Spending too much !! HELP

furrypig

I agree with Mioliere if I go shopping when Im hungry it's fatal!!

I have been doing my food inventorys this year and finally getting through some of the things n the freezer which is saving money and creating space to keep better stuff there too! I have lots of frozen pastry to use up but it's not so good for the die! Might make something to take to someone else's house thenat least it's shared!!

I do sometimes changeadapt my meal plan to incorporate reduced goods or special offers.

debbiedebt

[quote=owens3116;8062071}

after reading lots of threads on here ive decided i defenity spend too much on food there are two of us with a 1yr old daughter and i mus spend about £90 a week and always seem to have nothing in or nothing for sandiwches > Im so inspired by this site tommorow im gonna do a list of everything i have in (food) and tr to use some of it up i may need some help !
thankyou in advance xx[/quote]

Hi Owens

Like you I spent too much but I've been avidly reading this site since the beginning of January. I am doing all the recommended things like meal planning, making lists and not shopping quite so often. I am also writing down every penny I spend.

I am baking my own bread (in breadmaker) and have ordered my milk from the milkman so I don't have to nip out for these basics and end up spending £20!!

Each week I am spending a little less.

To make sandwiches on Sunday I make a couple of poys of egg mayo and tuna mayo and bulk the sarnies up with salad.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

EC12345

I have to agree with everyone. This website is excellent. Me and husband don't have any debts and also there is just the two of us. We used to spent about £50 to £60 a week on food (yes, just the two of us I know!!) but this is the year we are cutting down - we have upped our payments on our mortgage to pay it off quickly and one area we are cutting down on is food.

I joined the website in January and my weekly food bill has reduced every week. I still budget £50.00 a week but every week since I joined here, it is far less than that, in fact this week it was £37. :j I put the remainder of the money (from the £50) in a pot which I am going to pay into the bank every month. There is already £25 odd in there. It is taking time but everyone on this website is fab and it is really keeping me motivated. Every just knocking off a few extra pounds of the bill every week is really motivating.

Also on the recommendations of the great people here, I have also been nipping into Aldi and Lidl as well.

Queenie

I posted about a shopping list program that can be downloaded (it's free) which you might find useful for creating a shopping list and (hopefully) sticking to it. It's just too easy to go shopping and pick things up on a whim and then get a bit of shocker at the till.

Shopping List Software (Free) <

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that link will take you to the thread on here about the program and links to the download.

How much to you actually set aside for shopping? Or, have you just been spending whatever? You might find it helpful to join in the (January) Grocery Challenge once you've set yourself a budget just for your shopping.

Do you use your shopping money to buy odds and bobs like household stuff? Clothing? Does gift shopping get gobbled up with the shopping money too? These things really should have an amount set aside as part of your regular budget and be separate from your shopping/grocery expenses. If you haven't set up your budget to include most expediture, or maybe if you need to review it, have a read of Martin's Budget Planning Article (useful budget planner you can download in that article too )

Also, once you begin tweaking and pinching the budget a bit, don't lose sight of the savings you've made, join in the PMS Challenge It's amazing how quickly you will see your savings grow.

Do you have a freezer? You can use that to make your own "ready meals" - cook an extra large pot of say chilli or bolognaise sauce and freeze the extra either in single portions or family size portions. I mix half dried soya and half fresh minced beef to make up ours and freeze portions ahead. By adding half soya, it's cutting the cost but not flavour If I have no soya, I use half meat and half red lentils.

Bella79

thankyou so much guys heres my list this week what ive got in dont really want to spend anyhing this week as last week i spent £120 quid in sainsburys !! is it poss to make meals from this stuff without buying in extra ingredients ?

FREEZER
fishfingers
2 garlic kievs
1 pkt sausages
2 sml pork fillets
1 pkt pot smileys
1 pkt chick drumsticks
2 burgers
4 pork loin chops
1 free ange chicken
1 sml bag scampi
1 bag fishcakes
2 chick breasts
4 chicken thighs
1 posssuion (sml chick)

STORECUBOARD
plain and s/r flour
cornflour
gravy granuels
stock cubes
lots of dried herbs
pasta
rice
3 cans tuna
1 can corned beef (need to use this had ages ! )
8 tins toms
3 cans beans
3 cans oxtail soup (hubby has this for lunch i dont like)

FRESH STUFF
bannans
lemons
oranges
onions
potatoes
garlic


thats about it ohh and weetbix and museli ! i dont know where my money goes dont seem to have that much in to say what i spent last week ! mind u i spend a lot on cleaning stuff gonna get myself some stardrops now !!!!

freda

You'll need to get in some veggies to make up balanced meals, but you have a fair bit of other stuff that will make up lots of other meals:

FREEZER
fishfingers one meal with veg and tatties
2 garlic kievs another meal, next time buy chicken breasts and make your own, much tastier.
1 pkt sausages make this go a long way by turning into sausage casserole, which you can bulk out with lentils and kidney beans. Any leftover sauce tastes lovely as a base for a bolognaise sauce for lasagne, spag bol or shepherd's pie.
2 sml pork fillets antoher meal with veg and tatties
1 pkt pot smileys what are these?!
1 pkt chick drumsticks Make into a chicken casserole - again, bulk out with lentils. If there is leftover meat (which there should be if you increase the portion size of veg and tatties) then you can heat it up the next night, cut it off the bone and use as a topping for a rice dish.
2 burgers one meal with rolls and salad
4 pork loin chops two meals
1 free ange chicken Will last for AGES! Roast one day with plenty of roast tatties and veg. Cut off all the leftover meat, make sarnies/salad with the nicest bits. Use the other bits to make pies (chick and ham, chick and leek, chick and mushroom etc), stir fries, rice or pasta dishes - the list is endless. Boil up the carcass with onion and droopy veg to make stock.
1 sml bag scampi one meal
1 bag fishcakes have with salad
2 chick breasts make your own chicken kievs or chicken nuggets
4 chicken thighs chicken casserole again
1 posssuion (sml chick) roast and use up leftovers in other meals

STORECUBOARD
plain and s/r flour Use to make sauces for the pies, pasta and rice dishes. Also look into making your own cakes and treats
cornflour Good for thickening casseroles
gravy granuels
stock cubes
lots of dried herbs
pasta
rice
3 cans tuna One can makes a lovely meal with pasta
1 can corned beef (need to use this had ages ! )
8 tins toms Great for making the sausage casserole, lasagne, bolognaise etc
3 cans beans baked or kidney?
3 cans oxtail soup (hubby has this for lunch i dont like)

FRESH STUFF
bannans
lemons
oranges
onions
potatoes Make sure you are storing these properly so they last for ever - in a paper bag (NOT plastic) in a cool dark cupboard
garlic

Hope this gives you some ideas. Recipes (I think) are on https://www.lbym.co.uk

Bella79

WOW thankyou so much !! ill go and get some veggies from lidil and get cooking i would never have thought of jst using what i have in i would have doen another big shop
can u give me a idea for a psta bake ?

the beans are baked beans x

Skint_Catt

pot smilies are those processed potatoe shapes like chips/waffles. They would go with one meal as your potato serving

Sorry to hijak but where would I get a paper bag big enough for a large bag of spuds. I keep ours in the garage (cool and dark) but they still sprout fairly quickly!

purpleivy

I read somewhere else here that an old pillow case would do the job. If you don't have one, ask at your charity shop, they quite often have that sort of stuff that they can't put out for sale.

Primrose

Skint-Catt - if you can't find a paper bag big enough for storing your potatoes, an old cotton pillow case will do. You can probably pick them up very cheaply in a charity shop. The darker colour the better, to help keep the light out.