Thousands of people across the country are starting to feel the pinch as prices for everything from energy through to fuel rise through the cost of living crisis. While there is some support being made available, through rises in benefits such as Universal Credit and council tax rebates, lots of people still need to make extra cuts.
One individual at the forefront of this is money-saving expert Martin Lewis, who has provided people with dozens of tips to cut their costs. And his viewers have now also joined in on the act by offering some simple cooking tips which can feed a family without breaking the bank, Hull Live reports.
Introducing his Money Saving Expert team's tips, Martin Lewis wrote: "For some there is sadly no route to cut expenditure below income; that fix will need political intervention. For others, we need a collective endeavour, to work together to take financial pressures off where we can. And that is partly behind this guide."
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He explained the team had received thousands of replies from people with clever ideas about how to cut household expenditure. Martin described the response - which included more than 2,200 replies to his tweet alone - as "overwhelming and uplifting".
One of the tips was to invest in a slow cooker to batch cook meals for all the family. They are available from Asda for as little as £12.
The Money Saving Expert team said batch cooking creates less food waste and reduces the likelihood of spending extra cash on takeaways. One follower said they are 'saving a fortune' by using theirs more and more.
Sharron Quaile wrote: "A chef was on TV recently telling us all to get a slow cooker, as it costs 23p to cook a meal overnight. Made a cracking chilli the other night, gave my neighbour a portion (she lives on her own) and there's one portion in the freezer."
A user under the name of Living in Hope wrote: "I'm using my slow cooker more and more these days to batch cook delicious soups, curries, stews etc then I freeze it in recycled takeaway containers. Saves a fortune all round."
They added it did not cost much to invest in. "It’s a standard sized one, only cost me about £20 - very simple, no whistles or bells, but does the job," they wrote.
The MSE guide also says that using a microwave is generally cheaper than an oven. It states a jacket potato would be more than 25 per cent cheaper to cook in the microwave rather than the oven.
