October 2011 Grocery Challenge

poppy-glos

PennyGrabber wrote: »

Hi all,




My plan:

Phase 1. I will sort everything into date order (mostly done anyway), and then work through it. That is my meal plan. Tonight I'm having cheese toasties, as I'm ill and that's what I fancy. Tomorrow is boiled ham (freezer) and then thursday is ham egg and chips. Rest of ham for lunches on Thurs and Fri. Fri dinner may be pasta or potato bake - got tons of jars when they were £1 at a$da.

The issue for me is that I keep 'forgetting' that we don't eat very much. My 2 are 6 and nearly 5, but they have never had large appetites, and so a 4-person pasta bake will last all three of us for 2 main meals, and me for a lunch too! That's great, and very MSE, but why do I have so many of the damn things?!?!?!?!?!

Phase 2 of the plan: to not go shopping. This includes AP, as I like to stock up, and literally don't have anywhere left to put anything. I have 4 2-litre bottles of chinese stir fry sauce. My children don't even like it!!! But, it was a bargain... (:mad::rotfl:)

Phase 3 of the plan: when I do need the odd thing, I will WALK to the local co-0p, which is a 5-min walk away, i.e. too far to carry heavy bags!

Phase 4 of the plan: to not stock up until at least after Christmas, and then only on things I actually need to stock up on. I shall make myself a list to put on my fridge, which will have stuff like baked beans (max8), tuna (max8), sausages (max 3packs), etc.

Any other ideas gratefully received!! Help, please!!!



PG x

we have the same problem pg! i can't resist stocking up and have four places in addition to the kitchen that the excess is stored! good luck with 'the plan', and with having the will power not to buy more.. I've been doing similar to your plan for a month, and the boxes are emptying but the freezers still full...

rising_from_the_ashes

TrixieB wrote: »

Knew it was a reg on here but just couldn't think and I don't know why but scrolling back didn't occur to me til now - well I do know why, zombie tablets!

Hopefully soya milk has greatly improved since you last had it, or at least is ok in cooking like baking things, soups, white sauce, porridge if not in your drinks on your cereal etc

I tried oat milk once and it was quite nice, and almond milk is rather scrummy too. just used them for porridge as cannot bear it made with just water and was on a dairyfree diet at that time also discivered Vitalite is dairyfree and cheap, a lot cheaper than soya marg etc

Thanks Trixie - a few posters on the Preparing for Winter thread suggested Oat and Rice milk .... and also said that Soya is awful in coffee which is what I probably used it for!;)

I hadn't realised there was now so much more choice as we've only small supermarkets round here which tend to only stock high turnover and "bog standard" items.

I did have a look at AF however now I've seen that there are a few alternatives I think I'll do another online grocery order at some point this month and see what I can get (these are sent from the "big supermarkets in town" so a lot more choice than locally).

Even if I could just use an alternative for cooking, it would certainly help!

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone:D

Spiggle

Evening All, :wave:

No, I haven't been in the garden since Saturday!!!! :rotfl: I must be getting old because time just runs away with me these days.

Welcome Rainy-Days and welcome back PennyGrabber, I'm glad I'm not the only one who went MIA for a while!

I'd agree with Helen about your meat dilemma Rainy-Days. Although if you wanted to and you know that the meat order will last you four months, you could allocate the spend over that time. Therefore you'd have a budget of £245 each month and you'd start each one of the next four having 'spent' £45 at the start. I used to do this when I'd get cracking deals on e.g. wash liquid that I knew would not be used for a couple of months.

That seems like a great plan you've got there PG. Good luck with it and congrats on the new OH.

Great news on your permanent job xspender. :beer:

P-pincher please don't be too hard on yourself, especially in the early months. Really it does take time to alter our habits. :doh: Though going to a cheaper shop like Ice*l*nd rather than a 'convenient' one can help cut out impulse buys so well done on that. :T

Islandmaid it is my duty to point out that contrary to your sig no-one on here fails not big time or small time! :rotfl: Seriously though, by doing what we do we all have a far better perspective on what we spend, where we spend and often why we spend. That is what helps us all towards our goal of staying within the budget we set but it takes time. Every month we learn a little more and spend a little less and will eventually reach our own goals. :cool:

Ok, quick update. We never got an online order sorted at the weekend (slapped wrists smilie please). Today though, OH had a hospital appointment and as it's virtually next door to a MrM decided to do the big shop there. We were very pleasantly surprised at the prices on a lot of things. They also had some cracking reductions on things like P*t*ks cook in sauces (88p) which OH loves and so we combined the big necessary shop (inc wash liquid, WU liquid, bleach, conditioner, rice, pasta, the whole caboodle) with a bit of a stock up shop.

