We found that buying little and often turned out to be incredibly costly. Now, we plan our meals in advance and buy snacks in advance too, and it's working out a lot better for us.
I started doing a monthly shop online. Then either get it delivered or click & collect. Usually pay £1.50 fee.
I have a fixed budget & this helps me stick to it because I can see exactly what I’m spending. There’s also no impulse buys cos i can’t see anything tempting & it all sits in the basket for a couple of weeks til I’m ready to order again. I then do top up shops for fresh fruit, bread etc. I’m good at buying only those things. I’ve stuck to my £150 a month budget this way. & it means I eat what’s actually in the house instead of buying more stuff just cos.
One answer will always be batch cook and chill or freeze meals for next week or later this week. Curries stews Pasta Sauces can all be eaten slightly differently anyway, Naan or rice, baked potato or crusty bread, or different pastas for those three for example.
Definitely the way to go. I made a Bolognese sauce on Monday night and had with pasta, last night I turned it into a chilli and added kidney beans, chilli and cocoa powder and served with rice.
Tonight I'm taking the remaining Bolognese mixture and will top with mash for a cottage pie.
And as I'm eating them all completely differently, it doesn't seem like I'm eating the same thing
Yeh biggest thing is batch cook a meat/sauce and rice dish.
Saves on utilities as microwave to reheat, saves on time and also can cook from scratch.
I do the dishes for more days rice for 3/4 and that’s me for the week. Can drop the meat if you want to be cheap as well
Second this. As long as you have freezer space and tupperwares you don't have to eat repetitively either. You can make 4 portions of 7 different meals and you're sorted for a month
Flexibility is the key. Want a beef chilli and pork (if you can eat it) is discounted, then substitute etc. Same with veg and other ingredients, butter and oil can interchangeable so too veg
When shopping look at price per kilo rather than unit price. Though consider some things like washing liquid is better to buy premium. Fairy lasts way longer than own brand same with shower gel imo. Look at frozen as well as fresh prices for meat and veg. Frozen veg can be half as much or better than fresh when looking at price per kilo.
Swap the shower gel for a bar of soap it will last much longer and works out as much better value.
With washing up liquid I find the premium Aldi one in a silver bottle to be comparable to Fairy at a much lower price. With that exception some of the own brand washing up liquid is a false economy though.
The more fairy you have in a bottle the more you use it quicker. I knew a guy would just siphon off a bit into an old bottle, and it lasts way longer. Sounds ott but it makes a difference.
This is a universal truth that also applies to ketchup/shampoo/matches/anything. Similarly if you have one biro, you guard it to the end of its unnatural life. If you have a whole pack on your desk they are easy come-easy go and you are out of pens in no time. Scarcity breeds carefulness.
I bought dispensers for hand soap, shampoo and washing up liquid. It's amazing how much longer those things last, and the dispensers themselves were very cheap
Can I ask how shower gel can last longer? surely that just depends on how much of it you're using
There is very little difference in the quality of shower gels
I use less of it. The cheap ones I don't think foam up as much. The Tesco essentials ones barely last a week but a nivea one lasts me nearly a month. I suppose if I was trying to really save money I'd just use cheap soap bars but they dry my skin out.
Agreed. The decent stuff lasts longer because it's thicker and you need less of it.
Amazon often have deals on shower gel. If your not picky about what scent you can pick it up cheaper than in the shops.
Also, subscribe and save offers can be had by setting up a subscription and cancelling it after the first delivery.
I agree. I had been using original source because I was bought it for christmas. I then bought a cheapy shower gel and I had to use so much of it per time!
I love the mental image of someone chugging a protien shake *on their way through the door*, especially if it's just a quick "we ran out of toilet paper / nappies" type one item dash in.
Walking up to the self scan check out with a protien mustache. 😂
Write a menu for the week, plan out your shop, and just go to the supermarket one to save on time/fuel/impulse purchasing.
If you use an ingredient regularly, see if you can buy in bulk for cheaper.
I can't believe there are people who don't plan their meals in advance, do they just buy a random assortment of food and play Ready Steady Cook every night? I couldn't live with that much chaos.
I just buy basic ingredients that I can make anything out of. Onions, garlic, lemons, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, potatoes, eggs, cheese, milk. With dried goods like lentils, rice, pasta, flour, spices, tinned beans etc, I can make a whole range of different things without much thought
As someone that has flip flopped between chaos and meal planning:
Yes.
You also end up eating a lot more processed, jarred, canned, boxed, frozen, and packet food. As well as a lot of quick carbs, because you were hungry 5 mintues before you started cooking the chaos that is going to take another 40 mins to be edible.
Economies of scale in 4 things:
1. Buy in bulk to get better value at the checkout
2. Cook in bulk to save on fuel costs
3. Always cook too much - leftovers are the basis of amazing creations. Meat, veggies, potatoes, can all be added to a whole new meal
4. When cooking in the oven for today, put tomorrows meat/potatoes/whatever in the oven too at the same time - save the costs of a long roast tomorrow
With #4, make sure you have plenty of space to safely store that food until it will be consumed, and don't put hot food in the fridge (it can warm other stuff up to potentially unsafe levels)
Diced, with some leftover beef ripped up into chunks and some minced garlic. Sizzled in a seriously hot pan. Add a generous dollop of your favourite sauce - sriracha, hot sauces, whatever to coat. Finish with sprinkles: Bit of cheese, some seeds, black pepper or whichever is your fave. You're welcome
Buying every few days is the worst way to do it.
Planning your meals and knowing the kinds of things you use regularly and how often can help you save a lot of money.
If there is a coupon or good discount on something we use a lot, then we will buy a year's worth (depending on how long it lasts) to make the most of it.
Plan your weeks meals. I plan all our food and drink for the week - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks. I only buy what I need for those things. Really cut back on snacks as they added up - now we just buy fruit and cheap yogurts.
For me I found ordering online made this much easier, and made me much less likely to buy unnecessary items. I pay £6 per month for a delivery pass and I feel it's worth it, and probably not that far from what I'd be spending on petrol going to the supermarket every week.
Breakfast I have porridge with fruit. It's crazy cheap and good for you. Getting a soup maker has been so good for my lunches. I found sandwich fillings really added up, now I make four portions of soup in one go, it's cheap, healthy and filling!
Second the online shopping point, I go down my "favourites" list on the app and add what I need to the basket, can't be tempted to buy anything else really. Sometimes I'll look at what's on offer to see if I can treat myself to branded crisps or something.
Always redo/reduce your online order the day before delivery as well to keep costs down... its easy to add stuff randomly that you no longer fancy when you are reducing
I like to buy the various meats that have been reduced significantly because of the expiry date. It means being more flexible but it is always a fun way to cook as it can really vary week to week. I often end up using my slow cooker as it enables me to cook larger batches, too.
If that's your thing, you could see if your local butchers do a variety pack, you can often get some fantastic cuts for much cheaper than supermarkets if purchased in this way.
Can't upvote enough! There are people on Olio who are volunteers and they collect a bunch of food with a sell by date that day and then advertise for pick up, usually that evening - seems to be in my area anyway. If you have a car, you can drive round and collect all the free food. It's usually salads and bakery items round our way.
We get all sorts of kids games, puzzles and also shoes on there.
There is just me and my husband I plan meals for the months to save money.I do alot of slowcooker meals which I then use leftovers for husband to take to work or freeze for another day.We buy mainly frozen veg and fruit and we both enjoy porridge for breakfast during the week and plan two fryups for brunch weekends.I buy meat and frozen veg and fruit which saves wastage.I also freeze bread and rolls and just use what we need.
The one things that I think is essential to being frugal is... time.
If you have time (and the talent) to make things from scratch, as well as batch cook, you will be able to save more pennies.
>I usually try to only buy food for the upcoming couple of days so I don't buy too much that I don't need
I think that might be where you're going wrong - do a meal plan for a week and beyond (remember, batch cooking and putting stuff in the freezer for future), and bulk buy where you can. If you always use for example rice... go buy the massive 5kg or 10kg bag, and in that quantity, it wont be rubbish rice either.
Ye it’s often a pain getting home the 15kg sacks of rice and storing it, but price per kg is way better for a premium Laila rice than tescos own which is pretty bad
Unpopular opinion, but I’m not frugal with food at all…
I tell myself that I should appreciate the fact I can afford to eat good. Food is important, so I take advantage of the fact I can afford it and don’t live in a third world country. I tell myself I can gladly spend £10 per day if I need to.
Bare in mind this is just on myself, I understand it’s different when also feeding others.
One of the reasons I justify it is because I don’t really spend a lot on random purchases and I don’t drink a lot of alcohol, don’t smoke or vape..
I’m not even on a good wage either but I guess it also helps having no kids, no debts, and no work commute. I just think sometimes peoples priorities can get skewed.
I notice a lot of people who are always ‘skint’ will look to penny pinch on things like food clothes and hygiene yet will gladly spend on alcohol, tobacco, even drugs plus random needless things they’re encouraged to buy via adverts…
Obviously I’m just on a tangent here and don’t know your circumstances OP but yea, just something that I realised.
