Help me reduce my shopping bill!!

RoxieW

Hi All

First of all, forgive me as a newbie - I may not be up on etiquette and lingo!

Decided to post here as, although all my debt is student debt and so not of any pressing urgency, this seems like a great place to get money saving tips.

Bit about me - I'm 25 and a mum to a 3 and 4 year old. Hubby works full time, as did I. However, since Sept I've jumped off of the career ladder and am a stay at home mum. My oldest started school and it hit that I only had a 18 mths before my youngest did too - and I wanted to make the most of that time. I also wanted to be able to pick up and drop off my son from school and be involved in a way thats very difficult as a working mum. I love being at home and fell I made a good decision for my boys. But obviously, out income as dropped and £1000 a month is a big drop.

Anyway, the upshot is, i'm now trying to really cut down. We've dropped down our sky to the basic package, are generally going out less but I really would like any extra tips on reducing food budget. We used to spend spend spend on food - everything was organic and 'finest' from marks and spencers and sainsburies. We also entertained once a week with dinner and went out to eat once a week. Obviously all of that has stopped and I'm shopping at Asda or Tesco. my problem is that the stores are sooo huge and I tend to get abit flummoxed between all the different brands. Is it best to just buy all smart price?

Anyway, any shopping tips or just general tips would be great.

Thanks in advance and Hi!!!

clarab_3

Hi Roxie, Elsewhere on the site there's a Money-saving Old Style board that is FULL of excellent hints for cutting shopping bills, storecupboard dinners, cheaper cleaning... They put it better than I ever could!

RoxieW

thanks clara, will check that out.

beanielou

Meal plan!
Write a list & stick to it.
For me its the so called impulse buys that bump it up.Sigh.

beanielou

Ooh sorry Roxie.
Meant to say hi & welcome to MSE.
Good luck.

PasturesNew

One way is to go to the shop (with lots of spare time) and look at the p/100g of what you were about to buy - then compare that cost with the p/100g of the other choices. Maybe just changing a brand or two will knock 20% off your shopping without even changing much at all.

e.g. heinz beans - 42p/can Supermarket own brand beans - 25p/can. Well, that would be a saving of almost 50%

Even potatoes it is possible to buy at 50-60% off simply by shopping by p/100g. I never buy actual 'baking potatoes'. I buy cheap ones and bake 3.

So it's quite easy to make an instant 20% saving across the board (or more) just by being p/100g aware.

suzialwaysbroke

I find that shopping online is good for comparing p/100g, & you don't feel stupid standing in the aisle peering at all the labels to compare. (Also far less stressful). Shop for fruit & veg at g/grocers, meat at butchers, which are also much better value for money than any of the supermarkets

MissKJ

If you cook fresh at home, you won't need to be buying organic and expensive produce. Home cooking simply is far better. Do you have space to grow some of your own? We have some members who have chickens and veg patches and such like. Sounds wonderful if you have space/ time and little ones to enjoy the experience.

Also, you don't need to give up on entertaining. My friends and family always bring contributions, and again if you have time you can cook wonderful food for friends on a small budget. It is good to socialise if you aren't getting out much.

RoxieW

Thanks all, will try comparing the p/100g. I have done online shopping before but always cringe at the £5 delivery charge. Its a good idea to dtop mne getting fustered and just getting anything thou. And for keeping track of cost so may give it another go! a guess £5 is a small price to pay for my saturday morning back!! Thanks Miss KJ, I have to admit I love having people round and hate the thought of giving it up, but would end up spending £70 on food/drinks for the night. As we've got children we like having people round to ours to save on a bbsitter but I guess its abit of a false economy! Anyway, I'm used to being the hostess in my group of friends (and i enjoy it - dont get me wrong), but others to maybe bring drinks/desert is a good thought.

i love the idea of growing my own, but in practice i'm not so sure. i have a little herb garden and things keep dying! I'm definately not the green fingered type!

RoxieW

pls forgive my awful typos - one child balanced on knee while typing!

carlih1

Hey if you look on the dicount codes and vouchers board they normall have codes for free delivery and sometimes money off your shop, it's worth a look!

I'm trying to do the same thing as you at the moment, so pm me if you want any help or just a kick up the preverbial!! xxx