May '06 Grocery Challenge

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

This is my first month doing the challenge so was hoping for some advice please. Would it be better to draw up a menu for the full month, if so do most meals freeze ok I'm not a great cook but perhaps could manage cottage pie, chilli, oh dear what else can I make that will freeze? Do you put in small containers and just defrost what you'll be using that evening? Honestly I'm so useless in the kitchen - where's my mum - help :rotfl:

troll35

How often do you go shopping? I only do a weekly plan because I go shopping every weekend. When you plan to have things like cottage pie, bolognese etc make double and freeze half. You don't have to start the month making everything you think you'll need to freeze:eek:

If it helps this is my plan for this week
Saturday - HM toad in the hole
Sunday - Gammon joint (huge- was on 2 for £5 at my butchers) left overs used for lunches.
Monday - HM beef bourgignon & HM profiteroles :T for pud (my mum's birthday)
Tuesday - HM shepherds pie (using 1/2lb mince)
Wednesday - HM spaghetti Bolognese (using other 1/2lb mince)
Thursday - HM stew (from the freezer made 2 weeks ago)
Friday - Fish and chips from the chippie;)

Keep it simple to start with and you'll pick it up very quickly.

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

Thanks so much for this. I normally shop, sorry my DH normally shops each Saturday. I stay well away because I normally go way over budget so it's best he does with my list, he sticks to it, me on the other hand, I would buy out the whole shop :rotfl:

I did start with a weekly menu planner but half way through the week when I get home from work with a 3.5 yr old and 16mth old it's all I can do to stick chips in the oven I'm so tired. But making a few dishes at the start of the week might sort out that problem such as stew, cottage pie and chili. What do you reckon?

fizzel81

I done it !!!!!
went shopping to Asda last friday and only spent 54.35 this included baby wipes etc ,special washing machine cleaning liquid which was 2.50 a new bodium coffee thing for dh (just under 7.00), some new mini tumblers cause they looked good (red and blue) and a plastic storage box.
The best thing is all we need this week so far is milk and will need some fresh veg as last weeks is looking a little tired in the fridge
ok so this month wont be a true reading as such as we have quite a bit in freezer and cupboards to use up
Aiming this week to continue useing contents of freezer so should stick to budget quite easily, it will be when the cupboards and freezer run out that i shall know truely how well i am doing

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

Thank you all so much for your help, advice and wonderful meal ideas. I managed to get my grocery bill under £45 this week and if I've done my homework most of it should last next week too

I rummaged through my books and came up with a number of meals that I can make and freeze for next week or make something different from the left overs. Why didn't I do this before it makes so much sense.

So last night we had HM potato and mince pie, with the left over mince I made a pot of stew which has been frozen for a dinner next week. Tonight I'm making turkey bolognese and with the left over turkey mince I'll be making turkey and mango rissoles for a dinner next week - oh I'm so proud of myself -nothing like blowing my own trumpet :rotfl:

sarah0404

Just reporting progress so far.... I got my bank statement for April and altogether I spent £340.98 on food and takeaways!!!!!! I only started my budget half way through the month though.

I was aiming for £200 for 4 weeks for a family of 5. The £200 includes shampoo, cleaning products, basically anything that can be bought from the supermarket. I'm on week 4 now. Here's what I've spent:

Week 1 - £124.62
Week 2 - £ 26.65
Week 3 - £ 42.96

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Total £194.23

So that leaves me with a grand total of £5.77 for this week!!!!! I don't think I can do it. I still have quite a few things in the freezer that I made at the start of the challenge. And I've got plenty flour and yeast to make bread. Included in the weekly totals that I worked out was my OH having lunch at McDonalds one day :mad: , and buying his lunch out of Tescos on another day. Plus £4.44 that we spent in Tescos restaurant yesterday. So if I take that from my misc. budget I can add an extra £10 to this weeks food budget. £15 still seems really tight for a weeks worth of food. And I need to buy soap powder. (or maybe I could just do no washing for a week? :j ) Can I do it??? I'll report back next week!

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

And I need to buy soap powder. (or maybe I could just do no washing for a week? :j ) Can I do it??? I'll report back next week![/QUOTE]

You could buy soda crystals instead of washing powder it only costs about 50p for a large packet. You can also use a drop of vinegar for the dark washes.