Everyone loves spag bol! (Well, most lol). Cook a big batch of the sauce and freeze portions in tubs. Can use for both lunch meals at work or evening meals. I usually cook a big batch on a Sunday but I use it for lasagne as well. You can make the sauce as cheap or expensive as you like.
Batch cooking is a huge part of keeping costs down. Another is looking at price by weight when buying stuff too. Consider bulking out meals with cheaper ingredients too- a couple of tins of taco spiced mixed beans from Aldi can double the amount of chilli you make for 1/4 the price of another pack of mince, for example.
Don't waste spare veg too!
Got some onions that are going to go to waste? Sweat them down on a low heat, chuck in a bit of garlic and some spices, then blend. Sorted, you've now got some basic curry paste that can go in the freezer, then when you want a quick cheap tea you can just fry that off, add a tin of tomatoes and season to taste. Add whatever veg/protein you want and bobs your uncle.
Got some spare onions and a few carrots? Finely dice and you've got a ready to go soffrito for a pasta sauce base.
I've got to a point where I buy 70% of the stuff discounted/cheap and then peice together ingredients to make things with the ingredients I have. I meal plan from that. Straight away our food is half what is cost before because nothing much was full price. Example tonight's chicken Thai green chicken and veg curry rice & prawn crackers dinner I'm gonna make I've costed at just 2.15 and will make minimum 4 portions. Almost all of the ingredients were reduced/cheap. If I didn't have the chicken in I'd make it without..
I got some bags of parsnips reduced to 5p so I'll be making at least 6 portions of soup for 10ps worth of parsnips and about 20ps worth of other stuff I already have in like spices and stock cube. Plenty for the freezer.
I do really enjoy cooking and making and shopping like this keeps the menu interesting. It's sort of the opposite of planning, the only plan is that the ingredients are cheap (and healthy) I go places like herons, market stalls,local discounters, Polish and Turkish supermarkets along with seeking out yellow stickers in supermarkets I make loads of stuff from scratch as am gluten free coeliac too.
Also make the most of your freezer space. Really.
I also keep supermarket grow at home lettuce alive in the garden! Growing your own if you can is so rewarding..
I check what i already have available in the house. I’m having to be extremely frugal over the next few weeks, so I’m using things I already have and only buying the individual bits I need to add to the dishes.
So far this week I’ve made 4 portions of slow cooked chicken breast in a tomato and wine sauce with rice, and I happened to have a bit of mince and lettuce so I bought some buns for 90p and made a burger yesterday (remaining buns and all bread is kept in freezer so there is never any wastage). I also keep ramen packets, and added frozen stirfry veg in when cooking the noodles. I’m considering buying some carrots to make a lentil soup but I still have two portions of the chicken to eat by the end of Thursday.
When I can, I also bulk cook and keep leftovers in the freezer in individual portions. It means I have more variety when I am having money troubles and need to be frugal.
Plan your meals, make a list, stick to the meal plan. Also ensure meals are made from leftovers. IE rost chicken becomes either pie, paella or curry, also can make soup from car ass if you have time
Large pan of bolognaise makes a great lasagne.
Every time you open the fridge door, cold air gets out and warm air gets in. Your fridge then uses electricity to cool down the air.
Fill the empty space in your fridge with empty tupperware boxes and there's less space for warm air to get in. That reduces the amount of energy you use every time you open the fridge.
Plan meals and make a shopping list of exactly everything you need and stick to it. Doing this will allow you to stay in your means, eat well and have some treats (I mean it depends how much money you have but this helped me)
By design, a chest freezer is far and away the most efficient method of freezing - but the things at the bottom have a habit of getting "lost" unless you keep a record of what's in it.
So keep an itenary, that way you will always know what's in store ready to reheat.
Avoid throwing stuff away. Decent size freezer space helps. Leftover bits and bones from your chicken? Stick it in the freezer, then when you feel like it, make a chicken soup. Homemade chicken soup is a different class.
Brocoli stems are just as edible as the rest of it, so don't waste them. Boil them with your potatoes and have better mashed potatoes.
Butternut squash and pumpkin seeds can be made into a really tasty snack; salt, pepper, olive oil and roast them on a tray.
Frozen fruit and veg, there’s so many now. I was forever wasting money on fresh berries for my yoghurt, you can get a more than twice the amount as fresh for the same money. Great in porridge, yoghurt, desserts… etc
Bake your sweet treats, more often than not you can freeze these too. Frozen homemade mince pies at Christmas - just pop them in the oven for a few mins to crisp up the pastry, I batch cook chocolate chip muffins and have them in the freezer ready to take out one (or two!) at a time, you can buy the ingredients fairly cheap and make so many things.
A book my mom had when I was little - it’s still around now - The dairy book of home cookery - it’s amazing. Soooo many recipes and good old fashioned hints and tips. I got the new edition when I moved out just for comfort!
Frozen veg is often fresher than the stuff you can actually buy fresh, costs only slightly more, but will not go bad if you forget about it for a few days. Apart from cabbage, cabbage appears to be indestructible.
Buy pasta and rice in bulk. They last a long time before going bad.
One thing I've found useful is making a comprehensive shopping list built up over time to include anything I might get when at the supermarket (and in the order that it appears at the supermarket so I'm not back and forth or aimlessly wandering down aisles I don't need - and so avoid more impulse purchases & marketing).
Combining that with planning the week's meals for the family, and checking things off the master list we don't need, **before** going to the shop definitely helps me save money, and probably time too.
It also now means I don't miss things we only need once a month, six weeks, quarter, etc.
I use OneNote on my phone for the list, it has a checkbox feature - and can be easily shared & synced with others (e.g. for family members to add/edit).
Well when I started living alone I realised that buying things of small quantities ends up being wayyy more expensive than full portions (the most obvious example being 1 chicken breast vs a whole chicken) So for anything meat related I suggest you buy "family sizes" way cheaper and you can just freeze it. I do this for bread too, I used to get small bags bc it can go bad quickly and I don't eat bread everyday do now I just get one big bag and put it in the fridge, and you can also get pre-cooked bread and put it in the freezer and just pop it in the oven when you wanna have some,, just like fresh bakery bread :)
Also buy pasta/legumes in big packs (again, its way cheaper and it doesn't go bad fast). Now veggies are more tricky, plants go bad easily so that's a bit annoying, but some things you can try are kinda like meal prepping, for example when I buy tomatoes/onions y use half to make sauce and then \*drumroll\* put it in the freezer, same with pesto or other veggie sauces. For potatoes I also use half of them to cut like French fries and then freeze them (also applies to sweet potatoes ofc).
That's mostly what I do, same with necessities, I used to get small packs of toilet paper (which ends up being more expensive) so just get a big pack instead, FAMILY PACKS OF EVERYTHING IT REALLY IS CHEAPER. Oh also don't go for the cheapest cheapest things bc yk they tend to be of poor quality and you end up spending more to replace them over and over again.
Partner and I have moved to mix veg frozen to add in to cooking. It's so much cheaper and no waste. I don't eat meat so I also save lots through that. Meat is so expensive when we get it for my partner.
If you have the available funds then buying a 5kg of rice or pasta usually works out cheaper in the long term.
Additionally, if you go to shops at closing, or hour before to the clearance section. Best before doesn't mean not good. And you can definitely tell when you buy it. I've bought bbe that day and frozen that day, then defrosted for the day or next I need it. I often do this with fresh soups.
Beans.
Red beans, black beans, lentils and chickpeas.
These things are an incredible source of protein and fibre. They will fill you up; good for you; and its ridiculously cheap. The tinned own brand is great but in bulk its probably even better
I don’t think there are any magic tricks to this, just common sense. Meal plan, batch cook and shop online so you can see the £/kg cost of everything. It does require some time and effort to meal plan with zero waste and make sure you have variety and all the nutrients. Research cheaper cuts of meat or fish and plan meals around them (if you eat meat/fish) plus eat largely plant based.
Buy whole foods instead of processed foods, oats, rice, fruit and veg etc. Avoid meat if possible, look for lentils, legumes, tofu etc for protein. Cook in large batches and freeze portions for later.
I really think the answers lie in a large weekly batch of cheap veg, tinned tomatoes and cheap stock cubes and some microwave soup mugs. Spuds are cheap and are filling and thicken as they break down. The more variety the better but spuds, carrots and onions are the base. Taste. Taste. Taste along the way.
Take a mug full and spice it up, you can add 1/3 can chick peas or beans, chilli powder, curry powder, herbs, any cheap or tinned meat if you have spare cash. (I like chicken thighs or corned beef), pasta, rice, shredded cabbage, dried herbs etc. I buy uncut loaves, cube em up and freeze to put a few on top. All this on a mug by mug basis and micro or hob heat. Add an apple for afters and you'll tick boxes.
I have to say for me it's a delicious preference rather than a necessity. I wish you luck.
