February 2011 Grocery Challenge

NualaBuala

wssla00 wrote: »

LOL bottom of the cupboard bars are bars where I add loads of stuff I am running out of. So the basic is the following:

2oz butter
a good squidge of golden syrup
3oz sugar
3 oz oats
3 oz raisins

then whatever is left in the packets so today I used
1 oz rice crispies
3 oz seeds
2 oz mini smarties

You can use anything as long as they add up to 6oz (not including the raisins and oats)

Then you just melt the butter sugar and golden syrup down, pour into the dry goods and combine and then flatten down into a flapjack/brownie pan. Bake on a 180 for about 25 minutes until they are golden brown.

Cool and then cut into squares enjoy!

Just popping in to say a big thank you to wssla00 for the recipe. Choc Clare pointed it out to me over on the It's Tough thread when I was hankering after something delicious and flapjacky that would also use up leftover nuts and things. It's just out of the oven and looks really nice!

jovi20

Had a few NSD's this week, but asked hubby to pick up some bread, milk and potatoes yesterday on his way past the c*0p. He managed to add a newspaper, some sausage rolls, crisps and the most expensive bread I have ever seen. Total spend £10.11.

That brings us even more over budget, and we don't seem to have a lot in the freezer. I have just worked out meals until saturday and might just make it.

I do however have some vouchers for Tesc*'s, but they have to be used by 27th to get £12 off £80 shop. So Even though we are over, I can't afford to let £12 go. Will probably carry it over into March's budget though.

jovi20.

NickJW

Hi All

£10 was spent on a meal yesterday when I met up with some friends. I needed to get out of the house yesterday and meeting my friends always involves money. Oh well - I can't live life like a monk!

Then today - £20.64 spent in Mr T - did get quite a lot of food for that, but not lunch things, so there will be extra spends from the local Mr T/Mr S near work for that next week. That was after a £3 off a £20 spend voucher I used.

Realized I forgot milk so had to pop to the local - 82p for 2 pints.

I'll also be spending money this weekend because my sister is coming over for her birthday to see me.

Anyway - enough of my rambling. I'm finding it very hard to motivate myself this month, but I'll keep trying.

Hippeechiq

NualaBuala wrote: »

Just popping in to say a big thank you to wssla00 for the recipe. Choc Clare pointed it out to me over on the It's Tough thread when I was hankering after something delicious and flapjacky that would also use up leftover nuts and things. It's just out of the oven and looks really nice!

Thanks for posting that Nuala - and thanks to wssla00 for originally posting it....yet another recipe to add to my growing collection.

Just had my A$da delivery £61.31 and sweet f.a. to show for it!

One item missing, which I will have to get from Te$co, but my new total, for now, stands at £223.76 leaving me £26.24

I only have £17.55 cash, the rest is in the bank, and £5 of that is already spoken for by the undelivered item from A$da. AND I wanted to get some of the cereal on the buy 2 get 1 free offer on in Te$cos at the moment, but with 8 days left, I don't think I can afford to. Tight aint the word for it *sigh*

NualaBuala

I definitely recommend it Hippeechiq - it turned out delicious, have already eaten a quarter of what I made! :EasterBun

cha97michelle

DH just popped into Mr T on his way home from work with DS 1, and he spent £12.39. (2 loaves of bread, 1 x 4pt s/skim milk, 2 mini pork pies, pack of ham, bananas, pears and multibuy on corner yoghurts which DS picked. I don't normally have these, but DH asked Ds what he wanted, and he picked those. DH agreed because he was being good.

That is it. I am done now for Feb shopping, as any shopping next weekend i will class as March budget.

FEB spends are £213.07 out of £200.

I will try March for £200 again and see if i can do any better with that.

I still have loads in the pantry and freezer, so i need to work out how to incorporate it all into a plan.

