August 2010 Grocery Challenge

monks

angelatgraceland wrote: »

Why are you "paying" for delivery??? There is usually a code somewhere. Do look for one. Who are you shopping from? Asda? Tesco? Delivery=cost of 8 meals on Weezls site!(maybe up to 20 actually if you pay a fiver)
I went in Tesco last night as I had to take my son to a wedding party 10 miles away so made the most of the fuel. I got a fantastic selection of drastically reduced food for £16.01. French bread 6p trout 19p cobbler fish x 3(2 in each bag) 15p each 4 steaks 74p total donuts 10p each bananas-15p per bag-the list is endless! I didnt NEED any of it I admit but it really was moneysaving! Separated the steaks and the fish and bagged them up and froze them. DH had the trout tonight. Fridge is full of bits to use up-cooked some fresh burgers for a snack tonight-they need eating up fast. Thawed out a pack of beef mince so I must make something with that tomorrow also. Total grocery spend for this week is £40. Truly amazed this week!:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j

well done on finds ,remember last year mum turning up with loads of reduced fruit and veg from tescos for me .£36 worth all for the massive price of £3.60 .She also bought the same amount for herself and nan. Never been so lucky since but live in hope x

Milly-Ann-Molly

I went over the set budget already I just spent £55.51 at approved f**d website...Some of it is bulk though (to save me going back soon and save postage) so I should be good for some things for months now :j It is still alot less than the amount I spent last month.

Flat_Eric

I have been missing in action for several months and don't think I have managed one month where I have kept all my receipts and noted their totals ! I know I have gone over budget this month and its not even the end of the month yet. Home delivery shops from T&&co have seen to my budget going pear shaped. I like the freedom home food shopping gives you but the total creeps up and up and it can't just be that Im ordering too much

Im pleased with myself because I was really tempted to have a home delivery shop this weekend but i resisted and made do with what I have in. Tomorrow's meal is already planned. chicken is defrosting and naan bread and onion bhajis lurking in the freezer ready and waiting ! (chicken and black bean tomorrow for tea)

Only thing I will need to buy will be a pint of milk ! I will avoid the local supermarket and throwing stuff in my trolley just for the sake of it 1! I will be thinking about my budget for September but know I must try to use up what i have so may spend some of tomorrow (having sorted my finances today) planning a few weekly food menus

muffin_man_7

went to f foods £5 and mrA £30. also local shop over a few days £10. means my target of £120 spent and still got 11 days to go will need bread milk and a few other items before 31st will keep it as low as possible as this is my second month on the challenge i still think i'm doing ok maybe need to rethink a few things STOP GOING TO LOCAL SHOP F FOODS CHEAPER 2MILK IN FF £1.5 ONLY 1 IF GET BY US I ONLY GET 1 FOR THAT MUCH
Little shops are only ok if someone poorly if not WALK TO TOWN IT'S CHEAPER !
Hope to still end august spending less than july that was a disaster nearly double my target must try harder.
Might even consider an online shop i got a txt from mrA saying i've got £10 off online order great i thought what's the catch It's split over 2 orders as long as I spend £50. each order i got free delivery too only prob is delivery code ends on 31 aug and ive spent up this month but if i could manage 1 of them it might stop me overspending in shop ? need to check freezer only other problem i got is some of the things we buyin mrA are not available online any more wonder why?

seductivesmile

Good evening all!!
I took mum and made a special trek to a*da today (bout 20miles away), as mysupermarket told me there was some brilliant offers on store cupboard essentials... tinned toms 3 for £1 - so i got 15, of different varieties, decaf teabags on 2 for £3, and generally it seemed a lot cheaper than Mr T or Sainsbugs. I spent just under £25 but i got some toiletries in there so when i dig out my reciept i will update the totals.
i have now got a second freezer to fill up with whoopsies and good deals / veg from gardens etc for the winter months, i only have 2 draws in a fridge freezer so i have a little freezer aswell now... looking forward to batch cooking for it... may organise the draws into different things. lol
Night All x

Hippeechiq

angelatgraceland wrote: »

Why are you "paying" for delivery??? There is usually a code somewhere. Do look for one. Who are you shopping from? Asda? Tesco? Delivery=cost of 8 meals on Weezls site!(maybe up to 20 actually if you pay a fiver)

I do my online shop at A$da, and I always check to see if there is a free delivery code before placing my order, and there never seems to be one. I get my shopping on the cheapest delivery day - either Tuesday or Wednesday - and it's £3.50. My car failed it's MOT in April, and I don't have the money to repair it or get a new one, so I have no choice but to get the bulky stuff delivered.

I've found many codes, but when I enter them, it says that the code has expired or invalid (and this is clearly not the case, as I always double check codes before trying to use them, but I can't force them to give me free delivery) I have managed to find one this year that has worked

I did a "test-run" online shop on the Te$co website last week, as they sent me a £10 off a £50 shop voucher, but I really did not care at all for the layout of the site. I dislike the fact that if, for example, you search for anti-perspirant, you get a whole load mixed up together, Te$co own brand, mixed with Lynx, mixed with Sure etc.,

Asda show all of their own brand, then all of Lynx, then all of Sure. And Te$co list their items underneath each other, making it more difficult to compare prices. A$da items are listed side by side, making comparisons simpler.

Anywhoo - that's just me being a bit OCD and liking things a certain way I guess Just be nice if A$da rewarded their regular customers with a free delivery voucher/code once in a while.

I'm putting an order in with them Tuesday evening - so if anyone knows of a code for me to have a shot at, that would be fab

A spend of £1.50 on two loaves, bringing total to £192.66 out of £275

Be another spend day tomorrow, as my local £idl are selling Chicken Breasts for £2.99 a pack, down from £3.99

Finished planning 5 weeks worth of menus (without repeating a meal) about 30 minutes ago, and now I'm pooped, and feeling totally brain dead.

Took me roughly 4 hours, give or take, lol, because I don't repeat the same meat two days in a row, the same veg, make sure we don't have pasta, rice or potatoes 2 days in a row, and make sure we don't have vegetarian meals two days in a row, so it's a bit complicated (or it is for my little brain) I could just copy and repeat the previous 5 weeks menus, but where's the fun in that? And also, I like to try at least 4 new recipes every month. I usually do these at the weekend, so that if they turn out to be a disgusting (and some have) it's not too much of a disaster, as OH hasn't been to work all day, so isn't famished.....if that makes sense.

Anyway - I'm waffling but I'm right chuffed that it's done again for another month and a bit

boultdj

Another $4.70 gone,still it could have been worse,resisted the crisp's.

Flat_Eric

Hippeechiq wrote: »

I do my online shop at A$da, and I always check to see if there is a free delivery code before placing my order, and there never seems to be one. I get my shopping on the cheapest delivery day - either Tuesday or Wednesday - and it's £3.50. My car failed it's MOT in April, and I don't have the money to repair it or get a new one, so I have no choice but to get the bulky stuff delivered.

I've found many codes, but when I enter them, it says that the code has expired or invalid (and this is clearly not the case, as I always double check codes before trying to use them, but I can't force them to give me free delivery) I have managed to find one this year that has worked

I did a "test-run" online shop on the Te$co website last week, as they sent me a £10 off a £50 shop voucher, but I really did not care at all for the layout of the site. I dislike the fact that if, for example, you search for anti-perspirant, you get a whole load mixed up together, Te$co own brand, mixed with Lynx, mixed with Sure etc.,

Asda show all of their own brand, then all of Lynx, then all of Sure. And Te$co list their items underneath each other, making it more difficult to compare prices. A$da items are listed side by side, making comparisons simpler.

Anywhoo - that's just me being a bit OCD and liking things a certain way I guess Just be nice if A$da rewarded their regular customers with a free delivery voucher/code once in a while.

I'm putting an order in with them Tuesday evening - so if anyone knows of a code for me to have a shot at, that would be fab

A spend of £1.50 on two loaves, bringing total to £192.66 out of £275

Be another spend day tomorrow, as my local £idl are selling Chicken Breasts for £2.99 a pack, down from £3.99

Finished planning 5 weeks worth of menus (without repeating a meal) about 30 minutes ago, and now I'm pooped, and feeling totally brain dead.

Took me roughly 4 hours, give or take, lol, because I don't repeat the same meat two days in a row, the same veg, make sure we don't have pasta, rice or potatoes 2 days in a row, and make sure we don't have vegetarian meals two days in a row, so it's a bit complicated (or it is for my little brain) I could just copy and repeat the previous 5 weeks menus, but where's the fun in that? And also, I like to try at least 4 new recipes every month. I usually do these at the weekend, so that if they turn out to be a disgusting (and some have) it's not too much of a disaster, as OH hasn't been to work all day, so isn't famished.....if that makes sense.

Anyway - I'm waffling but I'm right chuffed that it's done again for another month and a bit

Hello i am pretty impressed at your 5 week meal plan - I struggle to even manage a week !

I used to have home shops from A%%a but I home shop with T&&&o now. I would only have home a&&a shops when I could get a free delivery but found that the voucher codes for this became few and far between. I would look for them online but I think A&&a became wise to the idea that codes were being shared and would cancel them. In my opinion they were being rather short sighted - for the price of free delivery, they would have had my custom. I haven't shopped with a&&A home delivery for many months after my last shop proved to be a total disaster - many damaged items (very battered tins) and some items just completely wrong. they e-mail me though with the occasional code so I think the only way to get codes from them is to stop shopping with them.

I agree that the layout of the supermarket's respective website can also be a factor. I liked the old A88a site but am not so keen on the new site. Te88o have changed their site also recently and Im not so keen on it but its ok. Do you find you go over budget when you home delivery shop ? I find myself getting click happy....

NickJW

Hi All

Added up my receipts over the past few days and have just over £3 left until the 31st August (I get paid on the 1st September). I may make it, but I'll need to be super frugal and use all the veg, meat and rice.

I keep telling myself that even if I do go over budget I am at least trying, and I would have already spent over £100 without the challenge!!! Doing the diary really helps me think more about what I'm spending. This month I'm including all food, toiletries and household products. I'm including food eaten out, but not alcohol.

Next month (September), I'm going to up my budget a bit I think, so I can include ALL discretionary spending after bills, travel and rent. THAT will really make me think of the 'odd' bottle of wine, or the 'couple' of pints of beer after a stressful day at work

Thanks to all and keep up the good work everyone!

Lindy_-_Loo

Between netto, farmfoods and tesco home delivery have spent £60.

I really dont like the asds on line site and only use sainsbury if i get a code. Never find any for tesco! They should send then to regular shoppers as a thankyou.

Hope everyone is on target x