October 2009 Grocery Challenge

lambanana

One of the ladies in work was telling me today how she told her husband of my horror about their food bills!! They do shock me though, I have no idea how they spend so much. She says it's because they buy all "extra special" and branded stuff. She was more shocked at how little we spend, probably the same in a month as they get through in a week!!

666paw

Another spend Saturday at L!dl for some bits and bobs. Hoping for not much else this week apart from grapes as i've gone throught 1kg since Saturday. Total so far does include a mixing bowl and new scales.
Had 11 NSD out of 17 and about 3/4 of budget spent. Must menu plan better, its fine for a couple of day then the rest of the week can't be bothered. OH doesn't want to know and when asked what he would like just tells me i'll have whatever. My little man is being awkward again with his food so its just a case of buying and trying to see what he likes, he's getting away with it as he's now 16 and getting a little wobbly on his feet and I worry like mad. (my little man is my cat).

Apologies for the long post, I do rabble on at times.

Good luck everyone

P.

Julimk

Just a small spend today. Only actually need milk, but Mr T still had the half price Butcher’s Choice sausages (£1.39 for 12), so I picked up a couple of packs, as both me & DD really like these & that is a good price for a tasty British sausage, well IMO.

On the monthly v weekly shop … I have found that it works for me to do a monthly big shop of the store cupboard stock up, non perishables, non food etc. and then a weekly top up. But I have enough in the weekly budget for special offers, whoopsies, things that have unexpectedly run out etc.

So the first week will be half the budget – up to £75, for the stock up & the first week’s fresh etc. Then I have £25 for each week, although I only need around £10 for fresh stuff. All the fresh meat & fish is bought as & when it is on special offer or whoopsies & then frozen to use in later months.

scotmumof3

Hi everyone not bad today spent 92p on reduced bread (2 kingsmill less than half price) on my way home from work. Hopefully won't need anything now for a couple of days x:rotfl:

lambanana

Spent 89p in Holland and Barratts on some bran, smallest they had was 750g so my muffin recipe which uses 50g had better be good!!

learn2cope

I decided to attempt a large monthly shop this month to see if it helps keep costs down. My delivery has just arrived and cost at whopping £110.28 but £25.80 of it was just pet food!

I used mysupermarket.com and have only bought own brand stuff so hopefully it should last us (fingers crossed). Obviously we'll have to get fresh stuff every week but that should be all we need.

Blairweech

Sigh, 5 days in and I have already spent over half my budget.
This is due to having done the shopping, and going to Pizza Hut on Sunday for dinner.
OH will probably want more alcohol this weekend, so that is more expense (not that I mind really, I like making him happy)

The roast chicken with herb stuffing went quite well, think I over-herbed it though. OH did not go much on gratin dauphinois, turns out he won't eat anything creamy/cheesy either :rolleyes: I am really struggling with what to cook for him, as he does not eat: pasta, cheese, anything in a creamy sauce, and don't even think about vegetables. Basically, he lives on steak and chips (not sure how his mother can afford that but hey ho). God help me if we ever move in together.

Anyway, just made bacon and sweetcorn chowder which will be this weeks lunches, and about to make sausage pasta bake for tomorrow nights tea. Could sling a lentil dhal in the slowcooker, but I only have one pepper which I want for a thai curry (this is the first time ever I have not had enough peppers)

OH and I are NOT going to go out to dinner this weekend, we will be having HM KFC Saturday, and Toad in the Hole Sunday.

Thankyou for all your comments about the organic thing, they are very helpful

JayJay14

DD2 asked me to meet her from work in Mr T so she could shop and then get a lift home (she also owed me a few quid so I agreed, I think it's the first time I have taken her shopping and come out with more money than I had going in:D) So I too have got a couple of packs of the Butchers choice sausage 12s and a couple of other bits.

I'll update my sig in the morning when I have had some sleep and my brain is functioning.

I will be in Mr A with DD1 tomorrow - she works there - so I should think a few more items will fall into my bag then. Hope I can stick to the list (so I'd better make one:rotfl:)

Off to bed, see you all tomorow.

Kerfuffle

Evening everybody,

I've had a very small spend of $5.33 today so have updated my siggy. :j

Tea tonight was Rainbow Trout that hubby caught a couple of weeks ago and which has been languishing in the freezer, so that's a nice freebie, and served with roasted potatoes and frozen green beans. Pud was left-over HM apple-pie and ice-cream so all in all a nice cheap meal. :T

Not sure what we're having tomorrow night, I've got a large tin of chopped tomatoes out of the cupboard and a tin of chickpeas, I have an onion and some garlic and the usual suspects of oregan and basil, and some chopped red pepper and some chopped green pepper in the freezer, and I have pasta. Do you think these on their own will produce a nice tasty tea? Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated

Thank you

BigMummaF

WHAT is going on with MrT?????? I shopped on Thursday from a branch 7 miles from us:-
value butter...50p, mission Mediterranean Wraps...£1:68 [on BOGOF], One 2L milk...72p. Yesterday I did a quick squizz around our local [it's not an express or anything like that] & the butter was 69p, the wraps--still on offer £1:78 & the milk £1 :eek: Both shops are of an equal size & sell clothes, electricals etc so it's not like an express vs. hypermarket type of thing
And talking about ethics--I try to support local business as much as is possible but got the shock of all times when bee-narners were £1:30 per kilo more in a greengrocers. As much as I'd like to stick two fingers up to the Big Boys, I really cannot afford--in monetary terms--to follow my heart Maybe if it was only me to consider things would be different, but times that sort of excess by 6 [the animal don't eat pet food ] & you're in deep doo-doo
I've decided to continue putting all my spends into the Grocery Challenge or I shall meet myself coming backwards if I try to be too clever so another thirty quid+ to add on to my total.