I can’t believe we’re almost 2 weeks into March already, these past couple of weeks have flown by and I apologise for not keeping you more up to date with what’s been going on to try and lower some of the expenses in our lives. Many commenters over the past few months have (correctly) identified that some of our expenses seem overly high for just 2 people and so I’ve been making a big push these past few weeks to lower some of them.

Food

Our grocery bill is always way ahead of other regular expenses. Here at ERG Castle we tend not to eat much processed food at all and I cook most things from scratch however a big chunk on the expenses tends to go on fresh meats. A single meal’s worth of chicken can cost £4.. plus fresh veg and some carbs brings the cost to more like £6 or £7 per meal. Potentially £49 a week on dinner alone.. yikes! So instead we’ve been trialling some different measures:

Larger packs of cheaper meat

Gone are the £4 chicken single-serving packs. Instead they’ve been replaced by £4 for 8 ready-marinated pork chops. These I then split up into separate bags of 2s and freeze any not required in the next couple of days. It’s a similar deal for Mince which we’ve started buying larger packs off and separating it out into different servings.

Love the freezer

I’ve always been wary of frozen food as it conjures up images of terrible frozen shepherd’s pies containing dubiously sourced meats. However some things down the feezer aisle have been fantastic finds for both value and quality. A lot of our previously fresh vegetables are now coming frozen. I find the taste almost indistinguishable, they cost a fraction of the price and best of all; you can cook only the exact amount you need and return the rest to the freezer with 0 wastage.

Potatoes

I’m still maintain the low carb diet so have been doubling up on the veg options, however for my partner she’s made the switch from pre-processed carbs to freshly prepared potatoes. Most supermarkets do pre-made mash for £1 a serving.. when for the same price we now buy a bag of potatoes which provides enough mash for her all week. £2 for a pack of battered potato slices have now been replaced with fresh slices tossed in a bit of olive oil and baked. Much healthier and nicer.

Drink

I’m pleased to announce that the first batch of homebrew is now ready! Nicknamed by my partner as “Maximum Value“, the batch remains true to it’s name as the only start-up costs incurred were a few pounds for the sugar and £25 for the pressure barrel. A friend of mine donated the rest of the equipment and 6 more tubs of the ingredients which will provide another 240 pints! To make the source last even longer, and to help reduce alcohol unit intake, I’ve been mixing it with lemonade (17p for 2l) to double up the total pints.

By my calculations, this should be enough beer to last the whole year and so should have a big impact on lowering that grocery spend. I’ve invited a few friends over to sample some Maximum Value and will report back with the results.

DIY

I love building things. I think it must come from my childhood as my little brother is exactly the same and has now become a carpenter in New Zealand to indulge that pleasure. So, with the summer (hopefully) approaching and our 2 rabbits excited to get out into the sun.. we decided we now needed a larger run to accommodate them both.

Looking online, these things aint cheap! Especially the foldable ones which can come it at a hefty £90+ for what is essentially just some wood and wiring. So instead I decided to have a crack at building one of them myself. £20 of wood, £10 of wire mesh and another £10 for the folding hinges brings the total cost in at less than half what it would have cost to buy a new one.

I’m really please with how it turned out and was surprised by how easy the construction actually was. A friend of ours has already commented on it and suggested they may like to buy one off me so this could perhaps become a future source of side income..