To ask how you've lowered your food shop?

[coffeecoffeecofffee]

Recently come under a crap time, can't work due to chronic health condition, lost our UC payment each month of £400 as my partner now earns above the threshold (but still doesn't take home much due to debt he has unfortunately) & had my PIP review recently (I used to get £430pm) and may have that reduced/taken away completely.

I'm trying to think of ways to reduce my outgoings and have decided to reduce my food budget to £25pw. (used to have £35pw)

My partner and I buy our things separately but share the cost of regular household bits, cleaning and usually salad! We both eat two completely different diets, me vegan & him a meat eater. So about £6 per week of each of our budgets goes towards cleaning & toiletries.

Left with £19 for food for the week.

I already buy a lot of frozen veg and the only fresh produce I buy are apples (whatever's cheapest), strawberries or blueberries, tomatoes, salad (spinach, kale & rocket), avocados& sweet potato.

I usually buy 1 dairy free milk (£1.40) which lasts me most of the week as I don't eat breakfast every day.

I eat a lot of wholewheat pasta w/ no added sugar pasta sauces (tomato based & pesto) as it goes a long way, no added sugar & is cheap and delicious as well as healthy as I don't eat a tonne!

I also buy a bag of plain frozen fish for the week at £3.30 for 5 fillets.

I tend to find the fresh stuff & toiletries like body wash take up most of my budget, I've tried shopping at my local Lidl and Aldi but the fresh produce is often going off when I'm in there! Let alone getting it home, hence I find Morrisons/Asda/Tesco better for that.

Anyone got any smart ways to reduce/meal plan for a vegan? I don't like beans, lentils etc so that's annoying as I know they're really cheap!

@PassMeTheWine I'll head there tomorrow, thank you! Can't wait to see if I like them, I've heard bar soap lasts longer too right?

@MutantDisco Fab thank you!

@burritofan usually 4-5 times per week as I hate it feeling gross lol I don't use a lot though as I have shoulder length hair

Yes it's definitely worth it!
A bar lasts me a good few weeks and it foams up lovely!
shower gel used to last me about a week

MummytoCSJH Do you really need a wee 48 times a day!

Can you seriously spend only £25 a week on food! I am seriously impressed! Interested to follow this thread as the food bill is our biggest expenditure by far.

@Pinkbells I'm trying to :) out of necessity of course!

pinkbells
yes,its very easy.

avoid prepared foods (salads, grated cheese, ready made mash etc)
cut down on meat.
meal plan.
ignore brand names.
don't have fresh berries (esp out of season)
use spray disinfectant and cloths.

Go shopping in the evening. I've just been to my Morrisons local, I bought - a bag of red onions, a big bag of carrots, a bag of courgettes, and a bag of prepared lettuce leaves for 5p each. That will last us for about a week.

Hi Op
Do you have any income now ?
Losing £830 a month seems a lot if your finances are separate.
I do think he should be helping you if he is earning more
Could you give us a breakdown and maybe we can work out other ways of saving.

Im going against the grain with the avocado 🥑🥑🥑😂
If you are struggling avocado on toast is actually a quick,cheap meal ,if you use half and is full of fats and nutrients that you will struggle to get if your diet is restricted due to IBS.
Could you swap berries for banana every other day to reduce a bit ?

The best thing for epilepsy is a very high, fat low carb diet. Maybe for your health you should rethink the vegan thing. Although I’m not sure how it would affect your IBS as it seems people have different triggers.

@DontdoitDoris Hi, the UC & PIP are my only income as I can't work due to the epilepsy & CFS.

He helps when he can but he also covers rent for us as well as bills etc so does look out for me :) I know he'd never let me go hungry but I don't want to rely on him for food money IYSWIM? So my parents have said I can have £25pw from them if it ends up that I get no PIP.

I don't have breakfast everyday so I'm not buying loads of berries. I think avocado is really good too, it's so healthy & also really filling.

@Ellenborough I've found out I can't eat dairy at all with my IBS and I don't like meat anyway so I can't really change much.

