PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING
Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.New flat; food help...
Comments
-
Remember, if you don't go to the shops, you don't spend any money!
Make a plan of what you are going to eat.
Eat less meat - it is often expensive. You can make a lot of meals of lentils and beans very cheaply. Check your local butcher to see what's on offer. You can often get small quantities of meat, rather than buying big supermarket packs.
Shop around. Use supermarket Internet sites to compare prices.
Go to the local market, especially for fruit and vegetables. You can often get great bargains. Last week, I bought a tray of tomatoes (2ft by 4ft size) for £1. The week before, I got 3 pineapples for £1.
Take a pack lunch to work.
Drink tea not beer.0 -
Hardup_Hester wrote: »Ok, it's been a long day, but did anyone else read this & think Leanne's food had been flattened? No? OK I'll get my coat, lol.
By jove, your sharp....i had to read the OP twice to 'get it'.Grocery Challenge for October: £135/£200
NSD Challenge: October 0/140 -
Hope noboby laughs at this
I got a student cookbook, and it was a lifesaver , when I was in your position Leanne.
Cheese and potataoe pie, Corned beef hash , and huge pans of veg curry, thats what we lived on for 18 months, and survived to tell the tale lol.I appreciate Each and Every win. I thank every comp poster from the bottom of my heart :A0 -
Hardup_Hester wrote: »Ok, it's been a long day, but did anyone else read this & think Leanne's food had been flattened? No? OK I'll get my coat, lol.
Yes me too, I thought 'why do they need flat food?':rotfl:0 -
I thought the OP wanted flat food so she could stock up a freezer compartment and make the best use of space
I'll get my coat too."This site is addictive!"
Wooligan 2 squares for smoky - 3 squares for HTA
Preemie hats - 2.0 -
xxleannexx42x wrote: »Hey!
me and boyfriend move into our new flat next week! For the 1st month we are only going to have about £40 for food etc. And as were going to need all the basics and freezer stuff, etc etc. I just dont know how im going to do it!!
Any help on strectching my budget to its limit would be greatly apreciated!!
Thankyou x
Congratulations on your new flat! :beer:
For your first month I'd definitely recommend doing a meal plan for each week (or for longer if you can manage it). I started meal planning when I first moved into my own flat a few years ago (OK, quite a few years ago!) and it really did make all the difference as I was only buying what I actually needed. (And still do, as the meal planning has become a permanant habit.)
Don't worry too much about stocking the cupboards / freezer at the moment - you can build up your stores over time when you have more money. Having said that, BOGOFs and similar special offers can be a great way of stocking up on things you use a lot, at a low cost.
Oh, and the one thing I found really helpful was to try to keep enough money for an occasional treat, even if it was just a bunch of cheapy supermarket flowers to make the flat look pretty - I just found it stopped me getting fed up with the whole thing and spending a lot of money I didn't have to cheer myself up.
Good luck, and enjoy your new home!0 -
-
I would do a shop for the month £25, then keep £15 for whoopsie bread/eggs
If its just the two of you you can keep costs minimal
lots of soup
basics ranges, no branded items.
Least the festive period is near, lots of leftovers from relatives etc!! make the most of it!
Congrats on the new pad OU Law studentMay Grocery challenge£30/ £110 -
Congratulations on the new flat - I wish you many happy years
As others have said, planning's essential - knowing what you'll eat each day will help you to minimise the spend. Plus you can plan tasty but cheap meals (like pasta pesto - a jar of pesto is about £2 and will do two people for 3 or 4 meals and even with the good brands of pasta like Napolina, you can still make a meal for less than 70p per person).
Another tip is that making your own bread (if you have the time and inclination and/or a breadmaker as a housewarming present
) can be a lot cheaper than buying it. "A leading supermarket" are selling 1.5kg of Strong White Bread Flour for 68p. Even factoring in the price of the yeast and your gas or electricity bills to bake the stuff, you're still looking at less than 35p per loaf (which is often cheaper than when they reduce the bread close to its sell-by and it'll taste a lot better!)
Fruit and veg are often cheaper on market stalls and stallholders tend to reduce the price towards the end of the day, so popping along at 4.30pm can bag you a bargain. And of course, with a market stall owner, there's no reason you can't try to negotiate on the price (the worst that can happen is that they say no and you pay full price, but if you're smiley and happy with the stall-holder and ask nicely you could save quite a bit of money).
Veggies are great for soups (perfect at this time of year) and on the whole all you need to do is boil them up in a load of water and seasoning till they're soft and then liquidise or mash them until they're the right consistency. Carrot soup made with ground corriander, or Parsnip soup made with a bit of corriander and a bit of nutmeg are cheap as you like and really filling (particularly with that home made bread )
Pulses (lentils, beans, peas) are a great way to get plenty of protein without having to pay the price for meat and fish.0 -
Get a 3kg bag of pasta; that can pad out soups and be mixed with any manner of things to make a meal that's filling and will keep you warm in this weather. That's about £3.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173K Life & Family
- 247.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards