January 2009 Grocery Challenge

Rachel021967

I took my daughter to the park today. I took drink to save some money but we stopped at the sweetie shop and spent 50p. After we went to the park we went to Sainsbury's and spent £18.01. Only went in for some apples but there fruit was reduced so bought some cherries and apricots at 99p each. Bought a load of Mullerlights as they were selling them for 4 for £1 and bought 2 loads of Quorn for £2 each. Now I'm massively overbudget but my daughter is vegetarian and she eats a lot of Quorn. So I think when my daughter is at nursery tomorrow I will buy several packs more. Quorn pieces usually sell for £3.08 each. Total overspend so far is £157.64.

kayharcombe

I would like to declare January at £171, for 1 adult and 3 children, which is over my 150 budget, but i dont mind going over, as had i set my budget at 200, i would have gone over anyway. I did get an approved food delivery at both beginning and end of month, so probably could have waited a few days and carried it over. I would like to set februarys target at £300, as im moving house and will be without a cooker for a while, and rushing around etc with moving wit 3 kids wont be easy, will be taking campstove and slow cooker to new house as soon as i get keys so shouldnt bother us as much as previous moves.

I used to spend over 400 a month, even up to last month, so i know ive done well, im glad i set budget so low, and ive run down my freezers and pantry a little so less to move too.

Kay

patentgirl

Morning all

Mrs MC Can you please put me down for £300 for February managed to come in budget for Jan but had alot of food left from Xmas so upped total this month that is for 3 adults and 1 teen plus BF and GF and any other hangers on I seem to end feeding each month.

well done everyone looking forward to Febs challenge

OrkneyStar

sharronej wrote: »

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?

Personally I don't really like Farmfoods (not got one up here and never thought much of the ones in Glasgow area either), although I think my mum gets milk in there sometimes. TBH I think it is to be expected that the prices would go up eventually as, lets face it, 39p for veg is VERY cheap! I agree the price hike is a bit steep though and also agree that trying to hide it in a 'bigger pack size' excuse is stupid . I can't be bothered to work out exact price rise but it is obviously a high one from the prices you quote! This just re-affirms for me that supermarket/store shopping is not the 'be-all and end-all', and that we really have to be on the ball for them fleecing us! I suppose it is not the assistants fault (I hated being blamed for things when I worked in a supermarket!) but as she is the one directly in contact with the public she will get it no doubt .
On another note MrsM, I am not declaring for January, and am now on a weekly basis so won't declare for other months either, and am waiting to do a 2009 total, but keep me on the annual for £2500 for 2009 for the next months list.
I am very happy with the figures so far, but we will see how it all pans out :rolleyes:. Definately weekly withdrawal, small supermarket shops on day of withdrawal (Tesco/Lidl/bigger Coop) followed by smaller shops at butcher/grocer/smaller Coop during the week, works for me- I am sharing my custom round too and that makes me feel better than lining one stores pockets .
Take care everyone and bye for now. Oh and well done those of you who came under with tight budgets, don't feel disheartened anyone who came over, it may just be you set yourself a slightly more challenging budget than others!
x
ETA
Scottish Coop has some more good offers on, two of the best (for me) are 5 Muller Corners for £1.50 and also Petits Filous BOGOF @ £1.65 for 6 carton packs. I am sure someone will tell me Tesco etc has a better offer but the Coop is just down the road from me and local (thus avoiding diesel costs!). I presume they are in other Coops too, even the small ones .

mumzyof2

Morning everyone.

Well i did my last big shop yesterday at Tesco. Spent £8 odd so not very big. I dont need anything else except Bread and some ham (DD's party on saturday). I will declare my total at end of the month though. I am working on a yearly budget so i wont be declaring really what i have spent each month as i will just be adding it to my yearly budget. I have only spent £20 odd pound out of £100 but this is manily because my mum bought food shopping for me at beginning of the month.
I just realised i havent added on the £20 for all the meat i bought at beginning of month so i will go do that now so we are looking at £40 odd. Still way under budget.

Does anyone know what i can do with the leftover chinnese style chicken breasts i cooked yesterday? We had them with chips yesterday. Im thinking maybe put them in something. Or could i strip them (got bones in them) and add them to a casserole or use them as meat for sandwhiches??
How long do i reheat chicken for? Do i put them back in the oven to cook or would they burn?

yummymummy05

Am having another nsd today am at home with the kids all day so ds will join me in making a batch of twinks hobnobs and blueberry muffins - might do them in cake cases rather than muffin ones I can probably get twice as many then?

