Groceries Part III – The Affordable Shopping Cart (cont.)

Groceries Part III – Managing Your Food Budget: The Affordable Shopping Cart (cont):

Here’s the continuation of the ‘Affordable Shopping Cart’: Lunches and Dinners

Lunch items

– Nuggets – Iceland carries different brands at different times, but usually you can find a bag of 30 nuggets for £1.50-£2, or a bag of 25 for £1.50.

– French Fries (chips to the British) – Iceland carries many different brands and styles of fries, and many of them are only £1

– Pizza – Iceland carries a variety of flavors, in addition to thin or deep pan, all for just a £1. These are large pizzas that can be cut as soon as you get home in half, thirds, or fourths, depending on your appetite. Recommendation: cut it as soon as you get home; it’s quite hard to cut a frozen pizza.

– Noodles – There are many brands and types of noodles, so you might want to browse around for your favorite. There are many small local stores that sell them, usually between 40p-£1. Some places like Poundland, Always 99p and Iceland sell noodles that come in packs of 4-6 for £1. My personal favorites are KOKA noodles, sold at Home Bargains for only 25p each.

– Burgers – These are quite delicious burgers, which I reckon are healthier than fast food burgers but taste just the same. Poundland and Always 99p sell them for a £1; Iceland sells them individually for little over £1, but has a bargain of three for £3, and you can mix and match between beef burgers and chicken burgers. They also carry hotdogs by the same brand, although I am not entirely convinced by their flavor yet.

– Soups – If you like soups, there are many different brands and flavors to choose from. Normally soup-cans can cost between 69p and £1 at small local stores. Aldi also carries a nice variety, for much less than £1.

– Sandwiches – Poundland, Always 99p, Iceland and Aldi sell a variety of sandwiches for £1, while other stores like TESCO and Sainsbury’s sell them between £1 and £3. The £1 sandwiches are good, but I would personally recommend buying the ingredients separately so that, in the long run, sandwiches will cost you less than £1.

– Hotdogs – I mentioned above that the brand that sells the ‘readymade’ burgers also sells hotdogs, but there are other hotdog brands as well. The difficulty is finding ‘American’ hotdogs, as they are quite different in the UK. I have yet to find a suitable alternative, so I’ll update this when I find one.

Dinner items

– Meat – I have shopped for meat at TESCO, Sainsbury’s and Iceland and can say that without a doubt the best prices can be found in Iceland. A small packet of meat that barely lasts for one or two meals from TESCO can easily cost a minimum of £5, while you can get more of the same mean at Iceland for only £3. Iceland sells ground beef from £1 to £5, depending on the amount you want, braising meat and chopped beef for £3. These packs can be divided and bagged into different portions for different days, or you can cook it all on one go and save it in plastic containers.

– Chicken – Iceland sells both fresh chicken (for the same prices as meat), and breaded chicken that can be baked in the oven. The latter are very tasty and filling, and come in a variety of flavors, including my personal favorite ‘southern fried’. They come in bags of eight for only £2. Aldi also sells cans of chicken chunks in white sauce, and chicken curry for £1, and the curry is particularly enjoyable.

– Tuna – The best and most economic tuna I have been able to find is at Home Bargains, where you could find it for less than £1, but prices for tuna seem to have gone up lately.

– Corned Beef – Like tuna, the price of corned beef has gone up, and no tins can be found for less than £1. In addition they tend to be smaller than they used to be. The cheapest prices can be found at Home Bargains and Aldi.

– Fish Sticks (Fish Fingers in UK) – You can find a box of eight for £1 at Iceland.

– Spaghetti/ Pasta – There is a great variety of pasta in almost every store, and a 500g (about 1lbs) bag normally costs less than £1. At Aldi’s they can be found for 55p.

– Rice – Almost anywhere you buy rice, and for almost any kind of rice, it should not cost more than £1; in fact it will probably cost half of that.

