this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2023
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After posting my dinner I realised I may have been insensitive to the fact that some people might be struggling right now. My apologies if I have caused any discomfort. So thought I might share some of my cost saving secrets because I like you guys. We are on a one low income so I know how it feels. Here we go.
We have never ordered ubereats. If we get take away my husband goes and gets it. We eat from local take away or we get specials from fast food. We have cut this down from once a week to once a fortnight. We eat out on special occasions.
I go to the local butchers for my meat. If I don't eat red meat I feel fainty due to low blood pressure so I spread my meat consumption of the week. Most meat I buy is the cheaper cuts plus one special lamb product (that's why we had ribs tonight). Sometimes I'll see a two for deal at Coles like sausages or hamburgers and I'll freeze them. Every 6 months I have to defrost my little freezer so we live off whatever is in there, defrost it, fill it back up.
The vegetables I have in my freezer all the time are peas, beans, broccoli and corn on the cob when it's available. Everything else I get fresh from the market when in season.
The things that I have in my pantry all the time are pasta, rice, cous cous, chickpeas, canned tomatoes, baked beans, tuna, corn.
I check for half price specials every week. I only buy them if I need them. No point having 6 bottles of shampoo in my cupboard. Also on shampoo and conditioner, I buy pump packs when they're $6 each. It's shampoo and conditioner it's all the same.
I try to make the evening meal serve 4 so my husband has lunch the next day or I'll make enough for 6 meals so we can have leftovers for dinner the next night.
I freeze bread. You can't beat toast. Ever.
I can't think of anything else right now but if you want me to answer any questions I'll be happy to answer them.
Thank you for this, you are amazing! 💜 💜 💜
Reading this made me think of something we do here (context: 2 of us, austudy and jobseeker, renters - no microwave). We mix our leftovers together, usually with rice, noodles, or pasta, on the stovetop. Or we'll put it in the oven in a baking dish with cheese on top. Add whatever spices we have in our cupboards, and it feels like a new meal. Staves off the depression that comes with eating the same thing for every meal for a week.
Oh I looove a reincarnated meal. I'm like "Look at this. I'm such a clever dick" but in reality I just hate waste.
it takes work to prepare dishes so I always keep and freeze left overs. Lately I've been putting leftovers in pies and it's quite delicious
That's a really good idea. I freeze stuff for those days I can't be bothered or I just don't know what to cook.
Please don’t stop. I can live vicariously through you.
Frozen veggies work well for me because of the price point and it lasts for awhile. It was especially bad when fresh stuff was so ridiculously priced.
Combine that with basic rice or pasta and some sauce and that’s an easy simple meal.
My most recent one was also just doing a lot of frankfurts in pasta sauce since it was cheap even though it’s processed to hell and back.
Rice and pasta can do a long way if you good the cheaper no name brands and some of them are quite decent in texture.
For meat I look for discounted items and freeze them or if I want fresh I’ll choose chicken drumsticks as I love the meat on them and they’re easy to cook.
I hope I haven’t contributed to making you feel bad about what you’re posting up for us to all see.
Please don’t stop posting them up.
Also I don’t do takeaway at all anymore but I did learn to self cook and make burgers and I get about 4 or 6 meals out of the same price it would cost to get it takeaway.
Naw. I promise it wasn't you who made me rethink it was actually about the interest rates staying the same and the collective relief from everyone.
Drumsticks are definitely a winner. So many options. Spices are my thing too. Curry powder, chilli flakes, mustard. I have a lot of different herbs and spices. It's a bit of an obsession.
Yeah. I sometimes cut the meat off and add it to a meal. It’s pretty easy cooking if I put it into the air fryer.
I love basic seasoning, mild curry and rosemary and mint goes a treat on stuff. Even on potato chips!
Cumin and chicken are a match made in heaven. Just saying.
I haven’t tried cumin by itself as a season. Closest I have is mild curry powder I think?
Oh also I just finished my massive bowl of pasta.
Eating a cut up pink lady apple and maybe I might cut some oranges too if I want anymore but I’m fairly full now :D
Cumin is more like nutmeg I suppose. If you sprinkle it with salt it'll give a pop of flavour to your chicken. It's found in every middle eastern pantry.
Oh salt. Salt makes everything better!
Also, grow your own herbs. Herbs are easy to grow, but fresh herbs are expensive. If you live in an apartment, see if there's a nearby community garden where you can rent a plot. It's usually no more than $30/year, so it pays off really quickly. You can specialise in what you grow, and swap excess with people growing other things.
That's a really good idea. I'm going to set up a little cat proof hot house because I have wandering neighbourhood cats and I don't want my herbs being pissed on.
Perennial herbs are generally the #1 category of edible plant I recommend people grow in terms of value for money/effort. With a balcony that gets decent sun you can grow heaps in pots. Rosemary is a no brainer, thyme and oregano are strong contenders too. As is mint, in a cooler spot.
As for annuals and biannuals, I'm a big fan of parsley and chives as being very easy to grow. Coriander more so in the cooler months.
And basil in summer - extra delicious, cheap, plentiful and great for making excess pesto to freeze and use over winter.
Great info, this is such a good post. I find prices of fruit and veg are often cheaper at green grocers or markets, but I guess this depends on the area. Saw 5kg bag of potatoes for $6 at local shop today. I don’t shop with specific fruit or veg in mind, just go with the flow of what looks good and is good prices. And spices are way cheaper and in larger quantities in some green grocers or Indian or Asian stores.
My husband works down Somerton/Epping way so he just goes for a walk during lunchtime and rings me to see if I want anything at the markets down there because it's often cheaper than anywhere else. Potatoes and onions are things that I try to have all the time and any other cheap vegetable is a bonus. Root vegetables and citrus fruit is in season at the moment so are often cheaper. I try to work around those.