How do you all spend so little?

purpleivy

BrandNewDay wrote: »

The Value/Smart Price/Betta Buy lines definitely make a difference. I've read the "What to avoid" thread and I see that there is a wide variance on what people like and don't like. Maybe it's my crass Yankee tastebuds, but I do not find the Smart Price tea bags horrendous. So, I advise giving things a try. (If you have a fussy family member, try switching the cheap stuff into the name brand packaging. )

Ah well, Tesco value teabags are not good, not many of them are, then you find some that are OK, then the next time you get that brand they've changed them!

As for your crass Yankee tastebuds..............I've never ever had a decent cup of tea in the USA! So maybe that's why you haven't noticed that they aren't that good *ducks to avoid swipe from BND*

purpleivy

unixgirluk wrote: »

check out the soya mince in places like Holland and Barratt (though some bigger Tesco's have it) much cheaper than quorn brand.

I find quorn products expensive.

thriftlady_2

I used to be able to do my weekly shop for about £60, but lately I'm regularly going above £85. Price rises account for some of this, but really I've taken my eye off the ball a bit and am just buying too much food. I keep saying I'm not going to buy anymore until all the cupboards are bare but it never seems to happen.

So one way to keep your bill down is to buy less and another really good way is to cut out or reduce meat and fish as they are the expensive items.

belfastgirl23

I've found that having a breadmaker has helped a lot - think I must have been spending a lot of money on bread. Keeps me out of the shops and avoids the extras you buy when you just pop in for a loaf too...

Other thing is that I've found my spending came down gradually as I picked up hints and tips so don't be too discouraged.

Bitsy_Beans

madsmum wrote: »

Where I live we have a Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose. No cheap shops sadly.

Thanks all

MM

I tend to shop at Sainsbury's which most people would say is the most expensive but I really like their Basics brand. I have tried some of the stuff from Tesco's Value and I didn't like it.
what I can recommend from Sainsbury's Basics is:

tinned baked bean/spaghetti
tinned toms
fairtrade bananas - they say there are supposed to be 8 of them in the pack but I routinely find 9-11 in there
basic potatoes - large bag. I have found these just as tasty as the more expensive range and are mostly seem better quality in terms of not throwing them away due to manky parts of the potato
basics apples - it states on the front of the packaging what variety of apples so one week it will be Braeburns and then a few weeks later they will be Gala apples etc
basic peppers, although you normally only get around 1 red pepper
basic onions
Basic chocolate - this is actually really nice and even my mum likes it and she's far more fussy than me. I buy their basic rice crispies and make chocolate rice crispie cakes with my toddler although i tend to eat the majority of them
Basic biscuits - if you're really not into you home baking these are just as good as the more expensive brand

Food wise I am sure there are more products I buy. Toiletries wise I use their basic pantyliners, kitchen roll etc all are OK.
Don't buy their bleach as I found it too thin and I definately recommend you buy some Stardrops multipurpose cleaner (to be found on the bottom shelf in the aisle where Cif etc is displayed). This stuff is FAB and I don't buy any other cleaning agents any more. It lasts for ages (unlike Cif etc) and they sell it for 75p.

the only thing I do spend money on is their organic carrots. I LOVE carrots and the organic taste so much better - this is my treat

bertiebots

I am sorry for probably stating the obvious but buying supermarket own brand everything would probably drastically reduce your food bill. And if you can I would suggest trying all the value/basics versions of what you would normaly buy. They are so cheap it wont be the end of the world if you dont like them...;) I for eg buy sainsburys basics cornflakes at 29p for 500g, kelloggs are over £2!! Another of my favourite value buys is a basics jar of curry sauce @ 4p and its absolutley fab honest (with value rice of course!!).Any other is around £1 plus..you can go on like this with loads of things and its helped me half what I had started to spend on a weekly basis ! Of course my cupboards look a little boring but I have more money left in my purse after my weekly food shop.:D

Boudica

I too am very impressed at the amount that people spend. I am now only buying own brand stuff and cook from scratch. I've got to start baking again cos i do have a sweet tooth and love my cakes and bikkies.

I do a weekly meal plan, then go through the cupboards to see what i need to get. I do a list and try to stick to it. I'm spending around £85 a week for a family of 4, plus a dog and cat to feed. I need to get that down considerable but am finding it difficult.

I'm going to get a bisuit recepie book out of the library and do my own receipe book. When my computer had to be fixed i lost the one I had so will have to start from scratch again.

I'm going to go back through the threads and see what else i can do. I have to save up cos i have debts to pay off, plus my favourite band will be touring again in the next 18 months and i want gig money too

It's time i got my eye back on the ball and get my !!!! back together again lol

Softstuff

We only buy supermarket own brand items, unless a branded one is reduced to cheaper than that. We also take everything back to the very basics... we don't buy anything pre-prepared, so no sauces, gravys, breads or baked goods, everything is done from scratch. A pack of mince is made to stretch by extending it with whatever is appropriate, like grated carrot, stuffing, oatmeal. A single chicken would end up as a roast dinner, topping for a pizza, a couple of sandwich fillings, an ingredient in fried rice, and a few portions of chicken soup. If an item is expensive for what we'll get from it, like lettuce for example, we don't have it. Then, when we do find it reduced, we buy it and it's almost a treat!

I tend to cook an extra portion or two with each meal and freeze them for lunches. Leftovers tend to be cheaper than sandwiches on the whole.

Looking at menus I don't meal plan, since I can never guarantee what will be reduced at the supermarket. I decide what we'll eat based on price, and substitute in items in recipes where I have to.

beemuzed

I decided today that I'd try to buy more "value" items from Mr T. So, value basmati rice at 99p and value bio washing powder at £1.41 - together saving me more than a fiver on the normal brands I'd have bought. If we find they're ok then that's a bit more in the purse thsn usual!

CRANKY40

The other thing that I've found that helps is to make a list before you go shopping and stick to it.

Occasionally if I see a really good bargain, I will buy it, but mostly I just buy what is on my list as that is what I actually need.