Some really nice, inexpensive recipes on this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/b036x3pv a-a
Shaving only 10p off the cost of each meal will save a family of four £438 p.a. and should be easy without compromising on healthy eating (might even be healthier - the richest nations have the highest levels of obesity) and better than alternatives like turning the heating off. Yesterday Waitrose had 2L bottles of full fat milk reduced to 35p each. As they were on a multi-save (that still comes through as if buying at full price) they were giving us back a 98p saving on each 70p spend. So that was money off the rest of our shopping and free milk to make free paneer with. A few weeks ago Tescos were selling off all their healthy eating baked beans at 75% off. We cleared out 2 stores (they have a long shelf life). They've also been selling Value red kidney beans at 13p in lieu of 30p/can, so again we cleared out 2 stores. Unfortunately we've nearly run out of all that Anchor cheese we were getting at something like 29p per (360g?) pack. We still have lots of free Uncle Bens rice and free Warburtons Thins. As we don't eat meat, when Morrisons were selling 4 packs of Tuna for £2.50 the other week we bought over a year's supply (and we used some money off coupons to get the price down further). In addition to foodstuffs, there's our enormous stockpile of free toilet rolls, a.nd all the dozens of free primroses we got from Homebase today
I think I need to do something I've been meaning to do for ages, but never really got round to. I'm going to take drastic action. I'm going to devise a meal plan covering a full week, and then from there, work out a shopping list, and stick to it like glue for a while. Dried bean mixes are cheap as anything. As are tinned tomatoes, and chorizo is not so cheap but a little bit of it goes a long way. Add in some onions and herbs and it makes a lovely bean stew. I'm quite handy in the kitchen, and can (and often do) make a decent meal out of what appears to be nowt. It did my head in when we decided to defrost the freezer over christmas. We'd already used up pretty much everything before turning it off, and I thought maybe we'd get a couple of meals out of what was left. It took me nearly a week to use it all up and we were eating well from it. I see this is an opportunity. For years I've been trying, with some success, to cut food waste. Spurred on by the need to be tight, I reckon I can recover my finances while at the same time practically eliminating waste.
We find meal plans need to be flexible because sometimes we get to the shops during 'golden hour' and find so much reduced stuff that meal plans go out the window and we eat what we've just bought/what we have to take out the freezer to make room for the rest.
Do you have a pinterest account? If so, search on there for budgeting, frugal, meal plans etc. You will be amazed what you can find. Also, look for recipes for making your own washing powder, hand wash, fabric softener etc. I do all of that simply because it is environmentally kinder but, as a bonus, it is a lot cheaper and just as good as the store bought stuff.
Sorry Clueless, I can't help thinking you've got your priorities a little wrong. You want to cut your food bill in half, but you use a car on a daily basis that is expensive to run.
If I don't use my car, I can't get to work. If I can't get to work, all the budgeting in the world isn't going to help. I've already cut everything else as far as I can. The food bill is the last 'victim' of my austerity measures.
Very possibly true, but I clicked on 'agree' for CL1's post above because if you're skint you probably can't afford a new more economical car. When our (MPV) car died last year we went straight out the next day and bought a brand new MPV at a historically low price (researched), plus had an additional (wangled) discount, plus surfed the manufacture's site until a £250 off voucher popped up, plus got tank of fuel + 12 months VED, etc. But we could also only afford to do so because of both planning/researching prices for a replacement, plus making savings in all sorts of other areas of expenditure. including reducing food bills.
This is true, but in any case, what is too often overlooked when considering the economy of a car is that its not all about fuel. Take my car, I love dear old Gothilda, but she does like a drink. I'm embarrassed to admit that she is averaging 23mpg on the daily commute. But, another lad at work does a very similar distance on mostly the same route (car share is impractical for other reasons) in his much newer diesel motor. He is only averaging 30mpg. So he is spending less than me on fuel. He spends around £70 a week, compared to my roughly £85 per week (petrol is a bit cheaper than diesel remember). But then there's the much bigger numbers associated with running a car. As far as the insurance company is concerned, a 16 year old Volvo tank is considered low risk. Its not exactly what the average car thief would go for, and presumably all Volvo drivers have beards and tartan slippers and therefore drive more carefully It all means my insurance on Gothilda is £200 per year cheaper than it was on her predecessor, a little 1.6 litre non-turbo french hatchback. Then there's maintenance. My renault cost me about £1000 per year to keep it roadworthy. When I scrapped it, its because among other faults found, one of the four ignition coils had failed, causing it to run badly. That was going to around £100 to sort if I went for genuine parts, or about £60 for aftermarket parts. The catalytic converter was also suspect, there's £300. Add to that the fact it didn't really have an engine as I know it, more like the warp core of some spaceship. I couldn't do any of it myself. Contrast that to the good old Volvo 940. On my last one, I rebuilt the entire ignition side myself, at a total cost of about £45. On my current one I have just sorted a fault with the back brakes, cost about £20. Plus, touch wood, they just don't break in the first place as often as many other cars do. They can't really, they are not complicated enough. Then there's road tax. Because she is old, she still gets taxed on the old system of below 1.6 litre or above. None of this complicated and expensive banding rubbish. If my car was built as she is but registered after 2001, I reckon she'd be close to the top tax bracket, but as it stands, she costs roughly the same to tax as many mid-sized runabouts. And finally, because she is an old car, she was cheap. No finance. I own her outright. So no monthly repayments to add onto the total cost of ownership. All in all, yes she is a bit thirsty, but overall she is actually pretty cheap to run.
Another travesty is identical old vehicles not being taxed at the same rate. The very same vehicles purchased a month later to those included in the emissions tests are subject to a very different rate of VED.
Net mums have a whole section on healthy affordable meals. But I don't agree with meal planning either far better to see what u can get cook it freeze it then have what u want when u want. This is particularly useful for children who might catch a virus and not be well enough to eat a spaghetti Bol meal that day but might manage a sandwich.
The trouble with me is that something freaky happens when I walk into a shop. Actually 2 things happen: 1) I lose my ability to think 2) I become a crazy impulse buyer If I plan everything in advance, then I don't need to think. I can just sort of follow my own instructions and come out with what I went in for, and not have a trolley full of all sorts of things that I didn't really want.
Shop online for your basics then and take someone with you when u go for discounted products! Lol £200 a month is a lot on food / groceries are you including nappies and baby milk in that? Do you qualify for healthy start vouchers?
Clueless, I'm not saying you should have an old or new car, I'm just trying to make comparisons to bring your cost down. I'm running a 6 year old Clio 1.2 ltr turbo and getting 56mpg (petrol) from it. I realise a car as small as this is not practical for a family but there are more practical vehicles to run than your Volvo, it's a large and heavy car and will obviously drink more.
