To think it’s actually hard to live off this for the rest of the month?!

[munnyya]

I have 350 to last me and dd (2) until 29th of august. This is for food and household essentials like washing tablets, dishwater tablets, shampoo etc only. I think this is incredibly difficult to do? Am I going wrong somewhere? I can’t understand how this is meant to last us until then.

For a family of 4 we budget £440 a month so I really do think £350 is manageable personally for 2 people!

Most of the meal deliveries have starting offers; Gousto, Hello Fresh, these have recipe cards showing you step by step how to prepare the food. Might be worth a try.

Haven’t RTFT so apologies if I’m repeating. For laundry and cleaning products cut down on products. Dark clothes - no detergent unless heavily soiled. Cleaning, hot soapy water or diluted disinfectant in a spray bottle. Cheap white vinegar for descaling like kettle and shower door.

There’s a Tiktokker I follow who does meals for a family of 4 for £5 from Aldi and they all look delicious! That would maybe give you some inspo but I have an 8yr old who loves food and we enjoy a variety of meals and I spend less that £90 a week so it’s doable!

You’re saying you don’t have a clue, so do what the rest of us do and Google it so you can learn.

There's nothing you can't google. My late husband did all the cooking – when he died I had to teach myself, and quickly. Four years on and cooking is my favourite hobby.

A Hello Fresh on a deal (then cancel) for one week is a good idea. I can cook but I do it once a year to see if it can add some more recipes.

Id ask on the food board here. There’s lots of things you can make which aren’t really cooking like baked potatoes. Or using some of those flavoured rice packets and adding some things.
I cook everything but I dial it back in the summer because of the heat and I don’t want to be in the kitchen.
So we are having omelette and home made wedges tonight and supermarket fish cakes tomorrow night for instance.

I'm with you OP every day I pop to the shop it's £30 or so. I'd struggle on that budget and it's just me and the cat 😺

There's not much to learn about prep/storage

If you pick a recipe it will tell you what to do and at the bottom it will usually say freeze like this
Basically it's either in the fridge or the freezer or defrosting!

This is a good account for slow cooker

www.instagram.com/boredoflunch?igsh=Nmk0ZGRrYm1vd2lv

I don’t consider dishwasher tablets a luxury either. However if you’re struggling for cash then you need to make changes, and swapping out dishwasher tablets is an example of a change you can make. If money isn’t a problems then carry on doing what you’re doing, but your post suggests that it is.

Jamie Oliver's 5 ingredients book is good for simple food. I'd also watch some tiktok or youtube shorts of simple meals just for inspiration really and it helps to actually see the food being cooked. If you're concerned about storage you can always just cook one simple fresh meal at a time and then work up to batch cooking and storing in the freezer.

@munnyya I'm a bit late, so haven't read all the messages and may be repeating.

You have to pick a struggle - broke amd buying ready meals or learning to cook so you can be less stressed. There's really no other choice.

BBC Good food, YouTube, influencers and even the supermarket websites have recipes. Start small and your confidence will grow as you go.

OP, I get it because I was terrible at cooking for the longest time. A bit different for me but my real motivation for improving my cooking was my partner, because eating takeaways was unsustainable for the pair of us and while I would happily get by on toast and bitty foods, he wants proper meals. It has been great though, now I adore cooking, love making meals and will volunteer to cook when people come over.

None of my ideas are original, they are all sourced from recipes (BBC Good Food is amazing!) and then as you get more experienced you know which ingredients to drop and where you can cut corners or add your own twist. I'd advise building up a small spice rack – it's amazing how flavourful things can taste with just a few spices (pepper, salt, paprika, garlic powder, oregano and cumin would be my most used). Gousto or Hello Fresh as someone mentioned were also great for learning new techniques and getting ideas – you can get discount codes and then after a while, you can stop because you have a whole stash of recipe cards you can keep forever and just order the ingredients yourself.

