How do you do it?

EmptyPurse

I've just been moaning on the DFW board about my finances - I've been keeping a spending diary for the past month and things are much worse than I thought. Anyway, one area I really MUST tackle is my food spending. Despite my very best intentions I'm the world's worst OS when it comes to cooking/planning. I never manage to put meal plans together for an entire week, frequently forget to make packed lunches for work and often end up 'grazing' rather than cooking proper meals because I hate eating meals alone. And it all adds up to a monster food bill each month. If I include the lunches & snacks that I buy from Pret/M&S etc when I forget my packed lunch or want a snack on the way home from work it looks like I'm spending around £170 per month on food for myself. Yup, you read that right. £170 for one person. And I'm a rather fat person to boot (that's not just my opinion - my BMI is 32/32). But I just don't seem to have the self discipline to change my ways. I really admire everyone here - you all seem so much more determined. How do you guys do it? Any tips for a complete slacker?

moo2moo

Take it a step at a time. Make your lunch before you go to bed that way you just grab and go. Keep a banana or an apple handy for attacks of the nibbles that way you won't be tempted to chow on the way home from work.

Have a goal. Cutting down on food expenditure gives you more money to ...... (fill in the blank!)

Cook more than you need and freeze it in portions.

I never meal plan. I'm too disorganised and if I do decide that we're having x for tea on tuesday then the dds will request something else or I really won't fancy eating whatever it was or making whatever it was anyway. I usually have homemade pasta or potato salad in the fridge so when I really can't be bothered to cook (or the DDs are too hungry to wait) I can add something to this (like tined tuna and raw veg) as a quick meal.

Ben84

I used to be very excessive with my shopping budget. Well, I say budget like I was actually counting what I was spending... I just went shopping and bought, bought, bought.

Still trying to cut back, but I feel it's under control. We no longer waste any food, and I don't go crazy buying ingredients for expensive recipes every week now.

What I have found is that it's impossible to change everything at once, you have to adjust things over time and set some targets. Going for the biggest expenses first seems logical, which for many people will be eating out, alcohol and fast food.

Eating out at work is so expensive. Spending £1.50 every work day on a sandwich or coffee costs almost £400 a year. Many people spend more on ready made lunches and drinks, easily double that, but just £1.50 a work day over a year is about 4 months shopping budget for me now, and that includes all the food I eat at work, as well as all the other food I eat and household products. I think the motivation comes from the discovery that there are huge savings to be easily made.

jackk_2

For me 'necessity is definately the mother of invention' , if your really busy etc, how about a trawl through the library to find fast and simple meals, slow cookers are good to make big batches of stuff while your at work (freeze portions). i don't meal plan, i decide what were eating by whatever is on special or whoopsied. I make my own bread (i'm a busy full time student and mum to 3), i can whack out 4 2lb loaves in about 20 mins now, then freeze once baked.

10past6

EmptyPurse wrote: »

I'm the world's worst OS when it comes to cooking/planning

No more worse than me, I've lived on ready meals for donkey's years, until two weeks ago when I changed my habits, I now do ALL home cooking, I take pleasure in it, my food bill has reduced by half, and it's only from the members on here that I managed to change my habits, I never realised how easy and simple home cooking really is, all my recipes I've obtained from here, when I cook, I make double the portion and freeze half so we have a meal as and when required.

This thread should help you.

EmptyPurse wrote: »

If I include the lunches & snacks that I buy from Pret/M&S etc when I forget my packed lunch or want a snack on the way home from work it looks like I'm spending around £170 per month on food for myself

For lunches, take a look here.

EmptyPurse wrote: »

Any tips for a complete slacker?

Challenge yourself, you may be surprised how easy it really is.

Paige

I too have been following advice on here for reducing the food bill. One thing that is really useful is when you cook something like chilli, pasta sauce, shepherds pie ect always cook extra and freeze it.
I cant meal plan - it does not work for me. I always keep good staples in my cupboards and plan from that in the morning, then take out the meat/fish I need so it is ready in the evening. The most money you will save is making up your own lunches to take to work. Make them the evening before whilst your meal is cooking, you can make up a whole weeks and freeze them. Just keep thinking of all that money you can save.

tylersbabe

Hi nother single over spender here (and overweight too)

when I started three months ago was spending bout what you do on food it was a scary awakning.

What I would advise is small steps and don't pressurise yourself too much (like I did ). Reading throught the threads on here are a really good starting place for ideas.

To focus myself I have joined in a few challanges (although have given up on flyladies opps) I have found the grocery challange a great place for support and ideas and In Search of Me's no spend challange really opened my eyes to how I spend and waste money without noticing.

Please don't think I am saying these will work for you we all have our own money saving journeys and adventures. But the guys and gals on here are really great at finding solutions and offering support.

Put it this way three months ago I barley cooked or baked anything and have just had to stop typing to take out a batch of Twinks Hob Nobs :eek:

Tylersbabe

claireabelle_2

:hello: hiya
I was rubbish at meal planning too and was going to give up on it... but then i bought a three-quid white board from homebase! I plan the week's dinners (and roughly what we'll have for lunches) and I have the freezer contents listed on there so I can see what needs taking out when! Was a bit embarrassed when OH had company the other night but didn't hide it!!

PasturesNew

For lunches without forethought, you could buy a bunch of bananas with the weekly shop. If you've got no packed lunch ready, just grab 3 of those.

Also, small tins of fruit in juice (not syrup) are cheap and instant (I pay 25p usually for a small can of pineapple chunks)

If you get a food flask, you can chuck noodles in that and pour in boiling water, do the lid up and by lunchtime it's "cooked" in there.

All the above will give you a cheap lunch, the fruit ones are "good for you" and the noodles in a food flask (cheap packs) will mean a lunch of 8-25p.

belfastgirl23

Personally I found setting myself a budget was a real motivating tool, as was using the grocery challenge (see sticky at top of board) as a way of having someone to report in to. I now take pleasure in spending less and it feels worth whatever hassles to achieve this.

I'm not averse to having the same thing for lunch three days running or to having the same thing for dinner at home and then reheated at work the next day, this makes it feel like less hassle and makes it worthwhile to cook things that DH won't eat. I also have a range of fifteen minute specials (mostly focused around pasta) and find that that helps. As does planning tomorrow night's dinner tonight so that when I come in I know what I'm having...some others here can manage to do this for weeks ahead but mostly I can only manage a day or two

Finally using as a starting point for dinner 'what is in the fridge' rather than 'what do I fancy' helped a lot too

Mappygirl

Hi empty purse and welcome,

For me have a shopping list when I go shopping helps me stay in budget. I meal plan, but don't have set nights for each meal - just a list of what I've got and what I need. I always have a pizza or something yummy in the freezer to so when I'm in a 'take away' mood I don't have to spend loads on a take out.

Just keep popping over to the OS board there's always loads of tips and help!

The recipie collection is great to, I find most recipies are easy to follow and the ingredients don't cost a lot. The only problem is that I get a bit addicted to cooking!!!!

When I first started looking at my food budget I was spending about £100 a week for 2 adults a baby and 2 dogs, I also include all my cleaning stuff etc. I got it down to about £60 and I didn't think i could lower it any more but thanks to this board I spend about £30 - £40 a week. It does seem so hard at first but once you get into the habit of preparing lunches and cooking from scratch etc it gets so much easier!

Good Luck!