June 2010 Grocery Challenge

Spiggle

Hi all,

I just popped on to update my sig with another NSD.

Welcome Tifa :wave:, the July thread will be up and running during the next week I would think so keep an eye on the posts in here for a link. In the meantime you could if you wanted to start preparing by doing a stocktake of your cupboards, fridge and freezer, do a meal plan if that's would suit you and have a look at where you think you may be 'getting out of control'.

Don't be too hard on yourself in the first month and set an unachievable budget for yourself as it can be disheartening if you don't get within it. Also spend some time thinking about what you want to include in your challenge, just food, include toiletries and household things like cleaning materials, pet food (if you have any pets), alcohol, etc. It will be your challenge so you decide what you're going to include.

The best advice is when you go shopping take a list, stick to it and make sure you keep your receipt for totalling your spends. Second best advice is don't go to the shops unless you need to go and then only buy what you need. Try to be organised enough to at least check the cupboards, fridge and freezer before you go on a 'need to' shop so that if you need milk, do you also need butter (or might you in two days time) for instance. That way you will cut down the opportunities to lose control in the shops and buy the unnecessary items.

Anyway, sorry that now looks like a lecture, my apologies. The important thing is to join in, keep posting on here everyone is very supportive and will help you as much as they can.

Well as usual I've lengthened what was to be one liner into an essay again, sorry.

Take care all,
Spigs

Keiss_21

ralloctiger wrote: »

good morning
I am hoping to join this thread for july. What I muddled about is this budget purely food or all household stuff cos I tend to budget for everything in one shop.....
xx

Hya ralloctiger, I record my spends in a spread-sheet, with food and household totals kept separate, though I do add them up to give my GC total for here....this includes all food and drink, except meals out (a rare occurance!), and all household/toiletry spends, including dog food and stuff for growing fruit/veg in the garden. Good luck with getting your spends under control.

Had 5 NSDs since Saturday, with batteries and Stardrops from Wilkos our only spend so far this week...will be spending tomorrow though!

Have blown this month's budget out of the water, though have enough bread flour for many month's-worth of bread...16kg in weight...:eek: Can't wait to use it! Also went to the butcher last Friday for meat for Father's Day tea on Sunday. Got some wonderful rolled rib-roast, oak-smoked dry-cure back bacon and some Glos. Old Spot sausages (sublime!!!)...spent £45 :eek::eek:...but still less than half of what we would spend if we had all gone out for a meal. Only had half the beef for tea, and had half the bacon and sausages for lunch...with really nice HM white rolls. Finished off the sausages tonight, with French toast (left-over heels of loaves) and veg...yum!! Makes you realise just how wonderful "real" meat is!!!

Going to be doing some clothes shopping tomorrow, been trying to do this for a year...so watch out cc!!

Must stop now and get some more sewing done..another birthday pressie...with yet anothere to get done before Saturday!! :eek:

Have a great (and frugal!) weekend everyone.

Billie-jo

spendaholic wrote: »

I use tinned fruit in jellies and at the bottom of trifles (strawberries, raspberries, fruit cocktail, pineapple chunks), so making a "coloured" trifle - using red jelly and pink custard for red fruit and so on. I stone tinned cherries and put them in a pie, and I make flans with mandarins. I'd also make pineapple or pear upside down cake with a cherry in the middle, and I have a cut-and-come-again cake that uses tinned apricots or apples. I'll also have tinned fruit with jelly or cream or ice cream as a pudding. And if it's tinned in juice, I have the juice for breakfast. (Syrup goes down the drain now but when I didn't have to watch my weight I would have drank that too.)

Thanks for the ideas - I try not to do to many puddings as DH is diabetic and we could both do with loosing a few pounds. However having said that I dont want to waste them all so will be doing the pineapple upside down cake on Sunday. Havent made this since school ohhhh about (cough cough) years ago
I did use another tin today when daughter came round. We sat outside eating pears and ice-cream. DH wasnt at home

Have finished my June GC but still need to add up one or two bits so will update hopefully tomorrow or over the weekend.

