h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's amazing how much cheaper it to buy raw ingredents from cheap shops than ready meals form conveinence stores..

for example my housemate has just spent £3 on a s maracroni ready meal. For half the price I could cook enough maracroni cheese to feed all four people (flour 9p, milk 34p, pasta 36p, 60p for half a lump of cheese that cost £1.20)

Amen. The price paid for convenience is phenomenal. My wife & I also cook a large batch of any recipe - no more effort than making a small batch - then freeze individual portions in plastic containers, single serving size. There's just the two of us, but the frozen meals last many months. And of course, if the store has a really good special, we buy a lot and freeze the raw food - like chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, etc.

Home made is also better tasting and more nutritious. We do the same thing, huge stews, buy in bulk whenever we can. We don't have much storage or freezer space, so we're a little limited, but we do what we can. We found a store here that's much cheaper than the big chains, and their produce, meats, and house brands are excellent. Saves us about 1/4 of our usual food bills. Shop around, and watch the flyers is more good shopping advice. If a store at the other end of the city has a worthwhile special on - hop on a bus if necessary. It'll give you an outing, and you can take advantage of the price break. With the money saved, you can probably go for a coffee and a treat while you're out.