How to reduce food bill?

Sharon87

Second on the brand shift down challenge. If your kids don't see the packet it's coming from could you switch out a brand for a supermarket own brand or value brand? If they really don't like it you can always try another brand that's cheaper.

I find batch cooking to be good for me when I'm I don't have much time, it's perfect to grab something from the freezer and eat it.

Do you waste a lot of fresh food? If so, use your freezer, I've started chopping vegetables and freezing them. I think only certain vegetables work well, not all of them. This will help so if you do a food shop once a month, you can still use veggies that you've frozen later on in the month, without having to go out and do a top up shop and then getting tempted by other things!

rogue999

We always have 1 'cheap night' (as we call it) a week - either jacket potatoes and beans, beans on toast, eggs on toast, home made soup and crusty bread - usually midweek and it makes quick dinner when we've been at work. Must cost about £1 for all of us.

Also I don't eat meat so we have a lot of veggie meals - quorn 'chicken' style pieces are often on offer for £1/£1.50 and will make a 'chicken' curry for all of us (2 adults and 2 kids 10 and 12). Kids and DH don't mind even though they are meat eaters and it works out A LOT cheaper. Same goes for the quorn mince in chills/bolognese etc.

[Deleted User]

Can you qualify for an Iceland home delivery - boy I had my first home delivery today for frozen and fresh items, must say I was rather impressed.

8pnoodles

Thanks everyone.

I vaguely remember from last time around there was a recipes section in old style. We still use the shepherds pie recipe I found from there!

I don't really do cooking. I find it really stressful! So husband does most of it.

I need to write down a list of cheap meals and then shop accordingly.

The kids never eat the same as us (they really only eat toast with one of two toppings, or hot dogs, burgers, chicken nuggets or the sausages out of a tin of beans and sausages from Heinz, or breakfast cereal. They also eat one type of fruit pot that's supposed to be for babies. They eat no fruit, veg, pasta, rice, other meat, etc.)

But we're pretty much stuck with their diet and it could be worse.

I tend to oscillate between oven pizzas, chocolate and crisps all day and then go on a mad health kick and have tuna salads or chicken salads and sweet potato with green smoothies for a few months. Husband has slightly more normal food tastes.

I'm trying to cut out junk food but eat healthy normal meals now, so shepherds pie, spag bol. Husband uses the slow cooker and does some lovely things in it.

We got into debt because of the kids really. You can't even begin to plan and budget when you are constantly trying to occupy two boisterous inventive kids on the spectrum. It had got so bad sometimes I couldn't even go to the toilet without taking one with me so I knew there wouldn't be a fight.

We moved house in the spring. To a brand new area. Got a mortgage for the first time(!!!) and husband was unemployed and job hunting and it was a bit of a nightmare.
He got a job but works very long hours (which he's trying to cut back as he doesn't get paid for it!).

One of my kids is no longer in school after a series of very traumatic experiences at school for him (and me). I've spent my days trying to home school him, fend off meltdowns, try and deal with his brother who I still have to get to school, literally kicking and screaming. And simultaneously fight the local authority to help support my son who is at home and try and find him a school place.

Looks like I'm taking them to court this year.

So yeah, that "budgeting" thing went flying out the window with a big crash.

A lot of the debt is a low interest car loan for a car we needed badly. But then recently the credit cards have gone mad (Christmas didn't help!) and me also buying stuff to home school my son - or attempt to at least!

We'd also planned for me to work part time but obviously I can't do that now!

I wasn't even too bothered about the debt but I think reading here recently made me realise if DH was ever let go at work, we would be in a whole lot of trouble.

We need to pay off the debts and have an emergency fund set up.

Right, off to look at recipes...

getmore4less

Start with the waste audit, keep a diary of what you throw out.

Often the easiest initial fix is to cut waste.

If you are buying stuff you don't eat you won't even notice if you stop buying it(except maybe time cooking it).

It can also help to do a detailed breakdown of what you buy.

It is a lot easier to cut back if you know where the money goes.

Identify some no brainer bulk buys, when an item you use lots of is at a low point bulk buy(easy for the long shelf life like cans and jars).

If space is limited identify the cycles everything is cheap at more than one point a year, some just rotate round the supermarkets.

eg When Branston beans hit 64p for 4 in Tesco(I think lowest ever price) we bought 2 years worth.

Use the online tools to get the stuff you do buy cheaper.

All this will save you money before you start brand tarting or trying to create cheap meals.

meal planning, to change the cost base, you need to know what your meals cost now.

The detail is critical but once on top and the changes start to work you find you can back off a bit.

Samsonite1

I would definitely say that if you can cook massive portions of food, then freeze some and keep some in the fridge for the week, you can save so much money. Keep plugging away at trying different foods with the kids - e.g. let them try yours and keep trying new things: curry, bolognese, chilli, shepherd's pie, tomato pasta, pesto pasta, etc. If you do find something your kids will eat that is cost effective then you are better off. Even if you make sure you and your OH's meals are cost effective then it will help. Making more and freezing it is going to save money (if you have a freezer of course!).

Towser

Budget Shopping List - Can you show me a more frugal way?

Fresh, frozen & chilled
Chicken breast pieces
White fish fillets
Bacon
Chicken wings/thighs/legs (depending on preference and price)
625g cheddar cheese
2 x 1% fat/semi skimmed milk 4pts
8 Pork sausages
Sunflower spread
2 x 6 pack fromage frais
Vanilla ice cream
Frozen mixed veg
Coleslaw

Dried goods
1 kg rice
Pizza base mix
Cornflakes
Porridge oats
Variety pack biscuits (remove from list and bake your own if you have biscuit ingredients at home)
12 pack crisps
Jelly

Tins, cartons & bottles
500g dried pasta
Tin of sweetcorn
Creamed tomatoes/passata
Tomato puree
Tin of red kidney beans
Tin of green lentils
2 x tins of baked beans
Tin of haricot beans
2 x tins chopped tomatoes
2 x bottles high juice squash
4 x 1 litre cartons pure fruit juice
1 tin tuna

Bakery
1 large baguette
2 x 8 pack crumpets
3 x sliced wholemeal/white loaves
2 x 6 pack pitta bread
12 pack scones (remove from list and bake your own if you have scone ingredients at home)

Fresh Fruit & Vegetables
Bag of of mixed peppers
Bag of onions
Bag potatoes
Broccoli (for fish pie)
2 leeks
Bag of carrots
Garlic
Bag of apples
Basics bananas
Basics pears
Mushrooms
2 x lemons

nyermen

Definitely cook extra and freeze. Works differently for me - I tend to cook something big saturday/sunday, bulk it up that I can unfreeze the following week when I get home late from work. Stops it being pizza or a microwave meal that way.

I've been thinking about a spreadsheet with lots of recipes that as you "choose" the month's menu, it can try and help indicate what else to choose for best value (buy more chicken this week, buy a bigger pack of X that's cheaper by weight, etc) Might try building a proof of concept if I ever get some time free. My aim is to still shop weekly / bi-weekly (I prefer fresher meat etc.) but optimise to a larger single monthly shop, along with the whole month's costs known upfront. (Yes I'm a YNAB-er :P)

Towser

Make the most from Aldi's meat offers and Veg Super Six and meal plan around those. Good honest fayre.

I am going to watch this thread with interest as food has always been one of my biggest spends annually.

Towser

Have an egg chips and beans day of the week.
Have a spaghetti bolognese day of the week made with at least 5 tins of tomatoes a batch load can work out really cheap.