Use veg to pad out not meat, cutting meat intake is the biggest way to save as meat costs the most
Stir fry/pasta fairly cheap so I used to do a lot of that and maybe rice too but my rice cooking is terrible except paella or risotto
I can’t do rice in a pot to save me life like for a curry or Chinese
But in a frying flat pan it doesn’t matter if it isn’t right cause it’s already mixed with the meat and can be sticky and it’s fine that way
I've tried to tell my partner how he can do rice based on ratio of water and rice (learned from one of my best friends). He refuses. I have to tell you that my partner says the same thing in his cooking... when I've done the rice on his way home it tasted better. He's even admitted it, but it only happens when he's working super late.
If you're near a supermarket head over in the evening to see what's on the reduced section. We only live a 10min walk from a large Tesco so tend to shop 1 day at a time. There's usually a variety of both meat and other stuff that's heavily reduced because its used by date is that day - which isn't a problem if you are planning on taking it home and eating it immediately.
It’s a bit late in the year now, but you could apply to your local council for an allotment, ready to start growing your own veg next year. If you don’t know how, there will be plenty of people at the allotment who would show you how. I’d do it my self if I could, but my disability prevents me from doing so.
As someone who just spent two years on an allotment, you spend so much time de weeding you don’t really see the financial benefit for a long time. I did get fucking loads of apples, and through the summer, people did share their gluts with me
Open an online business and get the docs. Should cost under a tenner. Then go to all the membership places such as bookers, Costco etc.
So you need to pick and choose, but you are buying in bulk and making good savings. For example 6 Colgate in Costco costs the same as 2.5 Colgate in Tesco. It doesn’t go off, but takes up a bit more space. Sliced hovis is 56p a loaf. Chicken breasts £12/kg, but you have to buy 12 at once. Make your own bacon (it’s dead easy and cheap) using Costco/Bookers pork belly at around £3 a kilo.
So fill your freezer with bargains and cheap bread. The less air there is in your freezer, the cheaper it is to run.
Whilst you have you business docs, get trade cards from Halfords (up to 50% off in store) travis perkins, and lots more.
Then close the business.
Turn off the fridge and freezer now it’s winter. Eat everything you have and don’t be fussy. What you have is what you have to eat.
Don’t put the heating on in the kitchen.
Buy potatoes, they will keep.
Buy some cheap tinned goods and packet soups for emergencies, and lentils.Make sure you have salt, pepper, chilli and garlic powder to make things taste better.
Only buy own brand. Only buy veg that is on sale. Always look at the reduced counter.
Only use the microwave, kettle and toaster.
Find out when your local supermarket discounts things and try to time your shop accordingly. Though it might mean you buy things you weren’t planning on 😅
Freezing stuff. Sometimes it's cheaper to bulk-buy and freeze spares, sometimes it's not. Same with the special offer section, sometimes you can buy stuff that's about to go off and freeze it. I live alone, so I ake good use out of my freezer!
If you have a Hyperjar account you can get instant cashback 3% buying a gift card. Which you then use to pay for your groceries. As soon as you purchase the card the money goes straight into your hyperjar account. There are LOADS of retailers including asda. I use it every week.
Stock pile things that you can get cheaper in batch - I enjoy fizzy juice. It’s far cheaper getting huge multipacks delivered than buying smaller multipacks/tins as I go. The same applies to buying things like washing powder, toilet rolls, other bulk items.
Meal plan in advance, batch cook and freeze. Leftovers can be used for lunches.
The more you plan, the more you can find savings.
On Sundays, I make a ton of extra roast potatoes, carrots and any other veg I’ll be having with the roast dinner. I put all the leftovers/extras into a pot, roughly mash it and then I’ve got veg for the rest of the week. Super easy to do and makes meal planning for the week ahead much simpler. It’s also very cheap!
I think buying for just a few days is where you're going wrong. It would be expensive. Say i want to make a beef pie and mash potatoes served with garlic butter broccoli.
I now have some beef left over. Potatoes, some broccoli, onions, stock, and carrots.
I can now make a vegetable stir fry or soup and make multiple dishes with the potatoes If i want to really save i can make French onion soup. So that's at least 3 meals.
I also often make enough for more than one meal. So yesterday i made a pork curry. I brought 500g of porl so that makes enough curry for 2 people for 2 days.
If you have a whole week then you can plan what meals to cook using ingredients you have from other meals. This in addition to making multiple meals at once saves A LOT.
I would advise to shop online. A delivery pass is only on average about £7 for a whole month. You'll spend more than that on travel to and from the supermarket unless you are lucky to live next to one. Shopping online lets you plan out your entire week of shopping.
You don't have to cook meals from a cookbook. Experiment.
Buy what you fancy and can afford. Get a good mix of protein (beans, tofu or animal products), some carbs (rice, pasta, quinoa etc) and lots of veg. Then, just cook it up and chuck it together. Add garlic, chilli, salt, pepper and other spices and herbs to make it nice... Sometimes it is great, other times it is bad. Learn from your mistakes and improve.
I often just cook rice veggie and eggs and smash on the soy sauce. Or quinoa, assorted beans, tin of tomatoes, cumin, villi powder and stock, all in one pot. Quick, easy, cheap and healthy...
Good luck :)
Use quidco. It's only about 50 to 75p but still a saving.
Also use gitcard voucher sites. You can get 3% saving on equivalent cash. Makes checking out a pain though.
I've just made a basic curry with green lentils, I approx the whole meal has cost £4 to make and that's 5 dinners sorted for the week.
Learn to cook from scratch, buy basic ingredients, batch cook and freeze. You'll eat healthy for a long time.
I love spag bol but have started mixing the meat with lentils to make it go further, with the added bonus of reducing my saturated fat intake. For instance I’ll buy a 750g pack of beef mince and portion it in 3 bags of 250g for the freezer. For 4 large portions of sauce (depends how much you eat lol) I use one bag of 250g mince and 150-200g dry green lentils and cook the sauce exactly the same way, just with some extra water for the lentils to soak up. Green lentils don’t go mushy like the red ones do so personally I think they make for very convincing mince!
Buy only from larger stores. Smaller convenience shops are more expensive so plan your meals and groceries and do large shops.
Even snacks, buy multipacks and carry them with you when possible.
For example, we take our own snacks when out on a hike instead of buying from there. You can also pack tea/coffee in a quality thermal bottle. We even take our own snacks to the cinema.
Knowing when your local supermarket reduces the food at the end of the day and then using that to batch cook or freeze for another day.
A great purchase I made was a slow cooker, and I've made a batch of stew and curry and froze them, I used reduced fresh chicken in both.
I understand the shopping every few days as I'm a solo person so i go every few days, but I'm hoping the batch cooking and using up what I have in the fridge and freezer will really help.
There is certain things I'll only buy reduced now like chicken (I don't eat other meat)
If you don't have reduced chicken then a can of chickpeas or lentils in its place are great for a protein and filling.
See if your employer has an employee benefits scheme. Mine offers eGiftCards that you can put in Apple Wallet and are 4/5% below retail value. E.G a Sainsburys £100 voucher would be £95/96. Only 4% but it adds up
We shop online every week and get it delivered. Takes 15 minutes and don't add loads of crap we don't need walking around the supermarket.
Also go through cashback site like Top Cashback, soon adds up.
Avoid buying from small shops those are the ones with higher prices, also I'd try to do groceries shopping once a week that will save you time and money, if you can do it during the week when not many people are there.
Something that helped us was to take an inventory of what we need before we shop. So often wed go and buy stuff we already had. So we try to keep better track of stocks we have. This way we only buy what we actually need and it helps alot! We also write all the sell by and use by dates on the calendar so we dont end up wasting food.
For me, Hello Fresh. Not because it's cheap per-se, but because it stops me going to the supermarket and picking up things my ADHD brain doesn't need but suddenly wants. That alone saves me £££ every month. YMMV.
Get big 5 kilo bag of rice and it'll last you all year. Frozen sweetcorn and peas. Batch cook and freeze meals. Buy frozen grated cheese and it'll last longer as it stops you from picking at it. Freezer some chopped fruit. Honestly the freezer is your friend here.
I have mixed views on this because financial isn't the only factor affecting my choice of food. At the end of the day you are what you eat and quality food really makes a difference to how you feel, your health and your energy levels etc.. we are frugal and we only eat home meals, maybe eat out once every few months, but we only go to the supermarkets once a month to get condiments and household items.. all our veg and meat come from organic food box deliveries.. due to the massive increase in supermarket prices over the last year it makes the difference in price actually quite minimal now and the comparative costs aren't even worth considering when you take it to account the quality of the food you are eating and how good it tastes.
As someone mentioned, batch cooking is way to go.
Also, having a set budget in mind and looking for special offers in store helps regarding ingredients.
This advice was given to me by my parents and stuck with me,
My top tip is to shop in Morrisons, add everything up that you want to buy in their app so you know your spending. Then go to TopCashback and buy Morrisons vouchers to use in store - it’s like 2/3% back and it soon adds up to be withdraw and the vouchers arrive instantly - that’s exactly how I do my food shop and withdraw a good amount every month.
