I love that you're not afraid to buy generic brands!

Be sure to buy only groceries at the grocery store. Pick up your personal items (toothpaste, shampoo, that yummy lotion that smells like vanilla cookies, etc.) at a discount store or pharmacy. Grocery stores often charge more for personal items.

Thanks!

macpea

http://macaroniandpeas.com

http://www.minti.com/groups/47380/Simple-money-saving-ideas/blog

Some more ideas...

When things were tight here, I would buy a meat cut with a bone, so as to get a soup stock, and fish that lent itself to stock aswell. I baked every thing from biscuts,cakes, pancakes, scones and tatter breads. Soups I would bulk out with lentils, barley, potatoes,pasta or rice. Mince or stews, I would half the meat portion to get two meals from the meat and bulk up with veg and potatoes. Home made pies are good as they are very filling with the home made pastry, so you save on quantity. Vear towards cheeper seasonal veg and fruit. Look for kitchen cuboard alternatives for cleaning materials, I think there is a group here that covers those things. Do you have open farms where you live, so you can PYO veg, I am in britain and this is a great saver, as you pick it youself and no transport costs. If you have a freezer, you could look for "at the gate" meat, where you buy direct from the farmer, so much cheeper,than supermarkets. I would stay away from tinned goods, it is so much cheaper to make your own home made beans etc. Good Luck and hope things ease up for you soon.

Winnie.xx 

Like cazza said do your shopping late that afternoon as they do mark down the prices on things and u get alot more .i buy  bread in bulk and freeze it and buy meat in bulk as its workes out cheaper in the long run as well.'

Try and find a factory out let for frozen vegs etc u save there as well .I  pay 30.oo a year at the fruit  shop here in town  , which gives  me cheap vegs ans also  every week they got give aways  like vegs, bisuist ,creamcheese etc basicly a rang of things . u might  fine   one where u are there might be something there like this .

julie

Hi there

It sounds as though you are really doing all the right things.  One thing that I used to do when times were tough, was to purchase things in bulk - nappies, toilet paper, school snacks etc.  The other trick is to only purchase when things are on sale.  I used to go to at least three different supermarkets chasing the 'on sale' items and I would walk or catch the bus to each to save on fuel money.

There are some articles on how to cope financially on the following site:

• www.singleparentbible.com.au/contents.php?id=1&p=5

I have written a few articles on this topic and will have a sort through over the next few days and find them and post them on Minti for you.

Good luck, I hope things get easier very soon.

Cheers

Buying in bulk is usually cheaper in the long run and if you get the marked down bread etc, you could buy extra and freeze it.  Some cleaning products are really expensive and (i think) not necessary, for example stuff you put in the toilet, fabric softeners and a lot of those spray and wipe products.  Baking soda is really good for cleaning with and cheap or you could try making your own.

Hope this helps........

1. Meat is the most expensive item to buy these days. I am in England, UK, so I am not sure if this applies to other countries. I tend to reduce amount of meat each meal and bulk up with veg and a side order of bread and butter or salad.
2. Make your own veg soups.