Grocery Challenge - February 2012

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  • Sue14
    Sue14 Posts: 987
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    bupster, I had to laugh this morning, someone posted a want on freecycle for 'a working iphone on Orange':rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

    Some people want the moon on a stick, lol! There's someone on our freecycle who is always asking for games consoles and games (mostly ps3/wii), and has also asked for iphone and blackberry phones and a laptop, only things she offers are things like vouchers she's got out of the newspaper!

    This week, although OH and I have both been off work, I have only spent £1.58 in Mr T's, £4 in £ shop and £8.07 in HB (I only went in for soda crystals, lol!).
    Weight loss challenge 2/10lbs


  • HI everyone I am going to stick with my £200 for this month. I am finding Yellow Sticker hunting very good for dealing with stress at the mo I love walking round and round the supermarket by myself so I am going to be using some of my "Pocket money" to buy stress food as well lol. I have already spent £28 for this week but that does include nappys.
    February GC £261.97/24 NSDS 10/12
    march 300/290 NSD 12/6
    ARPIL 300/ 238.23 NSD'S 10/3

  • I have not posted in a while, I have been caught up in other stuff. while I have been gone I have been very good and was coming in on budget:j....until...DH decided, while I was at work, that the freezer, treat cupboard, beer fridge (yes, he has a fridge in the garage dedicated to beer!) needed restocking. so 2 days before payday, and in febs budget he goes shopping:eek: £190 later I am :mad::mad::mad:. so what to do now?

    write off feb as a bad job? split it between feb and march and be a bit over on both? not shop at all for a month?

    had set my budget to £180 for feb, by the way, and was going to come in at £182.

    and, and, and...he then checks the bank balance and says to me 'I think we need to cut back a bit this month, we've spent quite a bit' Noooo, really??? arrrrrrggghh!!!
    freecycler and skip diver extraordinnaire:cool:
  • Florenceem
    Florenceem Posts: 7,819
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    I also really enjoy the dinner photos :) Your plate always looks so lovely and with loads of veg:A
    We love our veg - like variety on a plate - looks appetising.
    Decluttering Achieved - 2023 - 10,364 Decluttering Target - 1277/2024 March - 1895/171
    GC NSD 2023 - 242/365
    2023 Craft Makes - 245 Craft Spends 2023 - £676.03/£400
    Books read - 2023 - 37
    GC - 2024 First 4 Week Period £11.75/£100 2nd £33.71/£100 3rd £57.13/£100 4th £3.01/£100 NSD - 55
    2024 Craft Makes - 104 Craft Spends 2024 £186.95/£500
  • Florenceem
    Florenceem Posts: 7,819
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    elsiepac wrote: »
    Looks lovely as usual! May I ask... I've noticed you quite often have onion in with your veg medley, which had never occured to me before... how do you cook it when you do it like this? Is it all boiled together or some other method?

    Thanks

    LC
    I cook my vegetables all in together - use a microwave tub with lid - from 99p/£1 shop. So much easier than cooking vegetables in a saucepan - waiting for water to boil. Time to cook depends on what veg plus how much in the tub. I think the veg keep their colours so well - by this method. Onions are SO good for you - plus cheap at this time of year - I always try to eat seasonal fruit/veg.
    Decluttering Achieved - 2023 - 10,364 Decluttering Target - 1277/2024 March - 1895/171
    GC NSD 2023 - 242/365
    2023 Craft Makes - 245 Craft Spends 2023 - £676.03/£400
    Books read - 2023 - 37
    GC - 2024 First 4 Week Period £11.75/£100 2nd £33.71/£100 3rd £57.13/£100 4th £3.01/£100 NSD - 55
    2024 Craft Makes - 104 Craft Spends 2024 £186.95/£500
  • Florenceem
    Florenceem Posts: 7,819
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    Managed another NSD. :j
    We had HM chilli wedges/salmon quiche and salad for dinner.

    6780799418_d46ae31ac7.jpg
    Decluttering Achieved - 2023 - 10,364 Decluttering Target - 1277/2024 March - 1895/171
    GC NSD 2023 - 242/365
    2023 Craft Makes - 245 Craft Spends 2023 - £676.03/£400
    Books read - 2023 - 37
    GC - 2024 First 4 Week Period £11.75/£100 2nd £33.71/£100 3rd £57.13/£100 4th £3.01/£100 NSD - 55
    2024 Craft Makes - 104 Craft Spends 2024 £186.95/£500
  • elsiepac
    elsiepac Posts: 2,550
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    JackieO wrote: »
    HM soup with some toasted pitta bread (also discovered in the freezer and forgotten)

    I did exactly the same - found an unopened pack! It felt like Christmas! (And i managed to lose that on one freezer shelf, so you can imagine how much I have CRAMMED in there! :rotfl:

    JackieO wrote: »
    elsiepac any chance of your recipe for sweet pepper and tomato soup I have both in the fridge and it sounds really nice

    Of course, I got it from somewhere else originally and I tend to vary the quantities of things depending on what I have in, but this is the basics and what I did this time (was using up the wrinkly peppers):

    1 tbsp oil
    3 very small red and 1 big yellow pepper, in about 1cm pieces - small bites (2 big or 3 medium ones is fine, I'd avoid green though as it will make it bitter)
    2 cloves of garlic, diced finely
    1 onion, diced (I do this chunkily - red or white is fine, preferably red though tbh!)
    1 tin tomatoes (passata ok although less "substance" to it
    Roughly 700ml veg stock - up to you haow watery you want it though! :D
    Fresh basil, torn

    - Saute the onions, garlic and peppers in the oil until pretty much soft.
    - Add the tomatoes, stock and fresh basil
    - Cover and simmer on low for about 30 minutes
    - Season to taste!

