Where can I save money?

[kazzawazzawoo]

I need to save money. Dh has been out of work over ten months, he just started a new job. I work part time, not on a great wage. I am spending far too much on food. However, we eat low carbs as dh has lots of weight to lose and low carb works best for him and I have ibs and low carb helps control my symptoms. But it's very expensive.

I sometimes shop at aldi, sometimes at asda, their cheapest range, not much difference in the prices. Obviously we can't bulk food out with pasta or rice

Re. other expenses, we are tied into our mobile contracts til December and have reduced our tariffs as far as possible. We pay £44 for a phone/broadband/tv package with bt that i think we are tied into- dh wouldn't consider canceling anyway, nothing would be cheaper either.

I've reduced gas and electricity costs to £95 per month. Can't affect water, council tax, etc. Fuel and parking can't really be reduced, we need to get to work

We don't go out, don't eat out, dh has the odd beer at at home, I don't drink at all Our biggest outgoing is food. I spend too much, about £400 per month for myself, dh and dd aged 13 and sometimes ds aged 22 - I try to always have something in the freezer for him.

The top up shops are usually for comfort food like crisps, chocolate etc or if we run out of veg milk etc.

Any ideas for vouchers, savings? Our local supermarkets seem to barely reduce at the end of the day.

What about fat?
LC should be high fat, low carb and low protein
more like 60-20-20
I know it's not easy as it sounds but do you perhaps eat a lot of protein instead of fat to quench your appetite?

HAve you put your diet on My fitness pal to see % of what you eat in terms of % and how much calories?

Yes I use lots of butter and olive oil. I'll try using My Fitness Pal

I haven't been using Tesco much, as I find them quite expensive, so have been alternating between Aldi and Asda. But Quidco sent me a voucher for Tesco and new online shoppers get £12 off their first shop so I'll give them a try Seems more expensive than Asda's basic range though.

Last time I rang BT they offered £7 a month off my bill and I hadn't even asked for it, I was ringing to say I was moving house

Do you have a market? You can freeze lots of veg if you chop it first & the meat might be cheaper too.

Look at using other fats like dripping instead of oil.

I hope your DH releases that he is wasting his LC effort eating Doritos

There's a lot to be said for lard, yes it's saturated but its less prone to changes during heating that are carcinogenic.

Yes I do fry with lard. I'm trying to get out of the habit of cooking with oil, it's just habit.

I think it's fashion that made us all change to oil, my mums always been ahead of her time and said years ago oil changes when heated.

I know we're talking food here but own brand toiletries if at all possible.

Cut down on unnecessary appointments (eg haircuts ). You've said you need your car to get to work, can you try a car share with someone else going your way and get £ for petrol?

I bought this week 750g 20% fat minced pork in Sainsbury's for 3.50 (or 5 pounds for 2) - I think that's amazing value for money.
I just added some black pepper, lots of freshly grounded nutmeg and some salt and fried flattish "burgers". I think I had 11 or 12 out of one pack.
If I was doing it for the kids I would add some breadcrumbs.

I only have my hair cut once a year. Dh goes every 8 weeks, but it only costs £10. Dd also goes once a year.

I don't buy expensive toiletries.

A carby share isn't possible as I come home at lunchtime to let the dog out. Dh never knows what time he'll finish work But I'll have a chat with him and see if we can find a way of doing it.

"car share", not carby share! !

750g of beef mince costs less than £3 at Aldi, also makes nice burgers or meatballs I've never tried pork mince though.

It came out as cat share the first time I typed it obvs not what I meant...so corrected it. Though a cat share would be nice.

Can you go veggie for a while?

As we don't eat carbs I don't think I'd ever be full if I only ate veg!

Are you using websites like this one: www.mysupermarket.co.uk/

I guess worth working out when your supermarket is reducing meat/veg (it's 3-5 pm in our Sainsbury's) and have room in your freezer.
Some people swear by cheaper meat at their butchers, my freezer is too small for big shops some use.
Also markets have meat stalls and I remember meat being cheap there.

I only have a small under counter freezer The butchers around here seemvery expensive? The local supermarket never seems to have reduced meat

I haven't bought meat from the market, I was a bit worried about hygiene. Are they generally ok?

I would happily buy red meat and stay away from chicken.

I'd imagine the market butchers are checked for hygiene. There's usually a website you can check their star rating on.

Our local supermarket is rubbish at markdowns too.

What a bout beans/pulses/lentils etc? Huge bage of these can be bought very cheaply from Asian shops- and many supermarkets.

Pulses, lentils etc set off my ibs

do you use value cleanign products, or at least own brand soaps?

or you could clean with vinegar and lemon and bicarb

own brand shampoo, ?

What also helped me was to write every single penny I was spending for a month.

Does your DS pay you rent? he is 22 right? and the 13 year old, does she have expensive treats that can be curtailed.?

I've been buying meat at markets for twenty years. Some of the best meat I've ever bought. ( tip try their sausages first if there nice their meat generally is