April 2011 Grocery Challenge

Sue14

Went to Mr A's on Sunday and spent £15.75, and spent £2.85 in W1lk1nsons. I've still not got my car fixed, so can't go shopping until at least the weekend when OH can take me if necessary, but the only things I might need are milk and cat food, so I might not need to go shopping again anyway, here's hoping, lol!

tigerfeet2006

Morning all :wave:

Have had my first May spend of £44.70 (will update my sig. later as I really need to get off to an appointment.) Will need to pick up a few bits in town later today as well.

Hippeechiq, yes we had a lovely break thanks and much needed as you surmised. Can I ask you what your purse system is? It has been intrigueing me.

Gintotmelinda

Hello all

Been mia lately so rejoining this month so £400 for Gintotmelinda please.

Thanks to all who run the challenge.

DD has been home from Japan for a rest after the earthquake and tsunami so I didn't bother keeping a record as we spoiled her with all her favourite food that she can't get in Japan. Food bill probably went through the roof and I have lots of part eaten cereal packets :mad:

She went back last week feeling much better after having a good time with us and so I have been able to choose our own meals again. DH is so relieved.....

We have been trying to eat from the freezer since she went home to keep costs down. Picked up a couple of whoopsies over Easter-Morisons butcher's mince and some fresh pesto sauce which I froze.

Went out on Sunday and took sandwiches, water and a flask of coffee. OS me.

This month I am trying to save money instead of spending it as we did spoil DS a bit while she was here.

Have a good month all.

Gintot

ieimimiai

Hi everyone, i've not had much time to be on here lately but have still managed to keep up with my challenges, spent £101.53 this month which im really pleased with, however have eaten out a few times, do people tend to add this on the their amounts? going to still to target of £130for may. Thanks, this thread really keeps me motivated.

cutiepieabf

Hippeechiq wrote: »

cutiepie I don't think the wine would do you any harm as such, but I would imagine it would be very "vinegary" by now, as too much air in the bottle turns wine in something you'd only want to put on your fish n chips :rotfl: Mine never gets the chance mind but l also freeze a little pot of wine every now and then when I have some. I try to have 3 reds and 3 whites in the freezer at any given time - it freezes very well.

Thank you very much for your replies. I will have a smell and taste and if its vinegary i'll chuck it. Next time, i will be more organised and either use it straight away or freeze it.

Well, i got paid this morning!! so i shall declare at £100 quickly before i have to buy milk and bread which would have taken me over lol. :rotfl:
Please can i have a budget of £100 again for May. This is a challenge as i must have been spending at least £200 a month before i started this challenge, but i am determined to save money and live more thriftily. This is for me, my OH and our 5yr old and only includes food and drink. I will check the cupboards and freezer and write my 4wk meal plan later, then i can do my online shop and should be sorted for the month aside from fresh stuff. :money:

Good luck and well done everybody for taking part in this challenge - whether you come under budget or not!!! :T

cutiepieabf

just realised i have not done an online shop since 27th feb, which means i must have over-compensated on that shop as it has lasted me for pretty much 2 months!! hmmm lesson to be learnt there. i may try and get the things i need from farm shop and grocers instead.

fedupandskint

Declaring at £124.70/£130 for April

I'm going to take the plunge and go for £100 budget for May

This means I have reduced my budget from £150 in Jan to £100 in May. May is an expensive month with bills and so on meaning I decided to make this the month I use up a lot of the stocks and if it means eating a lot of rice and pasta and beans then so be it!

I've had a look at the recipe index and made a note of a few recipes from there and wrote a list of what meals I could make from what I have and ended up with a pretty long list.

My main outgoings will be on fresh fruit and veg, butter and milk and cheese as I continue to try and use up what's in the freezer and the cupboards.

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who runs this thread and all who contribute as its helped me stick to my budget for 4mths instead of doing it for a couple of months and then dropping out. Plus if I can do it I'll have reduced the budget by £50 in total.

fedupandskint

[Deleted User] wrote:

The envelope idea is simply that instead of having my food money in a bank acount, I withdrew my total budget at the start of the month and had it in cash. Any time I spent any money out of the envelope I wrote the amount spent and new total on the front. I also put receipts in there

thanks for posting about this allie. I'm going to give this a go to help me stick to my budget for May and I think it will help me keep control better

Long_tall_sally

Hi everyone. I am declaring at £471.37 for April which is not too great as not only is it over my target but I have also been doing some Mr T DTDing & have used quite a few vouchers in that time. The cupboards are fully stocked however & I also now have things like suntan lotion that I would have needed to buy soon anyway. Can I try for £450 again for May please Mrs M?

Hippeechiq - so glad that your DD has had a couple of better days & also that you have managed to find a little time to yourself & had a lovely walk with your OH.

Mothership - Your stomach bugs really don't sound nice although it did make me smile when you described how there is no "escaping" from your GD when she kisses you on your lips!

Spiggle - Hope you are ok. It must be time for an update soon on your MFW diary isn't it?! I've been waiting!

Hello to everyone else, oldies & newbies!

Thee must be something in the air because for the first time ever, I bought some things from a nurserie last week in an attempt to try & grow some things myself! I bought 3 tomato plants, 1 pepper, 2 cougettes & 2 strawberries & I will be thrilled if I manage to get anything off them! Can I just ask a quick question? I never got any tomato grow stuff - do you think this is actually necessary? And if I did get some, could I also put it on the other things?

ma-ri-ella

hi everyone not reported anything in ages- tesco thread takes up some much time!! spent around the £70 mark this month which is probabily more than normal(i usually just buy for me)but have stocked up on some things like comfort , teabags ,flour, shampoo, bodywash .....and shouldnt have to buy these for about a year!! :P have a good day and happy dtding to the people that do it x