You are relying too much on convenience foods. 2 kilo of potatoes is about £1.60 at Tesco and that should last a while - bake or mash them yourself.
Duck breasts is more expensive than chicken. Buy a larger pack and divide into portions and keep in the freezer.
Don't buy ready made - online are loads of recipes for inexpensive but tasty meals.
Your child should eat the same as you, no need to get Little Dish.
Two eggs and toast make a nutritious breakfast. Add a banana for your child.
I make a delicious and easy soup that lasts four days lunches for two that costs me about £5 in ingredients (assuming some staple herbs and spices) for example.
Pasta is cheap and you can batch cook some sauces and then freeze in portion sizes for variety. Eat with a salad.
You say you were never taught to cook. Well teach yourself! You learn by doing.
You should have a pantry of staple items - if need be I could feed myself and daughter for about a week! It might be a bit boring but if I had to I could. Build it up over time.
Keep:
A variety of dried herbs and spices (smoked paprika, Italian herbs, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper are a good place to start).
Olive oil/cooking oil
Tinned chopped tomatoes
Tinned kidney beans
Tinned tuna (in water or brine)
A couple pasta sauces for convenience in a pinch (I like Lloyd Grossman and often reduced)
Pasta (spaghetti and penne or other shapes)
Rice
Oatmeal (makes a nice winter breakfast- again add some fruit)
Ketchup/mayo/mustard/sweet chilli sauce
Stock cubes

In your freezer keep:
Microwaveable cooked baked potatoes (this is a great basis for a quick meal - add tuna and sweetcorn mixed with a bit of mayo and serve with salad for example)
Frozen vegetables - relatively inexpensive and always there when you need them - we always have petite pois and sweet corn)

That's a good start. I also find doing the shop online keeps me from temptation and also you can see exactly how much you are spending and can easily comparison shop. Don't necessarily go for the cheapest (Tesco value crisps are vile for example).

Even without "proper" cooking, you can save a fortune on ready meals, tins, and packets, just by shopping around, and researching which supermarkets sell each thing cheaper than the others, look out for their offers, i.e. 3 for 2, clubcard discounts, or just temporary reductions. EG mccoys multipack crisps are always on offer somewhere between the main 3/4 supermarkets - if they're full price in Morrisons, they're probably half price in Tesco etc.

Just buy the non perishables (cans, packets, etc) when you see them on offer. Go to Aldi or Lidl for all the stuff that you don't want to be "big names", i.e. their own brand baked beans instead of Heinz etc. If you want to save money you have to be proactive.

Re the big stores for named items, do them in rotation, i.e. Morrisons on Monday, Tesco on Friday, Sainsbury the following Monday, etc. so you'll get the "offers/discounts" somewhere within a 10 day/2 week period.

Get all the store discount/club cards you can and use them - research what they offer and if you get extra points or a discount by buying, say, baked beans in Tesco, then buy your baked beans in Tesco with the club card - if there's no deal in Tesco but you can get extra Nectar points in Sainsbury for buying the same beans at the same price, buy them in Sainsbury. Even if you don't do online shopping, create online accounts with the main stores, and you can go online to see their offers/discounts from the comfort of your sofa, so you can plan your shopping lists to go to the store which has the best offers for what you need that week.

If all else fails, start getting into the habit of looking at the "short dated" area in the supermarket - even if you don't need it immediately, you can usually freeze to use subsequently. If you want to save money, you can't afford to be choosy and if there's several ready meal lasagnes at half price, then you need to buy a couple and either eat them or freeze them.

Also STOP doing interim "fill in" shops, especially stop going to smaller convenience stores, petrol stations, etc for the likes of bread and milk. You'll save a fortune by better planning so that you don't run out of stuff between "bigger" shops.

I think the OP could probably save 25% to 50% by buying virtually the same (i.e. no need to learn to cook etc) just by shopping around and taking advantage of the discounts/offers/loyalty cards, buying short dated items, not doing fill in shops, etc. All it takes is a bit of research and planning and flexibility. Obviously not ideal in terms of health and nutrition etc., but if short term finances are the aim, then it's a short term solution.

