November 2011 - Grocery Challenge

debbiedeejay

An extra spend of £3.74 in local shop just now on spuds (90p) and rubbish - remind me next time to leave the DD2 with the dog outside instead of taking her with me into shop!:mad:

PennyGrabber

Prepare at home - looks like you've got yourself a good deal there; well done!

I did manage a NSD, so go me!! I do need to get a card for my brother at some point this week, and that may be it. (She hopes!)

Meal plan for the rest of the week:
Today: lo bolognese pasta bake
Tom (no children): chilli
Weds (no children): lo chilli (plus will have even more left to freeze/take to work for lunch if I'm not sick of it by then!)
Thurs: tuna pasta bake
Fri: lo tuna pasta bake
Sat (no children): dunno - not mince or pasta though!! Maybe fajitas as the ch don't like them...

Can you spot a theme?!?! When I make something that is for a family of 4, as most packets and jars are, it does the three of us for two dinners, and sometimes lo after that as well. And no, before anyone judges me, I don't always use packets and jars!! I balance them with from scratch cooking, as I am a busy working mother, and jars etc are way better than the junk that some people feed their children!!

Oops, sorry, I just went off on one justifying myself before being got at. Oh well...

I haven't achieved my new year's resolution of making a new dinner every month, so that will roll on to next year, although while I am still poorly (not going to work tom either), I shall trawl through here and goodfood, and see what I fancy trying.

Angelatgraceland - glad your aunt liked the honey - that will have made her day i'm sure, and she will know you've been thinking of her.

Take care all,

PG x

dreamingofmoney

Good Evening all

So sorry i have been MIA for a week or so, but have been grocery challenging my heary out, i am doing really well with mor of the month gone than money gone, if that makes sense. Am looking forward to seeing how i am fairing at the end of the month.
Am gonna catch up on thread now. Good luck to all

Dreamer

prepareathome

PennyGrabber wrote: »

.
. And no, before anyone judges me, I don't always use packets and jars!! I balance them with from scratch cooking, as I am a busy working mother, and jars etc are way better than the junk that some people feed their children!!

I think there is nothing wrong with using jars and packets - the board might be OS but to my understanding saving money as well is very important and sometimes it costs more to make your own than it does to buy, even if you have the time. I never make my own tomato sauces or pur!e never had enough tomatoes and would cost me more to buy enough, and tinned tomatoes work out to expensive as well, most sauces are cheaper to buy the jar as are a lot of other things. You are ensuring your children have healthy meals and that is the most important thing and using jars is still better by far than buying in ready made meals, so don't put yourself down, you are a star in my book.:A

mandco

quintwins wrote: »

morning all spent £22 in tes$co yesterday but £5 was a cardi for me so £17 i had expected to spend £15 but i got 2 bottles of fizzy apple juice and a bottle of ribena to put away for xmas, now i just need a good deal on sholer i don't really do an xmas shop as we're hardly here but hubby does like to have a few nibbles in

both asda & sainsburys have it at £1 a bottle at the mo

got about £15 left of the budget this month so def gonna be over again :mad: but have done a few bulk buys and got a few bits towards xmas so could be worse. though the £6 worth of kipling sponge puddings was def not needed but very nice ;)and they will last me a while(ok homemades better but no-one else eats it)

need to start thinking about my xmas/dec budget really wanna try and keep it as low as poss but still allow for some treats so gonna have to get planning.

goodluck with the rest of the month wether that be coming in on target or just keeping spends as low as possible

Kittenkirst

Can I join in- our month runs from 15th as is payday but fell off the wagon last month. Spent £51.07 so far of budget: aiming for £150 there is only 2 of us but we like to cook & eat a lot ;-)

XSpender

Declaring £477.42 for November, £27.42 over budget. A much better result than last month.:)

Please can you put me down for £384 for December, this works out as 4 weeks for me at £96/week and includes food, dog food, toiletries, nappies, cleaning, laundry and alcohol. Oh and anything bought to eat and drink over Christmas. I am working my budget in weeks, Monday to Sunday this month to see if this helps me stick to my budget.

Spent £36.02 in Mr S today on cheese, milk, yogs, bread, fruit, toothpaste choc bics and 2 quorn ready meals as we have a crazily busy week ahead of us, with late shifts and lots to do before we go away this weekend. Will still need to get shower gel, face wash and nappies but these can wait until later in the week.

Feeling smug tonight as have used up 3/4 of a jar of curry sauce, half a bag of quorn chunks and 2 slightly past their best mini naan I got from AF ages ago to make tonights tea and tomorrows lunch. We are both in late tomorrow so have baked some jackets to nuke with cheese and beans when we get in.:T Cheaper than chips and kebab which is a usual choice on a Tuesday.:o

supersally01

Struggled to sort my total as held an Xmas party for 16, (as OH works abroad) with that budget separate. Went thro receipts to see what was mine, and siggi now updated. Done ok, mostly due to being away in turkey for 4 days, and eating from a well stocked freezer. Enough left over from the party for lunch and supper tonight, and lots of alcohol left, so will carry that forward for December.
Aim to run both freezers to empty, and restock next month. Hope all are well.

sproggi

Didn't make it to the shops today, so another NSD for me, really will need to go tomorrow though.

Sproggi

mooomin

Nothing spent today from my food budget

Dinner tonight was leftover pasta sauce from last night which I put some cut up sausages into. Hey presto - lazy persons sausage casserole :rotfl: