August 2009 Grocery Challenge

cw18

emmab2001 wrote: »

can i ask as i haev said before i'm new to the home freezing lark but what do you store your meals to be frozen in?? i only have one real dish we use for stews/pies and i wondered if anyone knew how to store things cheaply or where to buy cheaply!!????

I ony freeze the meat parts of a meal - so I cook up a batch of bolgnese sauce, freeze individual portions of that, then cook spaghetti when we want to use some. Same with Chille and rice, Curry and rice, Mince and mash.....

I portion up into rectangular 500g marge tubs , and once frozen I transfer the contents into freezer bags. Takes up much less space, and means I can cook for 1, 2 or 3 (depending on how many people are here) without small portions or big portions/waste.

spendaholic

Well, I've done it. I spent less than £7 on shopping in my final week of a 5 weekend month, bringing the total for August to £162 - against a budget of £200. Whoo-hoo! I didn't think I would, I must say. :beer:

Bring on September ... :T

ifonlyitwaseasier

welcome all newbies and returners

am onto septembers budget now and hubby spent some last night, need to get his receipt off him later, i have now got him trained to get the CC points in mrT's

ioiwe

newlywed

Hello, I need to get back to this..... not that I ever stay in budget though :rolleyes:

Can someone put me down for £350 in September please? It's started already for me.

Frugaldom

Hi guys, I am declaring my August spending complete at £106.29 for the month including stock pile goods. Bit disappointed as my monthly average has leapt up to £123.56 this year despite all the home grown stuff.

Nykmedia total spend to date = £988.50 (Jan - Aug)

If I'm to come in on budget, I have only £211.50 remaining for the rest of the year. I'll need to set myself another challenge if I'm to manage that right through until New Year.

Fire_Fox

Your totals are very inspiring Nykmedia; I started the year budgeting £1200 each for two adults and that was a huge improvement on last summer's crazy supermarket runs. Perhaps you could eat even more vegetarian meals (I guess you must have some already) or have a re-read of Weezl74's adventures?

slowandsteady_2

Evening all, not posted for ages had such a busy month.

Have to admit that this month my GC is a FAIL :mad:

BUT have failed for good reasons not through recklessness, as i acquired my dads old freezer, its an upright one with about 6 drawers so obviously had to fill it :rolleyes: so i now have 3 freezers, this one, my normal fridge freezer and another stand alone one stood on top of my fridge freezer!

However i did recieve an unexpected cheque from tax credits for £120 and won £100 elsewhere so that came in very useful:j
I have batchcooked and hunted out whoopsies, froze veg and fruit that looks remotely sad, picked blackberries and generally been an excellent OS !

So i dont feel too guilty as i havent actually spent that much money out of my bank account on groceries as there is still a few quid in there before pay day on Friday, which i am not looking forward to as am on sick leave still so goodness knows how tight thats gonna be next month.

In addition I am starting a new job on 21st September if GP lets me go back and dont know yet when first pay day will be from that and its half the pay i earn now:eek: but a necessary compromise if im to regain full health!

However i digress, my apologies!

So despite my overspend ive got 3 full freezers stocked cupboards and an excellent stocked 'emergency' pantry!

Roll on September GC!

HUGE THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL GUYS RUNNING THREAD!:T

Moniker

What's up? No posts in the last five hours! Have I missed something?

Had to buy some orange juice this morning for DH as only had grapefruit juice which he can't drink because of medication he's on. I bought a 99p carton from the local Budgen so still on target to come in under budget. But I won't tempt fate by declaring today. It's going to be really wet tormorrow they say and I am not planning to go anywhere - but you never know!

I spent £2 on Saturday on a body cream that our poundshop stocks - they don't always have it in so I usually buy 2 when I see it. I also discovered that I have a lot of sample sized toiletries in my drawers(stuff you get as freebies or buy for holidays) and I am determined to use these up before buying any more new stuff.

Planted up some seed trays with winter veges today. I have had loads of runner beans from my pots and still have some carrots and spring onions to pull. Did anyone reply to my question about using chard? I have loads of the stuff which is a bit too mature to put in a baby leaf salad! Do you cook it like spinach? I don't want to waste it.

Off to catch up with some of the other threads. Will declare tomorrow and set target for September.

Night night folks.

Moniker

Notjusta_Mum

:jWell I did it, just. £296 spent against target of £300. It wasn't as hard as I thought it might be but I did have quite a bit in the freezer so this month will be harder. I have managed to get quite a few whoopsies, been given surplus veg from others and got windfall fruit free- this should carry on for September and I will try to freeze as much as I can.

I have found that I seem to spend less overall if I go shopping each week for everything I need for that weeks meals rather than doing a big internet shop each month and then just going for fresh stuff. I set myself a weekly target of £60 which allows a little bit for 'temptation' or bargains. I have also cooked as much as possible from scratch and followed so many of the tips you have all posted- :TThanks everyone, I know all are very busy so the time taken to post tips is appreciated, I have read them all even though I have not posted much.

I am going to aim for £300 for September and try to come in under budget so I can reduce the next month.

lambanana

Spent £30.83 at Mr.A yesterday bringing my total to £144.24...not quite ready to declare, I'll need another loaf before next Tuesday and possibly a little more cheese but have everything else and should come in just a smidge under budget :j