How I saved £££ a month.. and how to save more?

B'sKitchen

Thanks for sharing Pollycat. Seems like my biggest mistake is meal planning and then shopping for all that's on my list, instead of meal planning around sales and stocking up. Also, lack of big freezer does not help.

I'm off to search for some interesting Jackie O posts!

Pollycat

B'sKitchen wrote: »

Thanks for sharing Pollycat. Seems like my biggest mistake is meal planning and then shopping for all that's on my list, instead of meal planning around sales and stocking up. Also, lack of big freezer does not help.

I'm off to search for some interesting Jackie O posts!

Try this one:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php

Re my menu plan:
I have it on Excel so I can move things around as my ideas change.
And I can browse back over what I've cooked previously.
I also have my freezer inventory on there too.
And a note of how many portions things have made
e.g. 3lb mince, 2 tins tomatoes, 2 passata, 2 tins of red kidney beans and canellini beans made x portions of chilli.

But I am a nerdy geek.

B'sKitchen

Ha! I love a good spreadsheet myself! but never thought about keeping track of portions! Great idea!

Pollycat

B'sKitchen wrote: »

Ha! I love a good spreadsheet myself! but never thought about keeping track of portions! Great idea!

And it's easy to add notes for new recipes e.g. one recent recipe said pancetta but I made a note on the menu plan that chorizo would have been better.

It's a work in progress.

Crystal_Pixie

This is a great thread.


As someone who works full time it is a bit tricky to go out and find bargains each week. So I stick to ordering online for basics getting a vegetable box delivered and using my local butcher for bulk buys on meat.


Lidl and Aldi are great but for bulk buys I would add that Costco is very good. I tend to go there quarterly for things like large bags of coffee beans, lentils, tins and toiletries.


One other thing I have discovered is the electric pressure cooker! Soup in five minutes is wonderful. Any vegetables I have left at the end of the week go into soup for lunches. I invested in a food flask for work and never looked back.

[Deleted User]

Pollycat we are sisters from a different mister I think My son in law has just bought a King Pro pressure cooker and is raving about it.

I have a slow cooker (in fact I have two ) which I wouldn't be without and I too batch cook.

My frozen ready meals are half the price, twice as nice and in the rectangular plastic ex-chinese meal boxes scrounged from the family, are cheap as chips to make.

So much nicer when you look in the freezer and think 'Hm I fancy that for dinner tonight' and yank out a cottage pie or chilli and then the veg takes only a few minute to do.

I steam my veg, tastes nicer. Rice to go with the chilli doesn't take long feet up with a cuppa (or something stronger ) and its soon cooked.

I menu plan on a Sunday morning and usually cook and bake then as well.Although I am retired, I am out most days at clubs or visiting and have quite a busy life as I also look after three (was five ) of my DDs children after school and during the holidays so when I get in at night I want to know that what I am haing for my dinner is already defrosted in the fridge ready to whup into the microwave, and the veg is prepped to cook.

Definitely only use cash to buy food, and stick to the shopping list I now only shop around twice a month now, (got it down to a fine art )

But I am adaptable with the menu if I can streetch stuff out I will and my freezer is my best buddy

JackieO xx

meer53

I've got a Pressure King Pro too, it's brilliant.

NineDeuce

You could have basically said 'Go to Lidl'. It would have saved you 5 paragraphs of this essay.

Hardly revolutionary...

Punkygoth

Hi All,

Apologies if this is on here already, but I wondered how any of you save money when doing online grocery shopping?

99% of the time I am not able to go and do a grocery shop for health reasons.

I am aware of MySupermarket, but I wondered what other tricks people use?

micky2phones

Punkygoth wrote: »

Hi All,

Apologies if this is on here already, but I wondered how any of you save money when doing online grocery shopping?

99% of the time I am not able to go and do a grocery shop for health reasons.

I am aware of MySupermarket, but I wondered what other tricks people use?

Hi, when i shop online i always check the price of an item as i order and dont automatically re order as it may be £1.00 one week

But the next time you order its £1.99.