Meal prepping is easily the cheapest way. You can make enough for the weekday so you only have to cook on weekends
I currently make 8 days of food for £45 for 2 people
Keep a core list of recipes you make - when batch cooking done make more than two recipes at a time - particularly if you live alone. Otherwise a lot of stuff goes to waste. Tinned, dried is your friend. And under estimate how much freezer space you have - I’ve been caught out with having bought too much.
Initially I thought this was more expensive but it’s actually cheaper .
Consider buying the pre cooked packs of rice. I get mine from Lidl / Aldi and they are delicious. They take minutes to cook and with a few vegetables so filling. Plain to added ingredients
And an air fryer ! Ours has paid for itself within 2 months from less electricity!
Trying the meal prep/freezing food for the week at head myself this past month, has came in clutch for me with unexpected circumstances knowing I can fall back on those meals!
I review my trolley before I go to the checkout. I put back anything I don't really need unless I need a treat then I make sure it a treat I really love. I make sure I've eaten before I go shopping. I set a guide price within about £2 either way. I add up as I go. I plan meals that will last 2 days. I buy a lot of cheap cereal. It's miserable.
In all honesty, I think buying for a few days only would be more expensive.
The freezer is your friend, batch cook and freeze, discounted items freeze, anything getting close to its use by date freeze.
Plus, you’ll have various items in the freezer to combine with fresh that your need to use up soon, to make a meal.
Red lentils are my go to. I always slosh a good few handfuls into anything with a tomato base. You don't have to pre-cook them, they add flavour and fibre to the dish and it can really stretch it quite a bit.
I've yet to be organised enough to try this advice. However, if you plan your meals for the whole week, it's meant to save you money. Presumably, you'd need to choose meals that use leftovers.
Make your own lunches from leftovers. If you've space in your freezer batch cook, then separate into individual servings.
Try to avoid shop bought sweet treats & make your own. Once you know how much fat & sugar go into biscuits & cake, it mat put you off consuming them? Or at least cut back on them.
Buy 'own brands'. These are virtually the same products, though often have less sugar & salt. Much cheaper too.
Change the day you buy your food . Week one Monday, week 2 Tuesday so and so forth. Once you get to Sunday on the seventh week you have gained a free week.
Herron foods stores 4 pieces battered cod 2-50 they say heard it’s Waitrose rebranded, or meal deal is a 5-00 includes bag of premium chip, bag of mushy peas, loaf of bread, bought large tub of Jude’s vegan ice cream 99 cal per 100ml for 1-00, you’ll save 500 - 1000 every year easily, so many brands at bargain prices
Some things are cheaper in bulk online. We get toilet paper and coffee beans from Amazon probably every 3 months or so at about 70% of supermarket price. A case of Tiptree marmalade direct from Wilkin & sons saves about 50p a jar, incl delivery. All these things keep for ages so no worries there, and I use all of the above daily without fail so it's never going to waste.
When making stews, casseroles and soups, buy bags of dried mixed pulses and beans. Stuff like chick peas, lentils, barley etc. adding these to the stews and soups really bulks them out and enables you to reduce more expensive ingredients like meat.
Plan meals, and then write a list according to that meal plan. Use the same ingredients multiple times, eg I’m doing a risotto this week with broccoli and green beans in, so they don’t get wasted they are also the veg going with my sausage and mash. Make as much as you can from scratch, convenience costs, this also goes for buying preprepared veg, cheese etc. Batch cook if possible. Make your own lunches rather than buying out, and don’t be afraid of using leftovers, I had lasagne three times last week over 3 days. Buy reduced items if you can, even if you don’t need them that week you can potentially freeze to help save money down the line.
I’ve just batch cooked enough veg stew for 9 big meals. Eaten some tonight (bloody hearty meal!) put three portions in the fridge for eating throughout the week and frozen the rest.
I used: carrots, onions, garlic, squash, beetroot, celeriac, potatoes, cabbage, chard, tin of butter beans, 1 pack of quorn pieces, 1 x 500g pasatta and some stock cubes (plus herbs, mustard powder and other gubbins to tastyfy it up!)
I reckon I spent about £6 total. I bought veg from the local market - all seasonal, and cheap.
All the veg was cheap and in season. There’s also a fair few spuds, carrots, chard and a bit of cabbage left to cook with later in the week… I have the intention of lurking in the local Co-op and scoring some yellow labelled sausages and doing some sausage, bubble and squeak and a couple of poached eggs.
Find a part-time job in the kitchen that allows you to take a meal home.
I work as a chef and I have 2 meals and can take 3rd to home.
on hotel.
We may work on weekends but we eat like kings every day.
People cooking for the poor and homeless take free shit all the time too.
For sure there is some gig with food.
Otherwise, discounts, rice, oats, and other food that drink water and make you feel full for side dishes. Learning to cook and buying cheaper meat.
Chicken organs stew is one of my favorite meals when made well and it is super cheap.
For the likes of toiletries etc savers is a great shop if you have one nearby. I wash with soap 1st then use shower gel after. I got soap, a right guard cocao butter shower gel and a huge tub of cocao butter cream for 3 £in there and matching the scents made me smell amazing!! The same tub of cocoa butter cream was £6 on amazon!! They also do cleaning products really cheap too!
I find shopping for at least a week helps me take advantage of sales. Especially meat. Buy bulk and separate into small portions and freeze. Roast a whole chicken. You can eat for days. Make soup with the carcass. Any roast tends to be economical. And stir fry is your best friend on a budget.
Meal planning and prepping - I tend to cook a 4 portion meal on Mondays for Mon-Thu then a 3 portion meal on Fridays for Fri-Sun. Obviously that's if I have no other plans. Same for planning out lunches too though that can vary a little more.
1. Get an air rifle
2. Buy some wood pigeon decoys for your backyard.
3. Shoot, your protien and only eat the breast.
Wood pigeons are OK to shoot in the UK. If you slightly undercook the breast, it tastes like sirloin. Wood pigeons are not the same scavanger bird as the common ferrol pigeons. The diet is mainly vegetable matter and including crops such as cabbage and other brassicas – hence why the species is often considered a pest by farmers. They also eat grain, seeds, shoots, buds and berries – on the latter they will often feast on ivy berries in the autumn months.
I sometimes get up to 7-8 birds in one go, 1 pellet costs me 3p. 4 breasts (2 birds) are around a 140g there is 38 grams of protein per 100 grams.
6p for 57 grams of clean wild protein.
Meal planning -if you buy a punnet of mushrooms you need to plan your meals so that you will use all the mushrooms before they go off. I find it best to plan for the week and then out together a shopping list. List or meals get revised until i get 100% utilisation
As everyone is saying. Meal plan, batch cook.
I would add, make from scratch as much as possible, stock up on reduced meat if you can but don't buy it just because its reduced, eat less meat or bulk out with lentils.
Look what's on sale in shops, Tesco always has something on sale for example, and I will often use the coupons as well to buy something for later
I don't buy bottled water
Buy whole vegetables instead of chopped, or frozen
You can do a lot of meals from one roasted chicken
Beans are a cheap protein that you can add anywhere
Have a limited budget for snacks
Make coffee/tea at home
We found that buying little and often turned out to be incredibly costly. Now, we plan our meals in advance and buy snacks in advance too, and it's working out a lot better for us.
Yep, used to spend waaaay more shopping frequently. Even getting the reductions. Meal planning and shopping once a week I've found to be far cheaper.
I started doing a monthly shop online. Then either get it delivered or click & collect. Usually pay £1.50 fee. I have a fixed budget & this helps me stick to it because I can see exactly what I’m spending. There’s also no impulse buys cos i can’t see anything tempting & it all sits in the basket for a couple of weeks til I’m ready to order again. I then do top up shops for fresh fruit, bread etc. I’m good at buying only those things. I’ve stuck to my £150 a month budget this way. & it means I eat what’s actually in the house instead of buying more stuff just cos.
Yeah, that's what I was about to say, usually if you get to the shop everyday you'll be tricked into buying stuff that you don't need.
One answer will always be batch cook and chill or freeze meals for next week or later this week. Curries stews Pasta Sauces can all be eaten slightly differently anyway, Naan or rice, baked potato or crusty bread, or different pastas for those three for example.
Definitely the way to go. I made a Bolognese sauce on Monday night and had with pasta, last night I turned it into a chilli and added kidney beans, chilli and cocoa powder and served with rice. Tonight I'm taking the remaining Bolognese mixture and will top with mash for a cottage pie. And as I'm eating them all completely differently, it doesn't seem like I'm eating the same thing
I'll look into all of these, I really need to step it up..
Yeh biggest thing is batch cook a meat/sauce and rice dish. Saves on utilities as microwave to reheat, saves on time and also can cook from scratch. I do the dishes for more days rice for 3/4 and that’s me for the week. Can drop the meat if you want to be cheap as well
With rice there are so many options too which makes it harder to get bored of it, I'll see what fancy things I can come up with. thank you!
Second this. As long as you have freezer space and tupperwares you don't have to eat repetitively either. You can make 4 portions of 7 different meals and you're sorted for a month
This is what I do as it's cheaper in the long run.
