January 2012 Grocery Challenge

ixia

Morning everyone

i did a bit of shopping on friday that I am including in this months budget.

i went to hbs, ffoods and asd@ and between them I spent £47.11 which leaves me £352.89. I need a few bits today but I am just going to pop to Ald!, not as much temptation there.

Fruittea

Hi Everyone

I'd like to join in and learn a bit from you all.

I have a tonne of food in the cupboards as I ususually shop in bulk. I shop for two adults both mainly vegetarian food. I have two cats and eight chickens so usually have plenty of eggs.

Not sure what my usual monthly budget would be but a lot of it goes on booze so I'll try to get that down. As I bulk buy it may take me a while to assess just how much I spend.

I'd also like to loose a little weight so don't want too many pastry meals - but they do sound good. No spend yesterday and boiled eggs for breakfast so it's a good start. Meanwhile I'm just catching up with all the posts.

All the best

PennyGrabber

I've had breakfast two days in a row, and I've done my exercise video today - what is up with me? Oh yeah, it's the new year!! NSD planned for today, but not sure as we may be going to soft play which means I'll buy a drink (not allowed to take them in).

Pizza-making with my friend yest was fun, and so much cheaper than going out. Had a good time, and didn't feel like I'd over-indulged, which I definitely would've at an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant!

Lunch is hm soup for me (celery - nomnom) and boiled eggs for the children, then dinner is sausage casserole. Children are back at their dad's for dinner tom, so I'm having freezer/store cupboard surprise. Same again Weds, then we're having hedgehogs for dinner on Thursday as requested by DD.

Have a good day all,

PG x

LondonDreamer

£21.92 spent in M&S this morning. More than I was planning, but did pick up some chicken on offer plus some brie and grapes for DH as a treat. £12 just for that lot though!

Their 3 for £10 meat deal is back, I spotted whole chickens and good size gammon joints. Hoping they're still on it when I've cleared enough room in the freezer, could only just fit in what I bought today!

lemmings1986

morning all hope every1 is well and hugs to those that need them.:)

had a nsd yesterday and went to mil's of tea it was very nice so saved us some money.
plan for another nsd today as im at work shortly til 8pm so shouldnt spend anything,taking packup to work nothing exciting just sandwiches with rolls i made yesterday and going to take something out of freezer for tea which oh can cook for when i get home. spent 2.47 on saturday at t's on reduced items so still have £12.53 for rest of week.
im loving all the ideas that have been posted may have to try a couple.:D
i saw a good idea on superscrimpers before where the lady used to keep a icecream tub in the freezer and if she had left over veg after a meal like bits of brocoli,carrots,patatoes etc she would put them in the tub and when it was full shed make a stew or soup with it she didnt waste anything thought it was a great idea.
sorry for babling hope everyone has a good day :)

dreamyd

Hi, can I join? My average grocery spend is about £250/month (for two of us plus garden tiger) I tend to go mad with the yellow labels and the whoopsies, so we've now got two freezers fairly stuffed. Can you put me down for £200? Thanks.

wishfullthinking

Managed NSD's Saturday and Sunday didnt overload plates yesterday so have plenty of chicken left for sandwiches. Going to do meal planner today as back at work tomorrow this is my down fall usually as I havent been planning and pick something up on way home to cook or we have take out. Still have the £300 budget for Jan left wish me luck.

piggeh

Was thinking of giving this recipe a go, sounds lovely, but got a few problems:

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/bucatini-allamatriciana-bucatini-with-spicy-tomato-and-pancetta-sauce

dried chillies - I searched sainsburys site and they dont sell any! Anyone know where to get some from? Or do I need to order from a speciailist shop? Is there a cheaper alternative? I see they're £1.25 for a pack and would imagine they dont go off so would last a long while, so maybe not too expensive (dont know how much postage is though)

pecorino - dont want to buy this as I'd imagine it would go off before using most of it (£2.40 per pack!). Any decent alternatives?

Pancetta - anything worth subbing in?

At the moment I've worked it out to be around £6 although have not included cost of wine yet, so I guess £7-8 but looks good for 4 meals or so.

Mummynomoney

Hi

I'm completely new to any money saving at all but really need to get myself and my family in gear to stop us getting in to debt. I did our budget for the first time last night and was horrified at the amount we spend in the supermarket so could do with all the help I can get. Please could I join with £450 this month and see how I go - that's for 2 adults and 2 children

Thanks

bestill

Happy New Year All,

After failing completely to keep track of Dec budget, I'm going to start 2012 with the same budget I managed in Nov. Please put me down for £340 for whole month (1-31st).