Can you freeze either of the above do they defrost ok?

mumzyof2 wrote: »

Morning everyone.


Does anyone know what i can do with the leftover chinnese style chicken breasts i cooked yesterday? We had them with chips yesterday. Im thinking maybe put them in something. Or could i strip them (got bones in them) and add them to a casserole or use them as meat for sandwhiches??
How long do i reheat chicken for? Do i put them back in the oven to cook or would they burn?

I would slice them up and put them cold into a salad or you could put it in pasta or even a stir fry!

Am not sure about reheating chicken - if it's a stir fry i just put it in last and leave it until it's hot through - am not sure if you are supposed to do that though!

elizabunny

Hello everyone! 3 NSD in a row -today will make 4. Gosh I didn't realise how hard it was to be so creative. I've got to make fish pie today as I'm trying to use the uncooked items in my freezer and leave the HM meals alone, so that I can carry some over to next month.

The fish bit is no problem -more the pie bit, as ingredients are very limited now:eek: . So I'll just have to use the last 2 carrots and a bit more of the celeriac (Seem to have eaten alot of this, this month), maybe some tomatoes too. I can make a creamy cheesy sauce but will have to go easy on the milk and stre.....tch it a bit with water. No potatoes left so I'm going to make some HM breadcrumbs and put these on the top with a final grating of cheese before baking it all for a nice crunchy topping.

I've also got some stock leftover from yesterday so I'll make uo some lentil soup and serve this with HM bread .

Ooooh it's getting very close now -only a few more days until Saturday YIPPEE:j When I told DS2, (who does not live at home) that I had only 12p left for my Jan. shopping budget, he replied with a little grin, "You can do it Mum" at which point I just laughed and said , "Easy for you to say -you don't live here now, so you don't have to eat my weird creations.":rotfl:

orchid-96

hoping for a nsd today, was on target yesterday but had to go to MrT for stuff for a buffet dh is doing at work (have to get the breaded/filo prawns from there) and I thought I would look at the whoopsie section in case anything we needed for the buffet was there.....well....there was a lovely piece of pork (extra special or something) that was reduced to £2.50 and as I have got visitors next weekend for ds's birthday (parents) I thought I would get it for dinner on the Friday...so I am going to put the £2.50 in Feb budget as I won't be eating it till then, but I think it was worth picking up as I was going to get a joint for then anyway ...also I was pleased with myself for bypassing the booze aisle :T

mumzyof2 I would also use either cold in sandwiches/salad or add to a stir fry or a pasta bake...

I have just made the flapjacks that I got a recipe from indebted from and they are yummy and sooo simple, I am hoping ds will like them when he gets in from school as they will be great for his lunchboxes as he is going onto packed lunches from next week....

Have a good day all...

mumzyof2

yummymummy05 wrote: »

Am having another nsd today am at home with the kids all day so ds will join me in making a batch of twinks hobnobs and blueberry muffins - might do them in cake cases rather than muffin ones I can probably get twice as many then?

Can you freeze either of the above do they defrost ok?




I would slice them up and put them cold into a salad or you could put it in pasta or even a stir fry!

Am not sure about reheating chicken - if it's a stir fry i just put it in last and leave it until it's hot through - am not sure if you are supposed to do that though!

Thankyou Iam going to put it in a pasta .. would you know what sauce i could use to put with the pasta so it isnt dry?

I have 4 chicken breast left.. 2 will be used for the pasta tonight.. I cooked them yesterday so will the other2 b ok to use up tomorrow?

Liberty9515

I am declaring Jan's total at £222.96 :T:j

I would like to set Feb's total at £250
Did a top up shop at Mr A yesterday. Need to do a big shop soon, but am not going until after payday (tomorrow), so i can stay within budget.
This thread has been so helpful, I have never ever, budgetted before, well not properly!
Its actually quite addictive! Cant wait til Friday until I can get out there and bargain hunt! LOL:D
My freezers are full of HM meals, and I actually have a list of whats in there too!
Just need to get a grip of my storecupboard now!
Thanks guys!:D