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!

I buy toiletries and cleaning products from home bargains or B&M, they’re far cheaper and often big brands for a fraction of the price.

Honestly, I shop at Aldi and it saves me half what I spent in Morrisons. Every time I go into Morrisons I feel like I buy barely anything and it always comes to £20 so I don’t bother anymore. I don’t have the issue with fresh produce going off quickly in Aldi either, maybe it’s the time of day you have gone.

Was just about to reply and now a whole other can of worms opens. Another thread where you eat cheese and your boyfriend is just using you for sex and you are almost NC with your parents?

Dramas.

Stop eating foods that are bad for your IBS and LTB

And your parents are unsupportive and you’re very low contact on another thread, yet you’re taking cards and presents to your mum? But you have no money?

Also, with your bulimia I’m really worried about your “show me your fridge” thread. Are you sure that’s the best idea, given your MH issues and issues around food?

Plus, you’re planning to move with your partner? You’d be better moving back home, he’s really abusive.

I’m really really confused op.

You are too young and too vulnerable to be dealing with all this shit . Can you move home with your parents and get some help with your bulimia? No one should be struggling like you are atm . Parents can be a giant pain but honestly, unless they’re complete arseholes they will be better than your boyfriend .

@StealthPolarBear

Yes, fruit counts as carbs! As do vegetables. Some of both can be very high in carbs, bananas especially.

Hi there all,

We've had a look behind the scenes and it turns out OP is a PBP. However, we think there's some pretty good advice on the thread regardless, so we're going to leave it up.

no...way... I am so very shocked....

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

I think I'm getting over-invested in toilet roll usage. One roll lasts us 6 days, DP is out 9-5 and I work 3 mornings a week. We have normal bowel habits, we're not both chronically constipated or anything.

I can't imagine what you'd have to do with bog roll to get through 3.5-4 rolls a week each. Do you have teen girls who use yards of the stuff to take off their make-up and so on?

no...way... I am so very shocked....*

I’d have been shocked if it wasn’t by a troll.

@AnyaMumsnet

I reported the thread over 12 hours ago and was told by Hebe that it would be looked at then. Why has it taken so long for MN to take action when you surely have a very quick way to determine PBPs?

I was thinking about white vinegar 00100001, and have just googled it.

I think I'll give it a try.

I am so very shocked

PBP? No shit Sherlock.

Hi there @killpop,

We're obviously not going to go into too much detail, as that would be like a troll's handbook, but sometimes it's easy to spot a PBP, sometimes it can be a bit more difficult.

We like to cross our t's and dot our i's, so we'd want to be sure before we publicly declare someone to be a PBP.

The vinegar is also great for washing towels!
Use just a tiny bit of washing powder and half of small bottle of vinegar through the drawer. Softener as normal.
They come out softer AND it keeps the washing machine clean😁

Okay, thank you for that @AnyaMumsnet
Am sure this poster will reappear (again) so will keep an eye out and report if I think they do.

@AnyaMumsnet I also reported the thread when it was first posted as I thought it a subtle begging thread and asked if it should have your normal ‘be cautious’ warning. I understand why you can’t immediately be sure someone is a troll but I don’t understand why you would hesitate to put up a warning post. I had a quick reply from MNHQ so someone had looked at it but presumably chosen not to post the warning.
There area lot of gullible posters about and a lot of sneaky trolls - I think MNHQ should be more proactive. Is it a weekend staffing issue?

What's a PBP?

PBP = Previously Banned Poster?

InspectorClouseauMNdivision be careful with vinegar in washing machines etc as it can damage the seals IIRC.

I do generally just use vinegar to clean the sides and the bathroom, especially when I'm just giving them a wipe as opposed to a deep clean.

I see that the OP is a PBP but I would like to say thank you for all the tips! I am definitely going to start making my own cleaning spray when this bottle is finished (I shall reuse the bottle too).

I've found the ASDA smart price range to be really good for some items such as, washing up liquid, beans, mayonnaise, cheese, frozen chicken breasts and even Jaffa cakes (they are nicer than McVities IMO and less than 30p). I buy most of my veg frozen with a couple of fresh bits such as potatoes and mushrooms (can't get onboard with frozen mushrooms, it's just wrong). Home bargains is great too, I also like Iceland/the food warehouse for when I'm stocking up the freezer.

I use bar soap to wash my body and solid shampoo for my hair which lasts ages (I get mine from future primitive it's £6.95 ish for a bar and does around 80 washes which is at least a years worth of shampoo for me).

Pound shops and places like bodycare are great for deodorant and razors etc, most roll ons bring me out in a rash so I have to use spray. My local Poundland stocks astonish cleaning products and the laundry detergent gel is alright too, it's a £1 for around 30 washes, gets the clothes clean it just doesn't leave any kind of lasting detergenty smell. Which is great for me as I don't want it to interfere with my perfume.

All told our shopping comes to around £55 a week when you include things like nappies and pet stuff, for a family of 3 plus three cats and one dog. It could be better though so I shall be making notes and seeing if I can get it down a bit more and start saving the extra!

Why would you bother reporting a thread about food budgeting? MNers are bloody obsessed with 'reporting'.

JingleJangleFish
I report because I hope it stops people giving money to people who are being dishonest. I've seen plenty of threads where gullible kind posters have been falling over themselves to send money or food to OPs. I don't think it happens so much now as it used to and I think that's partly because posters are better at spotting begging threads.
I also report because I believe that posters who are genuinely in need of practical help on budgeting are put off from posting in case that are thought of as scammers.

Its up to MNHQ to decide what to do when someone reports - they have access to the inside info but if no one reports then they dont get a chance to look at it.

I like the fact that MN is a moderated forum. I guess if you prefer non-moderated forums there are plenty to chose from.

Why would you bother reporting a thread about food budgeting? MNers are bloody obsessed with 'reporting'.

Anything that helps prevent a troll from abusing a posters kindness when they’ve perhaps mentioned a loved ones illness can only be a good thing.

What are you diluting to make your own sprays? I buy Tesco own 'multipurpose antibacterial spray' and use it on kitchen and bathroom. So what else can I use? Just value disinfectant watered down? The stuff that is brown and thick? Is that safe for high chairs/pet surfaces?