December 2008 Grocery Challenge

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  • SavyStudent-We got M and S vouchers too.

    We are planning to use them over the next few months in our Grocery Challenge on special offers in M and S (often on non-perishables) and meat/fish and cheese. I think veg/fruit/milk/bread etc will still be bought from Tesco/Lidl etc.
    Planning to put money saved into pin money account which we are using to save for a trip away.
    Just an idea but you could use the money saved on clothes in other shops-more choice, possibly better deals.
    Maybe have half for food and half for clothes.
    Good luck with your challenge and welcome back!!!
    SFT

    Thanks JustPeyton4now-Great ideas....Determined not to waste food!!
    :cool: Frugal Living 2010 member MFW by 2014 Was 88,000 now £46,877.90 Grocery Budget for Dec-April=£173.72/£244 (Groc Budget 2010 from Ebay/Voucher savings/Quidco -If we can do it will save our £980 GC budget) Now living the dream -in our tiny country cottage-all thanks to MS forums. x 39 2 go
    Stockpile Savings: £89.72 Voucher savings £8
  • Mrs M
    I would like to join in the Jan 09 Grocery Challenge. Im hoping that watching what I buy and cooking proper meals will also help me lose the extra 6 stone that has mysteriously appeared on my little body (well it was at some stage) I would like to go for £100

    Thanks
    Glitter
  • Not strictly grocery but it may help someone? Took all the ice from the car this am and hot-footed to Aldi. Goose feather and down pillows and quilt on special offer!! Can't wait until tonight, all feels nice and crispy. Now busy shoving/pushing old quilt into the washing machine - it WILL go in.......Mx
  • Sylvan
    Sylvan Posts: 347
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    Hope you all had a good Christmas.

    :jCongratulations searching_me . :jThat's wonderful news.:j

    We had to go to B&Q and Homebase yesterday (Well, they were having sales...:rotfl: - no, seriously, DH has bought into my madness and decided to continue the row of cupboards he's building right to the wall, with a tall larder in the alcove so that both sides match - so we needed 4 more doors and another length of worktop:rolleyes:) and I just couldn't stay out of the supermarkets.:o

    I spent £65.60.:eek:

    Still, the fridge and freezers are groaning and I've already filled a couple of my new storecupboards before DH and DSs have finished building them.

    Never mind NSDs - today's going to be a NCD (No COOK day) :rotfl:.We had a repeat of Christmas day's dinner on 26th and yesterday we had to cook roast beef. (It was one of those big half-price ones from Asda - use by 27th Dec.) We cut it in half and froze the extra but we still only ate half of what we cooked, so today I'm giving them the last of the turkey for lunch and another roast beef dinner. DS4 is always saying we don't have roasts often enough - I hope he's satisfied now!

    I'm already horribly over budget and it's likely to get worse when we go out tomorrow (there's been more snow forecast and I suffer from the same rampant storecupboarditis that a couple of others have confessed to), but that should be the last of it for this year, so I'll wait to declare my total.

    Mrs M, please can you put me down for £350 again for January since I'll need to fill my new cupboards:rolleyes: - and I'll start behaving myself in February.
    Time flies like an arrow.
    Fruit flies like a banana.
    Money talks, but chocolate SINGS

    "I used to be snow white but I drifted" (A seasonal quote from the incomparable Miss West)
  • CRANKY40 wrote: »
    I haven't finished the December challenge yet, as I will be buying milk from somewhere this week, and possibly a jar of coffee too. Ds gets through a lot of milk (semi skimmed)

    Cranky40, we always use powdered milk for; cocoa, white sauces including custard and I occasionally use it to make porridge. This makes the fresh milk go further. Powdered milk is also cheaper per pint & has a long shelf life so no rushing out to buy milk and coming back with lots of bits you liked the look of. Additionally we freeze fresh milk and have never had a problem with it.

