Rhiwbina Living Issue 55

eat the
cost of living
The current cost of living crisis is already starting to impact on our
personal finances. Here are a few ways to help protect against its
worst effects and to help you navigate your way through it
Keep track
Possibly the best place to start
is by setting some time aside to
see where you are currently with
your income and outgoings. It's
often surprising how much is
actually going out of your bank
account every month once you
sit down and add it all up.
It can be daunting facing up
to the realities of your finances
but even taking the first step of
actually figuring out where you
are will give you some sense of
achievement and purpose.
The first thing to do is to figure
out whether you're earning
more than you're spending, just
about breaking even, or sliding
into trouble. If you are spending
more than you're earning, the
first place to start is to cancel any
outgoings that you don't use or
can do without.
Also check what your food
cupboards are looking like
before you go shopping. Many
of us head to the shops without
checking what we already have
and end up throwing away items
in our cupboards that we've
never used.
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Plan a weekly menu
Setting a budget for the week
ahead will help you feel more in
control and provide you with the
ability to save money by using food
more sparingly.
You'll need to plan all the
ingredients of each meal so
that you can take a list to the
supermarket or order it online. Try
your best to stick to what's only
on the list as any little extras will
soon add up. Don't be afraid to
give yourself a treat, as long as it's
included in the weekly menu.
Vegetables are generally
less expensive to buy than
meat and you can bulk out a
healthy casserole by using more
vegetables and less meat. Batch
cooking base sauces also means
that you can use them for different
dishes throughout the week.
Use your freezer
Food wastage costs the
average UK household around
£700 a year, according to the
sustainability charity, Wrap.
If you have a freezer, or better
still a chest freezer, you can
stock up on meals for weeks and
months ahead. Freezing food
that's also approaching its useby
date will also save you from
throwing it in the bin.
While most foods are freezable,
thawing them may not present
them in the form that they were
frozen in so you may need to
think outside the box when it
comes to using them.
Batch cooking and then
freezing your meals will also
make the most of bulk buying,
especially when it comes to
things like meat and vegetables.