November 2009 Grocery Challenge

ifonlyitwaseasier

hello peeps

this month has gone a bit awry as i'm oinking (swine flu) so the budget has vanished as i need tissues and they have to be the soft ones!!

hope anyone else suffering is getting over it and hugs to the rest

ioiwe

millienjacksmummy

Updated my siggy - been really busy at work and home so not much time to surf - although have kept sepnding in check even though I did my last 2 weekly shops in morrisons! (usually lidl with a list) meal planning helps but I definitely spend more without a list (get more treats!)

Sam

ellemm

Updated my total by £3.06 spent in Lidl today on 3 x packs unsmoked bacon reduced from £1.29 to 69p :j just to add to the other 5 packs OH has stashed in the freezer :rolleyes:

Also bought a lovely healthy Basil plant for 99p. I bought one of these back at the end of April, potted it into a big pot and put it on my sunny kitchen window and it has cropped beautifully every since, although now past its best.

Tea tonight is lasagne with mince bought at weekend and mozarella & ricotta out of freezer.

Planning to put my feet up tonight and do nothing-for a change!:rotfl:

XSpender

Phew! Managed to avoid going to the shops today so another NSD. Stuck a loaf in the bread machine and should have enough milk to last the morning.

I will have to go to Mr S tomorrow though as there are no pots left and will get the few bits I need to last til the end of the month. Fruit I will get from Ald1 at the weekend.

DH is cooking beer butt chicken tonight, it smells wonderful, makes me wish I wasn't a veggie!

SunnyGirl

Another NSD here. I'm going for my weekly shopping tomorrow so I'll definitely be spending then The budget is coming along nicely and the veggie/low meat meals I've served up so far have had a good reception and requests to repeat them. The falafel mini burgers went down a storm along with HM wedges & beans and the onion, bacon & potato hotpot was gorgeous with buttered carrots with caraway seeds and peas last Sunday. Not sure about Thursday's Dhal (lentil) curry though I am throwing a small pack of chicken breasts cut into strips into it in the hope of tempting everyone :rolleyes:;):p

My dearest SIL is taking me shopping tomorrow as we're sorting MIL's flat out prior to her moving into a residential home tomorrow teatime. I love my SIL to bits but she is HOPELESS when it comes to food shopping. She's the one that ready meals were made for :rotfl: She buys ready beaten eggs in cartons from Tesco, frozen rice, ready made mash & cheesy mash and even, when her son was younger, frozen meals of chips, dippers & beans :eek: She'll get a shock coming round Aldi/Lidl & Asda with me for sure She's also one of the kindest people I know, would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it and we get on very well I just know I'll never get her into MoneySaving!

Hope everyone is getting on ok. I did the meal plan for the next fortnight this afternoon & can't believe its nearly December.

cw18

Spent £4.30 today, and am ashamed to admit this includes 99p for a pre-packed sandwich :eek:

I stayed up later than I meant to last night, and as a result struggled to get up this morning. It was then a rush to get ready and out in time for my 7am shift at work - and it was only when I was half-way there that I realised I'd not only missed breakfast, but also not packed anything for lunch By the time I got my lunch break (1pm) I was starting to feel very hungry, and don't finish until 4pm..... so I sneaked over to a competitor to get a butty, along with several items on my shopping list which were cheaper over the road

So, A!di gave me
cucumber - 39p
mushrooms (350g) - 85p
tomatoes (5 vine) - 59p
pre-packed sandwich - 99p

and after my shift finished I picked up the last items I needed from Mr M
iceberg lettuce - 98p :eek:
eggs - 50p

was chuffed with the egg purchase though, as I rarely use more than 4 from a pack - and end up wasting the rest of the box (we're not big egg eaters, and I don't bake anything that requires them more than a couple of times a year). So I normally try and find some in Whoopsie, and if they're free-range that's a huge bonus. No Whoopsie eggs today, but when I got to the egg section I discovered Mr M do a 4 pack of free-range eggs for just 50p, which I though compared favourably on price with the 99p for 10 (non free range) in A!di Must remember to check if they still have these next time I'm doing omelette for tea.


Tea actually went down well with DS.... he likes omelette (with ham, cheese and mushroom) once in a while, and will tolerate having lettuce and cucumber with it - but the last couple of times he's complained that (1) it's a summer meal, and (2) he's still hungry. So I also baked up some crusty rolls (part-baked ones I bought in Whoopsie towards the end of August, but still fine as vaccuum packed - cost me 8p for 6 rolls), and we each had a couple of those as well. (Now I need to get some soup out of the freezer for my lunch tomorrow, which I'll have alongside the last 2 rolls)

Souk08

Well I'm totally over budget but I love this challenge as it's my 1st month and it's really making me think. Basically I need to order more from my big online shop and then spend less through the month. Think I also need a proper wee freezer rather than a tiny ice box. Lessons learned.

scotsaver

helenjelly - hope the family are starting to feel better.;)

Didn't make it to the shops today after all but will definitely need to go tomorrow and promise to stick to list.;)

Has anyone heard how MRSMC is doing?

Night everyone.:D

Lady_Battenburg

Hi All

Just posting my last weeks shopping spend. Just to remind you its for 2 adults and a total of £140 for the month

Week 2
Aldi £14.35 including a £4.99 half price duck
Asda £7.58
Butchers £11.70
Freezer shop £1.49

Total spend Week 2 £35.30

Week 1 £28.75
Week 2 £35.30

Amount left for the rest of the month £75.95

Jevvers

Updated signature. Spent another £6.34 in tesco today (ingredients for twinks hobnobs and count rostov's bread... And erm a margherita pizza on half price offer, oops).

Anyway, I imagine we will end up going over budget by the end of the month BUT this is my first GC and it has really really made me think about my spending. I always thought I was careful but now I see I was wasting money left right and centre!

Bread is proving in the oven overnight (warm from roasting g veg earlier) and DS and I are going to make the hobnobs tomorrow.

Thanks everyone!!