Keeping up appearances.......

babyblooz

I'm enjoying this thread a lot! It's inspiring me to spring clean my finances to hopefully fund a family holiday later on in the year!:j:j

Hopeful1

What a fab diary! I'm going to have a quiet look at the grocery challenge before I venture out to do the shopping...wish me luck!

HappyNow

Pinot - yay, cowboy beans! That's Tuesday's tea sorted!

Babyblooz - thanks for reading and good luck with your springcleaning. I hope it helps you get that holiday!

Hopeful1 - yes, the Grocery Challenge is great and it really does focus your mind on what you spend. My own figure was a tad unrealistic this month (out of necessity - it was all I had) and I have overspent on it already, with 17 days still to go!

HappyNow

Ah b*ggar, I've exceed my £100 Grocery Challenge, and I'm only half-way through the month. A £12.62 overspend already :cool:.

It's Mr Happy's fault, I KNEW I shouldn't have let him come shopping with me. I told him that if he came he had to keep both hands firmly on the trolley, but he let go and sneaked in a rhubarb crumble, some fresh cream, a bottle of wine and some pre-packaged meat for his sandwich lunches next week.

He also insisted we needed some batteries and lightbulbs - which we did of course, but I would have managed without until payday. But in the interests of Keeping Up Appearances it was hard to justify wandering around the house in the dark and turning the telly off manually for 17 days so I didn't make a fuss.

The positive side is that I should now have enough groceries in to make meals until payday. Just milk, bread and vegetables to buy fresh. Next month I will hopefully be able to manage a more realistic budget - £100 just isn't enough when it includes dog/cat food, all toiletries, cleaning products, lightbulbs, batteries etc - in fact all supermarket shopping. To be sustainable, I think £150 is really an absolute minimum for us, and £200 would be lovely! We used to easily get through £400 a month, more when the kids are home from uni so massive savings there.

On a very positive note, our new tenants have signed up for our rental house and the rent will be in our account on Tuesday . We only lost a week's rent on it which is brilliant and has saved a lot of worry this month.

Hopeful1

Blimey you've still done really well with your budget though considering how much you were spending. Well done!

I need to get back to meal planning. I really think that's the key for me. Your thread motivated me to sit and do that yesterday! I also sorted out the veg drawer - oh that was scary! :eek: Anything edible was chucked in the slow cooker. That can now be used in all sorts of culinery delights for me and my kiddiewinks!

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Morning

Great news on the tennants.

Don't beat yourself up on the shopping, work in progress.

Lightbulbs etc - may be worth looking at Wilkinsons, can be much much cheaper than the supermarkets.

Have a good day.

HHx

HappyNow

Hopeful1 wrote: »

Blimey you've still done really well with your budget though considering how much you were spending. Well done!

I need to get back to meal planning. I really think that's the key for me. Your thread motivated me to sit and do that yesterday! I also sorted out the veg drawer - oh that was scary! :eek: Anything edible was chucked in the slow cooker. That can now be used in all sorts of culinery delights for me and my kiddiewinks!

Ooh yes, I remember emptying the veg drawer in my fridge a few weeks ago. Funny what happens to carrots if you leave them long enough....:D.

Very well done on the meal planning. I'm hearing lots of good stuff about slow cookers on this board, I shall have to check into them. Not sure if they're really that useful for vegetarians though. Hmmm..... I'll research it.

Hopelessly_Hopeful

They have some large slow cookers for £12.50 in Tesco stores at the mo!

I have rice pudding in mmine just now. It's so creamy, that's just milk, pudding rice, nutmeg and sugar. Will toss some sultans in for the last hour. Yum yum.

HHx

Hopeful1

Definitely look into the slow cooker. I'd be lost without mine. Do you use meat sunstitutes like Quorn etc? I'm guessing you'd follow the same recipes if you do? I do stews, chilli, bolognaise etc. I purely cooked veg in it yesterday with some stock. I'll seperate it out into meals now. Tomorrow i'll add a little spice for the eldest and prob a bit of sausage. Other portions I'll blend to use as sauces or mash a little for the youngest. Once they create a slow cooker that peels and chops i'll be well away

poohbear59

Well done on reducing your shopping budget so much.:j:j:j:j It is a big change. It is probably impossible to buy dog and cat food and all toiletries in your budget so £150 is much more realistic.

Happy, I was having a look at your shopping and have some ideas.
1. You have to meal plan and stick to it. Are you planning lunches too.
2. If you have something in fridge or cupboard earmarked for a meal you might need to either label it (a bit student like) or hide it. I have to hide cheese behind things in the fridge.
3. Think about buying a piece or uncooked ham or gammon to use sliced for meals and for packed lunches (I have bought myself an electric slicer now and it makes all meat go further)
4. Never go with DH!!! Although I like mine to come with me to do lifting carrying etc. it guarantees we will spend more.
5. Take a list but you can pick up proper bargains eg knock down prices but only if you will definitely use it and not to sit in the freezer because it was a bargain I had lots of those when I started off.
6. Ask for a slow cooker on Freecycle or Freegle whichever you have in your area. It means tasty but cheap food. Cook a chicken in it and you can use every tiny piece of meat then make a soup or broth in the stock.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/343009



Sorry I don't know how to do fancy links, thi one is Ham economics.