BUDGET

[vanilla_cupcake]

I am another one who was going to stay out
on this one as I hate the pettiness and ill informed opinions we sometimes see on here.

My sister brought up her children by herself and was on benefits.
She really helped herself by taking up the paving flags in her back yard, she lived in a small terraced house,and grew vegetables, and was brave enough to raise chickens and rabbits for the table and for eggs. She was so poor she waited until her children had finished eating before she ate herself.

She did not have a car or any luxuries at all and neither did her children but because of her initiative they ate well.

She walked everywhere, made their clothes from clothes she bought at church jumble sales.

She was amazing. She still is and so are her children who are all now adults with kids of their own.

I agree it is your right to have your opinion but it is also everyone else's right to respond with their own.

I admire people like your sister and again i'm not talking about everyone on benefits i'm talking about the people 'I know'

 

[vanilla_cupcake]

Maybe you should be taking issue with the over-availability of credit and irresponsible companies that give credit out to people who clearly cannot afford to pay it back.

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....and the irresponsible people who take out credit knowing full well they cannot afford to pay it back!

 

[vanilla_cupcake]

Well said Laura. Though i'm afraid you are probably wasting your valuable time trying to explain the real world to certain people on here.

You do make me laugh sometimes! I WASN'T THE 1ST PERSON TO MAKE THE BLOODY COMMENT!!!!!!!! PATCHWORKPUSS WAS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kingleds]

Spookless - someone on another thread has just mentioned that tescos are doing 3 tubs of frozen berries for £2.50. Thats 1/2 the usual price when they are on offer so definitely worth looking into. They are lovely stirred into porridge in the morning.

 

[WelshJojo]

Spookless - someone on another thread has just mentioned that tescos are doing 3 tubs of frozen berries for £2.50. Thats 1/2 the usual price when they are on offer so definitely worth looking into. They are lovely stirred into porridge in the morning.

They were 3 for £5 on Saturday, as I bought 3 pots-must go back to get some more if they're half price as they're very yummy-especially the blueberries and strawberry slice mix x

http://www.minimins.com/slimming-world-weight-loss-diary/187905-jos-journey-infinity-beyond.html

 

[Lexie_dog]

Our cheapest meals involve chicken, eggs, pasta, rice and potatoes.

I admit to buying the value range eggs at the moment 15 eggs for £1.25 meaning each egg is 8.3p

So egg and chips (using 1 and 1/2 bakers (20p each) into chips) will be about 50p a head.

Chickens are 2 for £4 in tesco just now, so a £2 chicken, roasted or poached does us 2 days/meals. So £1 for half a chicken effectively then stir fired with rice (50p a kilo bag) done with soy sauce, garlic and some frozen veggies (bout a 1/4 bag at £1 a bag) means you get a chicken fried rice for £1.35 for 2 people

I stick to cheap fruit, apples, oranges, bananas either on offer or value ranges.

 

[vanilla_cupcake]

Our cheapest meals involve chicken, eggs, pasta, rice and potatoes.

I admit to buying the value range eggs at the moment 15 eggs for £1.25 meaning each egg is 8.3p

So egg and chips (using 1 and 1/2 bakers (20p each) into chips) will be about 50p a head.

Chickens are 2 for £4 in tesco just now, so a £2 chicken, roasted or poached does us 2 days/meals. So £1 for half a chicken effectively then stir fired with rice (50p a kilo bag) done with soy sauce, garlic and some frozen veggies (bout a 1/4 bag at £1 a bag) means you get a chicken fried rice for £1.35 for 2 people

I stick to cheap fruit, apples, oranges, bananas either on offer or value ranges.

Proof it can be done!

 

[Beckyftwx]

I think it is shocking how expensive fruit and veg are, I think thats the main reason why slimming world diet is pricey. Also fish and meat I cant buy alot of being a student because just cant justify spending that much.
I tend to stock up on basic pasta, rice, pasta n sauces, cous cous etc. Frozen veggie meat, tinned mackeral (although thats gone up in price recently). And I stick to steamed frozen veg.

 

[Lexie_dog]

Also I'm fairly lucky being in the position that I can afford to bulk buy and ration out,and I have a good sized freezer to keep things in.

