About to be time rich and money poor

[Aibusadandhormonal]

Made redundant. Definitely a good thing (job was making me ill with stress) but while I'm looking for a new job I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hands.
I'm going to go through our finances in detail - but at a glance the biggest thing we spend money on (after mortgage, bills and childcare (BIG savings there!)) is food.
What ways can I save money by using the time I have. I have my redundancy money so can do bulk buying to save in longer term..
So far I have only a few ideas...

• visiting supermarket at the end of the day for reductions
• looking at the weekly offers at eg Lidl and working meal plans around those.
• buying dried lentils/dried foods in bulk and soaking.
• we don't eat much meat, but will be getting the cheaper cuts. Are butchers actually cheaper?

Do things like making your own bread actually save money? I got given a bread maker that's been gathering dust for 5 years...

All suggestions gratefully received.

I try and save money by eating these items for dinner:

cheese on toast
liver and onions/mashed potato
chicken curry
tinned mackerel/tuna with jacket potatoes
pasta/bacon/peas/sweetcorn
cheap pizza
shepherd’s pie

Butchers seem more expensive to me
Think a cheap loaf will be cheaper than making from scratch

Making bread comes in useful if you don't use the bread maker just a big batch of dough, keeps in the fridge for a few days covered, tear off a piece for pizza bases or bread rolls fresh each day. Depends what bread you normally eat, if bakers sourdough at £3-4 then yes will save money, if 47p white savers sliced then it won't (yuck)!!

If you don't normally do online shopping then you can take advantage of any offers that come up, eg I got into ocado when they did 25% off first few shops. If you vary the supermarkets you go to (get to know your prices) you can save money and if you haven’t been to one for a while they often send you vouchers. I just got vouchers through the post for £9 off £60 shops at sainsburys for four weeks as I haven't used them for a while.

Buying cheap things in bulk so there is always food when you don't feel like cooking

Pasta- several 3kg bags
Rice - a few 10kg bags
Tinned tomatoes (own brand cheap ones)
Beans
Cheese
Eggs
Potatoes
Massive tub of butter

Go to the independent ethnic shops to buy big bags of seasonings and boxes of something called Indomie - instant noodles that are super delicious

Fill up the freezer with things like meat, chicken nuggets and breaded chicken, chips and a couple of bags of mixed veg) also buy bagels and bread that can be frozen (bagels so easy to store in the freezer)

Then buy flour and yeast to make your own loaves, cheap cake ingredients for when a sugar craving is needed

Congratulations on being made redundant as it does sound like you needed some time off! Hope you get to try out new recipes and enjoy it xx

Find a wholesale butchers and buy their massive slabs of meat etc (I’m talking the ‘half a cow/pig’ variety). Then take a sharp knife to it and freeze portions. It works out cheaper than the supermarket for better meat.

Switch to mainly vegetarian meals. It takes a while to find good recipes, but there are out there.

See if there’s a group near you that ‘saves’ waste food. It’s perfectly good and you’re also helping the environment.

only shop once a month except milk. It’s amazing how much you find in the cupboards when you can’t just nip to the shop. It’s equally amazing how often you decide you’re actually not that hungry and a slice of toast will do….

I expected to have a lot of free time on redundancy but job hunting really is a full time job. So don't prioritise tracking across town to save pennies on a shop if a job application needs a couple of hours of focus.

But do schedule time off the job hunt too, to relax and do some money saving. Work through your bills and get rid of subscriptions, look at sim only phone plans, change Internet providers etc.

Then theres selling bits too, I had a good clear out on vinted for clothes. And zap your books etc with music magpie or similar to see what you can sell. Do a car boot or sell on FB marketplace too. Less clutter makes you feel good when you're in the house more and makes some cash.

Appreciate this is less about food savings - Good luck with the job hunt

My shopping bill is tiny since becoming vegan. Not only has it cut out the costs of meat and fish, but so many expensive ready made and treat foods contain dairy and egg. I buy fresh, frozen and tinned fruit, veg, beans and pulses and use them in that order so no waste. Then rice, pasta, bread, nuts and tofu and I'm done. I have a good stock of herbs and spices and make everything from scratch. Curries, chilli, pasta dishes, stews and soups. It makes an excellent base diet, because whatever else, you'll know you've eaten healthily. Then if you want to supplrment with some meat/fish/eggs etc as budget allows, you can.

Sounds like you are being really positive and pro-active which is great!

Being time rich/ money poor means you can explore all the different shops by you to ascertain exactly what each one is cheapest at and shop around instead of just doing one massive shop at one shop for convenience.

What do you do for transport can you switch to walking at all for any shopping? Good exercise and saves on petrol.

And yes can cook from scratch and see which meals you can make really cheap

The end of the day reductions can be good, as can the food waste prevention initiatives. Worth trying!

Good luck and enjoy your time off x

If you aren't already, I'd recommend visiting Money Saving Expert forums (MSE). There is vast information, advice and experiences to read about. It may not be your thing but it is a great place for money saving tips

I would probably look into some of the ways you can add a little extra to your budget via surveys, bank switching etc

https://www.reddit.com/r/beermoneyuk/

this subreddit is good for offers

butchers are generally more expensive but the quality is higher so might be worth it if you are cutting down on meat to go for less but better. what about costco for bulk buys? their meat like mince or chicken breasts/thighs can be portioned up and frozen and is very reasonable, plus savings to be made bulk buying things like toliet roll, beans tinned tomatoes etc

@Aibusadandhormonal check your local butchers, mine does special freezer packs which last a few weeks. Also try the too good to go app, can get some good bargains on there. Also one called olio?? They do bags of goodies for a couple of quid. Regards your bread maker how much would the ingredients cost?

a lot of the cheaper cuts of meat can be the tastiest if done in a slow cooker. You can make a really cheap casserole and have it with mash.

