January 2009 Grocery Challenge

kookgekje

The month is over for me and I would like to declare £290.53 for January. That means I did it :j :j ! I feel very pleased with myself . Mrs M, can you put me down for £300 again for February. DH will be away for a few days (Miami - it's 25 degrees there at the moment and I can't go :mad: ) so his carnivorous ways won't affect the budget on those days. Even though I am definitely not a veggie, DH's insistence on have a daily piece of meat sometimes gets a bit tiring. Bring on the greens!

get_me_debt_free

elizabunny wrote: »

Afternoon everyone! Oh my, the cuboards are now looking incredibly battered. I'm still not giving up on January and hanging onto my 12p:rotfl: but this is certainly getting challenging. It's not that there's nothing in the cupboards -it's just that not alot of it goes together now.

I am cooking some Pork in the slo-cooker today, with a few of my remaining veg., but swede all gone when I checked (disappointing) so it all seems a bit of a mish mash. Basically all I have in the pot is:-

The lean part of belly pork (cubed)
3 Sliced Potatoes Sliced (Last 3 :eek: )
Half an Onion (Last one:eek: )
1 Yellow Pepper Sliced (Last one:eek: )

Quarter of a Celeriac Sliced
3 Carrots Sliced (Only 2 left now:eek: )
Tin of Red Kidney Beans
2 Bay Leaves (Won't get fat on those:rotfl: )
1 Stock Cube
Dash Worcester
Seasoning
About 1 pint water

I have absolutely no idea what this will taste like -but it should be ok. The problem is, the potatoes in it are really small so it won't really be a complete meal and in my stock cupboard (Staples) I've only got left, Dried Spagetti, Lasagne Sheets, Noodles, Arboria Rice and Tapicoca I can't make dumplings because the suet has all gone, so I think I will have to make some little cobblers and bake these seperately to add some bulk. Unless any of you clever cooks have any better ideas.

I can hardly wait until Saturday and my new budget. I really think I'm going to look long and hard at what goes in my trolley next month -or maybe not my trolley, because I really feel the need to source my meat from a local butcher and try to source fruit and veg. from local farms/farmers markets. I know this may be an impossible task on my small budget -but at least I can try. At the end of the day -I just want to get the best quality I can, for the cheapest prices possible -perhaps a bit of a tall order......

Anyway February is certainly going to be as huge a challenge for me, as January, as all the Xmas extra's are now gone and the freezer is somewhat depleted.

Well done to everyone this month whether over or under budget. At least we are all aware of what we are spending By the way I don't include any wine, beer etc. in my budget because we don't get it often, so it's only a bought as a treat if we have extra pennies at the time.

Apologies for the rambling post:o

Have a good day everyone!

snap some sagetti up and add that for bulk... x

elizabunny

Just to update -the Pork I cooked in the slo-cooker turned out great. I put some little cobblers on top and DH and me were so full up we could hardly move.

It also occurred to me, when I was about to peel an orange today that I was being a bit wasteful. I was peeling the orange and just throwing the peel in the composter. Nothing wrong with that I know, but then I thought,(and many of you may already know about this) I should should collect the zest from the orange first (before I peel it) with my little zester and then I could use it cakes etc. at later date. I think I read somewhere that you could store the zest in little bags in the freezer until required.

I store root ginger like this and just grate little bits off when I need it -it lasts ages.

Just thought I'd mention it. Have a good night eveyone!

LOUBOB

Please put me down for £150 again for Feb

I am awaiting to the end of the week to officially declare for Jan but at this rate is will just by a whisper be under £150, although my first month its been slightly tight and had to be ultra aware of exactly what I have been spending, the cupboards are getting bare so I plan to do a fairly biggish shop at the beginning of the month and then do miminal top ups, however very pleased as without this challenge and ideas I probably would have just spent and spent and been up to at least £300!!!!

sharronej

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

I AM SO ANGRY!!!!!

I've just been to Farmfoods to stock up on frozen veg and when I got there they have put the prices up to a £1 a bag from 39p and it's across the board!

When I asked the assistant why the prices had gone up so much she replied that it was because they were much bigger bags (up from 750g to 1kg) She got quite shirty when I pointed out that actually the bags were only 25% bigger and that Farmfoods argument doesn't stand up because that would only justify a 13p rise to 52p

Why do shops assume that we are stupid? Are we not supposed to figure out that they have infact increased the price by over 150% (feel free to correct my sums if I am wrong ) but you get my point. I told the assistant (for what it was worth) that I felt they were making a mistake because they were now comparable to MrT's etc.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that there aren't bargains to be had there but I think this price increase is shocking and is a direct attempt at bamboozling people by hiding behind their new size bags! What do you think?

mouseymousey99

Mind me asking what do you buy there Sharronej - what do you think is good value?
(I ask because I've never been).
thanks

AuntieH

Sorry I missed the GC in December and January but am determined to get back on track.
Can you put me down for £400 for Feb, thankyou. Its a short month should be able to do that!!

redmel1621

Hi Mrs M - I can't declare yet as I have another week to go, but can you put me down for £340 (again) for February Thank You.:A

Mel x

mothershipton

just a few days to go and Ive spent £323. I spent a lot in Makro this month on washing powder and conditioner but think I have enough to last the year. Also had people to entertain a few weeks ago but I think my husband did very well and fed 14 people for £50 plus we had food left over. The cupboards are starting to look bare but Im determined not to get anymore stuff in till Sunday...

Put me down for £350 next month too as its my sons birthday and we may be entertaining again!

indebted

I still have until Friday and have spent yet another £23.00 in only the last 3 days, still under budget but only just.

Please could you put me down for £300 for February.