Anyone else trying to do SW on a student budget?

bumblebee1990

Full Member
Hi

I'm a full time student living away at university (but do manage to get home quite a lot), and whilst I do have a well paid part-time job, I'm mindful that I have to stick to a reasonably low food budget. Are there any other full time students out there doing SW? How do you manage to get diversity into your diet whilst sticking to a budget? I have around £25 a week to spend on food.
 
I'm not a student, but I am mindful about what I'm spending my money on. I'd suggest looking at somewhere like Lidl or Aldi, you'll find shedloads of good quality fruit and veg in there for a really reasonable price. I think I've seen some threads on here about Aldi/Lidl equivalent of Mullerlights too.

If you've got access to the SW website, they do have some of the syns online for Aldi and Lidl branded foods.

Personally, I find the meat in Lidl amazing for a fraction of the price I'd pay in one of the main supermarkets.
 
I would recommend markets as well the fruit veg and fresh meat you can get is very good both in choice and in price
 
Hiya, im a ft student and doing ee/green. I shop mostly at lidl and buy the veg that is on offer- they have good frozen superfree too.
The ff yoghurts are half the price of mullers, think they are all 0.5syn or cherry is free.
I dont really eat much meat by my OH says its nice!
The tinned stuff is cheap too- mushy peas, chopped toms, mixed beans etc.
Agree with the above re local markets too- I try to go on a Thursday and gets two bags full of fresh veg for £4-7.
Hope this helps! Its so frustrating that unhealthy foods are so often cheaper..
Rosie x
 
Hi,
Just had my last exam! Still only working part time though so being mindful. I am also trying to do it for £20-£25, but I'm doing mostly red days as I'm a massive meat eater. Any tips appreciated!

As for myself, finding the reduced meats in Tesco etc is always great, there always seems to be turkey too, which is great for sw, it must be an unpopular meat? I buy as much meat as I can and freeze.
I also visit the local veg market and fruit market, but again, reduced in the bigger supermarkets is also great.
 
When I try to keep costs down I buy a load of veg on offer/reduced and make a HUGE batch of soup that freeze in portions, that can last the week or keep for longer. Same with meats, if you can cook large batches and freeze it can work out cheaper over, say, 2 weeks than 2 separate weekly shops.
 
I study pt and work. I try to keep it under 30 quid for 2 & kids half the week

I don't buy fizzy/squash/bars anymore
We don't eat meat or milk

Basics are as follows
Tinned tomatoes 25p a can
Sweetcorn 35p a can
Shredded wheat/wheetabix - budget line. 2 weeks worth under 2 quid
Greek yoghurt 1 quid big pot
Cottage cheese

Fruit on offer aldi - my biggest spend around 5 quid a week - banana /grapes/pineapple/whatever on offer

Frozen green beans - these last 4 weeks
Frozen onions
Tinned chickpea 35p

Wholemeal rolls 12 for 1 quid

I make every week vegetable curry or soup enough for 6 portions this then goes in freezer!

Fresh veg on offer - I always get cherry tomatoes & lettuce

This works for me..I'm trying to reduce it down another tenner or so using aldi :)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using MiniMins.com mobile app
 
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I study pt and work. I try to keep it under 30 quid for 2 & kids half the week I don't buy fizzy/squash/bars anymore We don't eat meat or milk Basics are as follows Tinned tomatoes 25p a can Sweetcorn 35p a can Shredded wheat/wheetabix - budget line. 2 weeks worth under 2 quid Greek yoghurt 1 quid big pot Cottage cheese Fruit on offer aldi - my biggest spend around 5 quid a week - banana /grapes/pineapple/whatever on offer Frozen green beans - these last 4 weeks Frozen onions Tinned chickpea 35p Wholemeal rolls 12 for 1 quid I make every week vegetable curry or soup enough for 6 portions this then goes in freezer! Fresh veg on offer - I always get cherry tomatoes & lettuce This works for me..I'm trying to reduce it down another tenner or so using aldi :) Sent from my GT-I9300 using MiniMins.com mobile app

That's really helpful, I just need a basics list to help get me started! Tbh, I think I ate too much meat before starting sw, so it wouldn't hurt me or my purse to cut down meat to once or twice a week! Good ideas.
 
