January 2008 Grocery Challenge

Moniker · 16 January 2008 at 12:03AM

Little_Miss_Naughty wrote: »

Hi All

What do you guy's do with any money that you save / don't spend at the end of the month?

Hi LMN - I save all my discounts/moneyoff savings each week in a little black purse and then at the end of the month I put it in my ISA. Since I joined the forum last August I have put away about £160 this way. I also 'pay' myself to go swimming (to encourage me as I hate exercise!) and this goes into the ISA fund too.

Today is my 4th NSD on the trot and tomorrow will make 5. Will have to shop on Thursday though. Tonight we polished off the joint of beef which I roasted on Sunday. I bought it on the meat counter in Sainsbury's (rather than pre-wrapped) for just £3-49 and made 6 meals and 2 lunches out of it. It was delicious (sorry all you veggies out there!) and I was pleased not to have all that plastic packaging to dispose of!
Off to bed now. Have a good day tomorrow everyone.

Sassamac · 16 January 2008 at 12:06AM

more spending for me today, another tenner, mostly on the reduced aisle again though as I cant resist the opportunity. Im just a little over budget but am making a concerted effort not to go near a supermarket til Friday. Unfortunately I will need nappies by then which is one of my biggest buys.

Scotrae regards buying bulk or staying under budget I would say it depends on whether your budget is only on paper, or whether you literally have to wait til payday. Assuming the funds are there I would go for the long term saving and bulk buy. If I am particularly skint I just buy small quantities, even if its just to defer the 'everything runs out at once' scenario. Do check the price per kg or whatever though as I have noticed that some things are no cheaper for buying in bulk - just gets you a bad back and cupboards you cant find things in. Cat food is one example off the top of my head where a box is the same price per kg as a huge bag (but the tiny box is expensive).

funkyfunkymonkey · 16 January 2008 at 12:09AM

Moniker wrote: »

Forgot to say that in between reading the posts and writing I have been baking ready for a church tea next weekend, and have made a luscious lemon cake, an economical fruitcake and a big batch of Twink's hob nobs. The kithen smells fab - but will have to keep my OH under control or there won't be any left! I had better make him his 'official' tea so he won't be tempted.

In case anyon'e interested the 'Economical Fruit cake' recipe is as follows:

8oz SR flour
1 level tsp mixed spice
1 level tsp cinnamon
4oz butter or soft marg
4oz granulated sugar
8 oz mixed dried fruit
1 large egg
1/4 pt milk

Sieve the flour and spice together. Rub in the fat to make breadcrumbs and stir in the sugar and fruit. Make a well in the centre and add the egg which you have beaten in the milk. Stir to a soft dropping consistency. Place in a greased 2lb loaf tin and level the mix. Bake for 1hr to 1hr 15 mins at 180C or gas mark 4 in the centre of the oven. (You might need to cover the top for the last 20 mins or so if your oven is hot). This cake freezes well. enjoy!

PS You can use any combination of dried fruit - I used up some old currants and sultanas and rasins - I don't buy it ready mixed as it it more expensive I think and is less versatile. I also used Flora rather than butter and skimmed milk to make it less fattening!

I was going to make Moniker's Economical Fruit Cake last night, but did not have any mixed spice.

However, I found this recipe in my Breadmaker book for Spicy Fruit Loaf and it turned out just fab, thought I would share it with you. I estimate that it cost approx 30p in ingredients, using flour from Lidl and mixed value fruit from Somerfield.

1/2 tsp yeast
400g strong white flour - 13p
1 tbsp sugar
15g butter - 5p
1 tbsp milk powder
1 tsp salt
280ml water
2 tsp cinnamon
75g mixed dried fruit - 6.5p

I baked it in my Panasonic on 'Basic Bake Raisin' option. You need to add the cinnamon and dried fruit at the beep (approx 45 mins into the cycle)

FFM

belfastgirl23 · 16 January 2008 at 12:26AM

Scotrae I figure it's swings and roundabouts with the bulk buys. EG this month I needed loo roll so I bought a big pack, but because I'd bought a lot of fizzy water and cheese before Xmas I didn't need to top up on them. So I figure over the longer term it all balances itself out, what you buy in a bigger size this week you won't need to buy again for however long.

I'm also trying (this year) to keep an eye on how much of various items we use per month and then see if I can bring this down. It does vary from month to month of course (a lot more OJ this month so far cos we both have the cold

) Maybe doing this would help you get a handle on it. The other option is to set aside a portion of your budget for 'bulk buys'. I tend to do this a bit since I do a big internet shop at the start of the month and then have a weekly budget on top of this. But of course as Sassamac says this works if your budget has some give in it...

Lots of luck. You will find a way that will suit you eventually, it just takes a bit of experimenting I think.

witchypoo · 16 January 2008 at 12:37AM

Had a NSD today thank goodness. It's a relief sometimes to not need to go out to the shops. I always end up with something I didn't go in for!
Had run out of onions though for the veggie chilli but no one noticed when I just used garlic and plenty of spices other than the chilli powder to jazz it up! Yum

georgiasmum · 16 January 2008 at 8:34AM

Need to post my shopping spend for Fri 11th before the 18th is upon me -£41. Not too bad as it is under my £50 per week goal but does contain too many treats which are naughty. Will do better and avoid the reduced donuts!!

oldMcDonald · 16 January 2008 at 9:05AM

First day of the week for me today (my shopping week is Wednesday to Wednesday). Had to buy some toothpaste yesterday (ASDA 21p), so final spend for the week was £34.71 - still in budget!!

I sent DH in for the toothpaste as he was passing ASDA anyway, and I said to him about the free yeast - being a lot braver than me, he was more than happy to ask for a freebie and we now have a huge slice sitting in the fridge

I've never used fresh yeast before, and whilst I have many bread recipes, I was wondering if anyone has a tried and trusted handmade bread recipe they would be kind enough to share? I'm usually a bung-it-all-in-the-BM-and-push-a-button kinda girl!

Off to update my siggy

egon · 16 January 2008 at 9:19AM

NSD day for us yesterday. OH isn't that happy, as his lunch box is a bit on the very basic side. But hey, until we get into the habit of making our own flapjacks and muffins etc, he has to suffer.

he is already putting an order in for his birthday cake for work (HM, his birthday is not until 14th Feb - Valentines day!-)
Can anyone maybe through a special easy to make cake recipe in my direction?

lalapalooza · 16 January 2008 at 9:43AM

Thanks for your encouragement - I am quite looking forward to the challenge! We have a full freezer, and I am trying for the rest of this month to buy just what is required (fresh).

I use Soapnuts for coloured washes, but still use the old non-bio for whites as I find it cleans better. I stopped using fabric softener about two years ago and have not missed it one bit - my towels feel better for it cos the fabric softener coats the fibres and they ended up going hard.
Debs

theamazinggem · 16 January 2008 at 9:49AM

hey all. feeling grotty still and just spent £3.00 on a bacon baguette and an energy drink. not good but very tasty at least.

will add to my grocery money "virtually" as it comes out of my rent, and it's not fair to actually charge for my complete crapness.

will try and not re-spend it though. gotta be stricter....

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January 2008 Grocery Challenge

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