I've never been told high fat is good for epilepsy, that's good to hear.

OP frozen berries might be a lot cheaper, I think most of the supermarkets do them now :)

@feelingverylazytoday I do actually usually shop at night but I've never seen any good produce reductions in my Morrisons, more often than not the veg looks bad anyway :(

@flowerstar19 Yeah I'm switching to frozen blueberries now, a PP suggested defrosting half the bag in the fridge so I can eat them not frozen. :)

Why do you get UC when your partner’s income is not low?

Sorry just realised you meant you used to get UC a joint claim but now don’t due to your partner earning more.
Your partner is financially abusing you.
The £400 was joint but lost due to household income. Income that should be spent on both of you!

Videos on this YouTube channel may be useful to you. I found them very helpful.

Hello OP,

I don’t think anyone who doesn’t suffer from CFS can properly appreciate what a lead weight around your entire body it is - I feel for you 😢😢😢

My 15 year old daughter was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome about 18 months ago.
She’s now completely egg & dairy free - has gastro issues, immune issues and heart issues, so I understand how debilitating this is.

We got a puppy one year ago as a companion for her and it’s been the best decision we made. They are inseparable , and as she’s bed / sofa ridden much of the time he’s her buddy & their bond is a joy to see. Can completely understand how you feel about your puppy 😍 our insurance is £34 per month.

Food wise, we are not on a budget, but I work, so for ease I make and freeze a lot of her favourite stuff. This includes carrot & coriander soup, which I make with bags of 39p carrots, an onion and veg stock. I’ve grown coriander really well on the window ledge so may be worth considering? She also likes Tesco’s own spring rolls & onion bahjis - they are dairy free and only £1 per box each for 12 / 16 so they are good value.

She also loves houmuss (how do you spell that?!) which I buy, 2 for £2.20 from Tesco but could be cheaper elsewhere. She has with carrot & pepper sticks but I also make a big batch myself with cheap tinned chick peas & tahini if I want to put different flavours & textures into it.

Brown rice with frozen green beans & cashews & free-from pesto is a favourite - I cook it with veg stock, and wholewheat pasta with frozen spinach, veg stock, garlic & olive oil are also standbys.

She also likes tinned fruit - esp mandarins - 65p for a tin from Tesco which lasts her two days - she likes flaked almonds & cinnamon powder on them.

She has cheap multivitamins (all the same) and I’m hoping for b12 injections once doctor prescribes (could be good for your CFS too?)

Honestly, I know how hard it is for my daughter to even brush her own teeth some days, so I completely understand OP ❤️

,

Try microfibre cloths and some glass cleaner to clean the car windows with. The spray cleaner will last ages and you can wash the microfibre cloths. Similarly you can by interior car cleaner and use a cloth too.

Use hankies instead of loo roll for nose blowing. Again, loads on Amazon, sometimes Tesco sell them. We've found that since swapping to hankies none of us have had red noses when we've had colds. I buy pocket tissues very occasionally now.

Consider a small chest freezer if you have room. They now make tiny little ones about 50cm wide. It will really help if you can make food in bulk and freeze (which is also probably helpful if you're feeling better some days and exhausted others). You can then benefit from using up old veg etc by blending into sauces and freezing, or using a slow cooker and freezing extra portions.

We do use anti-bacterial wipes, but I buy in bulk from Amazon. They work out the same price as Lidl because I only use one wipe (rather than 2+ Lidl ones for the same job). I restrict these to bathroom cleaning and wiping the hob (as it gets greasy so easier to wipe and bin). I try to use a spray and cloth for everywhere else though.

For those with sore/unwipable bums - I can heartily recommend this, it has made my bum feel so much better:

(not really a budget option to be honest though, other brands are available but no idea what price)

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01N8VHHYB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8

Costco

Why would you get a puppy if you're keen to save money 💰

@MyDcAreMarvel he is not financially abusing me? Living on UC is not a long term plan obviously! I think it's great he's earning more now and when he pays off the last bit in the summer there will be more spare money.