Can't get my shopping below £70.00!!

redmel1621

I am exactly the same, every week I try to spend less, it just doesn't happen. Maybe I am at the lowest I can get to.

This week I have meal planned and tried ordering just the ingredients i need....I have spent more than normal.....

Mel x

thriftlady_2

Just wondering if any of these posts have been helpful to the OP ?:)

mum2kathryn

brila wrote: »

I could write a book about the barmy things that people get sold for their baby. One of my favourites is a £9 pink wristband to wear on one wrist or the other so you remember which side you nursed with last. quote]

:eek:

You can get these for £1 from the NCT and the money raised goes to train breastfeeding councellors!

belfastgirl23

I know I always say the same thing but using www.mysupermarket.com or online shopping makes a huge difference to me. It means I can plan and can check prices out properly rather than the hassle of being in the supermarket and trying to crane past other shoppers to see what costs are for different things. Also means I can take advantage of any bargains (I always give the special offers section a thorough going over ). I have been known to do an online shop, print the list, cancel the shopping and go in and follow the list instore. For aldi/lidl etc who aren't on mysupermarket.com its easy enough to note down the prices of your key items that they stock since they don't have a huge range anyway.

You can always pick up £5 off codes on the codes and discounts board if you want to get your shopping delivered which normally covers the delivery fee and if you have a LO at home this in itself might be useful.

good luck!

Penny-Pincher!!

If I need to cut right backI make a meal plan based around what we have in and stick to the items I only need to buy. We buy cheaper items or ones on special. If you go to the supermarket around 7-8pm they have many items reduced, sometimes to pennies. Bread is always reduced around here and we only like the dearer loaves (£1+ each), so when they are reduced to 20-40p..we stock up and freeze them.

Padding the meals out can be cheaper. I pad out shepherds pies, curries, stews etc with baked beans or lentils etc. Once a week we have something FREE or leftover....chips from spuds and a left over egg..etc...or soup and a toasted sarnie so the oven doesnt go on. Make double and freeze one by stretching out. Buy a larger chicken for a few pence more and make a curry with the leftovers and a soup with the carcass.

HTH

PP
xx

newlywed

I find Aldi/Lidl mostly good value. Aldi meats are good, lean mince is nice (although looked very dodgy colour in there today). Aldi frozen chicken breast pieces are good, as are their frozen fish pieces. Frozen veg all fine and fresh veg in our Aldi is usually much nicer looking than our Lidl's. Aldi low fat yoghurts are nice.

Having said that, I don't get all my shopping in those two, so I have found it cheaper to go to Sainsburys for a few things, Tesco for some, and then Aldi/Lidl for as much as I can. I worked this out by making a small price book of things we buy all the time - eg cereals, bacon, gammon, fish, tuna, apple juice etc.

Just keeping a note of those few things showed me how much I could save by switching to several shops instead of just one

newlywed

Also look to the main portion of your meal and work out how much it really costs - eg I used to look at fresh salmon and think £5 (plus veg) to feed two of us was good compared to a restaurant.

This forum made me think differently for £2 pack of extra lean mince I can make 8 portions of s/pie or lasagna when bulked out with lentils and veg. Or for that same £5 I could get a chicken to do a roast for 4 of us, do 4 extra meals with the other meat (eg chicken pie/risotto or curry) and then use the carcass to make stock after.

I thought I was doing ok but all the help here made me realise I could do much better

sammy_kaye18

nicky

I would echo what everyone before me has written.

My family is me, my OH, our 3 year old son, my 6 year old step son on weekends, 1 dog and 3 terrapins and we are managing on £80 for us and £10 for pets a month.

• meal plan, - remeber chicken dosnt cover just one meal if planned correctly
• do a store cupboard challenge
• make extra and freeze it, whether its using a few extra apples in another pie or making a crumble etc it is always in the freezer for a rainy day when you dont feel like cooking. The same can be applied ot pasta sauces, shepherds pies etc etc (i know this helps us as bf doesnt have a definate finishing hour and goes to college once a week so he can jsut come hoem and heat one up)
• Take advantage of BOGOF, reduced sections etc. - im lucky to work in a food coop so get cheap reduced bread rolls in the evenings i work but i always check tesco for bits and pieces (like i have 8 porkchops and a pack of diced casserole beef ofr about £4 the other day!) once frozen they are fine to use at a later date.
• Dont be freaked out by value products. We use alot of them form the toilet roll to the beans to nappies in Mr T. I find it good value and it keeps me in budget, find what you like and use them, you wont like everything but some of them are just as good as brand names.
• Get a store cupboard. Knowing you have a reserve fo things not only can put your mind at ease but can help make a few more meals so the tendancy to spend is reduced. I know ihave LOTS of pasta in my house for example which is alwyas good for having as spaghetti bolognese, cheesy sauces, pasta bakes, adding to soups etc. My bf used to laugh at me because whenwe first moved intogehter i went shopping and brought 4 packs of the tescos own value 12pk toilet rolls which cost me about £6, i put them all away in the cupboard in our bathroom and when he looked in there he laughed at me sayign did i think there was going to a toilet roll ban soon, but its always handy to have and one less thing to buy. Plus my friend in work with a MAKRO card has offered to pick me up a big box of washign powder and more toilet rolls when he next goes before christmas (60 toilet rolls for about £8 or something) so i will be on the makro site soon having a snoop!!!!
• Bulk out items, whether its using pasta, beans, lentil,veg etc it pads meals out and makes them stretch that little bit further or makes a few extra freezable options then its worth it
• Make your own, you could hand bake rolls if you have the time etc, but make your own cakes, biscuits, puddings, takeaway alternatives etc.
• Does your partner take a packed lunch to work or does he take money to work??
• baby stuff, again make your own, food wise i use to set aside one day a week when bf would have LO and would spend the whoel day making him food, it was basically boiled, steamed veg etc pureed down and i would do a huge batch cook of mashed potato and freeze that too so i had his veg done ready adn a meal on hand within minutes for him. This also cost me very little as a bag of potatos was about £2, bag of carrots was 50p, bag of peas was 80p-£1,brocolli is about 60p so in total it made me over 2 weeks worth of food for him easily (as well as gettign him eating veg) for £5. this can also be done with apples pureed down and pears are pretty good too.
• Look at the discount threads, and the boots threads , they nearly always have vouchers for somethign or another nad there are plenty of tescos vouchers on line to either help with money off or points on your balance which help at hte end of the yealry quarters and you get the vouchers back.

Hope i havent nagged on just wanted to give you a few of my tips etc. They alwys come in handy and little changes can help alot

thriftlady_2

thriftlady wrote: »

Just wondering if any of these posts have been helpful to the OP ?:)

Again wondering if we've been of any help -not that it really matters, but my post (#6) took ages to write and I lost half of it and had to start again. Sorry to sound disgruntled, and I see 8 people have found it useful, but has any of this been useful to the OP ?

PasturesNew

Dunno ... she only posted the twice, then sodded off.