Tell the OH to sign up as a mystery shopper with https://www.gapbuster.com and he can have all the McDonalds he wants and earn a fiver for each one too

tw0906blue

I have been doing a budget for a couple of months now - but not realised there is help on here. :j
I have been taking out £50 for the 2 of us each week and shopping at the farmers market - but I need to travel around the West Midlands area as the markets tend to be monthly - best is fortnightly in Stratford upon Avon to which I travel half an hour. I must sya though we will be glad when a more varied range of veg comes into season!
We put the money on the top - whatever we have in change that is and use that - once it's gone, it's gone! It also helps us keep track of what we have and what we can afford. :rotfl:
I confess to you all though that this budget went completely to pot over Easter what with visitors and weak wills!
But back on track now, so here, for what it is worth, is my contribution to ideas for cheaper eating.
Make stock from all bones! Use this to squeeze the last bit of goodness out of them. Boil up with celery stick, carrot, onion some mustard or pepper corns - build your stock cupboard up week by week. Salt and black pepper.
Grow herbs - they add flavour you can use them in loads of recipes.
Invest in a small bay tree - nothing showy, go to the local WI market - you will get plants/herbs there at really reasonable prices and great advice for growning/tending them!
Make soup! using the stock or water try combinations. Look at the packets of the "Covent Garden" soups and get some inspiration. Soup freezes excellently. Put it in ice cube trays then you can use as much or as little as you like.
Cut down the amount of meat you eat but buy higher quality. this way you get more taste and be more satisfied after eating.
Eat pulses. They fill you up and last a long time in the stomach. So you wont get hungry so quickly. Side effect is wind - so go easy. LoL :rotfl:
I have dug up some of the lawn and planted crops! Nothing too ambitious, but bought some plants from the farmers market. You can grow most things in containers - but you will need to water and feed these....My mum was very successful with potatoes in a plastic pot last year. I got loads of courgettes and aubergines, cucumbers and herbs.
Sound a bit nerdy don't I? Sorry, but truly beleive we are much healthier and losing weight to boot. So can't be bad.

Once you get started it become addictive.

Good luck!
:T :T :T

sarah0404

Oh well. I blew my budget. spent £21 today, so £6 over my budget. But i did buy some stewing steak that I'll stick in the slow cooker. It should make about 3 portions so OH can take it to work for his tea during the week. I'll probably need to get some more milk and maybe cereal in the week too. I'll try to stretch it till next week. I'm not sure if my budget is maybe a bit too tight or maybe I'm just not organised enough.

I'm going to take stock of whats in the cupboards and freezer and make a new meal plan for the next 4 weeks.

wanna-be-mortgage-free - thanks for the tips. I ended up buying a 1kg pack of Smart Price washing powder. It cost 50p. I'm very stingy with powder so it should last a good while. Thanks for the Gapbuster link. I will be filling out an application form for both me and my OH asap!

tw0906blue - I don't think you sound nerdy! I'd like to buy a bay tree. Last year OH agreed to a small patch of lawn being dug up for a vegetable patch. This year there is only a tiny strip of grass left! :T I've got peas, potatoes, fruit trees, lettuce, herbs, spinach, rocket, loads of stuff. I can't wait till I can actually harvest some of it. I hope that it will make a dramatic drop in my food budget if i am supplying all my own salads and veg.

Boswell_2

I don't really know whether to be pleased with myself or not. We went away for the weekend to family so I didn't do my usual Saturday shop however our hostess ran out of a couple of bits so I popped out to get them. I also added in a bottle of wine for Sunday lunch and another bottle to have when we got home with a friend who cat sat for us. Total spend £18.96.

Yesterday I went to do my usual shop and thought I shopped more consciously than I would normally do. The bill came to £78.36 and when I add that to the £12.80 organic box delivery and around £5 for the milkman it brings my weekly total to £96.16 (not including the £18.96). This is only £8.65 less than my weekly average for last year.

Still, allowing for the organic box and the milkman, there's £169.50 left for the rest of the month so it's definately do-able. I probably just need to plan the list a bit better next time. I wonder if I can get away with not shopping again until the 20th May. I think I'll aim for that.

I did buy a gardening mag because it had an article on allotment gardening and our veg patch is probably about the size of an allotment. I think I'll join Sarah0404 in planting - I'm not too late to start things off am I. We have a greenhouse so I could get things going in there. Is there a MSE gardening section? Off to look.