May 2011 Grocery Challenge

DebtFree2012

Hi All

Can I join in please? I've already halved by grocery budget but now it's reducing again to £125 a month. That's for 2 adults and 2 children (1 is a baby in nappies).

So please can you put me down for £125 for June when the new thread starts - Thank you. Months run 25th - 24th.

cheerfulness4

Could you put me down for £250 for June please?

[Deleted User]

Bought the last of my shopping for this month definitely no more needed at all and I have come in well under budget which I am pleased about.The residue will go into my savings pot for our family holiday which is in just under 12 weeks time .My budget for June I am going to go in with £100 for a change and see how it goes .I know I can do it and will be even more inventive if I can to streeeetch it out as much as possible .My DD gave me 2 kgs pasta on Saturday that she had bought for me from morrisons plus a couple of pasta sauces that she thought I might like.I sometimes do her banking for her and she now and again gets me odd bits when she is at the shops as she knows how frugal I am being at the moment for her sisters and my family holiday in August.I'm still working my way through the sardine mountain that I had in the cupboard
Well done everyone with all your efforts ,its quite a challenge at times but I do enjoy it as it brings out my creative instincts, wonder what sardine pasta would taste like :)
Cheers chums JackieO xx

Winged_one

Long Tall Sally, Sorry I only saw your question from last week just now. Yes, I am about 2 hours drive from the nearest Sainsburys. So I tend to go about 2-3 times per year (although I haven't actually been since last July this time), and stock up on lots of basics, Sains own brands, alcohol, and brands that are cheaper there, and a few special things that I can't get here (if I could find the Sains own spicy red onion chutney again, I'd be in heaven!!, and I DO like their own brand lemonade).

Had to get spinach yesterday for dinner, and went into Lidl for it. And got 4 bottles of wine, lots of cheese, some extra fruit, a bin for our bedroom and 3 snorkelling kits (I had actually been promising myself those when they came out this summer). €49 spend on food.

When I got home, I sent a text to the 3 families beside me asking them in for a glass of wine before dinner, or even with dinner. 1 already had dinner cooking and just had wine afterwards, but the other 2 came in for dinner as well. I cooked a packet of spaghetti, the salmon, wilted spinach, and a cream and parmesan sauce - mixed them all together and fed all 5 adults and 3 kids, with leftovers for my lunch today and another 1-2 portions in fridge (I am rubbish at portion sizes for groups). And I made garlic bread with my 2 part-baked baguettes and some garlic butter I threw together. It was a nice, spur of the moment gathering.

I also made the chicken and mushroom pie for tonight. (I had stock leftover from Sat's risotto, so boiled up the chick and some mushrooms, and used the stock to make a sauce, covered the lot in mash and some seasoned breadcrumbs - all now in oven on timer and should be nicely hot when we get home tonight).

I need bread, but probably nothing else this week. So I'm over, but the annual total is still ok (have about €112.50 per week, which is slightly under the €120 per week I have been averaging, but I have a lot to use at the moment and the garden has barely started producing either).

meanmarie

Spent €16.63 this morning, enough now for rest of week I think so might do well this month....was missing for a week so maybe thats where the saving is....have just been the recipient of most of the stuff in DD3's freezer, fridge and cupboards, she is off to Oz on Thursday so trying to get cleaning done to-day so that she can relax for her last two days here for 2 years...means I have things that Iwould not normally buy like packet soups but also extra tea and coffee, so may find June a cheap month too.

Marie

cutiepieabf

Hey guys

well due to the fact that i had to use my grocery money for other things, it means i have hardly spent anything this month!
I do need to do a good shop in June though as there are quite a few things that we have ran out of (like tomato sauce, flour, chopped toms, sugar, etc).
We ran out of bread on friday, so i made two loaves with the breadmaker. one was a normal white loaf, and the other is a sausage and cheese loaf. i did have a recipe to follow but i was feeling quite lazy so i made a normal dough with the breadmaker, then removed it from the pan, gave it a good kneeding, rolled it into a rectangle and sprinkled the grated cheese and chopped up (cooked) sausage evenly over the surface. Rolled it up (like a swiss roll) from the shortest end, cut it in half lengthways and then twisted the two halves together. Lay it on the baking tray to prove for a bit then baked on gm5 for 20-25 mins. it was delicious!! and the cheese and sausage is in swirls right through the bread. OH was most impressed - he actually said, 'i cant believe you made this yourself' Good old BM!!!

month end nearly here now. as LO is now on packed lunches every day i have picked up some good lunch tricks. today OH has gone to work with sausage and cheese bread sandwich(?!) and a muffin out of the freezer, and LO had a sandwich out of the freezer. i will find out later whether or not both had defrosted in time for lunch!!

forgot to put the curry in the SC this morning so i am not sure what we will have for tea. OH is going to football training (trying to lose weight for the wedding bless him), so i may just get a HM ready meal out the freezer and whack it in the oven.

Hope you are all doing well, and welcome and good luck to all the newbies.xx

Billie-jo

Have spent another £23.91 over the weekend so only have £53.58 left for the next 8 days. Its going to be close but am still optimistic I can do it. - (I think)

Quiche for tonight, curry tomorrow and perhaps sausage and mash for Wed - all using items we have in. Will need some fruit and veg though but want to use what we have in first.

Well done to those who have finished their May challenge and good luck for the next one.

tessie_bear

hi...went shopping in asd£ and ald£ this morning...wasnt too keen on the super 6 this week which is a shame because i have found them to be excellent in the recent past....also got the fajitas seasoning mix...i thought i was in a shop in cancun (i wish) they even had cacti....has anyone tried the seal bars my kids think they are fab...probably the novelty as i dont buy things like that very often

i found asd£ very depressing...some prices seemed very high...reductions tiny and i know i should mine my business but the guff in peoples trollies....boxes of crisp...masses of fizzy pop...ready meals....cakes...scones....id be curious to know how people afford to buy the ready made rubbish

on a positive note i purchased some allinsons bread flour and i think the bread i made with it is much nicer than with the asd£ own brand so will buy that again

take care tessa

quintwins

tessie bear i'm the same, i can't for the life of me figure out how people can afford to live on ready meals, pizzas and jars and packets there all really expensive

i mean't to say today is a NSD i'm hoping to have nsd til fri, were at the circus tomorrow night so i'm gonna bring a few bottles of juice for the kids, som haribo and some popcorn (all that we already have in) my only spend this week should be nursry money and milk


ok i changed my mind and decided to ahve next wed's shop delivered tomorrow so i could get the 3 for 2 biscuits, and just incase the cost on the pasta went up, everything else will keep anyway, i'm still going to count it in june's budget so

Can i have £150 for june please

gonna to do june abit different gonna do all my shopping online, except for a few milk and fruit top ups i'm hoping this will help me budget, my first shop is £36ish and should last 2 weeks

jetbag

Mr T delivery today £106.84, they did not have some of the thing I ordered so I will have to go to the local Butchers, Bakers and Lidl during the week.