    Hope this is of some help to someone and not just teaching my Grandmother to suck eggs.
    Fashion on a ration 2024 66/66 coupons remaining
    80 coupons rolled over 0/80 coupons spent - using for secondhand purchases

    One
     income, home educating family 
  • Hi everyone,
    already tried to post this message but it disappeared. So hopefully this will be successful.
    Would like to declare first GC at £146. Slightly under but must admit this was only for "in house" eating and entertaining. Did not include Christmas night outs which were very expensive and I could not avoid any of them.
    I am going to aim for £150 for January.
    My fridge and freezer are full and my cupboards are about to fall off the walls with the amount I have been stuffing into them. So perhaps I will use up what I already have and use some of the money in January to stock up on cleaning materials and toiletries. Although I did receive loads of these at Christmas. (toiletries that is not cleaning materials:rotfl: )

    Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year.:A
    It takes a long time to eat an elephant and I'm doing it a bite at a time!!!
  • Sylvan
    Sylvan Posts: 347
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    I wondered if any of you had some economical recipes for using up Turkey or Ham? OB has mentioned pies and I believe someone said about adding condensed mushroom soup to make a mixture???
    Any ideas gratefully appreciated.
    I have got a few from the recipe list.

    I make this one with leftover chicken. Was going to use the turkey for it this week but the vultures have been eating sandwiches...
    Turkey Pasta Cacciatore

    Fry onions till translucent and add ginger, garlic and sliced (or chopped, if you're trying to sneak them past children) peppers. Apparently frying onion in olive oil does something to its chemical structure that makes it even better for you (frying it in olive oil along with tomatoes is supposed to be the ultimate, but who can be bothered to fry tomatoes?).
    Then chuck in a tin of tomatoes, basil (definitely), oregano (maybe) and chicken stock (use a cube if you like). If you have any left-over wine mix some with cornflour (if not, you could use wine vinegar and a little sugar) and add that to the pan.
    When it has thickened a bit add the chicken/turkey and heat through.
    Layer in a dish with lasagne sheets, finishing with a layer of the sauce.
    Top with crushed crisps (the cheap, basic ones), or you could be less decadent and use breadcrumbs, and grated cheese.
    Hoy it in the oven for about half an hour, at 200ish, till the cheese is golden. (I've been known to bake it for up to an hour, on dead calm days when the rassenfrassen Rayburn wouldn't heat up!)
    It's nice with a tossed salad and my greedy little piggies have crusty bread with it too.

    Thanks Baileys Babe. I freeze milk and use UHT for white sauces etc but I hadn't thought of powdered. Does it work out cheaper than the basic/savers UHT?
    Time flies like an arrow.
    Fruit flies like a banana.
    Money talks, but chocolate SINGS

    "I used to be snow white but I drifted" (A seasonal quote from the incomparable Miss West)
  • Thanks Sylvan. It sounds delicious!!...Have cut and posted it to my recipe file... SFT
    :cool: Frugal Living 2010 member MFW by 2014 Was 88,000 now £46,877.90 Grocery Budget for Dec-April=£173.72/£244 (Groc Budget 2010 from Ebay/Voucher savings/Quidco -If we can do it will save our £980 GC budget) Now living the dream -in our tiny country cottage-all thanks to MS forums. x 39 2 go
    Stockpile Savings: £89.72 Voucher savings £8
  • Pink.
    Pink. Posts: 17,675
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    Hi everyone,

    I hope you all had a good Christmas and managed to keep inside your budget for December. I didn't :o but hopefully I'll manage to get back on track next month.

    Just to let you know that the Grocery Challenge for January is up and running here so I'll be 'unsticking' the December thread now.

    I hope you all have a very happy new year!

    Pink
  • oh dear, failed miserable in December, but 2009 is another challenge
    declaring Dec as £280.96!!!!!!!!
    January £150.00
    Mortgage free as at 1/9/13 :j
    To start work on the credit cards now!!
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