October 2010 Grocery Challenge

LannyLee

Hippiechiq - just read the recipe fro jambalaya & i'm as confused as you are. TBH think it's just a mis-wording, surely they mean 'cook' & not 'simmer', as you're right you can't simmer without liquid

I posted a recipe we use for jambalaya a while back, it's not particularly authentic, but I can dig it out if you'd like?

Flat_Eric

Im looking forward to the November Grocery Challenge and hope that I can make it the first month where I stick to my budget. :j As mentioned previously, I want to try and use up what I have in my freezers to make room for xmas and to save some money in the process. I kind of meal planned for this week but will try to write a firm plan at the weekend.:D

miss_empty_piggy

Good morning to all
Am currently on £143.83 of my £150.00 budget. I can't believe that I have actually managed it so far. Bought DDs chocolate, hot chocolate and chocolate animal biscuits (I believe in a blanced diet!!!) for them to take away on their hols with grandparents this week, so that added to the total. Am determined to stick to the budget. Am sooooooooo skint this month and am just awaiting the phone call from the garage re: MOT!!! Have got everything crossed. With regard to the GC am determined not to buy anything unnecessary. Freezers have needed clearing out since this time last year so am going to eat from there before I even venture near to a SM. I will buy milk and whoopsied bread only (otherwise I will bake bread in the breadmaker). I will make this budget, I will, I will. It's funny I was looking back at an old spreadsheet and can't believe I used to spend 3-4 hundred a month on food alone! ludicrious!!!. Have a good day everyone. x

EvieSaver

Done my final SM shop for October so I'm announcing my October total now of £269.49. It is slightly under my budget so I am pleased over all but I'm a bit miffed about this last shop of £90! I think I'll excuse it as a bit of a shopping therapy to help me get over all the government cuts I keep hearing about on the telly (although this is completely the opposite to what I should have done). Oh well, got to keep my chin up somehow hey?

I'm thinking of reducing my budget slightly for November to £68 a week. Could I be put down for £340 please for November (5 weeks at £68). I know it's only a tiny bit but less I don't want to put it too low and then spend way over - it'll only mean more bad news!

Hope you are all doing well.

Spiggle

Good morning all,

I just thought I'd check in before I start on today's cleaning tasks. Yes, I know it's late but I am on holiday!

Schrodie I wholeheartedly support everything rosieben has said. Don't get down, I bet you would have spent a lot more if you weren't doing the challenge. Hugs for you anyway. :grouphug:

Missemptypiggy and EvieSaver, fantastic results well done both of you! :T:T

ETA - Sorry goodgirl80 I missed your achievement too. Well done. :T

Was very pleased yesterday as managed to clean all the outside windows (it's a bungalow) and went with DD to get her new (old) car.

It's raining on my windows today but still chuffed as the plan was to get them done before the weather changed. So shortly off to do all the insides though it may not be a one hit affair today as I tend to go room by room rather than task by task when I'm inside. And I really do need to attack some of the dust that has built up particularly in the lounge and bedroom. Yuk!!!

I had an NSD on Sunday and was hoping yesterday too but OH bought a few more bits :mad: (the downside of me not being in work sadly) and so I've updated sig. OH has been given stern warnings of severe damage to tender parts if he spoils my NSD today! :rotfl:

Looking at my NSD I wish I could identify the reasons why my monthly totals are on a downward trend. My spreadsheets don't really help that much in this either. Certainly September and October have been very busy in work and so I haven't managed to be quite as organised with shopping. So it could I suppose be that I have asked OH to shop more e.g. for milk. Unfortunately whilst he is a million times better than pre March (£600+ per month on nothing) he seems to still find it difficult to buy just one thing.

Ah well, if we can manage to get to Friday without buying anything I'll have got 17 NSD which is one more than last month. But I have to be far more disciplined in this and try to get back to at least 20 NSD per month again. So, slap my wrists please when you see me slipping! :rotfl:

Ok, going to read a bit more while I finish my cuppa and then attack the house again.

Take care all,
Spigs

curlybap

Hi

I'm a total newbie to posting and the site so please bear with me. I really like the look of the grocery challenge. Can I please join the November challenge with a target of £250 (myself, husband and child)?

Thanks

Flat_Eric

miss_empty_piggy wrote: »

Good morning to all
Am currently on £143.83 of my £150.00 budget. I can't believe that I have actually managed it so far. Bought DDs chocolate, hot chocolate and chocolate animal biscuits (I believe in a blanced diet!!!) for them to take away on their hols with grandparents this week, so that added to the total. Am determined to stick to the budget. Am sooooooooo skint this month and am just awaiting the phone call from the garage re: MOT!!! Have got everything crossed. With regard to the GC am determined not to buy anything unnecessary. Freezers have needed clearing out since this time last year so am going to eat from there before I even venture near to a SM. I will buy milk and whoopsied bread only (otherwise I will bake bread in the breadmaker). I will make this budget, I will, I will. It's funny I was looking back at an old spreadsheet and can't believe I used to spend 3-4 hundred a month on food alone! ludicrious!!!. Have a good day everyone. x

I remember one month (probably going back 3 years ago now?) when I kept all my receipts to determine just exactly how much I was spending on food bills in a month. I can't describe how shocked I was when the total reached over £600 especially as it was just me and the OH and possibly the cat?!

