As I mentioned in my previous post, these are the things that you can do immediately that will make a difference.

1  Eat from what you already have

We have all heard the cry, “But there is nothing to eat!”  If you are living in a developed country it is very, very unlikely that this is the case.  In fact many of us do the grocery shopping out of habit as much as for the real need of buying food.  The other thing to consider is that in the UK, USA and Australia research shows that somewhere between 20 and 40% of all food is wasted.  Imagine buying 5 bags of groceries and throwing 1-2 bags full straight in the bin.  It sounds ridiculous but that is essentially what is happening.

The first step is to make an inventory of what you have – in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  Then plan as many meals and snacks as possible from what you have.  Trawl around the internet and you will find literally hundreds of sites offering ways to create meals from limited ingredients. 

2  Stay away from the shops

If you are not there you cannot spend money.  It is simple really.  Shopping is not entertainment.

3  Curtail your car usage. 

Walk or cycle everywhere that you possibly can.

4  Minimise your heating costs

Wear more clothes at home.  Put a beanie on.  It may not look glamorous but a disproportionate amount is lost through your head.

Do all of these things for 2 weeks and you have immediately saved the equivalent of what you would normally spend on:

Food
Incidental purchases
Fuel
Heating

Try it and see how you go.

If you would like to send me a list of what is in your freezer, refrigerator and pantry right now I will do a menu plan for a week (at least) and use it as the basis of an upcoming post.  Just let me know the number in the family and ages of children.  You can email me at the address in the ‘About Me’ tab at the top of the page.