August 2010 Grocery Challenge

guccigoo

hi had a delivery todayfrom mr t which came to £53.46, then also went to mr s and spent £9.10. Need to do my meal plan for the week as ive been a bit slack lately. Should only need fresh bread now for the week, i dont order that i prefer to get it myself.
off to update sig now

Sue14

Spent £20.84 on groceries in Mr T's today, actual bill came to more than that but some things aren't counted in the grocery budget, and I had £4.50 in vouchers. Got a few whoopsies that I was very pleased about, bread - 22p (was 74p), organic blueberries - 49p (was £1.99), raspberries - 39p (was £1.99), blackberries - 49p (was £1.49) and a pack of organic carrots - 29p (was £1.18), also got some herbs and spices ready to start cooking more from scratch.

angelatgraceland

Just been to Asda shopping-not by plan but had to drop dds friend off for her mum to collect her and its 10 miles from home so Asda carpark was a good location to meet up. Therefore I made the trip pay! Had some fish from the freezer tonight steamed then put in a reduced panini-strange I know but quick! Paninis were 3 in a pack for 10p tonight so I got 3 packs.
Made a flan with a 10p sponge flan case (from the freezer)and a tin of broken mandarins. Made the "jelly" for it with the mandarin juice and some arrowroot-never used that before. Total cost approx 45p.
Needed some new bath towels and the huge ones are on offer at 2 for £10 plus 20% off homeware. Also got binliners.
Also needed some cheap shower curtains £1 ones as they get yukky and also got a reduced top for myself for just £4 & undies also for £4.
Bearing in mind the above with the rest being food it came to just over £38. Cannot recall when I came out of either Asda or Tesco only spending that much. Ive now topped up with the ingredients I need for some more recipes from Weezls site. My bill included 2 chickens for £6 one of which Im cooking now. Going to break off one or 2 legs when cooked and cold and make a curry for tomorrow. Also soaking some chickpeas so it will be a chicken and chickpea curry. Got another butternut squash so hoping to make the tart tomorrow to eat on Saturday. Must not let dh get at the chicken as he will just "pig out" on it as it is and leave me little to work my wonders with and sorry to say but there is no educating him!
That is also why Im cooking it tonight-he goes to bed earlier than me so I can then sort out my chicken plan!
Hoping to update sig tonight.
.

Milly-Ann-Molly

Hi, this thread is great I started serious MSE saving about a week ago and would love to join in with the grocery challenges. I am inspired and amazed at some of the money saving you get up to. My biggest expense (outside of CC/loan repayments) are groceries and I often spend around £200 a week! I keep all my receipts and have a family of 4 (but two are pre-schoolers!) I do not have £800 a month for this though and use the OD and CC to subsidise the spends at mr T After 12 years this habit has to stop! I need to reduce to more like £250 on groceries per month. I will start slowly though and would like to aim for £350 for this month. I have already spent £259.34! I have a full freezer and cupboard though.
Are nappies / wipes / toiletries included as groceries (I buy EVERYTHING at the supermarket as I have 2 little ones and it is easier for me) or do I need to itemise my receipts into groups???
Thanks all ~ I am looking forward to saving money with you all ;j

seductivesmile

Hi All,
Just had a quick read thru and catch up! can i be lazy and cheeky and ask for a link to twinks hobnobs please? i am almost out of biscuits and i have a bag of oats that need using by end of aug (apparently). Still resisting the urge to go into a supermarket... so it has been 12 days... i feel like i should stand up... 'I'm Maz and I'm a shopping addict'
I have also had a good root thru my wardrobe, draws, cupboards, cases, loft etc and i have piles and piles of things to ebay and freecycle, so hopefully the money i save in this months GC, and the ebay (already sold clothes, old phone, few niknaks so have a paypal total of bout £80) funds will go towards a weekend away with the holiday voucher i have. . . there we are - motivation to avoid the supermarkets.

Is there any thread where if i pop a list of my freezer and cupboard contents there are kindly souls who would help me with some recipe ideas (its my first time living alone and usually buy and eat what i fancy on the way home from work) but i have loads of staples etc but need a little guidance... please

Have a good evening all - back to ebay to keep a listing!
Night
SS xx

greent

CatherineMM wrote: »

Are nappies / wipes / toiletries included as groceries (I buy EVERYTHING at the supermarket as I have 2 little ones and it is easier for me) or do I need to itemise my receipts into groups???
Thanks all ~ I am looking forward to saving money with you all ;j

Hello and welcome!!

