We find that instead of doing a main shop at Sainsburys we go to Aldi first and get bread milk spuds and a chicken for £2.99 and other sundries ,thus reducing our weekly shopping bill by some 10's of pounds .

That is a fantastic idea, briskem1 - the basics are the same in any supermarket and it does save you lots of money.

Yes, i agree it is so hard at the moment, and also to try and find something different to cook and not break the bank! we have gone on to liver sausage and bacon casseroles,cheap jars of curry sauce (so versatile) and more chips! I go to iceland when i can and i can fill my freezer for around £45/£50.00, then i top up at Tesco, Asda during the month with as many offers as i can get hold of on meat,chicken and fish, i find making meals from scratch saves a lot of money too.
I was brought up on mince and mash, jacket potatoes, any sort of stew or casserole, just a little effort can help financially, we were not rich when growing up, but never starving.

Serena, great idea!! Filling your freezer at Iceland is a good idea, but I only have a two drawer fridge freezer so cannot do that and my nearest Iceland is 30 miles away! I don't drive only cycle....

I must agree I cook alot from scratch these days, but as I also work full time I find it very tiring and don't always feel like cooking when I come home. I do like using up leftover potatoes by just roasting them in the oven, though. It is much healthier than frying them. None of my family like liver but they are all chip fans!!

None of my family, apart from me like liver either, that is why i have to put sausages in it, they love the gravy it makes though. I understand totally that you work full time and it is so hard i know, when you come home and you really do not feel like cooking, my sister before she retired was in the police force and used to make 3/4 different meals and freeze them for the week on a sunday, then just warm them through when needed, i understand you only have a small freezer, shame you do not live closer i have a small chest freezer i do not use i would happily let you have, I got my tall fridge and freezer with a £200.00 loan from provident a few years ago and it is so much easier to stock up now, think the payments were only about £2.50 per week, yes i know their interest is not good but needs must sometimes.

I agree about Provident, Serena, I have used them many times in the past, but I agree also that their interest rates are high. I have often thought of buying a chest freezer as they are not too expensive these days but I was afraid it might just encourage myself and my husband to eat more, and we really do not need to, in fact just the opposite, we need to lose weight, LOL. I could not waste my Sunday by doing extra meals for freezing but I understand how much money it would save. I try to make things like rice or pasta in bulk then just refrigerate and add them into stir-fries during the week, which saves me time.

The one stop grocery shop is now too expensive. it has to be a combination of Aldi,Lidl,Farmfoods,Iceland and Sainsburys if you are fortunate to have the choice as I do.We should also look at how our parents faired in the 1950s when money was tight.They fed well and cheap.

yes and that might be my next topic xxxx thankyou x

Never was a truer word spoken, John, you are so right. It is impossible to make ends meet by just visiting one supermarket.

Tut,tut all that fried food, very bad for you. Haven't any of you got slow cookers. As the food cooks whilst you are out and over a long time the meat can be a cheaper type.I got my slow cooker a few years back but you can still get a good one for about £20.
I also eat more pasta as its quicker to prepare and I buy a 3kg( about 6.5lbs in old system)bag of twirls (fusilli) for about £3.50 from Tessco and keep resealing the bag.

I also bake my own bread mainly as I can't buy what I want loacally and my frezer is only small as I only have limited space.I do cheat and use a bread machine.Incidently if you want one Morphy Richards have an offer on their web site till the end of October for a model 48323 at 55% off at £67.50 thats almost £10 cheaper then Amazon

Wow, Keith, a fund of really useful information, thanks. I agree about pasta, but what is going on with the amounts they are charging these days?? I used to buy a small bag of pasta for about 35p and tin of tomatoes for about 11p and now the pasta is nearly £1 and the tomatoes are 40p!! Nuts!! I am never without pasta or suet in my cupboard as I love making dumplings to go with everything....not good for the waistline but then you could say I am cuddly....or George would anyway!!

Very interesting replies so here is our way of doing things.
When I was in my previous relationship it was my ex who did most of the family shopping and was very rigid about which meals we ate on certain days and did not like things that changed the weekly routine. We also did not think very much about eating healthily either.

Now I live here with my twenty-two year old Son and he does most of the shopping and is a much better varied shopper than my ex ever was. My Son will not allow me to have the same meal on specific days and feels I should be given as much varied choice as we can.

I now eat either a pasta and sauce meal or a self made pasta or macaroni cheese dish on different days and am much better and look healthier than I have in a long time.

My Son often continues to spot new vegetarian meals when he goes shopping and buys them for me to try as I eat both vegetarian and meat based meals.

The other thing that my Son often does is to look at the out of date special offers and brings home any bargains which have proved really useful. I do not see this as something to be seen as embarrassing about but sensible if he can find a few bargains.

Regarding using supermarkets he shops mostly at ASDA but has also used Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons depending where he feels like driving too and what budget we are on. Saying that our current budget is slightly flexible so if he sees bargains he can purchase them so not too rigid.

Returning to pasta I like the pasta packets with sauce as there so easy to do but I also get enjoyment from making a good tuna and pasta bake or a mushroom bake which I may have tonight for dinner.

I think my Son is really mature for such a young person as he flew to Germany on Monday for a week and was concerned over the weekend to make sure that the freezer was full and varied and the pasta cupboard was well stocked so I had lots of choices for my dinners until he returns next week.

I think you're a very lucky lady to have such a kind and thoughtful son :-)

That lad is a gem friendlylynn. Hope my Mark is like him.

Thanks for the compliments about my Son, missing him but hoping he is enjoying himself in Europe.

We go to Lidl first. The fruit and veg is always good and is about half the price of other stores. They have recently opened an In-store Bakery which is very good. The rest of the shopping is done in the Co-operative. We time our visit to late afternoon as there are always price reductions suitable for freezing.
I know someone who has moved house and is now 10 mins away from Tesco and Asda. He goes shopping at 9pm and has been known to do a fortnights meat and fish shopping for £9.50. He is able to do this thanks to the recent laws concerning sell by dates which means the items are still suitable for freezing.