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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask how you've lowered your food shop?

450 replies

coffeecoffeecofffee · 31/03/2019 14:14

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!

OP posts:
pelirocco123 · 01/04/2019 06:27

Haven't managed to read all posts yet ..but had to post after you said fish isn't meat ! WTF....fish are living creatures of course it's meat ..I am calling troll here . You say you want to reduce shopping but you won't make any suggested changes

pelirocco123 · 01/04/2019 06:29

You aren't even vegetarian let alone vegan

Bookworm4 · 01/04/2019 06:35

£30 pm in pet insurance for a young dog is ridiculous yet the dog is eating crap food at £9pm, look for better price insurance and buy better food; crap food leads to health issues.

speakout · 01/04/2019 06:41

How do some people use so much loo roll?

We're a family of 4 and use 14-16 rolls a week.
3/4 people are out all day.

2 rolls a day and you are all out most of the time?

We are a family of 5- two of us are at home all day.
We use 4 or 6 rolls a week.

Notastepparentbut · 01/04/2019 07:15

You lied to me about going to uni. I knew I’d read you before - you won’t be able to afford to go to uni because you’re living with a partner and his income will be taken into account for your student loan and you won’t cope with going full time and keeping up with your studies if you are as unwell as you appear to be.

You’ve said before you want to do law. Law is a tough degree. I know. I did it. And the issue you will have is that it’s a professionally regulated degree if you are doing an LLB which means you have to reach a certain standard and do certain topics.

I don’t know what you hope to get from this at all. You’ve got a puppy. Why didn’t you say so on your other thread? Why get a puppy? Your partner works and you want to be out all day at uni.

Notastepparentbut · 01/04/2019 07:19

And no harm to you, but in a thread about making changes to your diet to reduce your food bulls, the fact that you suffer from bulimia is very relevant.

Notastepparentbut · 01/04/2019 07:20

*bills

StealthPolarBear · 01/04/2019 07:23

The op has explained and apologised about the vegan comment many times now

Notastepparentbut · 01/04/2019 07:26

And on your other thread, you don’t along with your parents and you hardly have any contact with them, yet here they’re giving you £25 a week?

And your bf helped you leave them, but now he’s abusing you.

It’s a mess.

You would get better help if you told the truth. N/c if you need to. As it is, no one can help you here because it’s all a muddle.

Notastepparentbut · 01/04/2019 07:29

What about your UTI? Did it resolve?

Bookworm4 · 01/04/2019 07:44

Living as a couple yet you have to rely on your parents to feed you? I doubt your so called partner is that hard up he can't include your food in his budget. Basically you live in his house and that's it, you're not a couple, he doesn't care.

BeanBag7 · 01/04/2019 08:16

If the other thread linked to is also you, you should leave your boyfriend as you said he only wants you around for sex. He is the reason you have no money, what are you getting out if the relationship (apart from a puppy you can't afford)?

Bulimia could make your IBS worse or even be the cause of it so you need to prioritise getting help with that.

Notastepparentbut · 01/04/2019 08:25

The op said it was her in the other thread x

Snog · 01/04/2019 08:34

How are you vegan when you eat fish?
I'm confused

StealthPolarBear · 01/04/2019 08:40

She has apologised for that about six times now

ciderhouserules · 01/04/2019 08:41

OP - I read (most of the ) thread, and the thing that leaps out at me is the sheer amount of carbs you eat! Bread, Pasta, Fruit... @BIWI, who runs the Low-card High-fat Bootcamps, also suffered with IBS, and it was eliminated through a Low carb Way of Eating. It returns when she eats carbs!
It is also, as a PP said, good for Epilepsy. Something to do with the nerves being made of fat. See a NHS dietician.

Low Carb High Fat is not an easy Way of Eating when on a vegan Hmm or even vegetarian diet, b ut You might need to get over your ethics/dislike of meat and dairy (as this has the lowest carbs.) You can keep the avos, the fish and berries, but throw out those white pap pasta and bread and fruit.

It's also not cheap (being meat based) but you could also throw out your BF, or at least stop living with him so you get your benefits back.

StealthPolarBear · 01/04/2019 08:43

Fruit counts as carbs??

LakieLady · 01/04/2019 08:44

Did you see my suggestion to make your own spray? You'll save a fortune.

I've been doing this for years. Supermarket own brand cleaner, diluted, and one bottle of concentrated cleanerlasts a year, for the price of one bottle of spray. When you buy the diluted stuff, you're actually paying for very expensive water!

I'd like a suggestion for shower spray though. We have very hard water, and I need to keep the limescale at bay.

LakieLady · 01/04/2019 08:51

its just that you use an extraordinary amount of loo roll.... you two use more in a week than our family of three does in a month.

If we were using that much bog roll, I'd be working out how long it would take to recoup the cost of having a bidet installed!

LakieLady · 01/04/2019 08:58

A nasty and rude comment. We use it for wiping the windows that get dirty, tissues if we need to blow our nose, spilt drinks etc. Probably have 2 in the car at a time and they come in handy.

I keep a linen scrim in the car for wiping the windows, much more effective than toilet paper. The initial outlay is may be expensive though. I used to go out with a window cleaner and he gave me loads of them. (They obviously last well, too, that was in the early 1980s)

00100001 · 01/04/2019 09:23

lakielady diluted white vinegar for your shower spray?

Hiddenaspie1973 · 01/04/2019 09:28

You can use oats to bulk food if you don't like lentils.

Purpletigers · 01/04/2019 09:52

I think you should move home to your parents .

Purpletigers · 01/04/2019 09:53

It doesn’t sound like your boyfriend wants to support you and if you can’t work you’re stuck .

Notastepparentbut · 01/04/2019 09:59

You say on this thread you don’t eat dairy, but on another thread you say you eat cheese?