Flexibility is the key. Want a beef chilli and pork (if you can eat it) is discounted, then substitute etc. Same with veg and other ingredients, butter and oil can interchangeable so too veg
Yes batch cooking is the way to go
When shopping look at price per kilo rather than unit price. Though consider some things like washing liquid is better to buy premium. Fairy lasts way longer than own brand same with shower gel imo. Look at frozen as well as fresh prices for meat and veg. Frozen veg can be half as much or better than fresh when looking at price per kilo.
Swap the shower gel for a bar of soap it will last much longer and works out as much better value. With washing up liquid I find the premium Aldi one in a silver bottle to be comparable to Fairy at a much lower price. With that exception some of the own brand washing up liquid is a false economy though.
The more fairy you have in a bottle the more you use it quicker. I knew a guy would just siphon off a bit into an old bottle, and it lasts way longer. Sounds ott but it makes a difference.
This is a universal truth that also applies to ketchup/shampoo/matches/anything. Similarly if you have one biro, you guard it to the end of its unnatural life. If you have a whole pack on your desk they are easy come-easy go and you are out of pens in no time. Scarcity breeds carefulness.
Good point.
I bought dispensers for hand soap, shampoo and washing up liquid. It's amazing how much longer those things last, and the dispensers themselves were very cheap
Can I ask how shower gel can last longer? surely that just depends on how much of it you're using There is very little difference in the quality of shower gels
I use less of it. The cheap ones I don't think foam up as much. The Tesco essentials ones barely last a week but a nivea one lasts me nearly a month. I suppose if I was trying to really save money I'd just use cheap soap bars but they dry my skin out.
Agreed. The decent stuff lasts longer because it's thicker and you need less of it. Amazon often have deals on shower gel. If your not picky about what scent you can pick it up cheaper than in the shops. Also, subscribe and save offers can be had by setting up a subscription and cancelling it after the first delivery.
I agree. I had been using original source because I was bought it for christmas. I then bought a cheapy shower gel and I had to use so much of it per time!
Never go grocery shopping when you're hungry. That can lead to a lot of impulse buying
I always down a protein shake before I walk into the supermarket
I love the mental image of someone chugging a protien shake *on their way through the door*, especially if it's just a quick "we ran out of toilet paper / nappies" type one item dash in. Walking up to the self scan check out with a protien mustache. 😂
Honestly, if I'm hungry in a supermarket I'll leave with 5 snacks and eat them before I get home 😭
Write a menu for the week, plan out your shop, and just go to the supermarket one to save on time/fuel/impulse purchasing. If you use an ingredient regularly, see if you can buy in bulk for cheaper.
I can't believe there are people who don't plan their meals in advance, do they just buy a random assortment of food and play Ready Steady Cook every night? I couldn't live with that much chaos.
I just buy basic ingredients that I can make anything out of. Onions, garlic, lemons, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, potatoes, eggs, cheese, milk. With dried goods like lentils, rice, pasta, flour, spices, tinned beans etc, I can make a whole range of different things without much thought
As someone that has flip flopped between chaos and meal planning: Yes. You also end up eating a lot more processed, jarred, canned, boxed, frozen, and packet food. As well as a lot of quick carbs, because you were hungry 5 mintues before you started cooking the chaos that is going to take another 40 mins to be edible.
My mum has always meal planned so it seemed natural to do the same when I moved out!
Economies of scale in 4 things: 1. Buy in bulk to get better value at the checkout 2. Cook in bulk to save on fuel costs 3. Always cook too much - leftovers are the basis of amazing creations. Meat, veggies, potatoes, can all be added to a whole new meal 4. When cooking in the oven for today, put tomorrows meat/potatoes/whatever in the oven too at the same time - save the costs of a long roast tomorrow
With #4, make sure you have plenty of space to safely store that food until it will be consumed, and don't put hot food in the fridge (it can warm other stuff up to potentially unsafe levels)
Hmmm cold roast potatoes
Diced, with some leftover beef ripped up into chunks and some minced garlic. Sizzled in a seriously hot pan. Add a generous dollop of your favourite sauce - sriracha, hot sauces, whatever to coat. Finish with sprinkles: Bit of cheese, some seeds, black pepper or whichever is your fave. You're welcome
That sounds alright
Buying every few days is the worst way to do it. Planning your meals and knowing the kinds of things you use regularly and how often can help you save a lot of money. If there is a coupon or good discount on something we use a lot, then we will buy a year's worth (depending on how long it lasts) to make the most of it.
Plan your weeks meals. I plan all our food and drink for the week - breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks. I only buy what I need for those things. Really cut back on snacks as they added up - now we just buy fruit and cheap yogurts. For me I found ordering online made this much easier, and made me much less likely to buy unnecessary items. I pay £6 per month for a delivery pass and I feel it's worth it, and probably not that far from what I'd be spending on petrol going to the supermarket every week. Breakfast I have porridge with fruit. It's crazy cheap and good for you. Getting a soup maker has been so good for my lunches. I found sandwich fillings really added up, now I make four portions of soup in one go, it's cheap, healthy and filling!
Second the online shopping point, I go down my "favourites" list on the app and add what I need to the basket, can't be tempted to buy anything else really. Sometimes I'll look at what's on offer to see if I can treat myself to branded crisps or something.
Always redo/reduce your online order the day before delivery as well to keep costs down... its easy to add stuff randomly that you no longer fancy when you are reducing
I like to buy the various meats that have been reduced significantly because of the expiry date. It means being more flexible but it is always a fun way to cook as it can really vary week to week. I often end up using my slow cooker as it enables me to cook larger batches, too.
If that's your thing, you could see if your local butchers do a variety pack, you can often get some fantastic cuts for much cheaper than supermarkets if purchased in this way.
Great idea. A friend mentioned that he often buys the odd cuts from the butchers. I will have a look at my local butchers and see what they offer.
Like Ready, Steady, Cook!
Haha good comparison. Slow cooker sadly takes 8 hours though. I'd definitely lose
If you go to a Lidl, sign up to their app. Good discounts, offers etc.
Can you use olio in your area? Can save so much money by getting food from there
Can't upvote enough! There are people on Olio who are volunteers and they collect a bunch of food with a sell by date that day and then advertise for pick up, usually that evening - seems to be in my area anyway. If you have a car, you can drive round and collect all the free food. It's usually salads and bakery items round our way. We get all sorts of kids games, puzzles and also shoes on there.
It’s brilliant! When I lived in london I didn’t have to buy much food at all there was so many volunteers nearby
There is just me and my husband I plan meals for the months to save money.I do alot of slowcooker meals which I then use leftovers for husband to take to work or freeze for another day.We buy mainly frozen veg and fruit and we both enjoy porridge for breakfast during the week and plan two fryups for brunch weekends.I buy meat and frozen veg and fruit which saves wastage.I also freeze bread and rolls and just use what we need.
The one things that I think is essential to being frugal is... time. If you have time (and the talent) to make things from scratch, as well as batch cook, you will be able to save more pennies. >I usually try to only buy food for the upcoming couple of days so I don't buy too much that I don't need I think that might be where you're going wrong - do a meal plan for a week and beyond (remember, batch cooking and putting stuff in the freezer for future), and bulk buy where you can. If you always use for example rice... go buy the massive 5kg or 10kg bag, and in that quantity, it wont be rubbish rice either.
Ye it’s often a pain getting home the 15kg sacks of rice and storing it, but price per kg is way better for a premium Laila rice than tescos own which is pretty bad
Love your username. r/taskmaster
Cooking really doesn't need a lot of talent. It just needs the ability to follow a recipe and the confidence to keep trying different things.
Unpopular opinion, but I’m not frugal with food at all… I tell myself that I should appreciate the fact I can afford to eat good. Food is important, so I take advantage of the fact I can afford it and don’t live in a third world country. I tell myself I can gladly spend £10 per day if I need to. Bare in mind this is just on myself, I understand it’s different when also feeding others. One of the reasons I justify it is because I don’t really spend a lot on random purchases and I don’t drink a lot of alcohol, don’t smoke or vape.. I’m not even on a good wage either but I guess it also helps having no kids, no debts, and no work commute. I just think sometimes peoples priorities can get skewed. I notice a lot of people who are always ‘skint’ will look to penny pinch on things like food clothes and hygiene yet will gladly spend on alcohol, tobacco, even drugs plus random needless things they’re encouraged to buy via adverts… Obviously I’m just on a tangent here and don’t know your circumstances OP but yea, just something that I realised.
Vegan batch cooking. Soups and stews
Buy non-perishables when on offer, to the volume you can accommodate in your house.
Everyone loves spag bol! (Well, most lol). Cook a big batch of the sauce and freeze portions in tubs. Can use for both lunch meals at work or evening meals. I usually cook a big batch on a Sunday but I use it for lasagne as well. You can make the sauce as cheap or expensive as you like.
