£45 per week housekeeping

maman

I could manage on your budget OP. I do it by shopping mostly at Aldi.


As I now have the time, I also buy other bits from places like the £shops or Home Bargains and most of my meat and fish yellow stickered from Sainsbury's.


I promise we're not dirty(:o) but I really don't find that toiletries and cleaning materials need replacing that often. When they do the shops I've mentioned (other than Sainsbury's) have very low priced toiletries.


I cook from scratch but my freezer is my friend so I have plenty of HM ready meals in there and meat portioned up by splitting packs before freezing them. We aren't vegetarians but we have relatively small meat portions padded out with pulses and other vegetables.


I buy quite a lot of my clothes in charity shops. There are some good bargains to be had if you browse regularly.


I would say that I do this from choice because I hate being ripped off and that's what the large supermarkets have been doing for years. I see it as a challenge to eat healthily with no waste as cheaply as possible. Maybe it's because you don't have a choice that it's getting you down.:)

[Deleted User]

Ask the missus, she’s got more rabbit than Sainsbury’s.
£45 a week is very tight but if you need to do it, you need to do it.
Beans on toast can be had 3 or 4 times a week. Value cornflakes and weetabix can be had every day. Big bag of spuds will donloads of meals with sausages, fish and chicken etc. We budget £100 a week for 2 adults and 3 children and a cat and we do ok but don’t eat a lot of meat.
Milk, eggs, bread processed meats are quite cheap so I’d be confident it can be done and if you need to lose some weight you could eat less anyway!

Owain_Moneysaver

I think it's doable but challenging.

Could you try cutting back to £40 for three weeks, then in week four you can go up to £60 and stock up the storecupboards, have a small treat, etc? Then another month or two months at £45, before having another frugal week?

My local Chinese takeaway is £6.10 for 8 sweet and sour chicken balls including sauce and boiled rice. Only £5.80 for some vegetable dishes inc rice.

KaelaLee88

We are a family of 2 Adults and 2 Guinea Pigs and we budget £20.00 a week for food, which is what we spend.

I am Disabled and take medication (which is not a cost factored in due to our location) and we do 1 food shop per week at Aldi and 1 BIG stock-up Shop every 2 months at Tesco. We include all Food, Drink, Cleaners, Bin bags and food-wrap (tin foil) in this. I prepare the food and my Husband gardens and brings in produce.

Our weekly food cost for our Aldi shop is anywhere from £11-14 and our stock-up shop at Tesco normally comes out at around £55. Our stock up shop is purely for Meat Free items for the Freezer which we cannot buy at Aldi (we are not Quorn fans!).

Our best money-saving tips for Food/household cleaners are:
- Make a meal plan and stick to it
- Bulk up on filling Carbs - Potatoes, Rice, Noodles, Oats, Bread, Pasta
- Eat Meat Free Meals or Bulk out Meat Dishes with Veg, Pulses, Grains, etc.
- Shop your cupboards/pantry/freezer/fridge before going to the shops
- Store your food (especially fresh) correctly to elongate the lifespan (remove all packaging/store in open bowls/ add a tea towel or dishcloth to Salad Drawer/bowls to absorb moisture
- Compare Fresh vs. Frozen when at the shops. In season fruit & veg is typically cheaper fresh but this is not a hard and fast rule. Sometimes, the freezer holds the savings!
- Become best buddies with your freezer, it is one of THE BEST ways to preserve food. Be sure to fill your freezer fully and keep the space full (even when nearly empty by using newspaper) to cut down running costs and ensure an even temperature. Store your foods clearly and utilize all space available by freezing flat in reusable, thick food bags (the best and long-lasting we have found are Ikea. They aren't the cheapest but they come in a variety of sizes, hold practically anything and last after being washed-out and re-used).
- Make the most of everything - squeeze tubes & cut them open to get to every last bit of product, use the least amount of product necessary for every job (this includes cleaning/cooking), grate cheese on the smallest grating pattern - make it all go that bit further, freeze breadcrumbs collected from stale bread, cutting rolls and breads.
- Make anything you can - if you can buy it ready made or convenience, you can generally make it at home. In terms of food, this takes practice but you learn SO MANY new skills! I have learnt to can, make jams & salsas, bake, make pastries and breads (everything but Puff pastry!), the list goes on.
- Process everything yourself - whether it's grown at home or bought whole from the Supermarket, cut, peel, grate - process your own meat, veg, fruit, dairy, etc.
- Look at what cleaners you really use. I have tried making homemade cleaners but have found these to be ineffective in really cleaning the home. I use bleach in the toilet & for drains, Caustic Soda to clear blocked drains & clean paths, Dish soap for dishes and a combination of dish soap and disinfectant to clean surfaces, floors, etc. I use 1 can of polish every few years to maintain furniture and 1 bottle of carpet shampoo lasts the same amount of time. The only other cleaners I keep are a liquid descaler for the Kettle and Shower head, descaler tablets and white vinegar. I buy Astonish brand descaler liquid which costs £1 & is not tested on animals. I use white vinegar & water to clean the pig cage/bottle/bowl/toys,etc. I use 1/2 a descaler tablet (bought from Aldi for under £2) to every wash and we do 1 wash a week - using Biological washing powder & fabric softener from Aldi. We get the cheapest of both and use half the amount of powder/softener in each wash - it works just as well.
- Think green and only buy what you need when it comes to personal grooming. A bar of soap will work for the whole body - lasts a long time and is cheap to buy. A 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner does the job to get your hair clean, a metal razor with traditional replaceable blades works for shaving and is much cheaper than buying disposables or sets over time. A shower pouf is nice, as is a loofah or sponge but a flannel will last you forever and can be as cheap as 25p.
- Take the 'basic's challenge', buy own brand/basic/value and see if you really notice a difference - this is also the same for some over the counter medication.
- Consider your energy use. Cut down what you can on clothes washing, having fewer long showers or baths, lighting rooms by using small lamps with low watt bulbs rather than full overhead lamps, energy-conscious cooking. Do some Google Searches and you'll find so much advice, it'll make your head spin!
- Grow what you can!