One of our favourite meals is beans on toast with grated cheese on the top. I will put ham on mine as well.

Cut down on brands where you can. I do like my Kelloggs and Heinz, but buy own brand for a lot of things.

Look at your food wastage if there is any and reduce your buying/food portions on those items.

Shop around as well. I find that Asda are a lot dearer than Tesco on the items that I buy, but my friend finds the reverse as she buys different things to me. I don't use Aldi or Lidl very often as I get a weekly Tesco delivery as the nearest supermarkets are a 40 mile round trip

I recently signed up to cherrypick. It’s halved my shopping bill! Been stuck in my overdraft the last few months and it’s helping me move out of it each month without any effect on living standards. If anything we are eating better than before. It’s the rationalisation of ingredients which are helping the most. Ie. It works out when you can buy bigger pack and you can fiddle with it. Never had so much food in the fridge and simultaneously so little wastage. Really impressed.

I think you might be more effective in using all your newfound free time to upskill and make yourself more employable, then writing really good job applications, instead of trekking across town to buy cheaper teabags!

Although if this is more of a long-term lifestyle change, maybe growing your own veg?

Agree with this - we have a vegetarian household and it's so much cheaper than when we bought meat. We cook a lot of healthy and delicious stews and curries, noodles etc. Maybe try it for a week and see how you get on!

Ime most uk butchers try to target the premium end of the market, focussing on higher quality produce at high prices. Supermarkets are much cheaper.

Home made sourdough is usually the cheapest way to have bread. It only requires flour, water & a little salt.

Frozen meat is cheaper and just as nutritious. Batch cook meals and bulk out meat with beans or lentils.

Root veg is really cheap so fill up with lots of it.

I don’t think you will save much going to a supermarket too often to look for offers or yellow stickers. It’s cheaper to meal plan and do one shop - that way you’re not constantly shopping

Cancel Amazon/Disney/Spotify/Netflix. Or pick one at a time to have. The ones with ads are just as good and you barely notice them.

Find a wholesale butchers and buy their massive slabs of meat etc (I’m talking the ‘half a cow/pig’ variety). Then take a sharp knife to it and freeze portions. It works out cheaper than the supermarket for better meat

Be careful with this advice. A big proportion of the meat may be more expensive joints or cuts you'll struggle to use. If you get a pig or half a cow you will need to run a whole dedicated freezer for the meat, the electricity costs can make it not worthwhile

Im rediscovering how bloody awesome potatoes are. They are incredibly nutritious, especially with the skin, plus cheap and versatile.

Roast
Grated and baked to make roshti
Dauphanoir
Wedges
Loaded chips
Bubble and squeak
Fish cakes
Curried in stead of meat (also see sweet potato).
Potato salad

Batch cooking and freezing is also a great way to save money, I visit the supermarket on my days off first thing in the morning to pick up yellow sticker/reduced items as I find by the end of the day there isn’t much left.
We’ve cut down our meat consumption, I would prefer to be pescatarian but I’m surrounded by people who wouldn’t and I can’t be bothered to cook two meals.
Our meat dishes are bulked out with veggies and I meal plan for the week.

Dried lentils and beans and rice. Agree with PPs, being vegan is CHEAP especially if you have lots of time to find and cook delicious recipes. It's all about those pantry items.
Also recommend getting the supermarket apps to track the offers from home even if you don't get delivery.

Check out the 'world foods' aisle or whatever slightly patronising name your supermarket gives it. I get huge bags of brown basmati rice for so much less than the same thing branded as Tilda two aisles down. And things like canned tomatoes and pulses are often cheaper in that aisle too.
I cook mostly veggie and vegan and find South Indian recipes that are intended to be veggie/vegan very interesting, easy to cook, delicious and cheap (as opposed to 'padding out' meat in meals with pulses or using meat substitutes). I use canned pulses for convenience, but of course you can save even more by buying dried ones and soaking them, if you're organised enough.
Meera Sodha has some excellent veggie recipe books, and some nice recipes in the Guardian food supplement at weekends. And maybe look at The Green Roasting Tin too.

If you have a fruit and veg market near you then obviously they're usually a lot cheaper than supermarkets (I mean an unreconstructed market like my closest one, Ridley Road in East London, not a farmers' one, which are lovely but usually £££).

Personally I wouldn't bother making bread; I like grainy/seedy/sourdough and maybe it's just me but I've managed to kill off so many sourdough starters! And if I do succeed in making bread it's like dwarf bread. I'd rather economise elsewhere and spend on a loaf made by someone with skill and experience that I know I'll enjoy.

Also, I may attract opprobrium from people with Views about Amazon here, but I get big bags/packs of things like sesame seeds, other seeds and nuts, coconut shavings etc from there. Stuff that can be very expensive in supermarkets and health-food shops, and may seem inconsequential, but can make a big difference to a meal. Adding toasted sesame seeds to a veggie stir-fry adds protein and fat so it's more satisfying, and tastes delicious.

That reminds me, if you can get to an Asian grocer they're good for big cheap bottles of soy sauce, chilli sauces, oils etc, and frozen aromatics and spices (like frozen lemongrass paste – a revelation).

Join a Too Good To Go or similar group for amazing free food
Trawl car boots and charity shops to resell on eBay. After a while you get a feel of what sells well

See if there is a The Bread and Butter Thing near you.