September 2008 Grocery Challenge. Please read first two posts.

ravylesley

Today was taken up with decorating:mad: Has to nip to Mr T's though to replace the apples Mr S didnt deliver the other night plus some eggs to bake my daughters birthday cake.So spent £5 in all.But did get an email from MrS confirming a £43 refund for returned goods would be credited to my bank account:T

Lesleyxx

rosieben

gtx wrote: »

...
this is the 1st month i've joined gc - i get paid 23rd monthly - do i start oct gc then or wait until 1st oct? ...

its really up to you when you run your gc. I know we used to have people who were paid on 15th of month used to run from their payday. I find it easier to run from first of the month - it makes more sense when I do my overall budgeting.

loobylee

:j Mr T has just delivered this weeks shopping £76.24. Still on target:j

SmileyS_2

Very pleased with myself!!! Yesterday spent £7 off in M+S but apart from that the rest of the September days have been NSDs...I have NEVER EVER done that
Going to town to get some winter clothes tomorrow but I do need them and am going to hit Primark first I think

Anna-Spanna

Hi,

Can you add me in for 250 pounds again this month please.

Cheers,
Anna.

Borneogirl

cammumof3 wrote: »

Hi all

I wonder if any one can help me.
I have made flap jacks loads of times before with great success,
but now I am trying the fruit bar recipe that was posted here I am having great trouble
I have made about 4 batches today and they have all gone wrong.
these are the ingredients I used:
4 oz butter
3 oz giolden syrup
3 oz demerara sugar
140g porridge oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp of omega seeds (sunflower,sesame etc)
some dried fruit
160c for about 30 minutes

I have tried this recipe several ways, with/without grease proof paper.
With out the grease proof it sticks to tin, (tin greased), bottom sticks and it crumbles
with grease proof (grease proof greased) it sticks to grease proof, when I try and get the grease proof off the bottom, I pull away half the bar
The bottom is burning, the middle is soft and the top is fine, just hard on edge and corners.
My last one I took out early, before it had a chance to burn on top and it was still stuck to paper.

Any ideas are grateful
Thanks Caz

I haven't posted for a couple of days as have been catching up with all the posts. So far I've spent £25 out of my £130 budget, and I'm now in week 2 of my September challenge. Pretty pleased with myself!

Doing this challenge, as well as now writing EVERYTHING I spend down in a little cash book is helping me enormously. I am now so much more aware of what i am buying. I am also finding that I am eating less, and losing weight!
I just don't want to be wasteful with food any more by overeating.

Tonight I made a really tasty tuna pasta bake with loads of veggies and using some of a massive bag of breadcrumbs that I made and froze a few weeks ago from bread crusts that I would have thrown away not that long ago. I know breadcrumbs don't amount to much in in this hill of beans, but they represent the 'new me' in a weird way! :rolleyes:

An added positive side effect of all this - as well as losing weight - is that i feel a lot more content and calmer, and that i am living more 'genuinely' too, if that makes sense.? I can't see myself ever going back to how I was - i wasn't extravagent, but i relied too much on expensive 'nice' food as a way to make me feel better. All of this is helping me to a more secure future, rather than frittering away money on quick foody fixes that were no good for my waistline, my emotions or my bank balance.

Sorry, to have rambled on - but whenever I go on here I just feel SO PROUD OF MYSELF!!!

Cammumof3 I posted the recipe for the breakfast bars which I think you may have based your recipe on. I am so sorry that they haven't turned out well for you.. This is the link to the recipe that i've been using:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1605/ontherun-breakfast-bars

I am not an experienced flapjack maker so don't really know what to suggest.... Sorry again.

EagerLearner

Well done Borneogirl - I know what you mean, this site and the grocery challenge did that for me too! I used to be overdrawn by £80 every month on our joint account before this site.

NOW we are usually £20 at least in the plus per month, a technical saving of at least £700 a year compared to our old ways of overspending! A 'real saving' of £240 at least...

Admittedly, this was after I said to MrEL I was opening a 'squirrel' account for shopping savings and also that I was 100% handling the finances... he didn't mind and we've both benefitted... plus it satisfies my spreadsheet fetish at the same time! x

fertyskids

Hi Everyone,

i must apologise, but i'm just not getting enough time to read everyones posts. this thread is just so huge.

Welcome to anyone that is new, i still feel new myself and still find it difficult sometimes. today was supposed to be a NSD but i ran out of marg for the lunchboxes and ended up spending about £6 in Mr A. Never mind i'll try again tommorrow.

i do hope that everyone is still doing ok for this challenge and i'm sending love and hugs to everyone who might need it today (or tommorrow).

now hubby tells me we have run out of yeast, when i checked i found some yeast "Allison dried Active Yeast" in a Yellow tin. i make bread in my BM, this says for handbaking only. MRS M.... is there some way i can use it as i make 2/3 loaves a day with 8 in the house!! anyone got any ideas.

hope we all get a good nights sleep its tipping it down here.

take care

fertyskids

must update my siggy when i get time!!

pinkjen

Evening Everyone

This being my first Grocery Challenge I'm doing quite well at the minute, spent £5.40 on fruit in Mr S & managed to go past all other items without even stopping to browse - which for me is a first!! :rotfl: This site has been a godsend for me & I'm glad I found it. I was losing money month after month not knowing why, now I'm clicking away, doing a spending diary & moving money about to save & earn - all with the help of the MSE'rs so thank you all :beer:

pinkjen
x

Flylady_Flower

Anna-Spanna wrote: »

Hi,

Can you add me in for 250 pounds again this month please.

Cheers,
Anna.

Hi Anna, you might want to put your GC in BOLD RED so that Mrs M doesn't miss it, as there is a lot of posts on here...