I hope that some of this helps you. Any big changes to your situation are going to take time to get used to, so give yourself some grace whilst you find your own ways. Remember - necessity is the mother of invention! x

WeegieWumman

Wow! Well done KaelaLee88!
You REALLY put effort into your send. It contains loads of info.

[Deleted User]

KaelaLee88 you are my sister from another mister you could be descibing how I manage. I menu plan every Sunday morning for the coming week and make sure I am using as much as I can if I already have it in the cupboard

I can live very easily on £15.00 per week I spend about a third on fresh fruit and veg at least and I am pretty healthy I grew up post war so remember lots of things my late Mum did to streetch the rations. I make all my own soups for lunch, (and also make cakes and biscuits) or as my first course at dinner time.

If I don't have soup as a starters I will have a small pudding instead. I love veg of anysort so at least a third to a half of my plate os veg. You really don't need huge portions of meat.

I buy a bit of gammon (usually reduced at my local Dobbies for around a tenner and cut in half then frozen until needed

I slow cook the piece in cola and leave to get cold and you have lots of beautiful sliced ham which will do for salads or with veg and the scrappy bits that are left go into a pasta bake or a pea and ahm soup.

Plain basic yogurt can be bought for a big pot about 45p,This will make either flavoured yogurts ( dice up what ever you fancy into it ) for pudding or sometimes a dollop will go into scones or curries.

A pretty reasonable chicken korma can be made and if you use chunky chicken thighs they are cheaper and have just as much flavour and met as breasts.

A few weeks ago I mad a huge vegetable curry and threw almost everything in it I could and portioned up for the freezer I made around 8 portions for around a pound, as the veg was Y/S. and I got a large cauliflower for 20p

So much can be made and 'extended'
i.e. mince, grate some carrot in with it or chuck a handful of lentils or oats it will help streetch the meat to more portions If its for going into a sheps pie you will never notice it.

Add some herbs or grated cheese to mash to give it a bit more flavour. As said your freezer is your friend .

When the weather is very warm you will often see stewing type meat reduced as no one wants stews in the hot weather, snaffle it and chuck in the freezer for the winter time

I got a huge turkey leg last month for 80p its frozen at the moment but it will once slow cooked make a very large turkey curry and at least half a dozen meals with lots of veg chucked in and rice .So many things can be made for very little

I have been cooking for at least the past 60 years and can say that I can rustle up a meal out of almost anytging Go to the library and find Jack Monro's Cooking on a Bootstrap she is brilliant at making something out of nothing or google her as I think she has stuff online as well.
Hope this helps a bit.The Shirley Goode cookbook can be found often in a CS she was brilliant as well

JackieO xx

ceegee

Well, I am touched by all of the helpful replies and suggestions and am comforted that it ain't just me! I really think that I have taken my eye off the ball here. Last week I was looking at detergent. There was a huge box for £10 and a medium box for £5. The £10 box was far and away the most "bargainous", but I bought the £5 box as the £10 box was too big a chunk of my £45. I hated having to do it.....

