To be seriously worried that the cost of food is getting so scarily high

[thebird]

I am not extravagant I buy shop own brands where I can, I try to shop on a budget, I cook from scratch and have given up buying extras like wine (well just the odd bottle to keep me sane) but still each week the cost of my food bill goes up and up. I know inflation is running at around 4-5% but I cant understand this as many basic items have increased almost 30-50%. When the hell is it going to stop or I really will be living on beans on toast every night(and even they've gone up lots!

mumnotmachine - I would love to have your washing gel recipe please

x-posts sorry!!

I bought my borax off ebay- about £11 for 6 boxes delivered, one box will do 5 lots of this gloop!!

mumnotmachine that is fab am gonna try it !

Can I have the recipe for home made washing gel as well please?
I buy a mixture of fresh and frozen vegetables. Including aubergines, which I add to curries.
I also get a large bag of potatoes from Morrisons for about £4 for 12.5 kg.

Also crossposted- sorry!

Where do you live Welshbyrd? Assuming Wales? If you are close I will do you a batch if you like!

I havent made it for a couple of months as i had a massive bargain on washing stuff, but still have all the stuff here

It is so high e.g. 1 packet of tomatoes are nearly £1, and fruit and veg is so expensive, the junk food always seems so dirt cheap, and the government want you to eat more healthily. Yeh you pay for it!

Oh and you can use whatever soapyou like in this- but liquid hand soap wont work!
Fairy household soap leaves a nice smell
baby soap is also good if you want a non bio approach!

Thanks Mumnotmachine!

I'm looking forward to Imperial Leather smelling clothes now. Pack of 6 for £1 in poundshops!

Shopping on line is cheaper for me because I can do it without children. There is no way that I can concentrate on bargain hunting while trying to stop them from steering the trolley into old ladies.

Veg boxes are more expensive than shopping at the market, but I found that the vegetables do tend to be better quality and last longer. However, you have to be sure that you really will use every item that turns up in the box, which can be a bit of a challenge. If you really want to save money, veg boxes aren't the cheapest way to go, but if you like cooking, I think they can be more cost effective than some supermarkets.

A quick call to my local DIY shop .Borax is no longer being produced as it has been reclassified
The good news is that Borax substitute is being produced and is just as good and they stock it !
Will report back

To those saying about the 5 portions of fruit/veg - I don't think they all have to be different sorts - I'm sure if you eat several carrots for example that would count. At least I hope it does since we have 2 large apple trees in the garden plus get more from neighbours so from now til about February fruit in this house means apples

May I also have the £30 a week meal plan if you have a spare moment? There are only two of us (plus a cat and a dog) but we will be down to one wage in a couple of weeks time. I have also noticed a massive rise in food - as late as christmas last year i know that we' could eat well for under £40, plus a few treats. This year I haven't managed to get it under £50 and it's terrifying. After our house move I plan on growing our own to try and cut down.

Slight, I've got a copy of the £30 a week list if you wish from the orignial poster.

It's still in my PM box.

Mrs Baggins, I've found borax and soda crystal on Ebay. Cheap too.

You can pick up soda crystals in the supermarket, less than a £1 for a kg pack

Can I have the £30 list as well please?
Thanks

Even though its bad form to discuss other threads the one in chat about what food stuffs people go through is a massive eyeopener I cant believe the amounts of stuff some families are getting through in a week no wonder some people have high food bills

Sent.

All thanks have to go to the original poster named BitterAndTwistedChoreDodger

No its 5 DIFFERENT - eating a bag full of apples counts as 1

Have got my stuff !
a huge lidded clear bucket
Imperial Leather -£1
Borax substitute
Bicarb crystals
Borax substitute was £1.50 and brand name Dri-Pak "Clean and natural"

Kitchen smells lovely

I'll have to wait to get mine.

DD's been sick all day and DS has just said he's not feeling well and is feeling a bit warm. . It's going to be a long night.

jellybeans what is that other thread called? I'd love a look at that, but had a quick flick down 'chat' and nothing jumped out at me as being the thread you are talking about!