January 2011 Grocery Challenge

Ilona

Hi, I am going to join in with this, haven't logged on for a long while so bear with me while I get sorted.
Ilona

bella121984

I just went to the fridge and it was odd to see it looking so empty, but yet I know I have enough stuff in to make meals for the rest of the week. Usually seeing the fridge like that would send me into a bit of a panic lol...I did check it against my meal plan just to check...but we do in fact have everything we need. The cupboard and fridge both only have what we need too as I ran everything down before Christmas, but its an odd feeling to know that everything is there and not be in mad panic about what the kids will have for dinner tomorrow...I like it :-)

Billie-jo

Grrrrr.....got asked if could take next door neighbour shopping as her hubby was poorly so although I didnt want anything I managed to spend £26.70 :mad:
I did get enough milk to last till end of Jan and it now means that tomorrow can be a NSD but everything else was really not necessary.

So total is now up to £89.12 out of £200 still on target but it could have been at least £20 better.

Hippeechiq

I will no doubt have to pay for it with heavy bags tomorrow, but I've had a no spend weekend :j

SilverBird_2

SilverBird wrote: »

Ventured into town yesterday and spent £26.75 of the M&S voucher. Took advantage of their 3 for £10 deal on meat...

Pernicious wrote: »

When did M&S start doing a 3 for £10 deal on meat?

Everytime I have been in M&S their meat prices are astronomical so I refuse to buy it & stick to Mr T's instead. I'm sure M&S probably is better quality but have never been able to afford their prices, I will have to check this out.

Don't know when this offer started but it was available yesterday. I've just checked on the M&S website and it's still listed

LondonDreamer wrote: »

...I've seen this deal the last few times I've been in, so perhaps just before Christmas? As above poster said, it's not always that great a deal as some of the packs are quite small. I find most of M&S meat is packed to serve 2, rather than 4 as it usually is in the more family oriented supermarkets. It's good for splurges though, I use the deal to stockpile DH's favourite spicy chicken.

Pernicious wrote: »

Hmm maybe I am better off sticking to Mr T's 3 for £10 deal then if the M&S packs are quite small....

As to value... I bought 3 chickens (2 x £4.81 and 1 x £4.67), 20 butcher's sausages 1.1 kg (£4.49), 4 quarterpounder Angus beefburgers (£3.99) and 500 gm braising steak (£4.99) for £20 and would consider any of these packs to be suitable for a family of 4. Will be buying at least one more 3 for £10 deal if the offer is still on at the end of the week for the freezer - it all depends on what else is needed to keep within the budget of £23.25 that's left from the M&S voucher and £2.02 cash.

Sunnyday

Hi Peeps :wave:

finally managed to catch up with all the posts, I`m quite pleased as DH did the shopping this week again and has had a spend of...........................wait for it....................... £4.63 :j

He is getting rather good at the supermarket lately

My Month ends on Friday and we need absolutely NOTHING!

Both freezers are rammed full and all the cupboards are groaning under the weight of all the supplies so i feel rather content atm, i made two lovely huge fish pies yesterday and popped one into the freezer, we are a bit low on spuds so i made the topping from mashed cauliflower smothered with grated cheese for a change and it was delish, i shall definitely be doing that again

Off to update my siggy

SD

lil_me

Just a mid month pop in so I don't clutter things up, £115.20 spent so far and all in small traders shops or the CoOp when I got stuck for which I am pleased with. A reorganisation of storage means I know we have enough pasta and rice for this month so I'm looking for more meals based on those to inspire me. We're eating less with trying to loose weight which helps the budget, been using less meat than ever.

Ilona

Starting today, 16th Jan. no spend day.
Tomorrow I will be spending rather a lot of money I'm buying a car, but it will wipe me out so I have to cut right back on my spending to try and save up for a holiday.

I am single with two cats, and will report here every day, I hope you will give me a good rollicking if I spend too much.
Ilona

mothershipton

Have managed so spend £140 so far this month. We have a new Booths store near us and they do great markdowns just after 7pm. The staff are so nice you can even take stuff to them which i heard on friday, so yes who will be trying that next. Their stock control is quite bad so there is often loads of veg, bread and cheese on offer. Will be off there and Morrisons tommorrow..

Hippeechiq

Long_tall_sally wrote: »

Forgot to say earlier that I used up half of my sweet potato last night that I bought a fortnight ago & it was fine. I cooked it the way that Hippeechiq suggested with red & yellow pepper & red onion, roasted in olive oil with sausages on top & it was lovely so thanks Hippeechiq!

Glad you liked it Sweet potato is lush - and I only discovered it last year! By that I mean, I'd heard of them, but hadn't tasted them before.

NickJW wrote: »

Good to see so many new faces here. It helps when there are more people egging me on, because, even though I've not been as successful as I would like, I'm trying (and that counts right?), and would spend more if I didn't come here. I've nearly finished paying off my debt, and my aim was to stay until it had been paid off. Now, I can't imagine not being here, because it's about a long term change about how you think about money, and keeping track. Staying here will hopefully keep me out of debt and start saving. :T

So...I'm afraid I'm with you all for the long haul! :rotfl:

Glad to hear it too! It wouldn't be the same here without your posts. And well done you on almost having your debt paid off :T

LittleMissHappy wrote: »

Well, went on my whoopsie mission today and hardly got anything The closest sm to me is a Mr T which is 24 hr so I think they must have different times for putting out the good whoopsies compared to normal sm's. It shuts at 4pm on a Sunday, so thought if I went about 3pm they would have loads, but no such luck. Grrrrrr! Oh, well, I am still way under budget and I got an early b/day present for my daughter reduced from £10 to £2.50, 2 x bread reduced from £1.45 (:eek::eek::eek::eek:do people really pay that much for bread?!?!) to 42p some half price crisps for lunch boxes and some spray for DH so was quite successful really Will update signature now x Hope you folks are having better luck than me with the bargains! Thinking positively though and will keep plodding on and going at different times..........x

If it's any consolation hun - I never get any whoopsies either. My local Te$co is also 24 hour, and I've tried going at varying times on varying days, but their idea of a "reduction" is certainly not mine. I've given up now. If they don't see fit to reduce their almost off items by more than 50p, then - as sad as it is for food to be wasted - they deserve to have to throw it away for being greedy as far as I'm concerned.

I keep forgetting about the Te$co Express that's opened almost diagonally opposite me though, as I tend to still walk to the larger one a mile away as Te$co Expresses are always dearer than main stores - that said though, they do close at 11pm, so it might be worth wandering over there a couple of times mid to late evening to see what their reductions are like.