Frugal February

[sarah5298a1]

late night bargains at the co-op just got 4 salmon fillets, 4 pork chops and a cucumber 45p for the lot! and at aldi i got 2x bags of apples, 8 kiwi fruit, a turnip, cherry toms, oranages for 4.14 BARGAIN going to mame some chicken soup, got my soup mix soaking overnight and i will chuck in any veg i have going with chicken and stock cubes, also may make a pan of chilli ready to freeze so i have ready meals xx

 

[PatchworkPuss]

Here's another useful wesbite

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

 

[Taniau]

Here's a good link from MoneySavingExpert... tips on saving at the supermarket. I've tried the DownShift Challenge on a couple of things and it is surprising at how you can't notive the difference most of the time.

Cool link, thanks I think I'll try it tomorrow when I'm shopping.

 

[Mrs E-H]

I buy online from 2 different sites that sell either out of date ,or just going out of date food.
It's not fresh stuff mainly tins and packets,and their stuff is excellent.
My hubby has even built me a very large shed in the garden where I store it all,it's like a little shop !!!!
They areThe biggest online seller of clearance food and drinks | Approved FoodFood Bargains, Buy Cheap Food & Drink, Bargain Out of Date Food, Clearance Food UK

Thanks for this

xx

 

[Tracy831]

You are welcome

 

[KittenKat]

I have a voucher for Tesco which gives me £5 off if I spend £40. Forgot to take it with me this morning (only went in for tinned tomatoes which I forgot the other day!) but they have tons of offers on things I use, mainly toiletries and household stuff, so might take it in during the week and stock up on shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, moisturiser, fabric conditioner, etc.

I know I was trying to cut back on my spending for February, but if I can stock up on the things I use, while they are on offer AND getting £5 off as well, result! It means March I should be able to cut back on spending even further!

 

[Surzy]

Right been to adsa today and done my last shop for a while - cheese/milk/eggs etc plus fresh fruit and veg for for this week.

Spend a grand total of £27.32

 

[Surzy]

This week's Menu

Sunday
Breakfast - 2 weetabix and 2 apples
Lunch - Butternuut squash soup
Tea - Roast Chicken with roast carrots, beetroot, swede and new potatos, with green beans, broccoli and gravy

Monday
Breakfast - 2 weetabix and 1 apple and 1 orange
Lunch - Butternut squash soup, muller light Yog
Tea - Chicken and veg risotto with sauted cabbage and onion

Tuesday
Breakfast - 2 poached eggs on WW wholemeal toast, 1 apple and one orrange
Lunch - Butternut squash soup, muller light yog
Tea - Chicken and sweetcorn noodle soup

Wednesday
Breakfast - 2 weetabix 1 apple and 1 orange
Lunch - Butternut squash soup, muller light yog
Tea - 3 bean and beef chili (slow cooked) with rice

Thursday
Breakfast - 2 poached eggs on ww toast with raspberries and blob of ff yog
Lunch - Leftover Chili and Rice, muller light yog, cherry toms
Tea - Pasta with tomato, pepper and bacon sauce

Friday
Breakfast - 2 weetabix with 1 apple and 1 orange
Lunch - leftover pasta with tomato, pepper and bacon sauce, muller light, carrot sticks
Tea - SW chips with pork loin chops, veg and gravy

Saturday
Breakfast - Bacon roll with lettuce and tomato
Lunch - Split pea and gammon joint soup (homemade pea and ham lol) Chopped fruit salad
Tea - Thai red prawn curry with sticky rice balls

 

[SingerJess]

I am definitely in with this!!

2 adults and 1 little one (she's 5) so I'm aiming for £100 for the month. That'd be a HUGEEE improvement on the norm - easily £60 a week! And I have no idea how!

Planning to start making meal plans and freezing things so we have meals readily prepared, etc.

 

[Tracy831]

There are 6, sometimes 7 of us (depending if daughters boyfriend stays).
That is 3 or 4 adults,a 12yr old,6 yr old and a 4 yr old ,oh and a dog!!!!!
And I try not to spend more than £90 a week, even cheaper if I can manage it !
I only cook from scratch,so I don't have lots of reserve food in the freezer as I buy what I need to cook.
But in my shed in the garden I have stockpiles of stuff that I like to keep stocked up,and if I see good deals I tend to buy a few at a time.
At the moment in tesco they are selling washing detergent and fabric softener called ENRITUALS and they are only £1 a bottle or box,and it's not bad stuff either,so every time I do an online shop I get a couple more.
I would love to be able to get money off tokens but I can never seem to find them online.