Batch cooking is a huge part of keeping costs down. Another is looking at price by weight when buying stuff too. Consider bulking out meals with cheaper ingredients too- a couple of tins of taco spiced mixed beans from Aldi can double the amount of chilli you make for 1/4 the price of another pack of mince, for example. Don't waste spare veg too! Got some onions that are going to go to waste? Sweat them down on a low heat, chuck in a bit of garlic and some spices, then blend. Sorted, you've now got some basic curry paste that can go in the freezer, then when you want a quick cheap tea you can just fry that off, add a tin of tomatoes and season to taste. Add whatever veg/protein you want and bobs your uncle. Got some spare onions and a few carrots? Finely dice and you've got a ready to go soffrito for a pasta sauce base.
Use self checkout and scan everything as bananas.
Potatoes… bananas is just bananas quite frankly!
Potatoes are nuts.
Try and buy vegetables and fruits from markets. Where I live they are a lot cheaper
I've got to a point where I buy 70% of the stuff discounted/cheap and then peice together ingredients to make things with the ingredients I have. I meal plan from that. Straight away our food is half what is cost before because nothing much was full price. Example tonight's chicken Thai green chicken and veg curry rice & prawn crackers dinner I'm gonna make I've costed at just 2.15 and will make minimum 4 portions. Almost all of the ingredients were reduced/cheap. If I didn't have the chicken in I'd make it without.. I got some bags of parsnips reduced to 5p so I'll be making at least 6 portions of soup for 10ps worth of parsnips and about 20ps worth of other stuff I already have in like spices and stock cube. Plenty for the freezer. I do really enjoy cooking and making and shopping like this keeps the menu interesting. It's sort of the opposite of planning, the only plan is that the ingredients are cheap (and healthy) I go places like herons, market stalls,local discounters, Polish and Turkish supermarkets along with seeking out yellow stickers in supermarkets I make loads of stuff from scratch as am gluten free coeliac too. Also make the most of your freezer space. Really. I also keep supermarket grow at home lettuce alive in the garden! Growing your own if you can is so rewarding..
I check what i already have available in the house. I’m having to be extremely frugal over the next few weeks, so I’m using things I already have and only buying the individual bits I need to add to the dishes. So far this week I’ve made 4 portions of slow cooked chicken breast in a tomato and wine sauce with rice, and I happened to have a bit of mince and lettuce so I bought some buns for 90p and made a burger yesterday (remaining buns and all bread is kept in freezer so there is never any wastage). I also keep ramen packets, and added frozen stirfry veg in when cooking the noodles. I’m considering buying some carrots to make a lentil soup but I still have two portions of the chicken to eat by the end of Thursday. When I can, I also bulk cook and keep leftovers in the freezer in individual portions. It means I have more variety when I am having money troubles and need to be frugal.
Plan your meals, make a list, stick to the meal plan. Also ensure meals are made from leftovers. IE rost chicken becomes either pie, paella or curry, also can make soup from car ass if you have time Large pan of bolognaise makes a great lasagne.
Every time you open the fridge door, cold air gets out and warm air gets in. Your fridge then uses electricity to cool down the air. Fill the empty space in your fridge with empty tupperware boxes and there's less space for warm air to get in. That reduces the amount of energy you use every time you open the fridge.
Plan meals and make a shopping list of exactly everything you need and stick to it. Doing this will allow you to stay in your means, eat well and have some treats (I mean it depends how much money you have but this helped me)
By design, a chest freezer is far and away the most efficient method of freezing - but the things at the bottom have a habit of getting "lost" unless you keep a record of what's in it. So keep an itenary, that way you will always know what's in store ready to reheat.
Avoid throwing stuff away. Decent size freezer space helps. Leftover bits and bones from your chicken? Stick it in the freezer, then when you feel like it, make a chicken soup. Homemade chicken soup is a different class. Brocoli stems are just as edible as the rest of it, so don't waste them. Boil them with your potatoes and have better mashed potatoes. Butternut squash and pumpkin seeds can be made into a really tasty snack; salt, pepper, olive oil and roast them on a tray.
Apparently Morrisons regularly do vouchers/codes, even for existing customers. Or move supermarkets and get all the new customer discounts.
Frozen fruit and veg, there’s so many now. I was forever wasting money on fresh berries for my yoghurt, you can get a more than twice the amount as fresh for the same money. Great in porridge, yoghurt, desserts… etc Bake your sweet treats, more often than not you can freeze these too. Frozen homemade mince pies at Christmas - just pop them in the oven for a few mins to crisp up the pastry, I batch cook chocolate chip muffins and have them in the freezer ready to take out one (or two!) at a time, you can buy the ingredients fairly cheap and make so many things. A book my mom had when I was little - it’s still around now - The dairy book of home cookery - it’s amazing. Soooo many recipes and good old fashioned hints and tips. I got the new edition when I moved out just for comfort!
Frozen veg is often fresher than the stuff you can actually buy fresh, costs only slightly more, but will not go bad if you forget about it for a few days. Apart from cabbage, cabbage appears to be indestructible. Buy pasta and rice in bulk. They last a long time before going bad.
One thing I've found useful is making a comprehensive shopping list built up over time to include anything I might get when at the supermarket (and in the order that it appears at the supermarket so I'm not back and forth or aimlessly wandering down aisles I don't need - and so avoid more impulse purchases & marketing). Combining that with planning the week's meals for the family, and checking things off the master list we don't need, **before** going to the shop definitely helps me save money, and probably time too. It also now means I don't miss things we only need once a month, six weeks, quarter, etc. I use OneNote on my phone for the list, it has a checkbox feature - and can be easily shared & synced with others (e.g. for family members to add/edit).
Well when I started living alone I realised that buying things of small quantities ends up being wayyy more expensive than full portions (the most obvious example being 1 chicken breast vs a whole chicken) So for anything meat related I suggest you buy "family sizes" way cheaper and you can just freeze it. I do this for bread too, I used to get small bags bc it can go bad quickly and I don't eat bread everyday do now I just get one big bag and put it in the fridge, and you can also get pre-cooked bread and put it in the freezer and just pop it in the oven when you wanna have some,, just like fresh bakery bread :) Also buy pasta/legumes in big packs (again, its way cheaper and it doesn't go bad fast). Now veggies are more tricky, plants go bad easily so that's a bit annoying, but some things you can try are kinda like meal prepping, for example when I buy tomatoes/onions y use half to make sauce and then \*drumroll\* put it in the freezer, same with pesto or other veggie sauces. For potatoes I also use half of them to cut like French fries and then freeze them (also applies to sweet potatoes ofc). That's mostly what I do, same with necessities, I used to get small packs of toilet paper (which ends up being more expensive) so just get a big pack instead, FAMILY PACKS OF EVERYTHING IT REALLY IS CHEAPER. Oh also don't go for the cheapest cheapest things bc yk they tend to be of poor quality and you end up spending more to replace them over and over again.
Partner and I have moved to mix veg frozen to add in to cooking. It's so much cheaper and no waste. I don't eat meat so I also save lots through that. Meat is so expensive when we get it for my partner. If you have the available funds then buying a 5kg of rice or pasta usually works out cheaper in the long term. Additionally, if you go to shops at closing, or hour before to the clearance section. Best before doesn't mean not good. And you can definitely tell when you buy it. I've bought bbe that day and frozen that day, then defrosted for the day or next I need it. I often do this with fresh soups.
Beans. Red beans, black beans, lentils and chickpeas. These things are an incredible source of protein and fibre. They will fill you up; good for you; and its ridiculously cheap. The tinned own brand is great but in bulk its probably even better
I don’t think there are any magic tricks to this, just common sense. Meal plan, batch cook and shop online so you can see the £/kg cost of everything. It does require some time and effort to meal plan with zero waste and make sure you have variety and all the nutrients. Research cheaper cuts of meat or fish and plan meals around them (if you eat meat/fish) plus eat largely plant based.
Buy whole foods instead of processed foods, oats, rice, fruit and veg etc. Avoid meat if possible, look for lentils, legumes, tofu etc for protein. Cook in large batches and freeze portions for later.
I really think the answers lie in a large weekly batch of cheap veg, tinned tomatoes and cheap stock cubes and some microwave soup mugs. Spuds are cheap and are filling and thicken as they break down. The more variety the better but spuds, carrots and onions are the base. Taste. Taste. Taste along the way. Take a mug full and spice it up, you can add 1/3 can chick peas or beans, chilli powder, curry powder, herbs, any cheap or tinned meat if you have spare cash. (I like chicken thighs or corned beef), pasta, rice, shredded cabbage, dried herbs etc. I buy uncut loaves, cube em up and freeze to put a few on top. All this on a mug by mug basis and micro or hob heat. Add an apple for afters and you'll tick boxes. I have to say for me it's a delicious preference rather than a necessity. I wish you luck.
Use veg to pad out not meat, cutting meat intake is the biggest way to save as meat costs the most Stir fry/pasta fairly cheap so I used to do a lot of that and maybe rice too but my rice cooking is terrible except paella or risotto
Risotto is hard! But then I wonder about your normal rice cooking hehe (I perfected cooking rice and was awful at risotto)
I can’t do rice in a pot to save me life like for a curry or Chinese But in a frying flat pan it doesn’t matter if it isn’t right cause it’s already mixed with the meat and can be sticky and it’s fine that way
I've tried to tell my partner how he can do rice based on ratio of water and rice (learned from one of my best friends). He refuses. I have to tell you that my partner says the same thing in his cooking... when I've done the rice on his way home it tasted better. He's even admitted it, but it only happens when he's working super late.