If it were warmer i might be tempted to go and do a freezer stock take in the garage, but as it snowed yesterday, i think i will just use my best guess. I have 2 bags of bony salmon fillets to do in a tomato based sauce, so i think i will do that at least once a week as we have all the stuff in for that. It is too strongly flavoured to work in a cheese or white sauce unfortunately or i could have done fish pie too.

alicemskinner

Spent far too much recently - this week I've succumbed to lots of crisps and chocolate, nudging up my food spend (and not great for my waist line either). Does anyone have any tips to stop uncontrollable binging on bars of chocolate etc? I would buy some sort of cheap multi-pack but I'd eat it all in one go rather than eaking it out over the week.

So far I've spent £61.67 out of a budget of £104. I know that sounds like I'm well under but in my head I'm aiming for under £78. Hopefully I will still make this.

Alice

muffin_man_7

martafdz wrote: »

muffin man, the second purse (and optionally 3rd purse) is mothership's idea. It is great indeed, she has said that she eventually had so much in the purse that they could afford to buy a TV they always though it was not within reach (I think it was a TV).

?????what is 3rd purse sorry if its a daft question but as ive missed a lot of posts i wouldnt have a clue

Candy_Belle

Hope everyone having a g8t weekend!:D

Few spends to report from sainsbugs £28.91 spent in total on the below:-

2x6pk Mullierlights on offer for £1.64 each
2xpks Mushrooms
Groundnut Oil
Olive Oil Spray
Light Soy Sauce
Chinese 5 Spices
Clementines
Bananas
2x6pk Walkers Crisps - 2 for £2.00 offer
Box of Whiskas
2xpouches Perle Cat food
5xTinned Cat food
2 pint milk
Cat treat sticks
12 Eggs

Hopefully with what we have already got in - don't need anything else.............hmmmm famous last words............. x

Mothership

martafdz wrote: »

muffin man, the second purse (and optionally 3rd purse) is mothership's idea. It is great indeed, she has said that she eventually had so much in the purse that they could afford to buy a TV they always though it was not within reach (I think it was a TV).

Yes it was a TV That was about 2 years ago.

When I signed up for MSE I had in excess of £700 in the 3rd purse, I hung about the grabbit board and grabbed everything I fancied and gave my family a super dooper xmas!

I was a bit out of control with my 'everyday shopping' though buying convenience foods, restaurants and takeaway's, and things that the SM brainwash you into thinking you need. I worked out that 90% of what I was buying wasn't necessary. I was one of those who paid full price for everything except items that I bought with the 2nd purse.
I began working on my 'shopping addiction' in October, and joined the GC in Jan, I've been saving any money I haven't spent in an ISA and have managed to save £2,100 since then. I reckon that money is best in my pocket than Mr SM's.

I've recently started on my 2 freezers, stocking it with prime meat from Donald Russell ( a recent discovery,) all paid for from the 3rd purse. I've staggered the orders over the next 5-6 months, taking advantage of special offers, free delivery & Quidco. Thats still in the experimental stage, I'll let you all know how it goes.:D
I've also reduced portion sizes, we were eating far too much meat. I'd rather have less but the best quality I can find.
My family said I've lost a bit of weight too. I'm fading away to a mountain LOL.

I've never spent so little, got so much, eaten so well, or had so much fun not spending money, oh! I still spend, but nowhere near like I used to :T:T

For anyone on a small budget, when I started the 2nd purse over 30 yrs ago , I had very little to live on, and 6 to feed. I started mine with £10 I got in a birthday card and you don't have to pay full price for an item. If you've paid £3 for two there's nothing to stop you charging yourself £1.50.
The whole point of the 2nd purse is to stop you paying full price to Mr SM if you run out of something.

I realise its not for everyone, but its worked so well for me.
I was in a coma for 3 months in 2004 and wasn't expected to live. My daughters told me afterwards , that they wanted me to write down all my recipes, and how I did things, my OH wouldn't eat anything they cooked. They were all starving even thought the house was full of food.
when I post recipe here I pass it on to my girls, they are learning to cook, and they are doing the 2nd purse now, we all watch for bargains for each other, which is nice.