August 2011 Grocery Challenge

highland_fling_2

Good morning everyone,

thankyou very much to everyone who posted re value/own brand goods.:T
The Bees, Greent, Quintwins, Aldahbra, The Thrifty Scrumpers and any one else I have missed.
I really appreciate you taking the time to post.

Rising From The Ashes: Thankyou for input and good luck with your operation. I was up visiting your neck of the woods yesterday and had a lovely day. Weather was beautiful and new great neice is just a delight.

I will follow advice and introduce a couple of items at a time and then I will not waste too much if I don't like them. Will certainly be trying out some of the biscuits and foil, binbags etc.

Meat, fish and eggs I will not buy as I like free range/organic but there are lots of things I think I will be able to introduce into my shopping trolley which should help with my budget.:j

helen_jelly

MrsMoneypenny - sorry to hear your sad news

Welcome and hi to all the new posters - lovely to see you all on here - remember to ask lots of questions as there are loads of clever people on here who are happy to help :] Don't forget to check out the recipes on page 1 that Rosieben keeps updated for us and remember we don't fail we look, learn and move on

Have a great weekend all, I have to update my siggy with an Asda spend

Helen x

69chick

Mrs Moneypenny,so sorry to hear of your loss :-(

Hello to all the newbies this month and best of luck with all your challenges..

Am loving all the tips on the what to buy in the basics/value ranges :T I am going ot give those smoked salmon trimmings a try next time I get a MrS delivery so thatnks for that TheThriftyScrumpers and think I will give the cooking bacon a go too so thanks for whoever mentioned that too..

I personally love the Mr S basics stuff and agree with the poster that said it was the best cheaper range (I likethe quirky things they put on the lavels too)

I get from their Basics range

Tomato soup
baked baked beans
peanut butter
custard powder
biscuits
pasta
yoghurts
bananas
apples
all veg
frozen chicen breast
fruit n fibre cereal
muesli
jam
kitchen roll
loo roll
bleach
kitchen sponges and cloths
lemonade
tinned peaches
tinned pineapple
tinned rice pudding
kidney beans
mushy peas
ice lollies
pitta bread
scotch pancakes
butter
tinned sweetcorn
apple/orange juice in cartons
foil
cling film
crisps


Most of tha I would also get in T's value or A's Smartprice but not all..

I don't buy the really cheap meat or bread and definitely not the eggs as I too will only buy free range (plus a lady at work has hens so I get quite a few fresh ones for free yum)

Am off to Aldi to do the main shop this morning, have meal planned and got a list so am hoping to come in under £50 but we shall see..

Hope the weather is nice for the weekend...

ragz_2

So far I'm up to £72 I think. Have a feeling tracking this moth will go out of the window, but I'll try my best.

jeff_jared

Budget: £60
Actual: £45.79

We shopped yesterday for the first time at Mr. Al Di's and I must admit, we (a couple) saved almost £15 off our weekly bill. We usually shop at Asd a and our usual shopping comes to around £60. Most items were priced up to 30p cheaper than Asd a.

I'd like to mention that the cost of vegetables and fruits are much much cheaper at Ald i. I paid £1.25 for a pack of strawberries and blue berries and black berries were 69p, compared with Asdas £2.67 for strawberries and £2 for black berries. What a rip off! Fresh Mozzerella is 49p compared to 83p for the Extra Special and 53p for the lowest grade. Even Spinach was half price compared to the £1 we usually pay.

The only problem with Mr Al's is that they have a very poor selection of icecreams, and I had to go back to get us a nice tub of BJ's for the weekend!

Definitely going back again!

meg72

JayJay14 wrote: »

Just to say I get my fresh yeast free at Asda still.

Thank you thats interesting,anyone else still getting it free in their Asda?

If so I think I will have a word with mine as to why they ha ve stopped it.

ixia

Hi everyone

Just been to Mr s's for my shopping. Went with a list and did't really buy anything else it was mainly just fruit and veg and milk so £30.82 spent and £2.34 from to Co yesterday for bread and milk.

Leaving me £230.26 for the rest of the month.

hedgesparrow

Nimeth wrote: »

I forgot to take my calculator today, so geeky of me I know but it keeps me from overspending.:D

I do this too Nimeth! Sometimes people stare at me but I just give them a stare and a smile back and then they soon stop!

We spent £5.94 in the Coop buying sugar to make a lot of jam that won't set. Might have to go back and get some lemon juice or pectin and try again. We did have a voucher so it would have been £6.94 if not for that.

Also, we now have the bacon, sausage, faggots, and gammon joint from our farmer but Mr Hedgesparrow forgot to give the poor man his money and won't see him for a week. So will add that when we pay and I know exactly what it is - it will be £30 something.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

nmlc

Morning all

Just another update on the spends, MIL & FIL now coming for dinner tonight so have spent another £7.86 in MrL on extra meat, potatoes and a bottle of wine - hadn't budgeted for 2 more mouths to feed tonight - but not too worried as will now have some leftovers to use up tomorrow.

Off to update the signature.

Have a great weekend everyone, hugs to those that need/want.

nmlc x

Long_tall_sally

Spent another £12 in the Co Op & £7 in Mr T. I wish the spending could stop but I needed wash detergent & fabric conditioner.

I have a big bag of green lentils in the cupboards. Could anyone kindly give me some ideas what to do with them?!