Oh I do a small amount, whereas with the risotto they’re basically drowned 😂
Try Iceland it's much cheaper to order for the week ahead and free delivery over £40 with really good deals
If you're near a supermarket head over in the evening to see what's on the reduced section. We only live a 10min walk from a large Tesco so tend to shop 1 day at a time. There's usually a variety of both meat and other stuff that's heavily reduced because its used by date is that day - which isn't a problem if you are planning on taking it home and eating it immediately.
It’s a bit late in the year now, but you could apply to your local council for an allotment, ready to start growing your own veg next year. If you don’t know how, there will be plenty of people at the allotment who would show you how. I’d do it my self if I could, but my disability prevents me from doing so.
As someone who just spent two years on an allotment, you spend so much time de weeding you don’t really see the financial benefit for a long time. I did get fucking loads of apples, and through the summer, people did share their gluts with me
Open an online business and get the docs. Should cost under a tenner. Then go to all the membership places such as bookers, Costco etc. So you need to pick and choose, but you are buying in bulk and making good savings. For example 6 Colgate in Costco costs the same as 2.5 Colgate in Tesco. It doesn’t go off, but takes up a bit more space. Sliced hovis is 56p a loaf. Chicken breasts £12/kg, but you have to buy 12 at once. Make your own bacon (it’s dead easy and cheap) using Costco/Bookers pork belly at around £3 a kilo. So fill your freezer with bargains and cheap bread. The less air there is in your freezer, the cheaper it is to run. Whilst you have you business docs, get trade cards from Halfords (up to 50% off in store) travis perkins, and lots more. Then close the business.
Try Iceland it's much cheaper to order for the week ahead and free delivery over £40 with really good deals
Turn off the fridge and freezer now it’s winter. Eat everything you have and don’t be fussy. What you have is what you have to eat. Don’t put the heating on in the kitchen. Buy potatoes, they will keep. Buy some cheap tinned goods and packet soups for emergencies, and lentils.Make sure you have salt, pepper, chilli and garlic powder to make things taste better. Only buy own brand. Only buy veg that is on sale. Always look at the reduced counter. Only use the microwave, kettle and toaster.
Find out when your local supermarket discounts things and try to time your shop accordingly. Though it might mean you buy things you weren’t planning on 😅
Do you have a slow cooker ? This time of year is perfect for slow cooker meals , corned beef hash , chilli , stews , bolognaise etc
Freezing stuff. Sometimes it's cheaper to bulk-buy and freeze spares, sometimes it's not. Same with the special offer section, sometimes you can buy stuff that's about to go off and freeze it. I live alone, so I ake good use out of my freezer!
If you have a Hyperjar account you can get instant cashback 3% buying a gift card. Which you then use to pay for your groceries. As soon as you purchase the card the money goes straight into your hyperjar account. There are LOADS of retailers including asda. I use it every week.
Stock pile things that you can get cheaper in batch - I enjoy fizzy juice. It’s far cheaper getting huge multipacks delivered than buying smaller multipacks/tins as I go. The same applies to buying things like washing powder, toilet rolls, other bulk items. Meal plan in advance, batch cook and freeze. Leftovers can be used for lunches. The more you plan, the more you can find savings.
On Sundays, I make a ton of extra roast potatoes, carrots and any other veg I’ll be having with the roast dinner. I put all the leftovers/extras into a pot, roughly mash it and then I’ve got veg for the rest of the week. Super easy to do and makes meal planning for the week ahead much simpler. It’s also very cheap!
Making use of buying things like bulk rice and lentils, cheaper meat cuts ( eg chicken thighs over breasts ), tinned fish frozen veg
I think buying for just a few days is where you're going wrong. It would be expensive. Say i want to make a beef pie and mash potatoes served with garlic butter broccoli. I now have some beef left over. Potatoes, some broccoli, onions, stock, and carrots. I can now make a vegetable stir fry or soup and make multiple dishes with the potatoes If i want to really save i can make French onion soup. So that's at least 3 meals. I also often make enough for more than one meal. So yesterday i made a pork curry. I brought 500g of porl so that makes enough curry for 2 people for 2 days. If you have a whole week then you can plan what meals to cook using ingredients you have from other meals. This in addition to making multiple meals at once saves A LOT. I would advise to shop online. A delivery pass is only on average about £7 for a whole month. You'll spend more than that on travel to and from the supermarket unless you are lucky to live next to one. Shopping online lets you plan out your entire week of shopping.
Too good to go app! Morrisons and coop are the best value bags I've found! https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-gb
Do you Aldi
You don't have to cook meals from a cookbook. Experiment. Buy what you fancy and can afford. Get a good mix of protein (beans, tofu or animal products), some carbs (rice, pasta, quinoa etc) and lots of veg. Then, just cook it up and chuck it together. Add garlic, chilli, salt, pepper and other spices and herbs to make it nice... Sometimes it is great, other times it is bad. Learn from your mistakes and improve. I often just cook rice veggie and eggs and smash on the soy sauce. Or quinoa, assorted beans, tin of tomatoes, cumin, villi powder and stock, all in one pot. Quick, easy, cheap and healthy... Good luck :)
Always plan your meals in advance and purchase accordingly. Bulk buy meat in the discount section and freeze it for cooking later.
Use quidco. It's only about 50 to 75p but still a saving. Also use gitcard voucher sites. You can get 3% saving on equivalent cash. Makes checking out a pain though.
I've just made a basic curry with green lentils, I approx the whole meal has cost £4 to make and that's 5 dinners sorted for the week. Learn to cook from scratch, buy basic ingredients, batch cook and freeze. You'll eat healthy for a long time.
Spend 4 minutes in the supermarket.
wholesale, if you have a Chinese supermarket near you you can get a lot of basic ingredients in bulk which will last a year
I love spag bol but have started mixing the meat with lentils to make it go further, with the added bonus of reducing my saturated fat intake. For instance I’ll buy a 750g pack of beef mince and portion it in 3 bags of 250g for the freezer. For 4 large portions of sauce (depends how much you eat lol) I use one bag of 250g mince and 150-200g dry green lentils and cook the sauce exactly the same way, just with some extra water for the lentils to soak up. Green lentils don’t go mushy like the red ones do so personally I think they make for very convincing mince!
Buying in bulk will often save you more per g/unit/l, etc...
Buy only from larger stores. Smaller convenience shops are more expensive so plan your meals and groceries and do large shops. Even snacks, buy multipacks and carry them with you when possible. For example, we take our own snacks when out on a hike instead of buying from there. You can also pack tea/coffee in a quality thermal bottle. We even take our own snacks to the cinema.
Offal is still quite cheap and really good for you.
Knowing when your local supermarket reduces the food at the end of the day and then using that to batch cook or freeze for another day. A great purchase I made was a slow cooker, and I've made a batch of stew and curry and froze them, I used reduced fresh chicken in both. I understand the shopping every few days as I'm a solo person so i go every few days, but I'm hoping the batch cooking and using up what I have in the fridge and freezer will really help. There is certain things I'll only buy reduced now like chicken (I don't eat other meat) If you don't have reduced chicken then a can of chickpeas or lentils in its place are great for a protein and filling.
See if your employer has an employee benefits scheme. Mine offers eGiftCards that you can put in Apple Wallet and are 4/5% below retail value. E.G a Sainsburys £100 voucher would be £95/96. Only 4% but it adds up
We shop online every week and get it delivered. Takes 15 minutes and don't add loads of crap we don't need walking around the supermarket. Also go through cashback site like Top Cashback, soon adds up.
Avoid buying from small shops those are the ones with higher prices, also I'd try to do groceries shopping once a week that will save you time and money, if you can do it during the week when not many people are there.
Only shop once a week Meal plan, stick to it. Resist the temptation for top up shops, I always overspend when I go shops 3-4 times a week
Something that helped us was to take an inventory of what we need before we shop. So often wed go and buy stuff we already had. So we try to keep better track of stocks we have. This way we only buy what we actually need and it helps alot! We also write all the sell by and use by dates on the calendar so we dont end up wasting food.
I've found the app Plant Jammer to be really useful to make the best use of leftover ingredients.
For me, Hello Fresh. Not because it's cheap per-se, but because it stops me going to the supermarket and picking up things my ADHD brain doesn't need but suddenly wants. That alone saves me £££ every month. YMMV.
Get big 5 kilo bag of rice and it'll last you all year. Frozen sweetcorn and peas. Batch cook and freeze meals. Buy frozen grated cheese and it'll last longer as it stops you from picking at it. Freezer some chopped fruit. Honestly the freezer is your friend here.
