Need to reduce my food bill

[HarleyQuinnRocks]

Posting here for traffic.

I need to feed myself and 2 children.

What's the least amount you could spend in 1 month to feed all and what would you buy?

I'm struggling other than noodles and the really unhealthy basic cheap stuff.

Xbox subscription allows him to play online with his friends and download games for free. It is the only treat he gets really. We don't get to go out or do anything else as it all needs money so I would feel bad at cancelling that.

I've tried some survey sites but gave up as felt like I was spending hours doing them and only making pennies.

Are there any in particular you would recommend please?

OP please check the making £10 a day thread. I do things like surveys and user testing and this brings me between £30 and £50 a week. I only do it in the evenings, I know it’s not loads of money but for me it covers little treats for me and DC. I’m on a tight budget just now too and this really helps. There are loads of ideas there and everyone in the thread is so helpful if you’re only just getting started.
Wishing you all the best OP, we had no money at all when DS was born and it was so so tough (both lost our jobs in the space of 3 months), I really sympathise.

Valued opinions.

There’s an earn £10 a day thread in money matters.

Fresh veg (market if possible if not Aldi) pulses, rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, make bread, make sauces, trays of chicken eat less meat by dividing up and freezing. I can feed 2 adults for £20 a week but I can cook and have lots of herbs and spices from before by drop in income (stbexh left)

For end of month emergency rations have rice, yellow lentils, turmeric, onions and chilli flakes - daal works out at about 10p a head, I throw in frozen spinach and chopped tomatoes for extra healthiness but needs must, it's filling too. Porridge is cheap for breakfast

Red lentils are brilliant added to vegetable stew, curry, pasta sauce etc. Also count as 1 of your 5 a day.

Use frozen onions, peppers, mushrooms, green beans, spinach & peas.

800g block of cheese is about £4 in Aldi & goes a long way!

Cheap meals my family enjoys:

Jacket potatoes with baked beans & cheese.
Pasta with roasted veg sauce
Quiche with new potatoes
Sausage & mash
Toad in the hole with mixed veg
Vegetable Curry with rice (I put hard boiled eggs in at the last minute which is lovely)
Veg stew & dumplings
Egg & Chips with peas

Cheap lunches:

Crackers with peanut butter
Beans on toast
Tinned spaghetti on toast
Egg sandwiches
Cheese on toast

Breakfasts:
Porridge with frozen berries
Toast
Weetabix (Aldi own brand)

I agree that survey sites can be tedious, but they are easy and require minimal effort. I have used Lifepoints, Panelbase and actually swagbucks is fun and not too bad - these pop up surveys on a regular basis - but there are much higher paying ones but more specifically targetted. BUT get to the thread - there are far more ways of earning extra money! Seriously it can be a real lifechanger with the ideas and what's available! Some folks on there are earning several hundred pounds a month online!

If your youngest is 11 why do you have £500 a month childcare costs?

Re gluten free foods please don't worry it can be done cheaply (I'm on a tight budget with ds who is gluten free). It's difficult to impossible to get foods on prescription nowadays. However I've adapted the meal planning to use foods not containg gluten naturally rather than going to the free from section. You may have to swap brand of stock cube or tomato ketchup but it's doable. The only things I buy from the free from section is Pasta, gluten free flour, porridge oats (some gf diets allow ordinary oats), occasionally I buy some cereal, bread or Sausage as a treat or for ease but will often get these when reduced.

Do you work for the NHS?

I recently discovered the company shop and have drastically slashed my food bill.

It won;t suit everyone but I have been a the reduction in our grocery bill since going vegan.

I meal plan, don't buy vegan products or fake meat and I don't particularly aim to shop thriftily and our food shopping for 4 adults costs around £50pw , although DSs are buying lunch outside the house.

If you haven’t already got one, a slow cooker really helps to save money and make food go further, you can do some nice ‘treat’ food in them too like fajitas, I do it with chicken strips but bulk it out with peppers and kidney beans and eat with rice or tortillas (just as an example)
Hope this idea wasn’t too obvious, it’s easier said than done to cut your costs.

I don't work for the NHS.

My youngest is 9. My eldest is 11.

I pay childcare for my youngest.

If you're stuck in a lot, I wouldn't get rid of the XBOX subscription- I'm guessing you have the game pass.

Not rtft so someone may already have suggested this, but have a look at thrifty lesley. Lots of meal plans for different circumstances including packed lunches all costed at £1 per day per person, all fully balanced giving you 5a day and I really like the recipes I've tried. Even if you just followed one of her meal plans every second week that might help?

How bloody unfair that people such as yourself who actually work are so skint. There is something far wrong with this country when some people are actually worse off on benefits.

Anyway... I actually started slimming world a while ago and did all my shopping at Lidl. The point wasn't to save money however I was so surprised by how much money I saved cooking from scratch and buying from Lidl/Aldi. Maybe something to look into, slimming world recipes are all over the internet. You don't need to do it to lose weight, the meals are healthy, filling and suitable for everyone, including kids.

I've not read all the posts on the thread but could you perhaps get your wee one into a council nursery anytime soon? Pick up overtime? Speak to a benefits advisor re universal credit? Change jobs, rent out a room? Best of luck to you op x

@thetrinityisshite what is the company shop? I work for the NHS and would be interested in this!

it amazes me how people prioritise feeding a pet other than their kids.

lalafafa but people get attached to pets, you wouldn't give one up just because you're experiencing financial difficulties and I can't imagine her kids would thank her for it.

It's not as if her cat is enjoying gourmet steaks when her kids are having beans on toast .

yes but she's still looking at cutting back

Shop in aldi or lidl, not Asda. Buy porridge. Stretch mince with veg and red lentils. Use chicken thighs.

Frozen vedge is way cheaper I find, and you get li ta more and no waste for your money. I recently discovered boot strap jack- her recipes are very budget friendly indeed. She has some great cost cutting ideas.
Barley and vedgetable soups are filling and healthy and you can add bread to dip. Eggs, beans or porridge or pancakes in the mornings are way cheaper than cereal. I make pancakes with oats in and blend with an old banana. I’d say soups, bakes, and casserole style cooking is cheaper you can stretch any meat content or replace or bulk out with pulses. Pasta recipes also great filling and healthy.

I make vegan pancakes off allrecipes.com with sr flour & really like them.

I would have given my cat up as an absolute last resort in this situation.

I think clearly the car finance is having a huge impact on your budget. Too late now but it would have been wiser to get a good second hand car and possibly a bank loan perhaps.
You have had a lot of good advice on here, I appreciate how hard things must be.