January 2012 Grocery Challenge

cw18

wear280902 wrote: »

so any other thresads or forums I should join would be greatly appreciated.

If you're someone who 'nips into the shops for one thing and comes out having spent £20' on a daily basis (as I was when I had a significantly higher income), then you may find the NSD (No Spend Day) Challenge useful. January's thread is here

Some people (I'm one of these idiots ) count every single penny as a spend (including Direct Debits for utility bills), while others count anything not included in a specific budget (so groceries and utility bills don't count, but the impulse chocolate bar or coffee shop visit does). As we each set out own rules you could just count grocery spends, and as collecting NSDs can get very addictive you'll probably find yourself menu planning, buying what's needed once or twice a week, and with a lot less waste (and lower bills) as a result

NickJW

55p spent on a can of Diet Coke today - urrrgh - it's one of those kind of days. :mad:

Linz4383

well im thinkin my meal plans out the window for this week! currrently got a chicken in the oven cookin for roast for t! its a tesco value whoopsied one only cost 88p :eek: down from £4.40 so its a mighty big chicken just for me and my 4 year old daughter! especially considerin she ats her dad tomorrow and friday and her aunties on thursday for t!!!
thinkin i can do my roast dinner tonite to use up the veg in the fridge, tomorrow chicken supreme with the mushrooms out of the fridge and the packet mix in the cupboard (mite evn get that dun tonite), maybe curry for t on thursday, think ill freeze sum in portions with gravy and sum with curry for wen im on my own... im sure its goin to go further but not sure wot to do with ne more thats left... cud do it with a dolmio sauce as my daughter loves that and i can freeze that into portions too can also bulk it up a little with the homemade tomato sauce i did for her to try that she didnt like (shes very awkward) but that way shell get all the goodness (onion,mushroom, carrot etc) and wont no it! (i froze it in portions rather than throw it) then finally i can do a stock with the carcass (never done one of this although it does sound easy enough)
also had another NSD today go me
well done evryone

mummybearx

linz4383, I have only made a stock from carcass once before and it was so simple! Carcass into huge pan of water, I added a chopped carrot, celery, onion... erm, what else.... a few dried bay leaves and seasoning. Left that to simmer for ages, strained it and left it to cool. Decanted into a tupperware box and stuck it in the freezer :-) Made a few soups and risottos from it already, well chuffed with myself btw lol

LisaJane

£16.96 spent today in Mr T and local fruit and veg shop *hangs head in shame*. Way over budget but it's ok cos my budget was very unrealistic in the first place!! Going to try £50 for February!

mummybearx

I spent more money today

I did get a jar of Blue Dragon green thai curry sauce from MrT's, usually £1.89 but its on offer for £1, plus I had downloaded the 50p off coupon, so got the jar for 50p :j

Bought lightbulbs as well, that won't come out the grocery budget, but I was shocked at the price of them!! £2.61 for ONE bulb?!?

Linz4383

zepsgal wrote: »

linz4383, I have only made a stock from carcass once before and it was so simple! Carcass into huge pan of water, I added a chopped carrot, celery, onion... erm, what else.... a few dried bay leaves and seasoning. Left that to simmer for ages, strained it and left it to cool. Decanted into a tupperware box and stuck it in the freezer :-) Made a few soups and risottos from it already, well chuffed with myself btw lol

well done if mine turns out ok ill b be well chuffed with myself too gonna freeze it up ready to try a soup.. iu dnt tend to cook from scratch but have decided im goin to start tryin at least one thing a week, dnt do it as my little girl dnt tend to eat much only things like mash and meat, heinz tom soup, n dolmio things like that or shes not here as she goes to her dads or aunties wen im at work too! but figured if i can freeze it im gonna try it i kist love this thread made me think about things a lot more!

[Deleted User]

kerri_dfw wrote: »

thanks for the advice re: 2nd purse, that was how I thought it worked but wasn't quite sure even after reading the guide

Me too, must have read it about 3 times and was not sure too

Wear 28--- you could try the dont waste food thread if you are looking for other helpful forums, plus the front of this forum has some really great links for really cheap and nice meals

Caroline Runner PS Save Dosh - have you thought about a rabbit? Mine dispose of cabbage really well...
No, fraid not, i don't think a rabbit would end up with a cabbage in its mouth in our house, more like surrounded with veg a lid on it. Sorry.

Spends to report 2.79 on a few salad bits and milk, will update sig.

kerri_dfw

Save_Dosh wrote: »

Me too, must have read it about 3 times and was not sure too

I've decided to update my spreadsheet every Wednesday with the current prices of things so I am paying myself the same as I would be paying the shop. Not sure if this is right or not, but I think it will work well for me.

PolkaDotsAndLace

On track for a total NSD today (just hoping OH doesn't come in from work with groceries...) Must shop for milk and washing powder etc tomorrow though.

ETA: And OH just phoned to say he's coming back from the shops - why?! We don't need anything! Think I need to train him more...goodness knows what he's coming in with.