The op WILL be paying far more than she needs to do if she goes to the same shop all the time and isn't shopping around for deals/discounts - moreso if her "local" shop is a smaller convenience store (even if a big name). It's all a game to the supermarkets in cahoots with the main food manufacturers that they "rotate" the deals around the stores, so the more stores they go to, over say a month, the more they'll save over that month. Shoppers need to play it smart and play the stores at their own game by rotating and taking advantage of the deals.

Can you look at what you change branded to non branded for? Can you shop in eg pound shops fit some things? Make lists, look at what will last two days eg we did meatballs and they lasted two days etc. best of luck op x

It's not much if that's all you have left once bills are paid every month. I'd struggle with that as a single person. It's less than £100 for food, transport, clothing and socialising. Even the most frugal of Mumsnetters must concede that's a tight budget! If it's a one-off, it's doable, but it's every month, then you need to consider how to increase your household income.

You've asked about food storage

Fridge

Don't keep half a tin of stuff in the tin. Tip it out into a bowl. You can cover it with cling film. Or save take away containers or plastic pots (from yoghurt etc) as storage.

You can keep most stuff 2-3 days or longer.

Freezer

Use freezer bags. I prefer the ones where you can tie the top in a knot. The ones with the zip are fiddly.

You can also use plastic takeaway containers.

If you go online and buy a pack of silver trays and lids, these are useful and you can put meals in them and take them from the freezer into the oven.

Technically, you can keep food in the freezer for months. The texture will start to deteriorate after 4 months but you can still eat it.

You can chop up and freeze:

Sweet peppers
Lemons and limes
Stem ginger
Herbs
Onions
Garlic
Grated cheese

Also

Mashed potato
Bacon
Pretty much any cooked meal

The only real freezer rule is don't thaw anything then put it back in the freezer. If you do thaw something, you need to cook it then it is ok to put it back in the freezer.

You could ditch the brands like organix.

@munnyya no one taught me to cook either. I found this brilliant page on Facebook- feed your family for about £20 a week- it covers all the questions you're asking. If you message the page with what you need advice on, they'll post it anonymous and the community is amazing. They have a website with all their recipes, it was set up by mums so they're not time consuming or difficult.
Once you have a few quid spare I highly recommend their first book to get you started on meal planning.

I was like you, spending roughly £300 sometimes more a month on groceries. Now it's half of that. I don't feel like I've lost any time either as a lot of things I can batch cook or prep in advance.

For now try to get all fruit and veg in the green grocery rather than a super market. It stays fresh longer and it's often cheaper. Same with meat from butchers. Especially in this weather, look for any prepacked bbq packs. I got one last week for £15 with enough to last us a fortnight. Get some plastic food bags, sandwich bags will do, and pack everything individually and freeze.

I don't want to come across as patronising, I was like you once and I felt silly asking for help. But no one taught us this stuff, if we can learn, we can pass the knowledge onto the kids and break this cycle.

I've also got loyalty cards and apps for all the supermarkets. You often get something for free from M and S or Lidl. I save Nectar points for £2.50 off with Sainsbury's.

I pick up any free magazines (especially Waitrose weekly newspaper and monthly Food magazine) for cookery ideas and more vouchers.

For almost instant cash you can eBay stuff or do Prolific surveys online.

We spend £250 on a month's worth of food & toiletries and that's for two adults and a cat, your budget is absolutely doable. Meal planning is your friend!

You could likely get by without dishwasher tablets.

Ignore the pile on from some people @munnyya

If you were never taught how to cook, and you've managed sufficiently on your own, you don't know you're missing a skill until finances get in your way.

I'm glad you've had some good advice on here (ignoring the pearl clutchers).

Re dishwasher tablets, etc, Smol do free trials then a box of 30 tablets is £6.30. Otherwise I only buy what's on special offer at the supermarket and I look at the price per tablet thing on the shelf. If it's a decent brand for about 11-14p a tablet, I'll buy those! (Unless it's the lemon scented ones - can't stand them!)

