Can you live of basic/value/smartprice food for a month?

lindsaygalaxy

Hi All

Im thinking of October being a basic month, in time to save some extra money for Christmas.

I already have the odd value items, but what inspired me is in Sainsburys, they have some booklets for students, on filling your cupboard with basic food, and eating for basic food. So im thinking of giving it a go for a month see how much I can save.

What do other people think?:beer:

Emmzi

I'd be interested to see how it goes! But also reccomend buying *lots* of ketchup in case things need covered!

seriously, if you buy as much as possible from 'ingredients' (veggies, lentils etc) and as little as possible pre-made - you should have a great diet! It's these 80p pre-made cottage pies etc that scare the dickens out of me...

azjh77

My cupboard IS filled (well I say filled there's not much left!) with basic food...my Mum refuses to shop with me anymore as she is embarassed by all the 'white tins' I load the conveyor belt with!

PasturesNew

I used to not live near a Tesco - and I used to stock up on their 10p tinned peas and 10p tinned carrots twice a year.

There'd be about 20 cans of each in my trolley.

For Asda - I LOVE the 19p small cans of meatballs in tomato sauce. These are great "as is" if you want a quick meal - serve on a bed of rice or on top of some cheap noodles.

immoral_angeluk

Uh we do every month.. is that a bad thing then??

Jacks_xxx

:wave: Hiya hon!

That's pretty much how we try and shop these days - but with plenty of fruit and veg thrown in. (Oooh, you'd be amazed at the things I can do with Value mince! :rotfl: )

I've been considering feeding the kids mince every night for a while and seeing how loing it is before they comment!

I'm quite intrigued by the idea of that Sainsbury's booklet though. I might pick one up and see if I can get some new ideas.

Cheers chick!

Love Jacks xxx

Racklen

i buy a mix of products but always stock up on the basics with smart price lines such as tinned veg, beand, museli, tissues, cleaning products, pulses, ( wish they would do a smart price couscous)

sadly i only like hienz tomato soup thats my main down fall , and i do love more expensive coffee but at least buying an asda home brand granules i drink less of it

my mum and dad are the same so they are pro me thinking of the pennies and trying to eat well

ewho wants to be a jones anyway

i also shop once a month on lione and fill my freezer and cupboards with ceral , tins veg and meat then i only need to buy fresh fruit , bread , milk and yogurts each week

OberonSH

I have to say I haven't set foot inside a supermarket for months - except to get my coffee pods & milk. I shop at my local market, and a bag of veggies (average 5lb local pots, bunch of local carrots with greenery, a celeriac, an aubergine & a courgette plus a net of onions) has never cost me over the £5 mark. Just a sham OH is a rabid carnivore. The meat stall do a great selection of joints, chicken breasts etc 3 packs for a £5, theres a cooked chicken stand who gives them away for £1 each at the end of the day (Sunday dinner sorted) and the cooked meat stall is always giving my extra slices.

So my advice would be to not forget your local market! Cheap as chips, better service and better quality than mostof the supermarkets I used to visit.

rog2

OberonSH wrote: »

So my advice would be to not forget your local market! Cheap as chips, better service and better quality than mostof the supermarkets I used to visit.

It's great if you live somewhere that still has a proper market - we have a 'market hall' and it's 'okay' if you want to buy cheap, inferior quality, cases or clothes imported from sweatshops in Asia - but food-wise NADA - there's a 'Cheese Stall' but twice as expensive as the 'deli's' in town, and a 'pet-food' guy.
Once a month, there is a 'Farmer's Market', actually in the town centre, but you really have to look to find the bargains (and the quality). Occasionally there is a 'French Market', but whilst that has good 'curiosity value' very few bargain prices.
Not like the city markets in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and London, but we do have ALDI and LIDL - so we use 'value' food all the time.

OberonSH

That is the problem in many areas - Grimsby has 2 markets, and they're both great - we're really lucky. The farmer's market is great too, but a bit pricier (mind the lamb guy is so worth it £3.60 for a neck fillet and it makes 4-5 servings of the best lamb stew)

Before we used the market, we used Netto, their beans are really nice but I found their veggies went off really quickly.

Racklen

i have the same problem with not driving i live in a small town which with all the farmers near buy should do a farmers market but they stoped about 20 years ago( my mums told me about i was just a nipper then).id love that so i cant wait till next year when i learn to drive and can buy less from the bigger shops and support more local smaller shops & go to farmers markets etc in near by towns/villages

(just then need to get my other half to eat a more varied diet)