August 2010 Grocery Challenge

gunsandbanjos

First week not gone too badly, spent £35.xx although i haven't counted the takeaway we had midweek as it was a once in a blue moon treat/necessity as DD was in hospital for surgery and after spending 8 hours in a hospital and not getting home til after 5 i couldn't be faffed cooking!

Spent £5.25 today and have a delivery from Waitrose booked for tomorrow.

notjustlaura

Sorry to hear about your DD's surgery, gunsandbanjos - I hope she's recovering well?

I'll get a £15 delivery from Mr S (got free delivery voucher or I'd be going to get it instead of having it brought!). Payday is the 15th so I'll be sorting out my pennies and setting an August/Sept grocery budget then.

Laura

gunsandbanjos

notjustlaura wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your DD's surgery, gunsandbanjos - I hope she's recovering well?

She is absolutely fine, we are well into double figures for the number of surgeries she has had so we're used to it!

Penny-Pincher!!

August for me starts on the 15th, so can I please be put down for £50pw which will include diesel?

Thanks

PP
xx

EvieSaver

CupOfChai wrote: »

Gah, moment of weakness yesterday brings me up to £40.73, on an expensive train station chocolate bar. I didn't even need it!

Going to redouble efforts and try downshifting on a few more things as well. I'm a bit nervous of downshifting too far because I feel it's even more a waste of money to buy something then not use it because I think it is disgusting, added to the fact when I've tried value range things in the past I often have found I really could tell the difference and didn't like them. However I'm discovering there are products that actually taste perfectly nice and not of horrors. Also discovered the Food Shopping and Groceries board has some great threads in it where people have already tried things and said what they're like, so I'm using that as a guide too.

I completely agree with you that some value items are horrible. I shop at Mr T and would not recommend Value Krispies, cornflakes or baked beans. Although I do like Value weetabix, custard creams, nappies, wet wipes, tinned tomatoes, puffed crisps, cling film, creme brulee, 5kg bag of potatoes, tinned kidney beans, orange squash and oven chips. Although everyone has different tastes but thought it might help you. I just started with trying one new value item a week.

Good luck.

cw18

EvieSaver wrote: »

I completely agree with you that some value items are horrible. I shop at Mr T and would not recommend Value Krispies, cornflakes or baked beans. Although I do like Value weetabix, custard creams, nappies, wet wipes, tinned tomatoes, puffed crisps, cling film, creme brulee, 5kg bag of potatoes, tinned kidney beans, orange squash and oven chips. Although everyone has different tastes but thought it might help you. I just started with trying one new value item a week.

Good luck.

The Krispies are fine for Krispie Cakes though
Not tried the cornflakes or puffed crisps (not something I've bought regardless of make)
Value Weetabix the family wouldn't eat (I don't like any as a cereal), but fine for making Weetabix Bread/Cake with.
I prefer the value Custard Creams to brand names - they seem to dunk into my tea better
Tinned Toms and Kidney Beans are fine
No-one would eat the value Baked Beans as a side dish (though I bought/buy them for meals I cook beans into)
Orange cordial is so-so, but I drink so little I rarely have any in.
Pure orange is fine, and the only one I've bought (excluding Whoopsies/special offers) for years
I can't stand the value oven chips though, as they seemed to dry out before they turned golden.
I find the value potatoes don't often last very long, so now I don't use many (having dropped from a household of 5 to just 2 of us, and dropping again to just me next month) it just isn't worth my buying this quantity at a time.
Not tried the cling film, but the kitchen foil is good enough

Brown sauce was a definite Yuck (one thing I stick to the big - 2 lettered - name for), but the kids coped with the tomato ketchup when we went away on self-catering holidays (and store own label for home use).
Vinegar is vinegar in my eyes, so another item I only buy in the value label.
Won't touch the tea bags - far too weak for me and I ended up using 2 (or 3) to a mug, so didn't work out as saving me anything
Value dried milk has been fine for bread making (and the odd emergency use in a brew)
Value tinned tuna is fine for cooking with, but I found I got an odd aftertaste if I used it in mayo for butties/jacket spuds
Only ham I buy (unless I get Whoopsies) is the value cooked ham - it's also DS's preference anyway
Can't stand the chilled value sausages, but the frozen ones go down well (Mr A's are acceptable, but Mr M's almost got binned!)
Value fish in butter sauce has been on my shopping list for years, but is now getting pricey (and they currently have an offer on cod in butter sauce which makes it cheaper - so I bought that on Saturday instead )
I found value pasta a bit it and miss (with the spaghetti a definite miss), so now tend to stock up on others when on offer
Value rice is fine
DS prefers the Mr A cheap curry sauce to Mr T's (and DD said the same when I saw her on Saturday)
DS wallops down the value malt loaf
Can't stand the value gravy granules (too greasy)
Tried the value toilet and kitchen rolls - will never get the toilet rolls again, and the kitchen rolls only if desperate for some when short on cash and no other cheap options available

guccigoo

cw18.. i buy the mr t value toilet rolls and find them great, i bought asda value ones last week and there like sandpaper, still got about 10 left to use :eek:, back to buying the mr t ones when there gone

nsd today but yesterday i popped to mr t and spent £7.23 on bits and bobs

cw18

it wasn't the texture we didn't get on with, rather the thickness/absorbency of the sheets. Everyone must have used twice as much, and I kept ending up having to deal with blocked toilets :eek:

guccigoo

cw18... they prob wouldnt be much good if someone had the gary glits :rotfl:but found them ok otherwise

Long_tall_sally

Found my receipt from Farm Foods from the other day so have added that onto my total plus a little spend of £5 today in the Co Op on reduced bread, onions, F & other veg. Ooogh I am already close to my target!