The GC is for you to make your own. Personally I include pretty much everything at the supermarket (too much hassle for me otherwise ) but others have just a budget for food. Some include takeaways, some don't. SOme include eating out, some don;t. Some include alcohol, some don't...... It really is YOUR thing, Because everyone does things differently don't be disheartened by what looks like an amazingly low figure that someone has - they may not be including everything you include

Take it slowly - don't try tooooo big a step down money wise at first- you may be disheartened if you don't meet your 'target' (No-one fails, by the way - the mere fact that we're all trying to reduce/ control grocery spends is a Good Thing! Even if you go over target you probably spend less than before or if you weren't monitoring spends -so it's still a positive achievement!:beer:

There's lots of help and support on here - it's a nice place to come!:D

greent

seductivesmile wrote: »

Hi All,
Just had a quick read thru and catch up! can i be lazy and cheeky and ask for a link to twinks hobnobs please? i am almost out of biscuits and i have a bag of oats that need using by end of aug (apparently). Still resisting the urge to go into a supermarket... so it has been 12 days... i feel like i should stand up... 'I'm Maz and I'm a shopping addict'


Is there any thread where if i pop a list of my freezer and cupboard contents there are kindly souls who would help me with some recipe ideas (its my first time living alone and usually buy and eat what i fancy on the way home from work) but i have loads of staples etc but need a little guidance... please

The link is on the first page (always) post number 6 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/5392570#Comment_5392570

There is a storecupboard challenge thread that should be able to help you with using cupboard/ freezer contents up. I'm pretty sure that's on the OS board too...
ETA: here it is: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/20967

cw18

CatherineMM wrote: »

Are nappies / wipes / toiletries included as groceries (I buy EVERYTHING at the supermarket as I have 2 little ones and it is easier for me) or do I need to itemise my receipts into groups???

Totally up to you, as you set your own rules

My budget is just for food and drinks (no alcohol 'cos I don't drink any, and I have a seperate budgets for toiletries/cleaning and pet food), but lots of people seem to include all these in their GC budgets.

Milly-Ann-Molly

Thanks for the advice
I will still try for £350 this month. I do not drink booze, smoke or eat take away / restaurant food anyway as they are all cut backs I made years ago. Mostly nappies and toiletries are my biggies and I am trying to potty train the boys at the moment and have switched to cheapest brands available.
I love the recipe links at the top and will be doing the chicken and bacon pie friday. I will start buying whoopsie food for freezer too. I noticed some people use OOD stuff. I always throw things away after they have been open 6 weeks or on BB date etc...I will try to stop if I can. (mum made me this paranoid!)
I started to coupon clip too Until now I always used mr T vouchers but nothing else...now I search for the money off coupons everywhere.

laisbojar83

CatherineMM wrote: »

Hi, this thread is great I started serious MSE saving about a week ago and would love to join in with the grocery challenges. I am inspired and amazed at some of the money saving you get up to. My biggest expense (outside of CC/loan repayments) are groceries and I often spend around £200 a week! I keep all my receipts and have a family of 4 (but two are pre-schoolers!)

Hi Catherine,

I am also a newbie even tho Ive been following the challenge since January, from the other side hahahaha.
I googled once for cheap recipes and this website goodtoknow (couldnt post the link ) came up. It has recipes under a fiver. I have tried quite a few so far and they are delicious.. all of them!
I shop at sainsburys, and all I can swap for the basics brand I will.
Also, a day before you go shopping, draw a meal plan, check your cupboards, fridge and freezer.. then make a shopping list with ONLY what you need. Take only your money budgeted for that week, in my case 70.00. No cards, no wallet.. nothing. Ah, and your list, a calculator and a pen. Everything you put in your trolley, tick on the list and add on the calculator.. if you reach your budget thats it.. you wont be tempted to go extra. If you havent ticked everything on your list, try replacing one item or two, for a cheaper brand.
Thats how I do it. If you cook a big meal.. lets say cassarole or goulash, etc. Freeze some of it. You will then have an extra meal in the end of the week or when you dont feel like cooking. Are your kids fussy eaters? Mine are :mad: