April 2009 Grocery Challenge

angelatgraceland

As I now have my new monthly and quarterly budgets available I went out spending today. Nothing at all that wasnt planned though!
£24 petrol-will prob last the month
£40 for 2 sunloungers-our present one is leaking foam and is rather rotten
3 growbags and a big tub for our toms so thats an investment.
some growmore(grow some) and roundup(kill some)
some g.pig food and nuts for the birds(feed some)
some rat poison(we live by farms and woods)(eek kill some)
a new extractor fan for the bathroom-stops it getting damp
a toilet seat!!! I do miss the one with no fitting-I don't slide now!!! :+)
So-nothing remotely exciting
Damage £122
However-thats the spending out of the way and the rest of the week/month should be easy

seabright

£225 again for me this month please

01001011

In case you haven't read the post in the March GC, can you put down £75 again for this month please? Thanks.

This my 3rd monthly GC. It seems that I have no problem meeting the target but find it very hard to cut further. Do any other 'old' challengers have the some routine exercise feeling about the GC?

kippers

Pls put me down for £300 again this month. Thank you

I've been a bit lax the last two months due to exams. Hopefully i'll be back on track as this challenge really helps our food spending.

cw18

I think a lot of the difficulty people are experiencing in trying to cut their GC budget, is that the prices in the supermarkets are heading upwards.

But this actually means we're reducing our budgets month-on-month (if we're not increasing them or going over), as we're paying higher prices for individual items but keeping our total spend the same.

(Hmmmm.... wonders if that will make sense reading it back )

shelovestobuystuff

£15 on groceries yesterday,well OH bought £15 worth of chocolate,crisps,cold meats for his work lunches.
Dinner got burnt so rather than calling out for take-away,which is what we usually do when disaster strikes in the kitchen,we had beans on toast instead.It was lovely with a bit of cheese melted on top and black pepper.Think we may have a toast and beans day every week now,maybe two.

ali_at_achnamara

Spent the night before last trawling through the storecupboards and freezer to see what we had, then managed to pull together menus for the entire month. Then I started shopping lists for each week. I'm forever buying enough stuff for nine dinners a week rather than seven unless I plan in advance, and it's more complicated because I'm veggie and OH isn't.

Anyone got any guidance on portion sizes? Is four ounces of meat an acceptable portion size? I used to do about 1/2 a pound of stew or mince at a time for him, but this seems a bit much. Likewise, he'll be getting a single chicken breast rather than a pair.

I'd also appreciate suggestions for OH's packed lunches. At the moment he gets a home made sandwich or wrap - generally with mayo, salad, sliced meat and cheese, some fruit - prepared mango, pinapple or black grapes (he won't eat green ones - which is annoying since they are half the price), yoghurt and a cereal bar.

Ali

cw18

I've been reducing our meat portions, and am now down to about 100g per person (which is slightly under 4oz). This is for me and younger DS (almost 18), and also elder DS (just turned 20) when he's home on leave. I've just upped the quantity of veg to keep the plate looking full - and the extra veg has actually received more complaints than the drop in meat :rolleyes2

or black grapes (he won't eat green ones - which is annoying since they are half the price),

I'm actually the other way around - and find it's more often the green not on offer locally

kezlou

Sorry haven't posted yet been really busy with the job centre, housing benefit etc. My partner lost his job on Friday (27th March) which meant i had to sign on JSA and housing benefits, something which i have never done before i was absolutely terrified. Had to cancel WTC so hopefully CTC and CB will carry on getting paid, if not i now have no income coming in till it gets sorted.

Spent £73 on food already as i had run out of store cupboard food and fresh, had OH turning up as well with me so pushed my spending well over.

Yesterday i found some Cravendale money off milk vouchers with my post, was so chuffed, yes i know sad but true. So phoned my sister she said threw hers out as she gets milk token said aw you could have gave them to me. But ah well may see if can get them off my mate instead So keep a look out in your post you might get some vouchers.

Saw this as well in Somerfield phamplet:-

Gammon Joints were £11 now £5
Frozen Turkeys half price
Whole Lamb leg half price

Aldi Super six:- 49p

Fun size apples (7 pack)
thin beans (250g)
head of broccoli (500g)
Kiwi (6pack)
salad potatoes (1 kilo)
celery (350g)

Hope everyone is well and okay

kezlou

mrspoor wrote: »

Haven't managed to get OH to taste-test the Asda Weetabix yet, but now he knows they're in the flat, he's paranoid - despite opening a sealed box this morning, he wasn't entirely convinced I hadn't tampered with it, and watched me suspiciously whilst eating his breakfast :rotfl:

sorry i couldn't help but laugh when i read your post :rotfl: so funny.
My partner is like that with mayonnaise he's always checking to make sure i haven't out the basics one in the helmanns jar ahahah

Toonie:- so sorry to about hear job, hope your okay x

Oh meant to pay another tip:- Sainsburys are still doing a 1/3 off baby and mother products.