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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To spend between £6 and £10 on the evening meal

126 replies

ShouldiWork · 02/02/2015 13:03

We can 'afford' it - in the sense that all bills get paid on time etc - but I feel a bit sick when I tot up the months groceries - and I remember when I worked to a £2 per meal budget.

On the other hand - maybe it's what things cost now - and it seems a bit mean to scrimp on food for DH and DC - when the cash is there & DH works hard for it.

OP posts:
SoonToBeSix · 02/02/2015 19:51

Op yes plus your other ingredients I was just listing where I would make savings.

PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 02/02/2015 19:56

Go on free sites and keep an eye on a freezer.

Go to meat vans, stock up on meat and put it in that freezer. If you haven't got space in the kitchen use a bedroom.

Batch cook and look out for shit corner deals.

Today I managed to get 4 chicken breasts for £1.

GotToBeInItToWinIt · 02/02/2015 19:57

Tinkly I agree, supermarket salsa is vile. I'd rather do without. Lime, coriander and chilli are staples in our house (DH is obsessed) so we always have it in the fridge.

OP I think your last post shows why your food bills are so high! Carte d'or is not cheap Smile. Pizza and salad is a full meal here, no pudding, no dough balls.

It's absolutely fine to spend your money on good food, we did when we had money. If you want to save then there are ways you can do so, if not then don't worry about it!

PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 02/02/2015 19:59

I had this for 99p

To spend between £6 and £10 on the evening meal
nottheOP · 02/02/2015 20:01

I am feeling lucky that I've never had to cost up meals in this way.

I just buy 7 meals and lunch stuff but don't break down per meal the cost.

Our food bill is quite small though so I must be a tight food shopper!

GoodbyeToAllOfThat · 02/02/2015 20:04

Truffle, do you freeze all of your cooked meats that you buy on clearance? Does that work well for you?

Fajitas are expensive or cheap; it's how you make them. If you're on a budget you'd be mad to buy a seasoning packet because the markup is astronomical and it's easily replicated. Non-branded wraps are very inexpensive (the Old El Paso ones are lovely, though!) and you can make your own refried beans in minutes with bacon fat.

Piper I am impressed.

PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 02/02/2015 20:05

Also best before dates are guidelines only, many things are perfectly fine.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 02/02/2015 20:19

Should
For the pizza tonight I used 600g of flour from a 88p 1.5kg bag. Even with oil and yeast, I doubt it comes to a pound. I used two 47p balls of mozzarella. Sauce and salami costings about the same as mine, but I didn't use a whole pepper, so say £1 for all the veggies.

So yes, my pizza comes in under £5.50 for 3 thin and crispy pizzas roughly the size of my oven racks, (I cook them direct on the racks). That fed five of us. If eldest son was around I'd do a bit more.

We didn't have salad or anything with it tonight. People who were still peckish, (DH and DS) grabbed bananas and yoghurt after.

I get what you are saying about the half bunch of leftover coriander. I would normally meal plan that into an Indian. Not much gets chucked out here; my fridge is full of little tubs containing half a lemon, or a bit of chopped onion.

GotToBeInItToWinIt · 02/02/2015 20:28

Half a bunch of coriander would definitely be used here too, probably in a Thai style broth or a homemade curry.

MumSnotBU · 02/02/2015 20:31

YANBU. In fact I think I spend more.

I feed six, five of whom eat like adults. I've kept the same budget for years at £600 per month for food which is about £3 per person per day, for breakfasts, weekend lunches, dinners, drinks, snacks drinks and booze. We use 35 pints of milk a week, and about 20 eggs.

This has felt tighter as they have grown into hungry teens, but by cutting meat, increasing veg and not buying many processed foods I find we can still eat well. I bake and do my own bread, pizza, soups, yoghurt.

We find buying large joints or whole chickens is the most cost effective way of having meat, the leftovers going to make cottage pie or curry, or as a pizza topping etc. We have meals with little or no meat like veg/lentil soup or pizza, of curries with chickpeas. Salad can be grated cabbage and carrots with a vinaigrette, or spinach rather than an expensive bagged salad, of which we'd need two.

I would never buy chops, or chicken thighs, haven't bought chicken breast for years or fresh fish. all are too expensive. I use a lot of frozen fish though.

I do a fajita thing where I fry up onion, peppers, with seasonings and add left over pork or chicken, then put it in a wrap.

Threads like this are useful to pick up tips Grin

Trills · 02/02/2015 20:36

What makes you think that it might be unreasonable?

ShouldiWork · 02/02/2015 20:48

tinkly don't get me started on the fruit spends! A bunch of bananas gets eaten before it reaches the fruit bowl!