– Mashed Potatoes – Back home I used to be against ‘instant mashed potatoes’, but I’ve discovered that the ones here in the UK are quite tasty. I particularly enjoy ‘Mr. Mash’, which can be bought at almost any Pound/99p store, or Iceland for £1, and it contains three hefty bags of potato flakes ready to be made into mash. Home Bargains sells a smaller box for only 25p. All it takes to make is hot water, milk, a pinch of salt and butter, and presto, delicious mashed potatoes without the hassle of real ones.

Well, that’s it for now! The last section of the ‘Affordable Shopping Cart’ will include extras, like deserts and treats, and anything else I might have missed. Don’t hesitate to make suggestions ^_^. Good shopping everyone!

All the best,

AR

Groceries Part II – The Affordable Shopping Cart

Groceries Part II – Managing Your Food Budget

My first and foremost recommendation for managing how much you spend on groceries is that you set a specific amount of money that you can afford to pay each week on food. You may want to start at £40, but it is possible to live on a £20 budget (I know, because this is what I lived on last year, although now for economic reasons I’ve lowered it to £10/week, which is also quite doable). Your budget depends on how many funds you have available to you, be it through your personal/parent’s contribution, or government/university aid. Calculate how much you have available for ‘living costs’, and divide it by 52 weeks, and you will know how much you can afford to use each week.

If you have a lot of money to spend, I still recommend that you set your self a limited amount to spend each week, as it will teach you self-control, and it will mean you will have extra money for other areas.

My second recommendation is to make a shopping list every week. This might seem silly at first, but trust me, when you’re working with a limited budget, making a list stops you from buying more than you need or can afford.

When it comes to buying food, my personal philosophy is that a meal should not cost more than £2. I therefore seldom spend more than £1 or £2 pounds on any product if I can help it (with the notable exception of meat. The cheapest price I have been able to find for meat that doesn’t constitute starving oneself is £3).

The Affordable Shopping Cart:

Here follows a list of products and their prices as they can be currently found in Iceland, Aldi, Home-Bargains, Poundland, Always 99, and others.

Breakfast items

– Milk (4 pints) – At Iceland, Aldi and Poundland you can find milk for just £1; other stores tend to charge more.

– Cereal – At Aldi, Poundland and Always 99p you can get a couple of cereals for only £1. Home-Bargains also carries one of two good cereals at £1 or less. Iceland occasionally will have cereal boxes at £1, but this is unlikely.

– Porridge (Oatmeal) – Poundland carries Quaker Oats porridge, even though it comes in very small quantities, and with a limited variety. Iceland is your best bet, although one box tends to cost over £2. They used to have a bargain of two boxes for £3, but it seems they have discontinued lately. Aldi, however, is probably your best bet. They sell a bad of oatmeal oats for about a £1, which can be eaten plain or with sugar/honey/fruit.

– Eggs (6 eggs) – Almost everywhere a carton of six eggs will cost less than a £1. In some places like Iceland or Aldi, a carton of 12 eggs can also be purchased for £1.

– Bread – typically costs just £1 or less. At Aldi’s it can cost under 50p, and even at TESCO’s it can be bought for as low as 55p.

– Pancakes (depends on which kind you want) – If you want good old American pancakes, my best solution is to make them yourself (recipe coming soon), but you can sometimes find frozen packs of 6 pancakes for a pound at Iceland, and sometimes even at TESCO. Personally, I do not recommend the ‘just add milk’ bottles. The pancakes are flat and tasteless in my opinion.

– Cheese – Aldi carries packets of 10 (light) and 8 (regular) slices for under £1, while Iceland carries packets of 16 for £1. Other kinds of cheese can be found of course, but the prices depend on the type.

– Peanut Butter – Sadly, peanut butter is a bit expensive, I have found thus far. A small jar will typically cost over £1.50

– Jelly/Jam/Marmalade – Same as with peanut butter, they are a bit outside of the ‘under £1 products’. Still, since many snacks, breakfasts and even lunches can be with these, they’re always a good investment.