We should have a SW challenge and see how cheap we can make a week on EE/Red/Green

 

[vanilla_cupcake]

Also I'm fairly lucky being in the position that I can afford to bulk buy and ration out,and I have a good sized freezer to keep things in.

We should have a SW challenge and see how cheap we can make a week on EE/Red/Green

I bulk buy all my meat, the freezer is full of it!! I'd love to be able to bring my weekly shopping bill down, I never seem to be out of Sainsbury's/Tesco's for all the other stuff, costs me a bloody fortune!

 

[kingleds]

Also I'm fairly lucky being in the position that I can afford to bulk buy and ration out,and I have a good sized freezer to keep things in.

We should have a SW challenge and see how cheap we can make a week on EE/Red/Green

Great idea!! I also know what you mean about bulk buying. I got a chest freezer a month ago & i think its paid for itself already

 

[Shirleen]

I wonder how expensive it is really? A small loaf is 66p a heb is 2 slices so I reckon one loaf will last four days?
A half sack spuds lasts my family of 3 (son is almost 15) about a month and costs £4.
Carrots, onions and apples are cheap.

Compare that to a White loaf £1.20 probably lasts 2 days. Bags of frozen chips, ready meals, jars of sauce. Not to mention crisps, biscuits chocolate etc. The shop sarnies, takeaways as well. I think it looks more expensive if you're buying from one shop.

 

[who_la_hoop]

I spend so much less now I'm on SW and plan my meals. Pre-SW, I could easily spend £30-40 just on one meal, for example - Dominoes pizza with all the extras, Haagen Daazs icecream (how ever you spell that, heh) and a couple of bottles of wine. We'd have takeaway at least once a week, sometimes two or three times. It soon adds up! Now I spend £50-70 for the whole week, and that includes household stuff

 

[BeckyT]

Also I'm fairly lucky being in the position that I can afford to bulk buy and ration out,and I have a good sized freezer to keep things in.

We should have a SW challenge and see how cheap we can make a week on EE/Red/Green

This is a fab idea!!!!

 

[dreamslim]

I dunno how relevant this is to everyone but try to find out if there is a food co-op near you. A lot of areas have one and they do big bags of fruit or veg for £2.50 (they're usually the bag for life size bags so a pretty decent sizes)
There are, of course, downsides. You have to order one week and pick up the next and you cannot pick what fruit/veg you have so just have to rely on what they get in. My mum buys them, not because we are on a low income but just to try to save money and she usually gets carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, turnips things like that so sometime involves a bit of imagination but still works out pretty well.

 

[chun-ky]

I am finding slimming world very expemsive at the mo! Its is awful that chocolate, chips and nuggets are sooo cheap but fresh chicken breasts and fruit and veg cost a bomb!
I do think however, that even though the cost of my actual shopping per week has nearly doubled, really, i am better off every month as we aren't eating out and getting take away!! Also not stopping at the garage for a choccy bar, or grabbing a latte and a cake in town most days...it all adds up. Even though the ammount we are spending in the supermarket seems like an awful lot, i bet we are saving a little bit by cutting those things out! Me and hubby have 4 kids and our shopping is very pricey, but i can get all the essentials like meat and veg, fruit and healthy extras for about £60 quid a week, i have 2 big meals a day instead of snacking on free food and think this keeps the price down. Mug shots, mullers and brand named products like batchelors rice etc are sooo expensive!! I am now starting to make more veg soup too as its so cheap when you get what ever is on offer and really filling for lunches x

 

[Sassia]

....and the irresponsible people who take out credit knowing full well they cannot afford to pay it back!

That's got nothing to do with being on benefits. People who earn good money do that.

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[Sassia]

And to get back on track, I find it expensive too, but that's because I will buy tons of fruit and yogurts. Sometimes I wish sw was just about eating less, I might find it cheaper then!

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[Funky_Munky]

Chun-ky, for cheap mug shots etc, try the discount shops like home and bargain or poundland. They always have stuff like this cheap. I guess it does pay to shop around and buy different things from different shops

 

[GrannieAnnie]

I find that buying my shopping online and having it delivered costs less in the long run.

I know there is a delivery charge but then I`m not using petrol to get to the supermarket. We only have a small shop in the village and you need to take out a bank loan to shop there.

I stick to my shopping list and a certain person can`t put extra items into the trolly!! (that`s OH not kids or grandkids!)