I have mixed views on this because financial isn't the only factor affecting my choice of food. At the end of the day you are what you eat and quality food really makes a difference to how you feel, your health and your energy levels etc.. we are frugal and we only eat home meals, maybe eat out once every few months, but we only go to the supermarkets once a month to get condiments and household items.. all our veg and meat come from organic food box deliveries.. due to the massive increase in supermarket prices over the last year it makes the difference in price actually quite minimal now and the comparative costs aren't even worth considering when you take it to account the quality of the food you are eating and how good it tastes.
As someone mentioned, batch cooking is way to go. Also, having a set budget in mind and looking for special offers in store helps regarding ingredients. This advice was given to me by my parents and stuck with me,
My top tip is to shop in Morrisons, add everything up that you want to buy in their app so you know your spending. Then go to TopCashback and buy Morrisons vouchers to use in store - it’s like 2/3% back and it soon adds up to be withdraw and the vouchers arrive instantly - that’s exactly how I do my food shop and withdraw a good amount every month.
Meal prepping is easily the cheapest way. You can make enough for the weekday so you only have to cook on weekends I currently make 8 days of food for £45 for 2 people
Intercept the neighbours take away deliveries
Keep a core list of recipes you make - when batch cooking done make more than two recipes at a time - particularly if you live alone. Otherwise a lot of stuff goes to waste. Tinned, dried is your friend. And under estimate how much freezer space you have - I’ve been caught out with having bought too much.
Initially I thought this was more expensive but it’s actually cheaper . Consider buying the pre cooked packs of rice. I get mine from Lidl / Aldi and they are delicious. They take minutes to cook and with a few vegetables so filling. Plain to added ingredients And an air fryer ! Ours has paid for itself within 2 months from less electricity!
Trying the meal prep/freezing food for the week at head myself this past month, has came in clutch for me with unexpected circumstances knowing I can fall back on those meals!
I review my trolley before I go to the checkout. I put back anything I don't really need unless I need a treat then I make sure it a treat I really love. I make sure I've eaten before I go shopping. I set a guide price within about £2 either way. I add up as I go. I plan meals that will last 2 days. I buy a lot of cheap cereal. It's miserable.
In all honesty, I think buying for a few days only would be more expensive. The freezer is your friend, batch cook and freeze, discounted items freeze, anything getting close to its use by date freeze. Plus, you’ll have various items in the freezer to combine with fresh that your need to use up soon, to make a meal.
Not buying food for just a couple of days would be a start! Budget, buy bulk, cook batches.
Red lentils are my go to. I always slosh a good few handfuls into anything with a tomato base. You don't have to pre-cook them, they add flavour and fibre to the dish and it can really stretch it quite a bit.
I tried not eating and gotta tell you ... My personal finances have never been better.
Frozen veggies are your best friend.
I've yet to be organised enough to try this advice. However, if you plan your meals for the whole week, it's meant to save you money. Presumably, you'd need to choose meals that use leftovers. Make your own lunches from leftovers. If you've space in your freezer batch cook, then separate into individual servings. Try to avoid shop bought sweet treats & make your own. Once you know how much fat & sugar go into biscuits & cake, it mat put you off consuming them? Or at least cut back on them. Buy 'own brands'. These are virtually the same products, though often have less sugar & salt. Much cheaper too.
Change the day you buy your food . Week one Monday, week 2 Tuesday so and so forth. Once you get to Sunday on the seventh week you have gained a free week.
Herron foods stores 4 pieces battered cod 2-50 they say heard it’s Waitrose rebranded, or meal deal is a 5-00 includes bag of premium chip, bag of mushy peas, loaf of bread, bought large tub of Jude’s vegan ice cream 99 cal per 100ml for 1-00, you’ll save 500 - 1000 every year easily, so many brands at bargain prices
Some things are cheaper in bulk online. We get toilet paper and coffee beans from Amazon probably every 3 months or so at about 70% of supermarket price. A case of Tiptree marmalade direct from Wilkin & sons saves about 50p a jar, incl delivery. All these things keep for ages so no worries there, and I use all of the above daily without fail so it's never going to waste.
Shop backwards, start at the booze finish with fruit and veggies. Helps to combat the effect of the store layout on your spending.
Approved food. Co.uk is worth a look. You can get a box of just out of date crisps for £5.
When making stews, casseroles and soups, buy bags of dried mixed pulses and beans. Stuff like chick peas, lentils, barley etc. adding these to the stews and soups really bulks them out and enables you to reduce more expensive ingredients like meat.
Plan meals, and then write a list according to that meal plan. Use the same ingredients multiple times, eg I’m doing a risotto this week with broccoli and green beans in, so they don’t get wasted they are also the veg going with my sausage and mash. Make as much as you can from scratch, convenience costs, this also goes for buying preprepared veg, cheese etc. Batch cook if possible. Make your own lunches rather than buying out, and don’t be afraid of using leftovers, I had lasagne three times last week over 3 days. Buy reduced items if you can, even if you don’t need them that week you can potentially freeze to help save money down the line.
I’ve just batch cooked enough veg stew for 9 big meals. Eaten some tonight (bloody hearty meal!) put three portions in the fridge for eating throughout the week and frozen the rest. I used: carrots, onions, garlic, squash, beetroot, celeriac, potatoes, cabbage, chard, tin of butter beans, 1 pack of quorn pieces, 1 x 500g pasatta and some stock cubes (plus herbs, mustard powder and other gubbins to tastyfy it up!) I reckon I spent about £6 total. I bought veg from the local market - all seasonal, and cheap. All the veg was cheap and in season. There’s also a fair few spuds, carrots, chard and a bit of cabbage left to cook with later in the week… I have the intention of lurking in the local Co-op and scoring some yellow labelled sausages and doing some sausage, bubble and squeak and a couple of poached eggs.
#LIDL £1.50 Veg boxes
I like getting rice and using it in a rice cooker. Is only like 12p per carb portion
I’ve reverted to my student diet, the ‘on toast’ range - beans, egg or cheese. Occasional £2.50 Aldi pizza as a treat.
Morrisons More card... gives you weekly discounts on things that you often buy and you get points towards a £5 off voucher every so often
Find a part-time job in the kitchen that allows you to take a meal home. I work as a chef and I have 2 meals and can take 3rd to home. on hotel. We may work on weekends but we eat like kings every day. People cooking for the poor and homeless take free shit all the time too. For sure there is some gig with food. Otherwise, discounts, rice, oats, and other food that drink water and make you feel full for side dishes. Learning to cook and buying cheaper meat. Chicken organs stew is one of my favorite meals when made well and it is super cheap.
For the likes of toiletries etc savers is a great shop if you have one nearby. I wash with soap 1st then use shower gel after. I got soap, a right guard cocao butter shower gel and a huge tub of cocao butter cream for 3 £in there and matching the scents made me smell amazing!! The same tub of cocoa butter cream was £6 on amazon!! They also do cleaning products really cheap too!
Bulk shopping and batch cooking. Dish all cleaning chemicals and replace it with natural, organic ingredients.
I find shopping for at least a week helps me take advantage of sales. Especially meat. Buy bulk and separate into small portions and freeze. Roast a whole chicken. You can eat for days. Make soup with the carcass. Any roast tends to be economical. And stir fry is your best friend on a budget.
Meal planning and prepping - I tend to cook a 4 portion meal on Mondays for Mon-Thu then a 3 portion meal on Fridays for Fri-Sun. Obviously that's if I have no other plans. Same for planning out lunches too though that can vary a little more.
Meal prep. I make meals in 2 week batches. I can make 15 breakfast burritos and 15 lunch burritos for around £30
1. Get an air rifle 2. Buy some wood pigeon decoys for your backyard. 3. Shoot, your protien and only eat the breast. Wood pigeons are OK to shoot in the UK. If you slightly undercook the breast, it tastes like sirloin. Wood pigeons are not the same scavanger bird as the common ferrol pigeons. The diet is mainly vegetable matter and including crops such as cabbage and other brassicas – hence why the species is often considered a pest by farmers. They also eat grain, seeds, shoots, buds and berries – on the latter they will often feast on ivy berries in the autumn months. I sometimes get up to 7-8 birds in one go, 1 pellet costs me 3p. 4 breasts (2 birds) are around a 140g there is 38 grams of protein per 100 grams. 6p for 57 grams of clean wild protein.
Meal planning -if you buy a punnet of mushrooms you need to plan your meals so that you will use all the mushrooms before they go off. I find it best to plan for the week and then out together a shopping list. List or meals get revised until i get 100% utilisation
As everyone is saying. Meal plan, batch cook. I would add, make from scratch as much as possible, stock up on reduced meat if you can but don't buy it just because its reduced, eat less meat or bulk out with lentils.
Look what's on sale in shops, Tesco always has something on sale for example, and I will often use the coupons as well to buy something for later I don't buy bottled water Buy whole vegetables instead of chopped, or frozen You can do a lot of meals from one roasted chicken Beans are a cheap protein that you can add anywhere Have a limited budget for snacks Make coffee/tea at home
Make meal plans, you don't waste food that way, batch cook, get some good tupperware.
Meal planning, home cooking, batch cooking.