Sooo due to some unintelligent decisions I'm pretty poor for the next fortnight. I need to buy petrol, have my dog vaccinated and feed myself. Feeding is going to be the hardest, I'm used to a pretty..self indulgent lifestyle. It's my only joy, but it has got me trapped.
So no more uni bought lunches. But I don't want to take food that needs to be refrigerated due to food safety reasons. All I can think of is cereal.
Also I could boil pasta and buy a sauce that would make a few meals.
I've had to bail on a function cause I can't afford the meal. I'm really stressed and down about this right now. And feeling stupid cause it's my own fault. If I can get a shopping list together I may be able to get help from my dad to buy it, but I have no good meal ideas.
Maybe some sandwich fillings like jam or peanut butter? You can add banana to peanut butter sandwiches, I think Elvis used to eat them :)
Maybe get some potatoes and bake them, have with fillings too (if you have a microwave I think they can be done in there pretty quickly). Baked sweet potatoes are nice too. Add some baked beans or maybe some tinned fish of some kind.
Tinned soup with some bread could work well too, if you have reheating facilities at Uni.
Sorry, they're pretty rubbish ideas, but you might find the site moneysavingexpert.com helpful. I think it's a UK site but gives advice on food shopping which may be helpful for budgeting.
If it helps, I eat in an expensive/overindulgent way too, it can just be easier when you're very busy or you're struggling with things. So don't beat yourself up about it.
How long does the food have to go without refrigeration? Cause meat can stay good for 4 hours out of the fridge and salad will be fine all day. grab some fruit and make yourself a sandwich or a wrap. Also bulk buying is cheaper so try and decide on something that you'll be ok with eating for the whole week or two and buy stuff for that. Cheap food is so so achieveable! you can do it!
I'm really... Uncomfortable with meat being out of a cold place for, well even the duration to uni which is 30 minutes most days. But if I put it on a ice box for the car ride I could find a fridge at uni I think.
Whirlpools thanks for the reassurance, it helped a lot :) great suggestions too! Soup would be good as we're coming to winter and I've seen microwaves at uni.
I tend to buy bread when it is reduced at the end of the day, and also keep my eye out for other "not the freshest but still edible" sales, but again I'm not often comfortable with that.
You can buy plain cous cous really cheap, cook up a massive batch and add some fried onion and herbs and anything you like to it. I've done this in the past and decant it into little microwave containers to take into uni.
Sometimes there are cheaper shops that sell nearly out of date stuff which is fine but normal shops can't sell it. I find these are good for expensive things like crisps.
I found an article in the guardian which let me to a food blog. I've only taken a superficial look at it, but as far as I see Miss South also has a tight budget for food, so her recipes might be helpful for you.
The blog can be found here.
The huffingtonpost also has two articles dedicated to this problem, which can be found here and here.
I only scanned through all of these, but what I saw looked okay. Of course I don't know your exact budget and other circumstances, yet I hope you find these helpfull.
Keep your head high,
Marie.
PS: If you need more information, you might want to take a look here. And yep, I just googled it. (:
Marie
rebellion / rebelliousness | she who raises | bitter | sea of bitterness / sorrow | lady / mistress of the sea | star of the sea | dew of the sea
Couscous is good, even the pre flavoured sachets work out pretty cheap. Rice salad also works out pretty cheap. Chickpeas mixed with olive oil, garlic and lemon juice also makes a tasty salad.
If you buy bread and freeze It and just take out what you need for the next day, it lasts so much longer.
A bag of lentils is super cheap and you can make awesome stews - bulk out with veg - if you get frozen stuff thTs often much cheaper too. Whack in some rice with it, or cous cous, or to a baked potato at home, and hey easy meal you can do in bulk :)
Try not to be so hard on yourself Aimee, we all over spend at times. Perhaps you could learn from this and plan out your weekly budget, so you know how much you can spend.
'Cause I'll always remember you the same.
Oh eyes like wild flowers within demons of change ♥
I always try to buy my meat in the reduced section and I freeze it, or eat it that day. I got 6 pork chops for £2-something yesterday (and the one I ate was REALLY tasty!).
And avoid buying things like the ready meals or pre-made mash - it's cheaper to make your own, and better for you :)
What about fish on your sandwiches? My dad always has some variety of fish on his sandwiches for work - they seem to always have offers on tuna :)