Fast forward to now and Im not really any better. I still go into supermarkets and find stuff to buy. Buy offers I don't need. Buy fruit and veg on offer (say two pineapples for £3) instead of £1.99 for one and end up throwing one away? Even this weekend I bought some baby spinach to go with my curry on sat night except come sat evening, I didn't fancy the spinach anymore and thus it remains in my fridge uneaten. I still have a butternut squash in my fridge from the 9th Oct ? if I don't use that soon, then that will need binning when will I stop wasting money. They do say that for every four bags of shopping you carry out the supermarket, the contents of one ends up in the bin. thats a sobering thought really especially if one of your bags of shopping was confisacted at the end of the checkout and put straight in the bin?

Im scared at food prices and how quickly / how often they go up Im hopeless at home delivery as I always seem to stockpile / buy too much but I have noticed that just a few items adds up to quite a lot.

I think the only solution is to plan plan plan. and be very strict - nothing to be bought unless its on the list.... will be interesting to see how I get on in November.

slbhill

schrodie wrote: »

My first attempt at a challenge turned out to be a disaster, £64 with not exactly a lot to show for it :mad:.

I've managed to make a £6 M&S chicken that was previously in the freezer make 3 evening meals.

Hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon.

Maybe you need to think of the first month as a settling in exercise rather than a challenge. The expanding chicken sounds like a big step in the right direction :T


I have been trying to decide my November budget for my first attempt. I thought it would be easy - I've looked back at my receipts & seem to be fairly consistent at £200. But I've been running down my freezer stock so that I can defrost it next weekend, so I'll need to boost that. Also my other half is away for a fortnight, and I'm just starting to think about the Christmas build-up too. Up, down, up, how do you do it??

I am going to take a stab in the dark at £180 for November please - to include all food, toiletries, cleaning stuff, cat litter and probably the odd Christmas-related box of choccies or strand of tinsel I am feeding 2 adults plus the shoutiest cat in town. I'll be starting from payday, which I think is this Thursday.

Now I need to work out how to add that to my signature...

Spiggle

curlybap wrote: »

Hi

I'm a total newbie to posting and the site so please bear with me. I really like the look of the grocery challenge. Can I please join the November challenge with a target of £250 (myself, husband and child)?

Thanks

Hi Curlybap and welcome to the GC. :hello:

If you edit your post so that the budget for the month is in large red numbers/letters (like philsmum's post above) it makes it easier for MrsMcCawber to pick you out and list your name for next month. You've come to the right place for support and inspiration and I wish you very good luck with your first attempt.

slbhill wrote: »

Maybe you need to think of the first month as a settling in exercise rather than a challenge. The expanding chicken sounds like a big step in the right direction :T
I am going to take a stab in the dark at £180 for November please - to include all food, toiletries, cleaning stuff, cat litter and probably the odd Christmas-related box of choccies or strand of tinsel I am feeding 2 adults plus the shoutiest cat in town. I'll be starting from payday, which I think is this Thursday.

Now I need to work out how to add that to my signature...

Excellent advice to you schrodie from slbhill there.

For your signature slbhill go to the second of the green bars (going upwards) and click on Quick Links. The drop down gives you the option of Edit Signature. click that and it'll take you to an area where you can input what you want. Hope that helps.

Flat_Eric wrote: »

... Fast forward to now and Im not really any better. I still go into supermarkets and find stuff to buy. Buy offers I don't need. Buy fruit and veg on offer (say two pineapples for £3) instead of £1.99 for one and end up throwing one away? Even this weekend I bought some baby spinach to go with my curry on sat night except come sat evening, I didn't fancy the spinach anymore and thus it remains in my fridge uneaten. I still have a butternut squash in my fridge from the 9th Oct ? if I don't use that soon, then that will need binning when will I stop wasting money. They do say that for every four bags of shopping you carry out the supermarket, the contents of one ends up in the bin. thats a sobering thought really especially if one of your bags of shopping was confisacted at the end of the checkout and put straight in the bin?

I think the only solution is to plan plan plan. and be very strict - nothing to be bought unless its on the list.... will be interesting to see how I get on in November.

Wouldn't that be a lesson FlatEric?!?! To have your shopping just binned for you at the checkout? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Do you use a list when shopping? If you do then you just have to put your foot down and not browse shop. Painful I know but it just keeps adding up all the time. And I speak as someone who was spending the same as your 3 years ago budget last February and that was also for me, OH and two cats. It can be done but you have to be firm and say no.

I'm having a break as I just washed and polished the patio doors and I'm cream crackered as my brother would say. I think doing all the outside ones yesterday have strained bits I didn't realise.

OK, I'm off now but may be back sooner than I think!

Take care,
Spigs

scotsaver

That's me finished for October, £247.53 for October, please put me down for £250 for November. Thanks MRSMC.

Should be able to keep well under for November as we are going to use up what's in the Freezers and cupboards, any surplus left I will add to December for Xmas food/wine.

Dinner tonight is Sausage, mash, carrots, cabbage and loads of nice gravy, also made some Leek & potato soup again after digging up leeks and spuds from Allotment - really need warming up now as it started raining up there and rather windy too - feel like I'm cold through to the bones.

Good luck to everyone still to declare - see you on the November GC.