If you can afford to buy fresh meat most days, you don't need to read this! This is for people who genuinely have very little money.

The problem with supermarkets is simple:

1. Going to different supermarkets to compare prices is BORING!

2. You usually buy more than you need.

3. The 'special offers' are too tempting to resist.

So how do you do it?

TOP TIP: Only shop in the 'cheap' supermarkets - you know the ones I mean - not the really big names beginning with S and A and T.

Base your main meal round one basic ingredient - the POTATO! (Tough luck if you don't like potatoes - and I don't work for the potato marketing board either!) - or PASTA - or RICE.

Shopping list:

*Onions and lots of cheap veggies - whatever is in season. Cabbage goes a very long way, so does cauliflower and carrots.

*Tinned chopped tomatoes - still good value.

*Tinned fish - sardines and tuna in oil or tomato sauce.

*Eggs.

*Ready-grated parmesan cheese. This is expensive, but it goes a very, very long way.

*Chipolata sausages.

*Stock cubes - whatever flavour you fancy.

*Pasta shapes, and spaghetti.

*Long-grain rice - preferably brown.

*Eating apples.

*Bread.

*Butter or spread.

*Cooking oil.

*Porridge oats.

TOP TIP: Go to the section of the shop where food is marked-down because it's reached its sell-by date. Buy it, and stick it in the freezer.

So - here we go!

(Add pepper and salt to all recipes according to your own taste)

MONDAY

1. Bake a large potato in the microwave and put in oven to crisp up.

3. Chop up some of the veg - a real mixture, including onions. Drain some of the oil from a tin of sardines and put all the veg into the oil in a pan with a lid. Cook for 10 mins, turning regularly.

4. Roughly chop the sardines and stir into the veg. Leave to heat through.

5. Take the potato out of the oven, split it in half and spoon the veg/sardine mixture over the top.

TOP TIP: Save all leftovers from your meals. As soon as they are cool, cover in clingfilm and put in the fridge.

TUESDAY

1. Peel and cut potatoes into chips.

2. Grill some sausages, or cook in oven

3. Mix up a stock-cube in some boiling water and dip the chips into the liquid - only a little, just enough to coat them.

3. Put chips on baking tray in hot oven.

WEDNESDAY

1. Peel and cut potatoes into small chunks. Boil until soft, and then mash with butter/spread.

2. Chop some veg, as in Monday's recipe, and cook in the same way, but this time, use tuna.

3. When veg are cooked spoon into dish, put mashed potato on top and sprinkle generously with parmesan.

4. Bake in hot oven until top is brown.

THURSDAY

1. Slice some sausages.

2. Peel and slice potatoes, peel and chop onions. Layer them in a dish with the sliced sausages.

3. Mix a stock cube with boiling water, and add similar quantity of milk. Pour over potato dish. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake in medium oven for at least an hour or until potatoes are soft.

FRIDAY:

Collect all the leftovers from the fridge and put them into large frying pan and heat through. Beat up 3 eggs and pour into pan. Cook until egg mixture is set.

SATURDAY:

1. Lightly cook some sausages. When cooked, chop into small pieces.

2. Chop up mixture of veg and cook in pan as usual.

3. Pour tin of chopped tomatoes into veg mixture, and add finely chopped sausages. Continue cooking until all is very hot.

4. Prepare pasta and pour cooked mixture over top.

SUNDAY:

Remember the things you put into the freezer - the bits which had reached their sell-by date? Now is the time to dig into those and treat yourself! You might get some chicken, or a few chops, or some bacon. Cook up some rice and vegetables and add the meat - now you have a real feast! If you didn't manage to find any of these things cheaply - just go back to Monday's recipe again, and substitute pasta or rice for the potato.

So those are the main meals, to be supplemented by porridge or toast for breakfast and plenty of fresh apples.

If you take into account the fact that some things will last longer than a week (cooking oil, stock cubes, porridge, etc) you will be eating well on a shoestring budget.