OP posts:
TinklyLittleLaugh · 02/02/2015 21:01

I buy loads of fruit too, mostly the cheaper stuff though; bananas, apples, satsumas in the winter, melons in the summer, whatever's in season really. I don't buy berries, except the frozen ones, but I grow tons of raspberries, strawberries, and gooseberries, (well they grow themselves really, we don't do a lot to them). We actually get a bit fed up of them in the summer.

MumSnotBU · 02/02/2015 21:03

I have to hide bananas so that they go ripe enough to make nice banana bread. I also hide the extra BOGOF apples and satsumas under the boring veg in the fridge so that we don't get the Eat Twice As Many Because They're There syndrome, which isn't a money saver...

purpleponcho · 02/02/2015 21:06

"Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." What is the point of money in the bank if you aren't well-fed and happy? Why needlessly deprive yourselves of pleasure? If you can afford it, be grateful and eat well.

And relax, OP. If your husband gave a toss about the curtains, surely he could buy them himself?

TinklyLittleLaugh · 02/02/2015 21:08

Ah Mum, I rarely get them brown enough for banana bread, hiding them is a good idea. DH is the biggest fruit scoffer in our house. He works from home and cannot pass the fruit bowl. (When I say fruitbowl I mean fruit canoe really; it is a massive thing, like a harvest festival display).

VenusRising · 02/02/2015 21:10

Bananas are meant to be eaten though aren't they- I mean they're not for some fantasy still-life structure? If they're eaten it means they were wanted. Maybe buy more?

I think you need to see a hypnotherapist ASAP to get your head on straighter OP, you do sound a bit miserable with your old parsimonious ideas in your new, more affluent life tbh.

Nydj · 02/02/2015 21:22

ShouldiWork thanks for explaining I sort of understand - we didn't really have much money growing up and I spent my twenties and thirties unable to buy any nice things for myself because my mind was still set to being poor. It took me a while to keep reminding myself that it is ok to spend money on something that gives me pleasure - it doesn't have to be the cheapest option or have a function other than be nice to look at.

MumSnotBU · 02/02/2015 21:25

Venus

To clarify-I buy plenty but I would never get the over ripe ones you need for banana bread unless I put them out of sight.

Flomple · 02/02/2015 23:19

I find the differences in what people consider cheap or expensive interesting. MumS you say you wouldn't dream of buying chicken thighs or breast but eat loads of frozen fish. That really intrigued me because I think of fish as relatively expensive, even frozen. Quick look on Tesco website says chicken thigh fillets are £7 per kg, cheap breast £6.90, frozen fish pie mix or haddock £8.13, bassa fillets £6.50. So much of a muchness really. Of course free range etc chicken would be a lot more.

OP if you are finding half bunches left over, just serve the same meal 2 nights. i think it's all the extras adding up - guacamole etc is lovely but not in any way a staple! Whereas refried beans made from cans of butter or haricot beans and spices from the store cupboard are not an expensive meal.

I think a 5/2 approach helps too. Have 1 or 2 days a week of super-cheap meals like pasta with passata & cheap veg & you'll see the difference on your weekly shop.

ouryve · 02/02/2015 23:21

That's reasonable for a family of 6. For 4 of us, I count anything under a fiver as a cheap meal.

Tzibeleh · 02/02/2015 23:24

I spend about £160 in supermarkets every week - so that includes non-food stuff, too - for a family of 5 good eaters. That averages out at about £7/meal. So £6-£10 for a family dinner seems perfectly reasonable to me.

For £160/week, we have plenty of fresh meat and fish, fresh juice and fruit, occasional alcohol, pack lunch stuff, occasional treats. It doesn't feel a right budget at all. Admittedly I do cook most meals from scratch, but I also shop at Waitrose (and Lidl!).

ouryve · 02/02/2015 23:33

trufflehunter I've never seen our Tesco have anything reduced even a little bit that isn't either inedible junk or, if containing meat, grey and off looking.

I've had some good reductions on a Sunday afternoon at our local little Sainsburys, but most things still cost pounds, rather than pennies.

BlackeyedSusan · 02/02/2015 23:33

goodness knows what I spent for the three of us.

(62p on two tins chopped tomatoes, 33p on a tin of blackeyed beans 1/4 of a head of broccoli= approx 13p 1/2 a red onion...about 7p and about 40p on sweetcorn and peas. (1/5th of a pack each) and another 40p on frozen red pepper. probably 15-20p on rice) throw in a splash of balsamic vinegar and toasted sesame oil , a hand full of seeds, and sultanas... less than £3

adding meat would have bumped up the cost considerably.

blueshoes · 02/02/2015 23:39

I am completely confused. £2 per adult is IMO dirt cheap. What is this thread about?