    I always need a bread roll with this one as there's not much substance to it, but it's so yummy! If you don't have fresh basil then dried is ok, but I will be honest and say the fresh basil really makes it!

    Enjoy!

    LC
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Old Style, Crafting and Techie Stuff boards.If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing [email protected] views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    GC: May 22 £tbc/£250 Vegan 27-8-13
  • elsiepac
    elsiepac Posts: 2,550
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    edited 25 February 2012 at 12:35AM
    Ninno820 wrote: »
    Elsiepac - just had to tell you - I am soooo giddy with excitement - I have taught myself to add drop down lists on you spreadsheet so that my different meals are there to choose from. Thnakyou for giving me a cost free frugalistic new to play to play with!!

    Fantastic, well done! Told you it wasn't too hard once you work it all out and get your head round what you're doing! :j

    Have fun...you'll soon become as obsessed as I am! :rotfl:
    Have you got the pricing bit sorted and you know where to update it?

    Also, I ALWAYS keep the Items page sorted alphabetically, because the drop down list will display exactly as they appear on there (or on your new lists...)

    Have fun :A

    123budget wrote: »
    ELSIEPAC I have just spent ages looking through your spreadsheet - totally fantastic:T:T
    So good I forgot I had got dinner in the oven and burnt it all:o

    I'm not very computer literate but think I have got the hang of it. I have deleted your grocery/item list and just started listing mine from latest receipt and am going to try and find receipts from last month to put those on. You have saved me so much time but I think it may become a little obsessive.

    Can I just ask one question - On your shopping list page the column in pink with the prices - have you crossed them out as you have bought them also not sure what n/a meant (is that already in your stores?)
    Just wondered as when I put in my shopping list the prices came up with a line through them.

    Oh no, I'm sorry you burnt the dinner!!! :( That's not very GC!

    You're on the right track with the Items list - I use the Mr T website to get the initial prices and then update if it's different when I get to the shop (but NOT if it's on offer because your Items list is to budget, so anything on offer is a bonus!). It does take time, but as I've said before, once you've got your common items on there, it doesn't take long each week or so, to add the odd extra thing in!

    With the prices and the items they are crossed out because they are remembering that I crossed them out. Yes, I cross them out once bought, I find it's easier to keep track.

    To "un" cross out all the cells in a sheet, follow these steps:
    1. Click in any cell on the sheet
    2. Press Ctrl + A at the same time (this just selects all cells in a sheet)
    3. Right click
    4. Choose Format Cells...
    5. Choose the Font tab (probably 3rd along) on the little window that comes up
    6. On the left hand side there is a little box called Effects, and in there a checkbox labelled Strikethrough. You'll need to click in the checkbox probably twice to clear it, which will uncross out cells.

    To cross out individual cells as you go through the month:
    1. Click the cell or cells you wish to cross out
    2. Right click
    3. Format cells...
    4. Font tab
    5. Check the Strikethrough box


    Regards the N/A where the price should be... I'll explain as simply as possible... the price cells contain a formula that basically says "find the item on the Items sheet that matches what is written in the cell to my left, and then display the price that is next to that item" When the price cell shows N/A, it means it cannot find a matching name in the Items sheet, to what you have in the cell next to it.. Does that make sense? So if you even change just one letter, or add a space or something, to the item description in the Items sheet, then it doesn't match so its way of saying I don't know the answer, is to write N/A.

    It will usually happen when you edit the name of something - easiest solution is to just re-select the correct item from the drop down box and you should find that the price updates automatically.

    If you need any other tech help, do you want to PM me? I've been signed off till next Friday again (3.5 weeks now!) and am now tearing my hair out, so I'll be happy to help or try and explain differently!

    HTH

    LC
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Old Style, Crafting and Techie Stuff boards.If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing [email protected] views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    GC: May 22 £tbc/£250 Vegan 27-8-13
  • Herbyme
    Herbyme Posts: 720
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    lisakay I do feel for you. Mine is quite similar. After all this effort, he'll say 'yes but it's no use is it because you're not earning any money so it's still more on food than you've earned (ie nothing). :eek: Cheers. Or buy himself a takeaway lunch when he's at home not working. But the sheer amount of your DH's shop is extraordinary. Can you take any of it back?! Sell it on?! Make him pay for it out of a different account? Confiscate his debit card (maybe when he's not looking or when he's in the shower...'I'm sure it was by the bed with the other cards...'). Needs must... in my case, it includes basically not letting DH go shopping at all which is a pain as I have to do it all myself but is better in the end as I'm in control (which obviously is what I want really! :rotfl:)

    Good luck. There are earlier posts about making DH do spreadsheets so they can see the impact of their extravagance...
  • My Mr S order arrived tonight! All lovely with no substitutions until I noticed they'd not taken off my £10 first time customer voucher! Told the driver but have also emailed. Am hoping that'll get me an extra voucher?? ;-)

    Also nipped into Mr T earlier to get the few things I wanted to choose myself (avocados, rocket, YS bread etc). Today us the start of my March budget. Will update my signature over the weekend, once Mr S get back to me. :)
    2017 GC O-£93.46/£160; S-£136.26/£160; A-£130.55/£160; J-£47.12/£160;
    J-£106.63/£190; M-£70.29/£160; A-£197.88/£180; M-£219.35/£180; F-£294.14/£160; J-£168.67/£160
    2016 GC £2322.39/£2285; GC-2012-2015 - £9789.91/£7773!
    for 2 adults & 2 kids (13 & 11) for all food,toiletries,cleaners etc

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