Top Five Tips -Food Shop

be-happy_2

Good thread!

This is what I do:

1. Online shop every few weeks for 'heavy' shopping like, tins, flour, washing powder etc. I bulk buy mainly value brands.

2. Shop locally if you can for fresh food as this cuts down on waste. I do this daily and only buy what I need for that day. It means I can take advantage of reduced items while they are still fresh, but I am lucky that I have a choice of shops within walking distance.

3. If we have a more expensive meal (eg. meat, fresh veg etc) one day, I will do a cheap meal the next. (eg. jacket potatoes or egg and beans on toast or pasta etc.)

4. Don't harbour any brand loyalty. I buy whichever conditioner is on a bogof at boots, and I stock up on it if it's a good deal. The same goes for other toiletries.

5. Can't think of a fifth!

curly_cabbage

taplady wrote: »

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

:T :T :T :T :T :T

These are great, exactly what i would say they are the rules i have kept to this month and last and i have really made a dent in reducing my shopping budget. The only thing i would add would be to nevr through away left over, there is always somthing you can do with them.

CC

maypole

hollydays wrote: »

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 haricot 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.

Fried rice, one of my favourite leftover dishes, you can add anything to it and make it delicious.

joeybinx

I used to go to the supermarket and do a big weekly shop each week. I'd find I would spend more than I wanted, nabbing "bargains", throw more away because it had gone off by the time I had to eat it - and wasting money.

Now, I go there and do a fortnightly shop of basics ONLY - cereals, rice, pasta, toilet rolls, that kind of thing - but every day (or every couple of days) I go out and buy what I need for that day from the local veggie shop, butcher, fishmonger etc to go with what I bought in the supermarket. It's cheaper to buy say - three sausages for a meal than to buy a pack of 6 just because they come in a supermarket pack (and you always end up eating them anyway). The same goes for ham, eggs - allsorts - just buy however much you need that day. Less waste, better quality (I find) and you're supporting your local businesses too! :T

Olliebeak

joeybinx wrote: »

......It's cheaper to buy say - three sausages for a meal than to buy a pack of 6 just because they come in a supermarket pack .....

When buying packs from the supermarket, try splitting them into 'portion sizes' before freezing - saves me a small fortune - especially as the larger packs work out far cheaper than the smaller ones!

There's only 2 of us here the majority of the time - and I buy the large trays of minced beef (2 kg trays). I split these into 8 x 250g useable amounts and put into small freezer bags secured with those twisty ties. Just get out whatever is needed - depending on how many I'm cooking for. Same with chicken portions/pork chops/steaks. Liver and kidnesy get put into small freezer boxes - there's WAY too much in a pack - but I'm not going to pass them up when reduced to 49p with the yellow stickers.

Primrose

On the question of which veggies to freeze, those high in liquid don't freeze successfully, i.e. salads, cucumbers, etc. Tomatos don't freeze whole but freeze very successfully when purreed down with onions.
Cauliflower, broccoli, beans, carrots freeze well. Chop into suitable size, blanch in boiling water for 2 mins. Drain & cool off in cold water for 2 mins and bag up in suitable size portions, or freeze-dry singly on a freezer tray and then bag up. If you don't individually freeze-dry them, they will still contain a lot of water and stick together in one solid clump which will be impossible to break down so you will need to freeze them in the portion size you need. Root veggies like parsnips and swede are best kept in a cool place rather than frozen.

toniwoty2009

i just noticed we got a mention in the weekly email - how exciting!! (i think maybe i should get out more?!)
thanks for all your tips everyone! xxx

terill

I agree with gunsandbanjos about mysupermarket.com and just to add that if you do it through the ipoints website you get 2 points for every pound spent :j

char85

I don't know what people will think about this but it's something I have started doing recently...
I always used to drink semi skimmed milk, but did a taste test and found i couldnt tell the difference between that, and full fat milk diluted with 1/3 - 1/2 water. I buy a litre of full fat milk (costs the same as semi) and that instantly turns into almost 2 litres, meaning I'm buying half as much milk. Can be used in exactly the same way as all other milk - i made a delish cheese sauce last night!
Just off to the market now to get myself some bargains...
Happy money saving

Wiggly_Worm

Awesome thread, thanks!
Just a few to add:
*Use dried milk in cooking - I always keep some in the cupboard and it's way cheaper than using fresh for eg pancakes, porridge or cheese sauce
*LISTS!!! Meal plan and shopping list - without these you will go waaaay overbudget
*Any leftovers can be put into a pot and frozen - eg if kids don't eat all their mash or veg, or you have some brocolli stalks left - when the pot is full, make it into soup! Bulk it out further with pearl barley and lentils for a lovely broth. We love our soup box

LOL about leaving kids behind when you shop, ain't that the truth!

AND, because I do try so hard, and often fail, to run to a miniscule budget, I would like to admit to feeding a family of four on approx £250 a month. I know loads of people on here spend half that, but there, take comfort those who don't!