecence, no car tax, fuel work out at less than half the price in the UK and then the army give hubby extra pay for being abroad ... And if we want an item over 50euros we can get a form and get the tax taken off:T

I have warned my mum that im gonna be infilltrating her spare bedroom, washpowder, loo rolls, cleaning stuff... anything without a sell by date :rotfl: .. i took some extras back last time.... 2.5kilo boxes of proper calgon powder worked out about £7 and last forever, washpowder £7.00 for a 10kilo box... you can pay a bit more for persil etc - but im not bothered

I think the main thing for me over here is the choice you have.. it really is amazing - so you could spend a fortune... but im being good .. although the other day when i went they had stollen and pannatone in stock - ready for xmas....how tempting... but i will resist until i make 1 for xmas:rotfl:

Have to say the pie i made using the pork and veg went down a storm... it always seems, when i concoct things as i go along they work better :rotfl:

Well i had better get off for now, can't wait to see what you have been buying and making mmmm

newlywed

Thanks for this thread. Although there are 4 of us and I know we could never reach as low as £60 a month it has inspired me to see how low I can get next month's shopping (waiting desperately for payday at the moment).

We now have an Aldi nearby and having looked through my receipts and worked out price comparisons between that and Tesco, Co-op and Sainsbury I can't believe some of the differences.

So from now on I plan to only buy lean bacon and lean steak mince from Aldi. Kids cereals will be from Aldi/Lidl. Apple juice and ham (don't like the value versions of these) will come from Lidl (personally prefer their ham to Aldi even though Aldi is 20p cheaper).

Tuna in springwater works out cheapest from Sainsbury (it's usually the brine or oil versions that have offers in other supermarkets).

Although there are some things I can't seem to find an alternative to in those shops I now plan to be more aware at the price differences between Tesco, Sainsbury and Co-op and look out more for special offers (especially on half decent loo roll and boxes of tissues).

Now I need to plan my list more carefully so as to visit each supermarket for the specific things I need/want. Although they are each only 10 mins drive from work or home I don't want to have to go to 3 supermarkets every week!! :eek:

So as soon as I reach payday I will keep a much more careful note and see how much I can save. Thanks guys, this has boosted my motivation more than the grocery challenge.

MRSMCAWBER

Hi all :wave:

Well today is the start of round 2 for me..... managed to get to the end of the 1st 4 weeks with 10.50euros left_party_ .....so that has gone in a pot for when i find bargains that are to good to miss.... like my chicken portions - it would get me 6kilos /20 portions....

Have got hubby taking me shopping tonight...Aldi me thinks - its the cheapest place for broccoli, yogs, milk and quite a few of my basics....hubby is bowling tommorow evening so i am popping to the supermarket underneath - and if they don't have any of my chicken portions in - i may ... but if they do have them.... i may cause a riot, as i will be emptying the shelf :whistle:

I went on www.mysupermarket.com yesterday, and out of curiosity used one of my shopping lists, and selected the nearest items to them that i could... mainly using their own brands.... it gives you the price for your shopping in 4 different supermarkets - i posted what i found somewhere else, but thought id put it on here too.... i was so shocked...

ASDA-£20.31
TESCO-£20.95
SAINSBURY-£23.70
OCADO-£29.07 :shocked: .....
when i transfered my bill from euros to £s...it came in at roughly £11.25...

Hope everyone else is still doing ok..... will pop back tonight and update you on what i have picked up:D

dizzydux

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but its definitely money saving.

Recently I used to buy instant custard powder in packets or a jar, and sometimes ready made in a tin, which is quite expensive.
Then I bought a drum of Bird's custard - its lasting ages.
You can make as much as you want - its so easy in the microwave- a jug or basin - however many tablespoons of powder you need mixed to a smooth paste with milk, then stir in the rest of the milk, put it in the microwave and cook on full for a couple of minutes. I watch it and stir with a fork now and again. According to how much custard you're making you may need to do it longer, but its easy - and don't forget to leave room in the jug or it might boil over.
After all with ready made you have to put it into something and heat it.

Custard goes well with stewed apples/ blackberries- should be plenty of windfalls around at the moment and blackberries on the hedgerows - which can be frozen for later. Look for a microwave sponge pudding recipe - so much nicer and cheaper than ready made.

:j

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

ok, thats the shopping done :j .....spent 21euros.... and got..

4 litres fresh milk -
large fabric softener -concentrated
4x 250g yogurts
1/2lb butter
1litre walnut icecream - hubby:rolleyes:
1 lrg tin sweetcorn
pot creme fraiche
lrg tin peach halves
2 x tins mandarins
2 x 500g mince half beef/pork
1kg plain flour
50 teabags
2kilo onions
5kilo onions - were to good to miss:D
1kilo beetroot - to boil mmmm
large bottle wasing up liquid
500g broccoli
500g nobby greens

With what i have left over from last 4 week challenge i have heaps - plenty of pork, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, etc...and obviously the wash liquid (1lt for 35p and its looks nice and thick) and the fabric softener (2lt concentrate 70p) will last quite a while...especially when i have poured the concentrate into a bigger bottle and let it down -hubby uses the same amount even if its concentrate - so that will stop him :rotfl: and i think the onions might last more than the week:p

Decided tomorrow might have to be a bake day... thought id make some cheese, potato n onion pasties,
savoury meat roll pasties
meat, potato, onion n carrot pasties...
and whist im at it im hoping to get some soup made out of the bones....
I thought the pasties would make the meat go further and i have developed an addiction to homemade sage pastry:D .... the plain flour was 25p for a kilo-so it doesnt look like the price rises are affecting here.....yet

Well hopefully that will be all my spends for this week - fingers crossed... hope everyone else is doing well:T