In terms of food storage if you're batch cooking, I bought some plastic food containers from Amazon like you'd get from a takeaway (https://www.amazon.co.uk/10-Pack-Rectangular-Plastic-Containers-Leak-Proof/dp/B076T7651S/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3TDYVT4TMUHP6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MYE60IpeWF1dES4GqAzXbJVliV20239DW5T-w7iEStvAF9qXzmR_NoA4uJkqE7TYD9bJJI0hoHfp0SCw5Gf11TLHdDvJqXoGkyloEs83PhI3V85PGX3X0JQrpiw-TprsurwkqZTGS8c5XNA_ntWgNMhIxR_6VhUpWMJUnKzFVa3lGRAHciwkhQGJ5f9PnWa8BV8rK0_TLWAlPvRDh9K8bRBL_O2_ysQJ7TWP63mg06zQpZQ_jGOYEiurZbYn_QwO9Sbrb37owUfDdD9rEbMjvv439eTQPiKypfllS36SnmM.t4jTpCcxCWBNORH6ucpOoMPsRgG-lhu0IfU2nGdDG0Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=plastic+food+containers+with+lids&qid=1722938257&s=kitchen&sprefix=plastic+fod+%2Ckitchen%2C87&sr=1-4). They're reusable and clean nicely in the dishwasher. They're not the best quality for long term use, but they're cheap and I'm still using the ones I bought a year ago. Yes, nice glass dishes with lids are better, but they're also a lot more expensive and take up more room when empty.

Otherwise, if I make a lasagna, I put it in freezer bags.

BBC has a good article here about batch cooking, with links to recipes - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/batch-cooking-beginners. Point 3 is the most important.

A tomato based pasta sauce can be used to hide a multitude of veggies and use up any veggies that are past their best, as can soups. My parents make a lot of soup and freeze it. They label everything but often have "surprise soup" lunches when the labelling's come off!

A roast chicken can go a long way too. Roast it on a Sunday then use it in pastas, salads, sandwiches for a few days after. You can pick up a small whole roast chicken for £3.22 in Tesco. They charge £4.50 for two pre-prepped chicken breasts.

You'd be worth buying some herbs and spice mixes that make even just plain chicken interesting. I like the Schwartz classic BBQ seasoning. It's £2 for a jar in tesco, but lasts a long time. https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254777561 - goes well on chicken and on potato wedges. I make potato wedges and chips myself. As below, a baking potato is 23p at Tesco, which would also provide a portion of chips or wedges for 1. Just toss them in a bit of oil, sprinkle on some salt and pepper or anything else you fancy, and chuck in the oven on a baking tray for 35 mins (or an air fryer for about 25).

For a cheap meal you can't beat a jacket potato. One of my favourite meals when I lived alone was a couple of sausages chopped up and fried off, then served with a jacket potato piled with baked beans and some cheese (buy blocks, not pre-grated).

Jacket potato - £0.23 per potato
Sausages - £0.81 for 3 sausages from the tesco 12 pack that costs £3.25
Baked beans - £0.60 for a small tin of Branston (can't scrimp on beans IMO) or £0.80 for a big one out of a pack of 4
Grated cheese - £0.49 for 50g of a 550g pack of Cathedral City (again, I like CC cheese)

Total = £2.93 for dinner. If you bought 4 potatoes, the above would cost £12.77 and would give you four meals with half a pack of cheese left over. The sausages you can freeze (separate them first into portions as they can be a bugger if they stick together) and potatoes, cheese and beans last for ages if stored properly.

It's not the most nutritious of meals, granted, but it's a nice comfort meal.

I hope you take from this OP that it's ok to have not been taught these things and that I hope you feel a little excitement that you might be able to save some money but also create some lovely tasty meals for yourself.

I love watching cooking videos on tiktok and you tube!

I completely understand how exhausting it can be to work full time and then come home and have to cook a meal. It can be tempting to reach for convenience foods. But if you’re concerned about budgeting, those items would be the first I’d cross off the shopping list.

Also if you’ve never done much cooking, it can seem mysterious and intimidating. But it’s really not! Take a look at some websites or YouTube videos with basic recipes. They will give step by step instructions. The BBC Good Food site has a lot of recipes for easy dinners. That’s just one example, there are loads more.