November 2009 Grocery Challenge

Jevvers

DH and I braved a shopping centre with both kids today and treated ourselves to lunch out. We had to complain about something and the manager knocked us 1/3 off the bill! Also got given four Cadbury flakes (yum!) in another part of the centre so have saved three of them.

Not exactly a full-on OS trip as DH bought quite a few clothes but still less expensive than it might have been. Oh and I got to the carpark machine with 38 secs to spare before it went up another two quid!

No grocery spend yet today but will have to pop out either tonight or 1st thing as we have friends coming to lunch and need some veg and bread.

rosieben

Botany wrote: »

...
Can I post my running totals here, or is this allowed only for those people who are listed in the 'front page' of the thread?

Feel free to tell me not to post and I shall wait patiently for next month's challenge, no worries at all

Hi Botany, you don't have to be listed on the front page to do the challenge or to post on here; as Helen Jelly said feel free to post as often as you like.

jc2703

My first month and I've bombed out!! I've not overspent but i had lost track of my total - I think because i've been picking up christmas pressies with my shopping i've managed to confuse myself (trust me its easy done!)

But I am thinking about how i shop a lot better - i meal plan, the list shop and I was quite proud of myself today when shopping in Mr A's i picked up the 4 items of meat for £20 walked up the aisle ...thought about and realised not only did i not need them but I have no room in the freezer for them and.....(de de de de de de deeeerrrrrr ) I PUT THEM BACK!! go me !:T

Will try again next month but I think it will be january before I manage to keep a proper total!

Jx

mumto2monkeys_2

Well and truly over budget now. Was close to having a stuff it moment in the supermarket earlier and letting loose on the sweetie aisle, making a stop at the bakery section, and rounding off with Christmas glossy magazines. But I didn't. I behaved myself! I got bits for the week's lunches, milk and baby yogurts. £4 of my £19 overspend was on tins for the Lions who were at Mr Ts door, collecting to make hampers for the elderly.:A Does charity count?

December has to be better as I'm not at home for a large part of it.

Will say £250 for December. Best set the budget now. Pay-day Thursday. :j Have yet to decide if this will be funding the Christmas tips too...

Flat_Eric

Evening all. it has been a productive day :j I have four casserole meals for the freezer cooling on the side. And tomorrow I am making a huge curry with the leftovers intended for the freezer also. I might also make a butternut squash casserole tomorrow for the freezer too

I had Mr T deliver today and this went a bit wrong in that I over estimated my requirements for f&v!! and food generally. All has not been lost though because I have chopped the (peppers/leeks/lemons/red cabbage) up and stuck it in the freezer now rather than leaving them in the fridge/on the kitchen side to wilt away and eventually be binned. My cupboards are full to the brim to the extent that not everything will fit !

I prefer to have my shopping delivered as the nearest supermarket to me is a metro thus limited choice and pricier (as value options not available for example). nearest large supermarket about 40 mins away.

however I do a home delivery shop but find myself buying for the month except two weeks later, I find myself doing another home delivery shop and spending just as much again

As I have bought a diary specifically to record my food plans, I thought about having my shopping delivered every week. ok this means a delivery charge every week but overall I thought it would save me money as I would only buy what I needed. However as Im so well stocked at the moment, I dont think I need any more home delivery shops any time soon so will over the next few weeks eat up what I have.

Im working out my budget for december which is going to be small and I will post this soon.

EDIT. have worked out a weekly budget for the coming weeks including a budget of £0 ! for the coming week (given the delivery received today) and a total budget of £160 for December please many thanks :j

JayJay14

Just on to update sig - had a spin round Waitrose (£3.93), Aldi (£10.23) and Lidl (£3.39). Plenty of cola, veges and pack up biscuits.

Off to Costco tomorrow - no chance of being frugal there, but DD2 is coming with me and I have orders from DD1 and DS so it might not be too bad.

Have cooked a ham shank in the slow cooker today so now have rather more meat than I expected and have had some lentil/ham soup for dinner (with some lovely bread I bought in waitrose) It was really filling so have not bothered with pud but may have it for supper later.

I haven't realy got back into the swing since got back off hols - I hope that I can get sorted with Christmas cos so far all I have in stock is some tubs of sweets from Morrisons last week!!!

Of to make lists I think.....

cw18

Whoops!! Been spending again yesterday and today, and now have just £5.79 left of my budget for this month :eek:

Yesterday
B+M : Kn0rr Stock P0ts (beef, 8 pack) x 2 @ 49p each
Mr M : Pring!es Offer, so 3 tubes for £1.99
Mr M : Hula H00ps (beef, 7 pack) x 4 @ 60p each

Today
Mr M : R@gu Offer, so 3 jars for £1.65
A!di : Vanilla ice-cream @ 99p
B+M : Raspberry Jam @ 49p
B+M : Marmalade @ 39p
B+M : Chille con Carne sauce mix, 3 for £1
B+M : 'Not in a Pot' N00dles x 12 @ 29p (DS is reasonably happy - says they're not as good as the 'pot' version, but accepts they're a lot cheaper so he's lucky to have them )
B+M : Christmas pudding (for tonight/tomorrow!) @ 99p
B+M : Extra thick cream with Baileys @ 59p (to be used with Christmas pud)


Am considering going back to Mr M for another lot of R@gu sauces tomorrow (should then have enough pasta sauces for the whole of 2010 without having to revert to the value brand, which isn't a patch on the R@gu one!), so that could be the purchase that tips the balance between staying under budget and nudging over it - don't actually need much else for the rest of the month, and there's a good chance the remaining £5 would have covered that. (It may still do even with the extra R@gu, but it'll be a close call :rolleyes2 )

Not terribly concerned though, as my annual GC budget was over £19 in the black at the end of last month - plus this months spends have included £11.40 specifically for the Christmas holiday period, and over £20 on stuff that won't be used this month at all (stock piling offers for next month and through into 2010). My annual budget calculations show I have £24.99 to the end of this month before I have to start 'borrowing' from December, so I shouldn't need to do that

Botany

helen_jelly wrote: »

Hi - apologies for missing you off the front page, I'll add you on in a mo. Post your amounts as often as you like as alot of people find that posting helps to keep them focused or helps to show where they are over-spending. I'm off to update you now - Helen x

Helen you did not miss me, it's just that having been away for the first half of the month, I thought initially I'd skip the month entirely and then by the time I had GC-cravings (oh yes, there is such a thing :rotfl:) I was not sure if it was too late to be added.

Anyway, I'm here now, fighting The Thrifty Cause with all of you

Botany

Flat_Eric wrote: »

As I have bought a diary specifically to record my food plans,.

Hats off to you Eric :beer: I have never managed a food plan (yet!). I think that will be a challenge for the next year as far as I'm concerned, what with December being a month of temptation and anyway...... I'm putting it off as I don't think I am a good-enough OSer (again --- yet!). I have nothing but admiration for those of you who plan their weekly meals in advance and buy groceries on the basis of that plan. It has to be the way forward.... but how do I learn to do it GRRR :mad:

Julimk

Declaring at £148.60 for November


£100 for December please Helen.

I know this is a lot less than previously, only 2/3 of what I have set myself in the last few months, but next month is going to be really tight & have loads in, so I have signed up for the storecupboard challenge.

I based the previous £150 on spending £75 in the first week to stock up & first week’s fresh etc. then 3 weeks x £25 top-ups. So if I am going to use my stores I will not need to do the stock up, just 4 weeks x £25 top-ups.

Really I am hoping to come in a lot lower than this & have been working on the shopping list for Monday for the first week & currently less than £12, so here’s hoping.