The reason I do everything weekly is that years ago, mid 1970s, my friendly bank manager (different times!) said that it is easier to live without money for one day a week than it is to live without money for 4/5 days once a month. This has always seemed sensible and has worked for me....it has been a sort of lifeline and comfort.

One specific thing that has been mentioned by a few people is the "re-distribution" of my meagre funds, to enable me to take advantage of bulk buying. Like with the detergent, I have been buying one tin of baked beans, rather than the more bargainous 4 pack. I'd be thinking that we won't need 4 tins of beans in a week. So my thinking has gone to pot a bit.

What I could therefore do, as has been suggested, is work on a 4 week basis, whereby I take, say £40, to do bulk buying where it is worthwhile eg large detergent, 4 pack of beans and so on and then have £35 each week. That does make sense. I have to bear in mind though that I am very limited space wise as my house is tiny.

I will start this next week. I have taken my eye off the ball and have become stuck to a method which is no longer working for me. I have been wanting to post about this for ages, but was a bit scared to be honest! I don't know why!

A huge THANK YOU for all of the replies and suggestions.

caronc

ceegee wrote: »

Well, I am touched by all of the helpful replies and suggestions and am comforted that it ain't just me! I really think that I have taken my eye off the ball here. Last week I was looking at detergent. There was a huge box for £10 and a medium box for £5. The £10 box was far and away the most "bargainous", but I bought the £5 box as the £10 box was too big a chunk of my £45. I hated having to do it.....

The reason I do everything weekly is that years ago, mid 1970s, my friendly bank manager (different times!) said that it is easier to live without money for one day a week than it is to live without money for 4/5 days once a month. This has always seemed sensible and has worked for me....it has been a sort of lifeline and comfort.

One specific thing that has been mentioned by a few people is the "re-distribution" of my meagre funds, to enable me to take advantage of bulk buying. Like with the detergent, I have been buying one tin of baked beans, rather than the more bargainous 4 pack. I'd be thinking that we won't need 4 tins of beans in a week. So my thinking has gone to pot a bit.

What I could therefore do, as has been suggested, is work on a 4 week basis, whereby I take, say £40, to do bulk buying where it is worthwhile eg large detergent, 4 pack of beans and so on and then have £35 each week. That does make sense. I have to bear in mind though that I am very limited space wise as my house is tiny.

I will start this next week. I have taken my eye off the ball and have become stuck to a method which is no longer working for me. I have been wanting to post about this for ages, but was a bit scared to be honest! I don't know why!

A huge THANK YOU for all of the replies and suggestions.

Lovely that you sound a bit more positive, nothing like having a plan to give you a lift:).
Building on what you were saying re being easier to be skint for a day or so rather than a chunk, what I have been doing since the beginning of the year is aiming to shop every 8 or 9 days rather than weekly. For me it was driven by making sure I used what I had rather than mindlessly replenishing. That means every so often you in effect get a "free" week which might help for budgeting for the odd treat etc. or that needed pack of tights. Another thing I do in my "virtual" budget is to hive off any underspends so if I plan to spend £40 but only spend £39 the £1 gets reallocated to my "slush" fund instead of disappearing. I haven't felt any hardship by doing this and eight months in it's become habit rather a "novelty" of being (a bit) more frugal. It's amazing how a £1 here and there mounts up which might help cut you a bit of slack.
Good luck.:D

ceegee

Thank you, caronc! I am feeling more positive now and am looking forward to trying the new way of doing things.

I too have a slush fund, well, 2 slush funds actually! I try every week to put £1 into my moneybox. Any loose bits of change in my purse at the end of my week go into a jar. The money box currently has £14 and there is £2 something in the jar. I'll have money from the jar if I',m a bit short.

micky2phones

Hi, shop every 8 or 9 days and not weekly reminds me many many moons again when you had a wage packet every week with cash in.

I worked with older man who delayed opening his wage packet a day each week until he had two wage packets to open.

He then went away for a weekend, out for dinner, treated his wife of many years to what every she needed/wanted

This is nothing to do with shopping etc but it did take me back to having " cash " weekly. Cash was king and credit was owing the milkman for 10 pints of milk and carton of cream all week til the weekend.

Thanks people for the trip down memory lane