Use the market for your fruit and veg (or offers in the supermarket) and buy seasonal, plus root veg like onions and carrots, which are always cheaper. Asda have lettuce and cucumbers for 50p and cheap grapes. You can buy a bag of porridge for about 40p and will last most of the week. A box of eggs in Asda 15 free range for £2, great value and really versatile.

You can still eat meat cheaply, a small chicken is about £3.50, which could feed you for a week. Roast the chicken then strip off all of the meat and place in individual portions in the fridge and freeze the rest in bags for later. Chop leg meat and keep to one side, boil the carcass with an onion for 2hrs, strain through a sieve and use it as stock. Chop onions, carrots, swede, potato, etc, pearl barley and add the stock, add leg meat and simmer for 90mins. Blend with a hand blender and portion into freezer bags/containers (about 8-10 servings). Lunch and dinner almost every day for a week. :)

Buy cheaper canned fish like sardines and tuna, great for making pasta dishes/potato toppings and sandwiches. Cans of beans (26p for basics) for beans on toast and baked potato with beans, etc, basic cottage cheese is only 64p in Tesco and Asda and is really good for quiches and salads.

Go to the supermarket later in the day and buy reduced bread, freeze and use over the following weeks, just take out what you need each day. Same goes for catching reduced meats, cheese and yoghurt, they all freeze.

Use mysupermarket to compare prices and look for offers, and plan a menu and shop just for what you have on the list. Good luck. xxxx
 
Use the market for your fruit and veg (or offers in the supermarket) and buy seasonal, plus root veg like onions and carrots, which are always cheaper. Asda have lettuce and cucumbers for 50p and cheap grapes. You can buy a bag of porridge for about 40p and will last most of the week. A box of eggs in Asda 15 free range for £2, great value and really versatile. You can still eat meat cheaply, a small chicken is about £3.50, which could feed you for a week. Roast the chicken then strip off all of the meat and place in individual portions in the fridge and freeze the rest in bags for later. Chop leg meat and keep to one side, boil the carcass with an onion for 2hrs, strain through a sieve and use it as stock. Chop onions, carrots, swede, potato, etc, pearl barley and add the stock, add leg meat and simmer for 90mins. Blend with a hand blender and portion into freezer bags/containers (about 8-10 servings). Lunch and dinner almost every day for a week. :) Buy cheaper canned fish like sardines and tuna, great for making pasta dishes/potato toppings and sandwiches. Cans of beans (26p for basics) for beans on toast and baked potato with beans, etc, basic cottage cheese is only 64p in Tesco and Asda and is really good for quiches and salads. Go to the supermarket later in the day and buy reduced bread, freeze and use over the following weeks, just take out what you need each day. Same goes for catching reduced meats, cheese and yoghurt, they all freeze. Use mysupermarket to compare prices and look for offers, and plan a menu and shop just for what you have on the list. Good luck. xxxx

EXCELLENT!!!
Wow, thanks - you may have saved my life! :)
 
Don't know if it's already been said but have a look on the sw website, they have a student area which might give you ideas :)
 
I first did SW when I was a student and found green days the best for money saving as you can buy rice and pasta really cheaply and in massive quantities!

I'm not watching my spending to the same extent but am trying to cut back a bit, managed to make 6 decent sized (so maybe 7 small) portions of bolognese sauce for around £10 the other day, packed with lots of veg to make it go further:

500g extra lean mince
Tin of chopped tomatoes
Water (filled up to halfway up the tin
Stick of celery
2 carrots
1 onion
Garlic
250g mushrooms
Tube of tomato purée

Tastes best when allowed to stew so often best the day after cooking because it gets really rich!
 
Iceland do a good variety of frozen veg - own brand is £1 more or less a bag. Onions, country mix, broccoli mix, slices peppers... i always find these handy. And value for money :)
 
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