To think it’s actually hard to live off this for the rest of the month?!

Hahaha! That's hilarious 😂

@DaisyFloop it is 😂
I really enjoy yellow sticker shopping, you need to be ballsy & brutal to succeed!
I once fell into the bottom shelf of the reduced isle in Asda trying to get reduced blueberries as people were like hounds and I got rammed into it with a trolley. You just laugh it off really!

@samarrange To be fair, most of the suggestions are things like pasta/potatoes/eggs etc which are both fairly simple to cook nice meals from, but also inherently cheap. So even if she did mess it up she wouldn't waste too much money. She could probably mess up pasta and cheese three times and it would still be a much cheaper meal than the pre-bought meals. Plus, they are usually fairly toddler friendly.

OP- I do agree that you shouldn't go and buy all the ingredients people suggest or start trying to cook everything. Maybe pick a few of the recipes people suggest that look appealing and that don't require massive additional expenditure and start from there.

You need to learn to make things from scratch. Potatoes are cheap, prepped potatoes are not. Meat isn't cheap, but made into a ready meal it is even more expensive.

There are a lot of cookbooks aimed at students heading off to uni and cooking for themselves for the first time. Lots of budget conscious meals that are simple to make, with clear instructions. Pick one up and start with some basic recipes.

And no more super expensive cuts of meat like duck breasts until you have a handle on your budget.

Your budget is not massive, but neither is it so tiny that you can't have really nice meals on it.

I wish all the people giving solutions would check the post where the OP says she doesn't know how to cook. And I wish that the ones who have seen that post wouldn't say "Well, just learn", like it's 20 minutes with YouTube learning how to wire a plug.

Quite a few women, and of course huge numbers of men, have no clue how to cook, or to do all of the associated chores around cooking (menu planning, juggling leftovers both cooked and raw, etc). This is not something to be ashamed of.

Now, if OP wants to make substantial inroads into her food spending, she will probably need to make a start on cooking. But that's not easy as an adult, especially with a small child, and especially if you and DC are used to (let's face it) delicious things like duck breast in sauce or Little Dish. You're going to mess up, put in too much salt, find you're missing what turns out to be a vital ingredient, etc.

Probably most of us have forgotten the first time we tried to cook for ourselves and how bad it was. OP, I wish you every success. It's worth it, but don't be afraid to mess up a bit.

Some absolutely amazing advice on here op. I agree with @Dishwashersaurous suggestion that you've £14 a day. This is what I do and it works great. Some days you won't spend that at all so put the remainder aside in case anything unexpected is needed

I have £8 left until this Thursday.

I could have an absolute ball with £350.

I definitely think its better to meal plan and online shop, you don't get distracted by unnecessary things.

It can be, my sister apparently got upended into an open freezer once by a hoard of ladies with trollies.

I laughed my arse off and was not remotely sympathetic, as she'd nabbed more than her fair share already.

I mean that's fine, and convenient, if you can afford it - but you can't. Meal plan properly and cook more from scratch (doesn't have to be complicated recipes with 300 ingredients).

You need to budget food. BBC Good Food does a range of budget recipes - these use inexpensive ingredients and short cooking times. Making your own sauces halves prices, and investing in E.g. a stick blender will enable you to make mayonnaise at a fraction of the cost of ready made. All of this is on the internet, so investing an hour to find out how to do this should be within the capability of most people. Give it a try - you’ll be surprised…

I love ocado as it has the most organic produce and good gluten free options but it is expensive. Why not do a shop at asda or tesco and see what you can save?

Potato wedges are also great for using up potatoes. Chop lengthways into wedges. Stick them on a baking tray with olive oil, salt, pepper, whack em in the oven for 30 mins on 200 and you can have them with anything. Pads out a pizza, or have them with ham and fried egg.

Thank you! It sounds like an extreme sport haha!

Yep I second all of this. I’d never buy cleaning stuff from a regular supermarket, it’s always Aldi. Same goes for tinfoil, dog biscuits, cotton-wool, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.

Nappies and baby wipes are also significantly cheaper.

What about basic but cheaper food. Jacket potatoes, beans on toast, pasta, pizza ect

it's not hard to cook potatoes.

