November 2011 - Grocery Challenge

helen_jelly

Cor blimey - I nearly missed that the thread was up and running lol

Budgets done to here - ignore the fact that some are black and some are red, I'll sort it out later

Helen x

lisakay_2

I didn't resist temptation when i went to pick up prescription yesterday. I ended up buying vimto-95p, robinsons squash-59p and a bag of cooked chicken drummers from the butcher to go with the kids tea for £2, that's done them 2 meals each though, so £3.54 spent so far and 3 nsd out of 4 days since payday.

Tomorrow I'm taking the kids to stockley farm, but even then I'm planning a nsd, for groceries at least. I have a pan of soup prepared ready to put in a flask and have 2 loaves of hm bread in trhe freezer so i'll take that out later to defrost.
I know I've put £200 as my budget, but ideally I'd like to get closer to £30 a week. i'm going through my free\er in a bit when the kids are in bed to see what i don't need to buy this week:D

hamish222

Spent £22.49 of my £300 budget but this included lager for dh that I have informed him is to last this weekend and next. Also stocked up on half price orange squash and pasta. Had a voucher in sun for free basmati rice worth £1.49 but offer is 2 for £2 so got 2 packs for 51p. Picked up another 4 suns and will get another 8 rices for £2.04. So will have loads of pasta and rice to last me.

Spiggle

lisakay wrote: »

Good morning Girlies x Thanks to all you lovely people I have managed to rein in my spending and come in under the October budget :j. I'm lowering my November budget from £300 to
£200.

...

Well done lisakay! :T I hope you won't mind me saying that to drop from 300 to 200 in one leap is an enormous step. I only say that because I really wouldn't want you to set yourself such a strict target that it may be unachievable and therefore demotivating for you. If you are sure you can do it, then I wish you all the very best and just wish I had your gumption!!! :rotfl:

GreenSaints wrote: »

... There is me, my boyfriend, a cat and a fish in our household Do you class everything in the challenge - like toiletries, washing powder etc? ...

Welcome GreenSaints and good luck with your challenge. We all include different things in our budgets and it really is up to you. When I started I didn't include my cats' special diet food because of it's high price. Once I felt more in control and the spend had reduced accordingly I re-introduced the cat food but left my budget figure alone. We don't include alcohol in our budget because OH and I each have £15 pocket money per week and any alcohol either of us wants is bought out of this.

Really, the GC is not a competition and it's up to each of us to set a budget that suits our (very different) households, finances and circumstances. What the GC does do is provide a friendly forum where anyone can ask any question and get informative, innovative and friendly advice based on experience. You've come to the right place basically!

Welcome all the other newbies joining us, good luck with your challenge and remember the only silly question is the one you didn't ask.

Thanks Helen :A for listing me, rosieben :A for the wonderful recipes and zippychick :A for getting us started on November. I still have a couple of days of October to finish and will start November properly on Tuesday.

Good luck everyone, keeps your purses closed, your lists complete and firmly clutched in your hands and always remember the supermarket is not your friend - it wants your money for profit!

See you soon,
Spigs

Doom_and_Gloom

helen_jelly wrote: »

Doom_And_Gloom £100

I hate to be a pain but could we possibly be put down for £110 for November please instead of the usual £100 ? This is to cover my partner, me and 2 chinchillas. November will go 1st - 30th.

We have ordered in a bulk buy of chinchilla food for November (paying for it when we collect) and that will be a little under £9 and will equal to around 112 days worth of food for them (got a small discount because of the bulk buying :T as should be £9.54). That will mean we should have enough food for them until mid May (112+70=182 days which = 26 week) so no worries about running out of food for them when it gets colder/icey/snowy etc . That is a real worry for me but when we collect that order I will be able to relax a bit more as then the only worry for them will be hay.

We also need to restock the freezer as we managed to empty it :eek: (I was starting to think it wasn't possible a few weeks ago :rotfl:) as our freezer is huge.

Hrm after we buy the chinchilla food we will have just over £100 to not only start stocking the freezer back up but to buy hay for the chinchillas aswell as our food for the month :undecided. Hopefully it will be enough.

ellanutella

Newbie to the grocery challenge! I'm going for £150 to start. Good luck everyone!

debbiedeejay

Well dashed over from declaring Oct budget -say no more

Please Helen could you put me down for £200 this month?

Yes its's a bit lower than last month but finances have taken a big hit in the house so need to reel in where I can - rather do it now then fret about it later.

Took my Dad for normal weeky shop at Mr Mozzies - personally was not in the mood for it and did half hearted shop which came to £23.45.
Then we went to a local Garden centre near to where I live - don't normally go there as it's one of those types where "you- go- for- a- trip -out- have -a -coffee -buy -some- candles - and -something -else-you- thought -you -always- needed- but- don't -really- and -never -buy-a- plant"type of garden centre if you get my drift:) but dropped in the other week and realised their fruit & veg section is ok in prices for stuff they grow on site.

So stocked up a doz local eggs (HUGE)£1.90,beetroot,bunch dirty carrots(45p),biggest spaggetti squash ever(85p), spuds,leeks,red onions & white onions(which were both on at 65p per kg,not bad price for round here). dad bought a cauli and gave me half too.Total £6.09

Anyway when I got that lot home I have made "Veggie Hash"with carrots,onions,leeks & squash and stashed away 10 x half pound portions of the mix which are now in my freezer,ready to pull out to use as bases for stews,casseroles,soups or whatever.

Also did inventory of freezer and at last count have 26 main meals for the month - need to sort out a menu plan though as I don't fancy eating spag bol 3 times in a week -but am pants on using spreadsheets - is there an easy one out there any one could recommend for those like me who are pretty useless finding their way round even a blank spreadsheet!:eek:

Will need bread and milk and some staples that I never bothered buying - might try Al£i's tomorrow.

Flat_Eric

More spends today only make my october total even more depressing.....

Going to meal plan tomorrow :j and plan shopping accordingly.

Have 500g of purple carrots that I want to make into soup - how much stock should I allow and how best to blitz so you have soup and not mush ?!!

ms_night_ryder

Kicking off this month with a spend of 50p, went to asdas with my friend, as needed some stuff for work, ended up spending close to £50 got a pack of fudge porridge for 50p which was my only food item using a MOC, then went for dinner to a rodizio with my friend, was so full after and had a box and 2 bags to carry, that when we popped into sainsburys, i didnt buy one thing! now thats restraint, because its payday, but i just couldn't be asked.

XSpender

Please can you put me down for £450 for November. Thank you

My month started on the 22nd and I have spent £348.25 already. I have done a huge stock up shop including 42 portions of meat, 42 portions of veggie alternatives, a months worth of dog food, all toiletries and cleaning stuff for the month and masses of other stuff too.

I include alcohol and takeaways in my budget and we have had 2 so far this month already (whoops!). My meal planning is going ok so far.

I should not need to buy anything else until next weekend:)