Help me save! (Saving September)

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
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mardatha
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Help me save! (Saving September)

Post by mardatha »

My main problem - well only the only thing that I can fix and cut down on - is food. The cost of food seems to be going up every week and I just can't get to grips with it. I would so love to shave £10-£20 a week off our food bill. There's only us two and the cat, and some weeks I spend over £50. Not buying readymade expensive stuff, just hitting Asda then needing something in Sainsbugs, then Costco, and occasionally going to a town that has an Aldi... etc etc.
I do keep a decent store cupboard because we live very rural and the only road shuts in snow - at 1000ft, we get snow every winter. I can't keep a lot of meat in the freezer in winter because we get power cuts in high winds and bad weather , so I prefer to just keep bread and veg in there.
I'm looking for ideas for meatless meals, cheap filler-uppers like egg & chips ... British food only, we don't eat stuff like chickpeas or exotic foreign stuff (like chili or curry )grin2( )
Oh and I'm picky and he's diabetic... so it's not easy! {rofwl}
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lancashire lass
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Re: Help me save!

Post by lancashire lass »

I try some of the value items rather than brand or own store name. Some I'll admit are awful LOL but I've been happy with the coffee, savoury rice and breakfast cereals (cornflakes, porridge, muesli) and even the bread though the quality can change sometimes. What I also do is add other ingedients - extra seasoning and herbs, some mature cheddar, frozen veg or chopped onion etc so a cheap food actually tastes okay.

I sometimes look at the reduced price shelf - I rarely see the bargains others see but items still within expiry date can shave a few pence off original selling price.

I think a shopping list is a must - write down what you need, and just visit those aisles to fill your trolley. The moment you go to the shop with a "vague" idea of what you want, you have probably loaded your trolley with things you hadn't considered but not necessarily needed.

Some things are worth buying in larger packs, but supermarkets are good at conning you into thinking it's cheaper (I would have thought less packaging) but it's worth checking all pack sizes. For example, I used to get a 3L bottle of sunflower oil, then noticed 3x 1L bottles were cheaper. And of course, always beware of BOGOF type of offers to see if it is really worth it. Having saying that, I watch out for certain offers such as brand name butter packs and buy a few in and put in the freezer which last me until the next time it is on offer. I realise the freezer might be a problem, but I also like to treat myself to things like Nescafe cappucino (10 sachet in a box - instead of a whole sachet, I put a tsp of the cheap coffee in the mug with half a sachet and a bit of milk) and stock up on a few boxes when on offer.

Is it just food - what about items like soap powder and toilet paper which are expensive. I always get supermarket rather than brand named and confess I avoid cheap stuff as they are not always value for money in the long run.

I hope that helps and I'm many others will have suggestions too. Good luck with the saving )t'
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KathJ
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Re: Help me save!

Post by KathJ »

I've found my weekly shopping bill has reduced since I've started to shop online )like( I was so reluctant to do it for years but received a £15 voucher so thought I'd give it a go. It's the best thing I've ever done. I get a delivery every week so the monthy delivery charge of £6 which must be cheaper than driving there and back myself 4 times. I also find I'm not tempted to add things to the trolly which I would if I was walking round a supermarket and being tempted. You also have a running total of what you're spending so if it looks like it's getting a bit high I'll go back and check to see if I actually need everything that week that I've added. I think it's brill and it saves me time and energy lugging those bags about {rofwl}
Kath xx

Mum to my beautiful girls Lucy, Holly, Rosie, Hettie, Polly, Ruby, Lily, Penny, Gracie, Maisie, Molly, Evie and my gorgeous boy Toby

RIP my beautiful Ranger, Roxy, Bluebelle, Poppy, Speckle, Daisy and Honey xxxx
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mardatha
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Re: Help me save!

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I often do get online shopping, its far cheaper than the petrol is for us to go and do it ourselves. And yes it's good for chopping pennies off the total. But a big online shop used to cost me £50 and not its £70. I do quite like Sainsbugs Basics, they are ok quality. I have only once in my life got a really good bargain on reduced stuff, mainly because I turn up at the wrong times. I'm 20 miles from the supermarkets and 11 miles from the nearest shop which is a wee village postoffice/general store.
Just to know that other people are doing the same things cheers me up though - thanks ! )t' )t'
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lancashire lass
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Re: Help me save!