 

[Tracy831]

I need all the help I can with this I spend waaaaaay to much, im not a very organised person at all, but need to watch the pennys, theres 4 of us my weekly shop is normally anything between £80 - £120 then another possible 20 -30 in & out off shops during the week, this includes all household stuff nappies n the like, all advive welcome, yestaurday I tried going 2 diff stores for cheaper items, fruit stall 4 fresh fruit n vegs, poundshop for toothpaste & kids sweets/crispsn lunchbox goodies, then iceland for some frozen goods pizza nuggets etc 4 oh & kids then asda for some meats nappies etc spent the same but picked up alot I didnt need but think this was 2 do with browsing & being in & out of diff shops & not just getting wot I needed, HELP ME sort this out. Sorry to babble on x

Online shopping is good if you have a list of what you want ready so that you just put in your basket what you need and it shows how much you are spending with a running total,and plus there's no having to drag the kids shopping!!

 

[SingerJess]

Me neither. Have you seen that American programme - Extreme Couponing? If you've not, check it out. I wish we could get away with stuff like that over here!!

 

[Tracy831]

Me neither. Have you seen that American programme - Extreme Couponing? If you've not, check it out. I wish we could get away with stuff like that over here!!

I LOVE that programme,going shopping like that would be right up my street lol !!!!!

 

[SingerJess]

I LOVE that programme,going shopping like that would be right up my street lol !!!!!

And mine!

Imagine walking into Tesco with nothing but vouchers and a few quid, and walking out with enough food/clothes/etc for an army...and them PAYING YOU for the priveledge! If only.....

 

[SingerJess]

Yeh if I do my shopping online I save about £15 a week - including the delivery cost... Mainly because I don't have a 5 year old pestering and I can check recipes at the same time to see what we actually need, and I don't have my OH asking why he can't have 5 bags of haribo tangfastics...Just cos they're 50p doesn't mean we NEED 5 bags!! MEN!

 

[PatchworkPuss]

Do you plan your weekly menu and write a shopping list for just what you need? That is the thing that will make the biggest difference to how much you spend when shopping.

 

[helzzz]

Thanks to the OP for this.

I checked my bank and realised we'd spent £200 in January on food shopping. I also wanted to treat myself to some gorgeous wine glasses I'd seen on sale for £15 for 8 but decided to wait as we're a bit broke.

Suggested to hubby today that if I can save us more than £15 this month then I can buy the wine glasses and he agreed. I've spent the afternoon planning meals and writing lists for the next 4 weeks and worked out pricing online and shopping will only cost £127! Even with the wine glasses I've saved us £58. Think I'll do this kind of thing every month!

 

[Surzy]

Thanks to the OP for this.

I checked my bank and realised we'd spent £200 in January on food shopping. I also wanted to treat myself to some gorgeous wine glasses I'd seen on sale for £15 for 8 but decided to wait as we're a bit broke.

Suggested to hubby today that if I can save us more than £15 this month then I can buy the wine glasses and he agreed. I've spent the afternoon planning meals and writing lists for the next 4 weeks and worked out pricing online and shopping will only cost £127! Even with the wine glasses I've saved us £58. Think I'll do this kind of thing every month!

Good skills Helzzz x

 

[Chipmunk89]

I used to order online but I haven't in ages despite it being cheaper because I hate that you never know the quality/dates of what they're going to send you. I got tired of being sent bread that only had a day left, and that was supposed to last me all week - and veg of questionable quality too. I only have a tiny freezer at the moment so I can't even freeze stuff until I need to use it Really, really need to get my hands on a cheap chest freezer.

 

[Surzy]

I used to order online but I haven't in ages despite it being cheaper because I hate that you never know the quality/dates of what they're going to send you. I got tired of being sent bread that only had a day left, and that was supposed to last me all week - and veg of questionable quality too. I only have a tiny freezer at the moment so I can't even freeze stuff until I need to use it Really, really need to get my hands on a cheap chest freezer.

domestic chest freezer in Wigan, Lancashire | Other Collectibles & Crafts for Sale | Gumtree.com