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'm confused about the fish - do you buy this for your partner?

Also a bit shocked at your cleaning spend - you could cut out tissues, wipes and body wash and use washable cloths and soap. Wipes are really bad for the environment.

Strawberries or blueberries are expensive out of season - could these be dropped?

I agree with you that whole wheat past is worth paying a bit more for but I buy this in bulk to save a bit - is there any way you could do that?

Apart from that can you make your own pasta sauce? I've no idea how the price compares as I don't buy pre-made sauces but tinned tomatoes are about 30p. You could do a big batch and freeze it?

A 4 pack of soap is cheaper than a single shower gel. Also if you buy a big flash multipurpose liquid you probably won't need to buy a cleaning spray until 2025. Make your own solution.

I agree with your toiletries being way too high.

We're a family of 5. I'd reckon it takes around 2-3 weeks to get through 9 toilet rolls. I'd reckon if I take sanitary towels out I rarely spend £5 in a week, and some weeks it's nothing. Even with sanitary towels I'd reckon we never get to £12 per week.
I tend to bulk buy soap/shampoo when it's on offer.

When we're looking to save money we do a lot with baked potatoes, and can just vary what we have with it. Rice/pasta also goes a long way, and you can both have that. and just have different things with it.

@itsboiledeggsagain Maybe we use a tonne of loo roll then, I'm not sure honestly but we definitely buy 2 packs a week my boyfriend does take a few out though and keep them in the car for tissues when we need & we tend to get through them quite quickly!

Yeah we don't buy loads of cleaning products (just surface spray, wipes for the bathroom/kitchen & bleach, but we usually have to get new wipes & spray each week as we have a pup and he has a few accidents atm as he's so young!)

I only got 1 body wash gift set for Christmas so none leftover from then. I don't buy expensive stuff though, whatever's on offer & largest amount for money etc.

Sorry but your shopping sounds very extreme, I have a partner and 2 babys and we get all of our food for £30 a week maximum to include baby food ( could do cheaper but allowed us some extra treats) and £2-3 a week cleaning/household

Also you can get dairy free milk for £1 so do that.

Avocados will have to go and no berries of any kind.

@PinkiOcelot Ah good point! It is quite thin and often have to use quite a bit each time, I'll look into that Tesco one thank you :)

@LovingLola wipes for kitchen/bathroom surfaces. We only buy 1 pack a week but the good ones are usually £2 at least each. We don't use loads.

Also I buy body wash from asda for 40p each.

I don't use wipes to clean I just have a cleaning sponge ( pack from asda again 40p)

We buy 12 loo rolls for £2 from adds and it lasts us 3 weeks

@Littlebluebird123 Yes I make my own sauce for a veggie bolognese once a week but prefer jar sauces for convenience in the evenings. They're usually cheap too- £1 per jar which lasts 2 dinners.

£8 a month on wipes is loads, why such delusion ? XD

How much are wipes and how many are in a pack? Work out cost per wipe. I use kitchen roll and spray for any accidents and cotton dishcloths dry, with a spray for general cleaning. If you don't wet them through and let them go manky you can stick them in the normal wash.
Wipes are so wasteful!

@picklemepopcorn Yes we get all soap, dish soap, wipes, tissues, toilet roll etc from Lidl.

I already use roll on deo. Not a fan of Lidl's body wash though.

We get through the cleaning spray quicker as we have a puppy whose toilet training currently.

We buy bleach rarely as it lasts so long.

We've needed tissues this week as I've caught the lurgy

How are you using a loo roll EACH a DAY???

how??

do you use like 20 sheets per visit or something?

I am boggling.

I do buy frozen fish, I think that was in my OP.

Yeah I think we'll get a more expensive loo roll as it'll save money over time.

I don't like too cheap shampoo/conditioner- I don't buy them often anyway as they last a while, usually spend £5 altogether on shampoo/conditioner every 6-8 weeks. Which I don't mind as it makes me feel good & keeps my hair looking good.

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

Could you try growing your own veg? Even just tomatoes, they are easy and so much cheaper than buying them. They taste better too.

Garlic is easy too just pop in the ground, no skill needed. Rocket is easy too and grows quickly.

Buy some hankies and wash them. I don't use them out the house much but in the house we never use tissues. Get some sponges and cloths and wash them rather than using wipes.

As for freezing portions (which I agree is a great idea!) we live in a rented flat and have the TINIEST freezer. I'm talking 2 small drawers which are filled up with frozen veg, fish, veggie mince/sausages & burgers. We don't have room for tupperware to meal prep.

i had to, I gogoled it.

Lidl loo rollshave 165 sheets.

and you cant be going to the loo more than 4 times a day.

that means you must be using about quarter of a roll (more or less) each time? or around 40 sheets???

HOW??

I usually use 2-3. sometimes might need more. but probaly no more than 10.

Also cannot understand how you're using 2.5 loo rolls a day???

@thesnailandthewhale ah shit good point😂😂 I always say vegan as I'm completely dairy & meat free lol

I'll say dairy free from now on :)

As a vegan, why are you buying fish?

Cross posted!

@Dimsumlosesum I love avocados and eat them around 4x a week as they're so good for you, so I don't mind spending a little extra on them as it makes 4 lunches- I often get them for 89p each too.

I buy blueberries or strawberries twice a week (whichever is cheapest) for my breakfast and that only comes to max £3 per week. Again, something I see as a staple as it's so good for you & I really enjoy it.

@TwllBach We are actually home all day to be fair, my partner works from home & I'm home too as I'm not working at the moment and often have days where I'm in bed due to my chronic illness. That might be why we get through a lot of loo roll?