– Fresh Fruit – So far my favorite places to buy fresh fruit are Aldi, Iceland (occasionally), and TESCO (surprisingly). Depending on the season, one can find good offers for bananas, apples, oranges and pears, as well as a variety of tropical fruits, for under £1.

That’s it for now. This list is based on the items I have personally bought at some point or another, so if anyone has any suggestions, they are more than welcome! Next post will be a continuation of the ‘Affordable Shopping Cart’, with ‘Lunch’ items. Catch you next time!

AR

Groceries Part I – The Cheapest Stores

Welcome to “Life in Liverpool: A Student’s Guide to Smart Spending”

Before we go on to today’s topic, let me share the reasons for these posts. This section of my blog will be dedicated to offering advice and ideas to international students coming to the city of Liverpool. While, as a Puerto Rican, my advice is tailored most specifically to other US students, all international students (and even home students) can easily benefit from these helpful tips.

I have it on good authority that, as far as major cities go, Liverpool is one of the most affordable places in the UK. On one hand, having never been to any other city or town in the UK, I cannot vouch for this assessment. On the other hand, I am inclined to believe this sentiment given that even with my very limited budget, I have been able to eat every day and even engage in some leisure activities during my time in this city.

So, here I will compile a guide to food, places, and activities that a typical student might be interested in, and how with a few financial tweaks, a student can live comfortably and affordably in Liverpool.

The first topic is “Groceries“, and we’ll begin with ‘The Cheapest Stores in Liverpool‘

Especially when one comes from another country, it can be particularly difficult to gauge appropriate price ranges in stores. At first, the only measuring system one has is the one from one’s own country, and the amounts one would usually pay for food in one’s own currency. This can become conflicting for US students who, while knowing the pound costs more than the dollar, will see the apparently ‘lower’ prices on foodstuffs, and believe they are making a good buy.

The important thing to keep in mind is: whatever you used to pay in dollars for a particular item, should be half or less than half in pounds. For example, if you paid three bucks for half a gallon of milk, you should not be expected to pay more than 1.50 quid for it in the UK (btw, the equivalent to 1/2 gallon is roughly 4 pints). That’s more or less the benchmark, cut your home price in half, and see if the items you are buying cost more or less.

The first few months in Liverpool will be spent trying out different stores and determining whether this store’s prices are better than that store’s prices. Therefore, I will give you my personal recommendations that might ease your frustrations.

While in the US, a bigger store means cheaper prices; i.e. Wal-Mart usually has the best affordable prices, and the smaller stores will stiff you for your money (heck, even Walgreens often carries ridiculously high prices), the opposite is true in Liverpool. The biggest stores in this port-city are TESCO and Sainsbury’s, and they tend to be the most expensive ones.

There are other stores that can be even more expensive, like Marks & Spencer, but I have never bothered with them, so I am unfit to judge them accurately. TESCO and Sainsbury’s, on the other hand, I have been to on numerous occasion, and have been surprised at the high prices they have for some of their products compared to other stores. However, they do occasionally have products at discount prices, whenever they are about to expire and the like, so you can get good deals.

It’s all about careful shopping!

My personal recommendation is to shop at Iceland, Aldi and Home–Bargains. Also, make use of such stores as Poundworld and 99p Stores. As the names suggest, these the products in these stores is always one pound or 99p, and although many of the items they have are of a significantly lower quality, it is possible to find good stuff here.

Still, for quality and price, your best bets are Iceland, Aldi and Home-Bargains. Another possibility that I have used on occasion is Lidl, which tends to carry a wider amount of foreign products which may delight many of the international students. Although I have not been to the store in several months, I am still under the impression that the prices are much more affordable than TESCO and Sainsbury’s.

That’s it for now, part II of ‘Groceries’ will come soon, and it will focus on ‘Managing the Food Budget‘, and will feature an item-by-item price list.

AR Signing off!

PS. Comments and Suggestions are quite welcome ^_^