Top Five Tips -Food Shop

dan1979

What's your definition of fresh? If you mean fresh from shops then that stuff never freezes well as its not fresh enough and ends up rubbery.

taplady

Mt top 5 tips are

1. list what you've already got in cupboards
2. make a menu plan based on above list
3. make a shopping list
4. As newlywed says dont take your hubby or kids with you!:D
5. Dont shop on an empty tummy

frosty

1)Shop in the evening so you can grab the reduced bargains.
2)Only buy things you can make more than one meal out of.
(lrg chicken=4 different meals,roast,curry,stew and pie.Each meal serves 5 people)IYSWIM.
3)use a three in one pan,I have a large one,potatoes in the bottom,meat in the middle on and veg in the top one.It saves a lot of gas.
4)cook a little extra to freeze, so you always have something for the days you dont feel like cooking.
5)Dont buy all your shopping at one supermarket.I compare on line for the best offers.Aldi and lidl are great value.

Sassamac

You've been offered loads of great advice already so I will stick to just one pearl of wisdom to help you stick to your budget.
Spreadsheets!

I have a spreadsheet set up where I list the total for every grocery spend. Then add this up as you go through the month. I have a ratio so that I know my daily allowance and weekly allowance, not that I spend the same amount every day or even every week but it helps you to know how many days worth of money you have spent so far and how much is left. Its a godsend when you get near to the budget limit at the end of the month because you know exactly how much you have left and have to really make do with only the necessaries.

hollydays

1.Read MSE for tips on cheapest :soap powder (I buy Costco,big tub £10),shower gel (mine 19p Lidl),shampoo I buy very large Treseme bottles when 2 for £4 offer is on,and only buy Stardrops and bleach (oops bleach not very OS),I know! These items can take a lot out of your budget if you dont watch out.Toilet rolls-mm still working on that one.

2. Find out when your Supermarket does its reductions,stock up your freezer.

3.Establish your weaknesses.Do you run out of certain things and have to go to your local expensive convenience store to shop? Or do you change your plans at a minutes notice and have to feed your family in an instant?(With young families the best laid plans often go awry).,etc..

4.When I return from shopping,I save most money when I am not too rushed and i do the following with the reduced items i have bought:chop butter into 8 cubes,freeze.Chop cheese into small cubes,freeze.Seperate bacon slices and fold individualy,freeze. Always have a store of grated cheese,or parmesan when I can get it cheap-it adds a lot of flavour. I store these in zip-up freezer bags i buy from lakeland. All these things can make a very cheap meal,and last a lot longer when portioned.,together with fresh or frozen veg(eg broccoli,peas) ,frozen pre-chopped onions for extra money saving, and rice and pasta and tinnned(or pre cooked frozen) pulses (I prefer cannelini beans)from your cupboard.

5.Save leftovers.Cook a big pan of rice,it will keep in your fridge for about 5 days-makes a delicious quick eggfried rice for a ravenous family,plus base for many other meals,in a hurry.

minibudgetgal

Terrific thread. I agree, batch cooking is great. I do a stack of stuff for the freezer once a month on the weekend, then we have a meal plan for the month, written up on a free calendar from a mag subscription. I do a bulk shop once a month from Tesco (generally about 70-100 quid) and then shop at the market for fruit and veg each saturday, butchers for the meat, and we have a great fishmonger that visits on sat. I am keeping our budget in around 250 per month for 2 adults, 2 kids three dogs and three cats, however we all have lunch away from home. I couldnt do without my breadmaker, and have recently bought a yogurt maker that is going to well pay back the £20 it cost, and a slow cooker bought with gift vouchers.
I would start by doing a list of what you have already, then going hardcore for as long as you can, just eating what you have in. Then mealplan, mealplan, mealplan.
Good luck, even though we are eating really well as a family, getting a bit organised has significantly reduced our grocery bills. We are saving loads.

toniwoty2009

thanks everyone for your tips. i've got some really great ideas.

could anyone tell me though, what sort of things are suitable for freezing? for example i'd like to sometimes have smoothies for b/fast, can i make a big batch and freeze em?
what sort of veg is ok to freeze?

Thanks again!

Harrietxxx

Just thought I would add the use of money off coupons. Some stores such as Tesco accept the coupons even if you do not buy the product, so long as they sell it. The percentage differs from shop to shop, my local Tesco will take half of your bill in coupons, one of each type for non bought items.

Coupons can be picked up in store or cut out of magazines and newspapers, check out the newspaper thread on the discount codes board daily for any coupons and then buy the papers in bulk.

I have saved many hundreds of pounds like this.

HTH

lil_me

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=726853
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=4808
Try those for the freezing questions, I think the only veg I don't freeze are lettuce and cucumber, most I don't bother blanching first either but some recommend it. To be honest I go off the theory of if I can buy it frozen I can freeze it myself. Sundays I always still cook too much, well ok not if Mam arrives but she doesn't always so I need to make extra incase, so whatever is left - meats, roasties, mash, yorkshires, veg, gravy etc all goes into tubs then in the freezer. Once frozen I pop them out of the tubs into freezer bags if I am running short of tubs. Great having spares in the freezer especially if it's just 1 portion worth of each for nights when it's just me to cook for.

www.spendingdiary.co.uk I find great to keep track of spending, very easy to use.

nearlyrich

gunsandbanjos wrote: »

Not seen it mentioned above, but i only scanned the posts so apologies if this has been covered:

www.mysupermarket.co.uk is the best site i have found(apart from this one obviously:o ) for saving money.

that
Thanks I hadn't seen that site before it's great:T