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather.

savvyshe

Hi,
Just updated signiture and June's total amounts to £212,09:mad: Not good but hey ho will try harder next month!! Just paid off Laptops at £800 and £365 off credit cards so feeling a bit more positive, A good way to go yet to being debt free but no pain no gain.;)
Don't know how I'm going to work till i'm 66 I have plantar facillitas (my spelling is shocking that's sore feet) and I'm struggling now at 53 so God knows how I will cope,. I'm on my feet all day and work with young children so i'ts not an easy job, Thinks I will have to buy a few more lotto tickets!!:rotfl: Had 4 NSD Days this week,:D but will have to do a big shop on Saturday as both freezers are nearly empty and the grocery cupboards are bare. Will wish you all goodnight and post Julys amount later. Savvyshe x

angelatgraceland

We have been doing well from the garden. So many cucumbers that Im making cucumber and apple chutney tomorrow. Also lots of letucce and mixed lettuce. Dug up the spuds today grown in big tubs. Spun off the honey from oour bees. Got my first sting ever last night-didnt know anything about it untilmy leg started going hard! We have been keeping them for 5 years or so , and never got stung. We think it crawled up my leg and got trapped. Nowhere near as bad as I imagined-far less than a wasp sting!
Shame we have to buy tomatoes at the mo-we should have plenty later. Made potato salad the other day-just a simple one with lighttly boiled pots(diced)onins and mayo then added chopped chives from the garden. Made loads for a few pence. Going to experiment with an egg boiler tomorrow which I inherited brand new from my dear Mum. Not used it in the 4.5 years of her passing-its about time I did as we boil lots of eggs. Found all the parts and instructions eventually! Did a coop shop tonight and treated us to bogof magnums(the original flavour)for £3. Nearly bought all sorts of things but resisted. I "handle" them and replace them! Treated myself to yet more shoes the other day but I don't feel bad about that as I find it difficult to find comfy ones and I actually found a pair of toepost sandals which are comfy and this is the first time in all of my life(and I'm not young)also got some wedges(shoes not spuds)-well I loved them when I was 16 and wanted to do it again. I declare myself a recycled teenager!

recovering_spendaholic

Good Morning everyone! I have enjoyed catching up with the thread and really envy those of you who are eating so well from theier gardens. I always say that I am going to plant loads of veg but get put off because of the amount of snails and slugs we always seem to have in our garden. Anyway I am going to give it a try and over the weekend plan to sort out some tubs (I've got loads in the shed) and plant up some herbs and salad stuff and see how I get on. I have just totalled up for June and have completely blown the budget and I am so angry at myself! It started when I bought a load of stuff for making cakes for DD1's fundraiser and that brought me over my limit and then I just went into my normal "Oh you've blown it now so start again next month" mentality. Anyway I have bulging freezer, cupboards and fridge so am DETERMINED to do better next month. I wasn't going to declare a figure for June but think I should - it's £555:eek::o. Can you put me down for £400 for July please?

slowandsteady_2

Hi everyone,

well i have to confess i lost track of my spending a lot earlier in the month, which isnt like me, just have had a lot going on, i know i usually go over my budget, but this month i havent a clue where im up to, so for june im going to have to skip declaring because i havent a clue!

Its payday today, so im just doing the maths and will then work out a target for july, and post on the July thread when its up and running.

Thanks to everyone who runs the thread xx

skilly

morning all,well thats done it now gone over £319.74 and still 6 days to go !!!!.went shopping with dh at a mr t extra i did say to him when he asked if i needed any think from there i said nooooooo reallly.and i was doing really well with 16 nsd as well .

tessie_bear

hi...just got back from looking at the bargains in the coop....they have an offer on 5 for a tenner on party type foods...quiche pizza samosas dips...well all reduced to about £1 so good for a football gathering i also got some veg but not the fruit we need so ill have to do that later

we are either having egg and chips or a bbq for tea havent decided yet...have to check charcoal levels

hope everyone is doing well with their budgets
tessa

greent

Morning all!

I, too, am envious of those whose gardens are producing lots. So far we've only had salad leaves and the usual herbs. We do have french beans, runner beans, courgettes, 1 aubergine plant, tomatoes, chillis, peppers, onions, squash, potatoes, apples and pears in the garden - so I'm hopeful they'll get there eventually!!

In the meantime I went to aldi today and spent £24 in there - the majority of which was on f&v - 2 punnets cherries, 1 punnet grapes, 1 punnet nectarines, 2 bags apples, 1 bag pears, new potatoes, 2 packs toms, 2 pks peppers, mushrooms, carrots, 2 cucumbers - we're fairly sorted at the mo!!! Good job too - I'm up to £468, so only a wee amount left -but we have stacks in and I'm hopeful of just needing milk, bread and a Sunday paper before July!

Think I might do weezl's carrot cake and sow more salad leaf seeds today

greent x