Post by lancashire lass »

mardatha wrote:I do quite like Sainsbugs Basics, they are ok quality


)t' oh yes, I'd forgotten about their value lasagne - I had poured a little milk (not a lot) on top, crushed a clove of garlic and sprinkled a little oregano (which infused into the milk while cooking) with some cheddar cheese on top. I have to confess that it was very nice and only just over 1 GBP which I thought was excellent value and a nice sized portion for a greedy guts like me ... I might go and stock up on a couple for those "can't be bothered to cook" days
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Mo
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Re: Help me save!

Post by Mo »

Have you tried the online shopping website Mysupermarket
If you order something you can click to see if it cheaper elsewhere, what price it has been previously, and they offer you the chance to swap if a different brand or size works out cheaper. Then at the end of the shop they will tell you what the price of the basket would be from the different supermarkets. And they have cashback on some items too, and vouchers.
By comparing and seeing if an 'offer' is really worth having you can stock up when things are cheap, or just buy enough to last till next time if dearer.

I agree about the cheap brands. Trial and error. Banked beans Sains own is OK, Tesc too spicy for me. The basics brands seem very watery so maybe you are just getting less beans. Own brand flour OK but basics for cakes, not pastry. Mcvities biscuits - the other brands just don't compare.
In winter I get a pack of soup mix (dried veg + barley), soak a mugful (about 1/4 mug dry, topped with hot water) overnight. Pop it in the oven if I am doing a casserole, and use it to stretch the leftovers. I just make it up as I go along. Add a bit of this and that. Grate some cheese over the spuds. Or make a cheese omelette.
Fruit & veg are so much cheaper than meat. You can get a shopping bag full for the cost of a same bit of meat. And grow your own.
I keep a running list on the kichen wall, and jot down things that are running out, and things that are urgent. I try to keep 2 or 3 weeks stock, then when I was shopping for two I could shop online once a month compare prices and get free delivery. I am fairly rural too but I do pass supermarkets when I go folk dancing so sometimes go to T's at 10.30 - though found last night that the special offer half price choc biscs had all sold out. (should have gone to Ss on the way there and got even cheaper choc bics, but they shut earlier and I had an after-dinner snooze!).
Do you have loyalty cards? The vouchers they send are sometimes useful, sometimes not. Ts kept sending me Bisto vouchers, and I thought, 'oh yes, I'll use that'; so now I have 3 packs (and don't make gravy very often just for me)

Good luck.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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mardatha
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Re: Help me save!

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I use that site for Lactofree milk yes, to see who has it on special. My god I wish I could be that organised, to do a shop once a month! The pkt soup thing sounds good, I will use that one because I can't make gravy to save my life and we don't like bisto.
Maybe the problem isn't the shops but the cook! :oops:
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Mo
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Re: Help me save!

Post by Mo »

Ah yes, packet soup as a base for things. Yes I do that as well. Add potatoes and/or suet dumplings, + more veg.
But the soup mix I meant was dried veg. - split peas, beans, barley, lentils etc.
I tend to cook a lot of veg, most will keep in the fridge (except cabbage and cauli), then microwave a bowlful.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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mardatha
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Re: Help me save!

Post by mardatha »

Ah ok. I've got about a ton of broth mix, can use that in stews? I think it's easier to save money if you can cook. Or if you know how to cook lol- which I don't!
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lancashire lass
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Re: Help me save!

Post by lancashire lass »

I thought packet soup (not the broth / barley mix) was something that was difficult to get hold of these days. I do stock up on tinned dinners (like curries and chilli) - I do it all in a frying pan with a lid. First sweat chopped onion in a little oil (maybe chopped/sliced pepper either fresh or frozen) and then throw in other veg (again fresh or frozen), add some water and heat up. Then add diced potato and when cooked (reduce the water if too much), add the contents of the tin and sometimes add gravy granules (to thicken or give it a little meatier flavouring) I also keep my eye out when tins of stewed steak (just the meat in a little gravy, not the beef stew which doesn't have much meat in it) are on offer and then stock up on those and add to the cooked veggies as above. I take into account the cost of using gas / electricity when preparing meals and the tins work out quite well
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perchy
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Re: Help me save!

Post by perchy »

U tube do step by step cooking videos, take a look )t'
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mardatha
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Re: Help me save!

Post by mardatha »

LOL perchy - have been married 50 years in Jan, if i learn to cook now it will be a miracle!
{rofwl}
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perchy
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Re: Help me save!

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mardatha wrote:LOL perchy - have been married 50 years in Jan, if i learn to cook now it will be a miracle!
{rofwl}



{rofwl} {rofwl}
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