The only way that we can save any money is to cut back on food shopping! Easier said than done! Everything seems to be getting smaller and yet going up in price. I have never really felt that our shopping budget was over the top. For a family of nine living at home and lots of visitors that join us for meals on the weekend, I was spending $600 per fortnight. Because of my silly spending spree and subsequent debt I now need to get us back on track financially and the only way I can do this is to save on food shopping. I have reduced our budget to $400 a fortnight. I don't know how I am going to go but this week was the start and I was really proud of myself because I finished my shopping at a total of $380.00. I must admit though that I spent another $200 at a large discount supermarket buying bulk items. These items should last at least a month if not six weeks. The things I bought were Dishwashing powder in bulk, Toilet paper bulk, shampoo and conditioner bulk, peanut butter bulk, vegemite bulk, mayonaise bulk, vegeta stock bulk (I couldn't live without that stuff!) Washing powder bulk, windex bulk, soap on tap bulk. I guess if you add this expense to the budget then my fortnightly shopping goes up to $500 but I have a feeling that the vegemite, soap on tap, washing powder and shampoo are going to last for two months............I'll let you know!
My trolley consisted of lots of mince! let's face it, it is the cheapest meat you can buy apart from sausages and it is so versatile. My menu plan looks like this for the next fortnight

Thursday; Home made pumpkin soup with home made rolls and jacket potatos on the side.
Friday; Chilli Con Carne with rice
Saturday; Chicken Stir Fry with Egg Noodles (lots of veg)
Sunday; Shepherds Pie with broccoli cheese
Monday; Home made meat pies with potato top and roasted oven vegetables
Tuesday; Lasagne with either salad or vegetables
Wednesday; Fettucini with zuchini and bacon (Jamie Oliver recipe)

Basically I double these recipes so that the following week we eat the same food as per the previous week.
I would like to eat better food for myself with dieting and everything but I am more focussed on the exercise to help me lose weight at the moment than struggling with strict diets.
I feel a sense of excitement about trying to achieve this. I really hope that I can succeed and see our savings go back up again.
Any ideas from frugal living experts?
For more ideas follow this link www.livingonadime.com