Sig is updated but the total after being to the kiosk as well came to £115.50. _pale_ This seems a huge amount but we won't need to go near a sm again this month and will only need to go to the butchers and greengrocer in town. :whistle:

The only potential spanner in the works could be if I need to get the cats' food before November kicks in. We'll see how that goes. :think:

Sorry to see so many people suffering with lurgy. :grouphug: I have a head stuffed with very painful cotton wool at the moment which seems to have reached my ears as they're aching as well. But that's what happens when we all return to work/school/college/uni after our summer break isn't it? Ah well, on with the paracetamol and nice hot drinks and feet up on the sofa.

Take care all and keep up the terrific work,
Spigs

TrixieB

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Thanks Trixie - a few posters on the Preparing for Winter thread suggested Oat and Rice milk .... and also said that Soya is awful in coffee which is what I probably used it for!;)

I hadn't realised there was now so much more choice as we've only small supermarkets round here which tend to only stock high turnover and "bog standard" items.

I did have a look at AF however now I've seen that there are a few alternatives I think I'll do another online grocery order at some point this month and see what I can get (these are sent from the "big supermarkets in town" so a lot more choice than locally).

Even if I could just use an alternative for cooking, it would certainly help!

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone:D

Problem with places like AF might be postage costs - haven't really looked into it but am also in a wee bit of bonnie Scotland and although easily accessible, because it's far north of Glasgow and in a certain postcode - although 5 miles to the east and we'd be fine!!! - we might as well not exist!!

I knew someone once who made her own almond milk, worth a try maybe? not sure how labour intensive it is...

Need2bthrifty

Hi all, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only who has had a bit of splurge so far this month.

It’s well over a week since I sat down and tallied up my receipts and although I am feeling happy that I have stocked up on all manner of things – store cupboard and freezer almost full to bursting, enough toiletries & household necessities to keep me going for months, and finally managed to find my first bottle of Stardrops :T.

I’m only a week and a bit into this 5 week period and used up over half my budget!! :eek:, however I will remain positive, relax and hopefully stack up the NSD’s :cool:. Going by my menu plan over the next few weeks I should only need to do the odd shop for some minced beef, fresh fish, fruit & veg - that’s if I stick to the plan

Good luck everyone

mrs_mum_3

Wow - this thread is storming ahead - last time I was on her before the weekend we were on page 5 now we're on page 19!

Not a good start for me so far as splashed out at the weekend with a trip to Mr S - quick check when I got home and it looks like i spent around £40 of the £189 bill on stuff which I didn't really need :eek:

Halfway through budget already but last 2 days have been NSD by the simple strategy of leaving the purse at home when I go to work

No Purse = No Spend :D

I may need to spend before the weekend as I need to stock up on fruit etc for packed lunches

Mrs M

Spinmerightround

Need to add £40.65 for a T delivery today.

Very pleased to be coming in on target, hubby is very impressed! Feeling a bit rubbish atm but promise to post properly when feeling better:D

ButterflyBee

I must not spend untill the 10th. Already way over weekly budget!

adelight

TrixieB wrote: »

Problem with places like AF might be postage costs - haven't really looked into it but am also in a wee bit of bonnie Scotland and although easily accessible, because it's far north of Glasgow and in a certain postcode - although 5 miles to the east and we'd be fine!!! - we might as well not exist!!

I knew someone once who made her own almond milk, worth a try maybe? not sure how labour intensive it is...

coconut milk is also delicous, not the fatty canned kind mind but the stuff you can get at waitrose/health shops. almond milk is quite difficult to make(almonds are 400g for £2 in the ethnic section of tesco online btw which is dirt cheap) but oat milk is really easy and cheap. just blend porridge and hot water 1:4 ratio and add a little sugar and thickener. if it seems bitty, run it through muslin to remove the lumps or store it in a jug with a piece of muslin taped over the poury outy bit. you can experiment with enriching it if you want. thinking about this is making me consider trying to cancel my AF order now. what's wrong with me??

meg72

Was very down today,feeling really rotten, think I have the lurgy.and you know how when you dont feel well everything else piles on top of you and seems 10 times worse.

Worried about my Mum,as things are not looking too good at the moment and worried about finding money to keep travellling to see her.

Well the post arrived and in it a large brown official looking envelope, I couldnt be bothered to open it thinking it was probably bad news anyway.

Slept all afternoon so feeling a bit better and braver I opened it and am now quite stunned it seems
I am offered several thousand pounds lump sum pension or more weekly pension.

If I take the lump sum my money worries are over,

I have now put my £50 grocery back in my food purse and will treat myself to a bargain /whoopsie hunt tommorow.

Nice things do happen sometimes,dont they? :j:j:j:j:j