To think I could live on �20 - 25 per week?

[confusion77]

Is it realistic? If it were just me and the cat. The cat food costs 2.75 per fortnight for tins and 11 per month for biscuits approx. I could get cheaper biscuits for him i guess.

This would be for all food and stuff like shampoo shower gel, washing up liquid etc.

Not face creams make up or wine....

Thanks bitter I will get some of that to try. Tbh i think the meat is unecessary but the cat had got the husband trained.

Definitely cancel the gym membership. You can excercise outside and the extra £5 (or whatever) a week would make a huge difference. The 'health' benefit of being able to buy more fruit and veg might outweigh the health benefits of gym membership.

Ps have you checked out MoneySavingExpert - there is loads of info on eating cheaply.

I am on wa

I'm saving up to get my back garden flagged, I spent about £15 a week on food for me.

I'm Vegan, with a well stocked spice cupboard.

I have porridge for breakfast, mainly.

I cook veg burgers (homemade), chillies, stews, soups, curries, pasta dishes, my food is interesting. I use all veg, so Squashes, sweet potatoes, courgettes, Aldi often do Chestnut Mushrooms in their Value Family Packs.

I rarely eat bread, but buy Olive/seeded bread when I do, so it's a treat.

I drink black tea. It depends on the wine you like, I drink Aldi and Lidl's basic reds. I snack on Popcorn. I also treat myself to fruit.

I buy veg on the reduced aisle in Tesco's and home freeze. Frozen spinach is more nutritious, I buy this at Iceland.

Ooops.

I am on water rates but its 38 per month which i don't think is bad. Esp as we have a very leaky tap. And a garden that i water a lot.

The gym is cheap - subsidised by work, but i am happy to cancel it and run/ride instead.

Just to add, Chick Peas and Lentils are my staples and protein sources, but it's all down to what you do with them.

If you go towards Creole cooking, look in discount shops, B&M etc as well as Aldi/Lidl for coconut milk, nuts etc.

My local libraries all have a good selection of "on a budget" cookery books as well as Levi Roots etc.

"How do you do laundry soap? I guess its pretty good to use?"

It's excellent. You need soda crystals, a bar of grated household soap and some borax/borax substitute. Utensils are a saucepan to hold at least 2 litres of boiling water, a wooden spoon and a bucket. And another 8 litres of hand-hot water from the tap. Plus containers. Empty four-pint plastic milk containers are ideal. Makes about a year's supply for a couple of quid. Throw 100 ml straight into the washing-machine drum. Robert est ton oncle.

Off to look that up. I have soap making books. Thanks!

I wouldn't cancel the gym unless essential. I think you will appreciate having somewhere that's cheap and fun to go and hang out, especially in the winter. I have single friends who have made a lot of friends at the gym too.

What I suggest you do is have a snoop round your local supermarkets asap for when the time comes so you get an idea of when they start reducing their fresh stuff right down. "Yellow-sticker shopping" as it's known. If you can't make use of anyhing immediately, it goes in the freezer for another time. I've got a couple of kilos of cheese in mine.

Bulk buy if possible and batch-cook for the freezer at weekends.

Approved Foods. My life-saver. You should see my stock-cupboard and no processed crap in sight.

Cheap-family-recipes website for really inexpensive and tasty recipe ideas.

See if you can get a bread-maker in a charity-shop. I use mine all the time and it cost me fifteen quid and is saving me a fortune with some breads at nearly two quid a load in the shops.

Treat a severely reduced budget as an intellectual challenge rather than a hardship so you won't feel like you're wearing a hair-shirt.

It really is do-able, I promise, and if you're lucky it won't be for that long.

I have always found Monday at 5pm to be a good time for Tesco reductions.

"PS have you checked out MoneySavingExpert - there is loads of info on eating cheaply."

LadyOf LLangollen makes a good point: it's the MSE FORUM you need, most especially the "Old-Style" section. Some extremely helpful tips to be found there, especially on the "Grocery Challenge" thread and the posters over there are very friendly and kind.

Yes I think you could if it is just shopping. I live on roughly that much minus the cat.

My advice is - like someone said know the reducing times.

Chicken thighs rather than breast for curries/soups/stews

Value stuff but not processed value iykwim like pasta, passata (sp?) fruit

Make your own soup

Make stew and bulk it out with veg. Same for curry.

Freeze everything. Everything. Reduced Milk in an ice cube tray for example. Then you have just enough each time.

If you could train the cat to bring back rabbits all the better

Oh yes and value noodles with herbs and sauce minus that horrid packet sauce they come with are actually quite nice.

The cat is a mean hunter. But I'm not keen on frog, mouse or goldfish.

A man shoots the rabbits at the field though. He keeps offering them to me but am a bit squeamish about them being whole. And warm.

Here's another site with cheap recipes
thriftylesley.com
I would find this quite easy TBH, but then I'm vegetarian and like Sainsburys basics.

Make your own wine! You could do it for around £1 per bottle once you have bought initial brewing kit, which would cost around £50.

What's you mortgage interest rate? If it's a really high fixed rate might work out cheaper to repay an early repayment penalty so you can go to a cheaper one...

And would you have time for a second job? As most waitressing and catering jobs often feed their staff during breaks- can also be a good way to meet people (thinks back to subsidised staff meals).

Oh you so have to take advantage of free meat ! Can someone skin then first maybe if you don't want to ? Rabbit is nice. Makes good stew ^ see my stew tip above.

Value noodles with veg is a good one. You can add chicken and boil to make a Chinese soup type thing.

To keep healthy I recommend frozen spinach, value cabbage and carrots, smart price baked beans, value oats (I used to make mine with water and a sprinkle of sugar), 50p value wholemeal bread, value pasta etc

A Girl Called Jack is great but her main protein seems to be value bacon which is really bad for you-I'd stick to baked beans, chick peas 3 tins for £1 or the really cheap bags of frozen value white fish pieces. Being on your own makes keeping eggs difficult-12 for £2 is good but you'd not get through them.

Yup, defo ask for a wine making kit for christmas or your birthday!

Mind you, I tried it once and mine tasted like shit still drank it though

Accept the rabbits and ask someone nicely to butcher them for you for half a rabbit. my bunny is eyeing me suspiciously now

Hell, we'll have you fully self sufficient in no time!

Sainsburys do 6 free range eggs for £1 now.I expect Aldis prices are similar. I think that's a fair price for such a nutritious food (and a single person could easily eat that amount while they are still in date)