The cost of SW

Dietingdon

Silver Member
Hey, as some of you know, I was due to start CD, but couldnt due to medical reasons, so I started SW. I was con cerned of the CD cost, but budgeted, and would just scrape by. I was pleased at the money Id be saving by doing SW. Now I'm almost 1 week in, I can't believe how much its costing me. Not the class fee, but the food, esp as I like red days. Ive spent a small fortune on food this week, it's all well and good eating all the free food you want, but the problem Im finding is affording it. Anyone else find this?
 
Try your butchers rather than supermarkets for meat- im sure if you become a regular customer they'd discount every now and then- just depends what they are like :) Meat is very expensive at the mo and i only have two red days per week which is usually the weekend as i like my bacon butties with the BF on sat n sun haha!
But i live off chick peas, pasta etc for the rest of the week. Its all money money money- keep an eye out on the bargain thread as well... that might give you some cheaper alternatives. x
 
My OH wont eat differently, so we're buying 2 totally different types of food. I also used to shop in Iceland, its cheap, but its also crappy food, hence why you cant eat it on SW.
 
I have always found SW red days expensive but as I have had good losses with doing red days I stick with them. It is a necessary evil in my book xx
 
it is hard especially if you only really like red days!
try stocking up when things are on offer.
make in bulk and freeze.
 
i too have to watch to pennies,iceland are doing 15 eggs for £1.50, they also do chicken strips (frozen) for £2.00, good for stirfrys etc.
 
I was going to say iceland too, they re good for frozen chicken breasts. Sainsburys often have an offer on their mince but it pays to shop around a bit and freeze what you can. I tend to make a large evening meal then take a portion for lunch the next day.
 
you can get a kili bag off hl mince from tesco freezer and it will last ages its £3.99 but you can make chillis bolognese burgers cottage pie keema curries lots off things .I try get my meat from butchers sometimes thay have a huge tray off meat for a tenner morht having a look x
 
I tend to make up a lot of my meals with veg so it doesn't work out that dear, I think if anything SW is cheaper for me. My shopping bill tends to be £25 per week approx. That's what I've spent this week and I've done / am doing 4 red days and 3 green. I shop at aldi for items like chicken (£2.30) or ham (99p). I think it depends how much you can eat, I had ES sausages and a piece of steak yesterday meatwise so it's not really that expensive for me. Green days might work out cheaper for you so you could mix a couple of those in to dilute the cost. Like the others say too buy things when they're cheaper, I freeze meat if it's on offer or bulk buy packets, tins etc if they have bargains.

I also find that I save money not drinking as much or ordering takeaways now. A chow mein is loads cheaper than tikka masala with rice and a naan :) x
 
i couldnt afford to do sw and buy all my fruit fresh etc.. so i but frozen peppers, frozen chopped onions, all my veg is frozen and i go to local markets for meat.. i got 10 large chicken breast for £10 the otherday separated and froze in portions of 2, we also go the cash and carry (u can use wether bussiness or not) for eggs , bacon and sausages. to be honnest my husband cant work so we do stuggle and have become very good at being thrifty.. i guess to sum up shop arround and cook up in bulk and freeze.
nic x
btw by doing this our weekly food bill is never over £40 for 2adults and 3 children.
 
learnt from the best... my mum the scrouge!!
hehe only messing!!
 
I have recently switched from Tesco to Iceland.

I am a red girl and I have reduced my bill from £120 per week to £65 per week and we are a family of 5. I buy the ready cooked sliced chicken £3 for a big bag. You can get 4 fresh chicken breasts from the chiller for £3 (and they are good quality grade a) and 500g stewing steak for £2.50. Also, you can get a pack of grapes for £2.

The frozen ready to cook chicken (cut into peices) is only £3 and is fantastic. The ham is lovely too. I was amazed at how much I could save. I also like the chicken breasts with galic butter at 1.5 syns and I think they are £3 as well.
 
I've been buying the chicken pieces from iceland as well as the quorn chicken pieces..think they have so much extra free at the mo & mixing them together. Also the chicken thighs are very goos..from anywhere really, skin removed there's loads of meat on them, also buy drumsticks & keep them cooked in the fridge.

It's the first time I've done this for ages, but I went to the local Sunday market today & managed to pick up some cheap eggs...there was also loads of cheap meat aswell, but didn't have enough cash. I did buy what I was planning to, which was loads of really cheap fruit & veg...seems quite good quality too!! So I will be having chilli & spag bol this week with a little mince, a little Asda m/f mince (I know it's a few syns, but much better value & much more like mince..texture & taste, bulked out with grated carrots, chopped peppers & some very ripe juicy red chopped fresh toms, followed by a plate full of really cheap & sweet fruit...all for a fraction of the cost of buying everything from the supermarket. Really chuffed!!
 
We've had much the same problem as you, that's why we ended up switching to doing mostly green days in the end, rice, pasta and pulses are so much cheaper. :sigh:

I second what others have said about trying your local butchers and the market for meat - I was amazed at how much cheaper some things were, particularly things like chicken breasts.

It's also sometimes cheaper to buy a whole chicken, roast it and use that for one meal, then use the rest of the meat for meals during the week, sandwiches, salads etc.
 
Ah yes, I bought some whole large chickens when they were half price in Somerfield & put them in the freezer, had one today & the rest will be risotto tomorrow, one of the legs will also go into DD's lunchbox for school tomorrow..her fav. The remainder of the risotto will be my lunch on Tues.
 
this diet makes you cook and think more ..its so easy and expensive to lob something out the freezer and into the oven ..but so much more satisfying knowing its home cooked and healthy and well shopped for !
 
Back
Top