July 2011 Grocery Challenge

prophecy_grrl

Have just totted up my receipts from this week and thanks to my lovley Mam feeding me twice and buying me bread I have only spent £18.87 out of my £40 p/w budget :j

This means July total so far is £62.25 whereas I'd projected an £80 spend by now.

GC keeps me on track even when I'm not posting regulary (I don't get much chance since becoming a single mother) and I'm really grateful to everyone who sets up this thread and contributes to it, even though I rarely post and can never hope to keep up to date with posts on here x so thanks everyone x

prophecy x

XSpender

Yesterday I thought I might actually hit my budget for the first time ever but it isn't going to happen as I have gone over this morning:o This was not helped by spending £13 in Mr M last night (note to self: don't let DH go to Mr M for beer send him to the Nisa here he will only buy beer) and £9.11 in the greengrocers and £3.39 on a piece of steak from the butchers for DH this morning. I have hardly bought him any meat this month so couldn't begrudge him a decent piece of steak plus we want to try the local butchers for meat as DH only has a bit (I am veggie) and has not enjoyed some of the sm meat he has had recently.

I will also be popping to Mr S later for cheese, value yogs, mayonaise, salad cream and qu0rn sausages.

DM and DSD for lunch tomorrow and I am making a strawberry and cream gateau. Can't wait to eat that after my toad in the hole. My colleague has given me her recipe for yorkshires so it may rise for the first time ever:)

Other baking/cooking plans for this weekend are:

Pizza bases in BM (for my tea tonight when DH has his steak)
Sultana cake and sunshine scones (next weeks lunchboxes)
Quiche (next weeks lunches)
Some kind of biscuits for tomorrow with leftovers (if any) for lunchboxes
Cheese and onion pasties using left over mash (to be frozen for tea later in the week)

Our meal plan is done up to when we go on hols on 30th July although I will be a week into my August challenge by then.

Hope everyone is doing well against their own budgets.

XS

Sue14

Spent £4 in £ shop and £8.50 in Mr T's. Noticed in the week there is a home bargains opening not far from us in August, will have to check that out, as I've heard a lot about them on the forums, but never been to one.

franby64

Had an Asda delivery yesterday for £63, just a load of basics but irritatingly no toilet rolls!
Should just about have enough 'til next Friday but might get some in Wilkinsons (I buy very cheap loo roll but they do seem to be getting more expensive everywhere).

Today I just bought a bunch of bananas at the Co-op (:eek:) so new total is £299.77.
Need to have a mean week - did I say that before:D?!

69chick

Have updated sig after my shop yesterday in MrT got about £40 left in the budget which only has to take me to Tuesday (dh payday) so I am pretty sure I will come in under budget... we are on takeaway today (planned as dh has been away with work so kids are on McD's and we are having a curry later) but I don't count this in with my budget although I think I can definitely say that my savings to what I would normally spend will cover it which is nice

I am really happy with the last 2 months on the GC and am hoping the school holidays don't wreak to much havoc on my budget. all 3 of mine are on school dinners and so I will need to spend more on lunch stuff, but the saving on the school dinners should make up for it,so might increase the budget a bit with this in mind...

Hope you are all having a good weekend, kids are watching Harry Potter on tv. can't believe how young the cast look in this one and they sound all childlike bless...

HalfaSixpence_2

Hi, just wanted to say that I haven't been posting but not for bad reasons, quite the opposite. For the first time I've been successfully using a kind of 'envelope system' for my budget and so far it has been magic. Usually it isn't that I deliberately spend more, it's that I lose track particularly if I am rushed and once I've lost track I find it hard to get back again. This way I don't have to write anything down or keep the computer up to date or anything beyond the capability of my tiny confused brain<g>. I have cash and home made 'tokens' for my weekly grocery shop in a separate section for each week - if I spend the cash, that's is straightforward and if I use the debit card at the shop or atm I take out the tokens for that amount and throw them away. I also have a separate section for my personal allowance and for my 'other household stuff' budget.

I did try to do this before but it relied on using cash only and if I used the debit card it messed things up again and I would forget to account for it etc. It also meant that when I had to dash up to see my mum when she was ill this week I could easily account for the shopping DH did when I was away by just taking out tokens.

This is the first time I have really felt on top of things rather than trying to keep up, and the money is lasting much better.

allym464

I spent £19.28 on this week's shop. Quite pleased with myself really. Next weeks should be even lower as I have made spag bol, chicken paella and mushroom soup so my freezer is nicely stocked!
Kudos to me :j:j

tessie_bear

hi..plodding on here...have discovered the wonders of lidl weekend offers and having been shopping in there....its great

thinking about the school summer holidays...food for lunches and snacks to take out as well...ill be skint in september....will need to tighten my belt a bit on the gc budget front to fund said summer holiday...have to think up some cheap nice meals

take care
tess

pepsi-kins

Hi everyone,
Really pleased with how things are going GC wise at the moment, this week i've only spent £9.34 in Mr. T today. I've deviated from the menu plan a little, as have family over from New Zealand, so lots of days out, also DH came home with a bag full of kale he had been given. I've never had kale before, so I found a recipe and made pork and kale empanadas (like little pasties really), for tea tonight, very tasty, did home made wedges with them (from the potatoes I have grown...go me). My spends for the year, are now coming back in line with where I should be, so all good really.

Have a good week everyone x

meanmarie

Spent €61.24 this morning in Lidl, which brings my spend for this month to €€85.80, should make it I think, as we are going away on 30th for a week, food while away comes from a different budget.

Marie