August 2010 Grocery Challenge

sofababe

After 2 no spend days:D, I'm going to be spending today:(
I need milk, cat biscuits, razors and I've got a pal coming round 2mrw evening so a bottle of wine as well. Also I need some fruit but the whole lot should be under £10 and another NSD 2mrw hopefully:j

MadamMim2013

Hoping to have a NSD.. got a "Great Outdoors" play day at our Primary school so going to pack a picinic and have some fun! :cheesy:

Gintotmelinda

Good morning everyone-planning an NSD as neck of lamb going in slow cooker today with our own carrots (grown in big pots).

Winchelsea-the new L**l is in south Bristol just off the big Hartcliffe roundabout near where the new hospital is going to be built but the 2nd exit past it on the roundabout. It's not far from the Brislington one -follow the ringroad signs past T***o and across the Wells Rd up Airport Rd towards the roundabout I mentioned. I don't live far away.......;)

Take care

Gintot

meanmarie

Spent €11.20 to-day on 8 chicken fillets, 4 pork chops and 4 huge carrots....not sure I want to do this small shop nearly every day so will try to last to weekend and then do a big shop which will last for at least a week.

Marie

katenut

Please put my target down as £150 for Katenut in August, thanks!! Was well within budget last month, will probably go lower next month but got some big spends coming up on meat from local farmers this month I love paying prices lower than the supermarkets, and knowing our food has only travelled a few miles up the road - it tastes all the better for it!

greent

NickJW wrote: »

Wow greent! Can I come and raid some of your 'shop'?

You must have one helluva big freezer for all of that - I'm envious.

lol! I just have an AMerican style fridge freezer - and one of the smaller ones at that - it's well packed, though!:p There are also 6 of us - and I know I have a bit of a 'thing' about food - when I was small we lived week to week and come payday there was no choice in the flat and we'd have run out of a lot of things. Lots of food is my 'comfort blanket'/ hangup from my childhood!!:o

I dread to think how much stuff people have who have 2 (or even 3!) freezers.....:)

spendaholic

Phew, I can't believe how many pages I've just had to scroll through. This challenge gets more and more popular every month. I've only really been able to keep on top of things and within budget for the past couple of months, but for the newbies I thought I'd throw in my 2 favourite tips - i.e. what works for me.

1. Make a shopping list. Do it as you go along. As you take the last jar/bottle/packet out of the cupboard and open it, write one down on the list. I keep a pen and a pad in the kitchen next to the fridge and I update it as I go along. Then, before I go shopping, I do a quick sweep of the fridge, pantry and cupboards and add anything else to it that I haven't picked up during the week or that lasts a bit longer than if you've opened the last one. AND THEN STICK TO IT. When I don't, that's when I go over budget. My shopping list works a treat in unfamiliar supermarkets where I'm less likely to "ooh, I'll just chuck that in as well, cos I'm bound to need it at some point ...". EDIT: Oh, and it's ok to cross things off the list if you find one shoved to the back of the cupboard after all.

2. Write a meal plan. It can be for a week at a time - but keep them so you gradually build up to a month or 6 weeks - or a straight-up month. Then check through your cupboards to see what you have to buy (and put it on your list), or see what you can make use of instead and change the meal plan to suit for that day. But remember, the meal plan isn't cast in stone. Yesterday I should have had bangers, mash and baked beans for tea, but I just didn't fancy sausages. So I had a big bacon, mushroom and cheese sandwich instead - not very healthy, granted, but it's what I fancied so I had it. Guess what I fancy today. :cool:

Eggs, grandmothers and sucking DO spring to mind, but this is for the newbies or those that have struggled, or are struggling, like I did.

Anyway, ahem - last week's bill ... not very good. My budget is £40 a week (going down to £35 from next month I'd hoped), and I spent £44.05. That's £4.05 over, and with 6p in the savings pot, it means I'm now over budget by £3.99. :sad: Ah well, onwards and upwards. Let's see if I can get this week's to come in under £36.

mommychaos

this is my first month on the challenge and prob picked a bad one as oh mom and bf birthday but really shocked the amount of little spends i do here and there everyday and not even realise!! I think a ll the newbie advoce is really good so thanks as i need all the help i can get!! Am off to start the pen and pad in kitchen thing no as OH works shifts and we often buy the same stuff as both realise we run out but haven not told other we going to get it! hence our eu margarine and milk mountain in the fridge! have been trying really hard and have made cupcakes as gifts as well for friends as they really love them (could just be pretending ha ha) and better than buying cakes etc all the time to take round peoples houses. Am challenging self tom with NSD as taking my guide unit to fusion centenary celebration and out from 06.30am to 10pm and trying to take enough food to last me for the day as usually end up spending a fortune on food wish me luck!

EvieSaver

Just done my first supermarket shop for August. Spent £70.03 (target was £85) so really pleased. Especially with my 50p pampers nappies - they were already on a special offer plus I had 2 vouchers - great, even cheaper than the value ones I normally use.
Also has anyone noticed that it is now cheaper to buy quite a few products as two small packets rather then one big one? eg, Dove soap, Porridge, Teabags, Cornflakes just to name a few. Scottish porridge oats is 19p cheaper to buy two 500g bags rather than 1kg bag and has been like this for about a year now. I got a great deal a couple of weeks ago buying 3 packets of 4 toilet rolls rather than my usual 12 pack and saved 85p (same brand). Is this another supermarket trick to make people spend more? - I expect most people do not have time to check all the prices and would automatically choose the larger packet assuming it to be cheaper. Also the size of 4 pack frozen breaded fish has been reduced to 500g rather than 540g last time I bought them - no reduction in the price though! OH spent £6.46 at local shop too so now at £76.49/£85 for the week

spendaholic

mommychaos wrote: »

have been trying really hard and have made cupcakes as gifts as well for friends as they really love them

That's a lovely idea. Especially as I've just discovered "cup cakes" (as opposed to fairy cakes or muffins or buns) myself and think they're much nicer to look at than the others, and I have this lovely violet liqueur for flavouring and colouring too, which makes the violet cup cakes particularly nice. One of my recipe books has chocolates, toffees and other sweets in too, so I want to try some of those as nice little stocking fillers for Christmas. Good luck!

EvieSaver wrote: »

Also has anyone noticed that it is now cheaper to buy quite a few products as two small packets rather then one big one?

Funny you should mention that. I noticed it for the first time this weekend just gone and I'll be watching out for it in future too. Thanks for the heads up.