Peel, boil, mash; add frozen veg and either yellow sticker meat or veggie option for one.
Use to top bulk batch of cottage pie.
Rotate baked potatoes and toppings for different meals.
potato cakes for breakfast/brunch

I was presuming OP didn't know how to or didn't want to do anything 'complicated' cooking wise hence the baked potatoes suggestion as it's minimal prep

I'm embarrassed by the replies because I spend about the same (1 adult & 1 toddler) I do use ocado because it's easier than going to the shops, but I do try and shop mindfully.
Toddler eats really well and I like to try and have a wide variety of foods inc fruit & veg to try and keep them interested in different foods before they get to the chicken nuggets stage.
I have no idea how to get it cheaper and still eat a decent variety, toddler doesn't like leftovers the next day, most meal planning seems to be aimed at couples or larger families than mine.

@DaisyFloop - Lidl/Aldi - around 2.30 - 3.00pm on a Sunday - but around 7pm weekdays - That's what it is around mine anyway. I'm brutal too, I take it out of the assistants trolley as she is going around reducing it so I get first dibs before she puts it on the reduced section bit. Don't care if it's annoying it saves me loads. Recently I got 5 packs of fresh salmon and their luxury range pizza.
There is always a bit of a fight for it in Morrisons as people hover around the reduced isle at that time, then you just go in for the take! I love it 😂

Is this a pisstake thread?

Where do you shop? That seems a fortune I get all groceries toiletries etc for me and my partner (who eats soooo much including junk) for 50-55 a week (around 180-190 a month)

Free sample of dishwasher tablets with Smol (google it)

I also used to get the basic ones from Poundland

Also a drop of dish soap- like the size of a pea- can be used.

For shampoo and conditioner- be brave if you can and put a shout out for any free samples that people might send your way from you local FB group. I have a drawer full of minis from over the years that I use to take on holiday but if someone in need wanted them I send them their way!

Foodwise;
Buy a large bag of potatoes, cook them up in a variety of ways to add to your meals- chopped and fried, with herbs, roasted, mashed etc and there's always jacket potatoes.

Buy bread and freeze it, just taking a slice out as you need it- zero waste. Big pack of ham and block of cheese. Fresh cucumber and tomato as needed.

Rice and pasta in the biggest bags you can store.

Then your fresh ingredients can be bought daily if required- eggs, vegetables, small cuts of meat- chicken legs, bacon, mince etc and always check the yellow stickers.

You can do it- and you can even challenge yourself to come in under budget- even by a penny- to make it interesting for yourself as opposed to it feeling impossible or like a drain on you.

No to be fair that doesn't include tablets, it's the electricity cost. But at 3.29/40, that's 8p per tablet...definitely only use one per load so they're a monthly purchase, not a weekly one and certainly aren't going to put much of a dent in her budget.

Agree about the duck breasts 😀.

You need to try Aldi.

Ideas for toiletries and cleaning stuff from Aldi:

Magnum All In One Lemon Dishwasher Tablets 40 Pack £3.29.
Almat Tropical Lily Bio Laundry Liquid Detergent 28 washes £2.49.
Comfort Sensitive Fabric Conditioner Pure 33 Washes £1.99.
Magnum Lemon Washing Up Liquid 500ml 69p.
Powerforce Antibacterial Citrus Biodegradable Surface Wipes 72 Pack 99p.
Powerforce Kitchen Cleaner 750ml 85p.
Everyday Essentials Refuse Sacks 40 Pack/70l £1.25.
Powerforce Bathroom Cleaner 750ml 85p.
Powerforce Thick Bleach - Citrus Fresh 750ml 65p.
Saxon Soft White Toilet Tissue 9 Rolls £1.99.
Lacura Family Hand Wash - Almond Milk 500ml 59p.
Alberto Balsam Sunkissed Raspberry Shampoo 350ml 95p.
Alberto Balsam Sunkissed Raspberry Conditioner 350ml 95p.
Lacura Moisture Shower Crème With Shea Butter Extract 300ml 35p.
Dentitex Sensitive Toothpaste 125ml 69p.
Mamia Bed Time Bath 500ml 85p.
Mamia Toddler Toilet Wipes 60 Pack 59p

Total Cost: £20.01.

I spent €49 (£42) in Lidl earlier. For that I got:

4 turkey burgers
400g diced chicken breast
2 rib eye steaks
bag of baby potatoes
bag of frozen chips
4 burger buns
2L milk
8 yoghurts
8 pears
1 melon
6 bananas
bag of oranges
2L Coke Zero
2L Fanta
4 custard tarts