Help to reduce my monthly grocery shop

Stephen_Leak

Bargain_Rzl wrote: »

Hi - even if you don't manage to find a freezer on Freecycle, you should find that it will "pay for itself" within a couple of months, based on the amount you are currently spending on groceries and the ease with which the freezer will enable you to cut that down

Any expenditure on a small freezer can be regarded as an investment.

In the meantime, do a search for any of my recipe offerings on these forums. I usually scale them down to 2 servings. Cook 2, eat 1, save 1 in the fridge for the day after tomorrow. When you get the freezer, you can do bigger batches and save more for longer.

OTOH, don't dismiss tinned foods too quickly. It is certainly a well tried and tested method of food preservation. The only thing is that you do have to keep an eye on all the other stuff the manufacturers insist on putting in as well, but they are getting better.

Blindingly obvious, but shop from a list. If you use something or use something up, put it on the list (and try to remember to take it with you!). If you need something new or different, OK, but add it to the list. If you find a bargain whilst shopping, get it of course, but you can then use the list to see if it can replace anything.

curly_cabbage

jlanky81 wrote: »

I live alone and only have a fridge but no freezer and as a result am buying fresh each week and spending about £200 a month on groceries.

I really need help and suggestions to help reduce this after posting a message on one of the other forums this looks to be the only area I can really cut back to help reduce my outgoings and pay more towards my debt.

Any good routines I can follow???

Hi

I was in your postion in December, i have since then been taking part in the grocery challenge. Each month you set a buget, which you try to keep to. Have a read through some of this months posts you find recipes and meal ideas.
I found making a basic inventory of what i have in my cupboards, fridge and frezzer. Using that list plan the next week or two's menu, longer if you have enough stuff in stock and keeping to it. The key is planning ie. get everything you need out of the frezzer so it ready when you want to start cooking the meal. NOT going to the shops for just one or two items as if your like me you'l buy another 20 things you don't need or already have and always use a shopping list.
I hope this is of help to you, it really helps me. :beer:

CC

wishing4amoneytree

bertiebots wrote: »

. I also have a bread maker and with 5 hungry mouths to feed its a life saver...it costs about 25p a loaf to make your own bread.

whats your full recipe for a 25p loaf? tell me!:j I might go buy a bread maker! Does it go stale quite quick?

Skint_Catt

Is it possible for you to take leftover meals to work and reheat? Like lasagne, pasta, casserole for lunch instead of buying specific ingredients for lunch?

If there's nothing on freecycle do try ebay (you can narrow your search to within 10/25 miles if you're able to collect.)

bertiebots

wishing4amoneytree wrote: »

whats your full recipe for a 25p loaf? tell me!:j I might go buy a bread maker! Does it go stale quite quick?

Bread doesnt stay around in my house long enough to go stale lol:rotfl: !!Right ok I shall try and work this out for you....:o
I shop at sainsburys so here goes(very good quality value stuff)
Sainsburys strong white bread flour is 48p and = 4 loaves
Sainsburys fast action yeast is 65p for 8 sachets .1 sachet =2 loafs
sainsburys basic table salt 23p for 1kg
sunflower oil 99p p/ltr at poundstretchers!
Sugar (granulated) 79p (7.9p per 100g)
I dont bother with milk powder usually...
so thats: 12p flour, yeast 4p, salt.001p?:D sunfower oil 60ml (based on 15ml per tablespoon) 5.5p, sugar 25g 1.9p:D total plus power = 23.4p
And that is for a 2lb loaf which should keep for ....well actually I have no idea because as I say it never ever lasts longer that a day in our house!!:rotfl: For a little more you can make delicious raisin /cheese fruit breads/cakes and even jam in your bm as well as pizza dough etc.I would highly recommend one.Mine is a Morphy Richards fast bake.

bertiebots

***forgot to say you could simply make the 1lb loaf at half the price!! so 11.7p per loaf for a little un!!

wishing4amoneytree

bertiebots wrote: »

Bread doesnt stay around in my house long enough to go stale lol:rotfl: !!Right ok I shall try and work this out for you....:o
I shop at sainsburys so here goes(very good quality value stuff)
Sainsburys strong white bread flour is 48p and = 4 loaves
Sainsburys fast action yeast is 65p for 8 sachets .1 sachet =2 loafs
sainsburys basic table salt 23p for 1kg
sunflower oil 99p p/ltr at poundstretchers!
Sugar (granulated) 79p (7.9p per 100g)
I dont bother with milk powder usually...
so thats: 12p flour, yeast 4p, salt.001p?:D sunfower oil 60ml (based on 15ml per tablespoon) 5.5p, sugar 25g 1.9p:D total plus power = 23.4p
And that is for a 2lb loaf which should keep for ....well actually I have no idea because as I say it never ever lasts longer that a day in our house!!:rotfl: For a little more you can make delicious raisin /cheese fruit breads/cakes and even jam in your bm as well as pizza dough etc.I would highly recommend one.Mine is a Morphy Richards fast bake.

THANKS:D I am on the hunt for a bread maker now! You REALLY had worked that out down to last penny hadnt you!? Im impressed!:T thanks x

bertiebots

wishing4amoneytree wrote: »

THANKS:D I am on the hunt for a bread maker now! You REALLY had worked that out down to last penny hadnt you!? Im impressed!:T thanks x

I aim to please.....:D and I really do recommend a MR fastbake..I love mine ,got it from tesco but try amazon as I believe they will be cheaper !

maytaurus

have a look here for loads of £ saving tips including food/meals

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=235198

eg here 'Tiny budget' ....

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=54558

Cooking for one

Groceries - General grocery savings tips?

got-it-spend-it

I make bread rolls without a breadmaker and it's dead easy. I got the recipe from this site by search 'bread rolls'. As Bertiebots has shown they cost pennies to make a batch and taste like the expensive crusty rolls that you pay 50-60p wach for in a shop.

One of my lightbulb moments in saving on groceries was to meal plan for the next week of fortnight and then just buy what you need to make those meals. Previously I was buying loads of extra salad, fruit and veg because it made me feel healthy, but loads was getting thrown away as we couldn't get through it all. I no longer do this and our shopping bill has pretty much halved just by cutting this waste.

Pizza is a really cheap and easy thing to make from scratch too. I worked it out to cost 54p per generous serving of veggie pizza. The recipe is from this site too. I make two large pizzas at a time which does me and OH for dinner then lunch the next day too, but you could easily halve quantities and just make one at a time. It's also a good way of using up leftover veg for toppings.

I also find Lidl to have some good bargains so go there once a month to pick up cheap tinned tomatoes, oils and fruit and veg.

Hope that helps. It can be done with no impact on the quality of what you're eating. It just takes a little planning.

GISI