Grocery Challenge - February 2012

ragz_2

JIL wrote: »

Please dont apologise, its not a problem.

perhaps do some surveys to get a voucher for Amazon, then the books wont cost actual money if that makes sense? I think there is a thread on here about the books but I cant find it, if I do I will pop back and edit and add the link.

look at this its in the works for a bargain price of 99p
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/51021797#Comment_51021797

I thought they mean the Asda bag things? Though for £5 you could buy a pack of oven bags and some spice...

gonna_get_there

Yippee!!!!!!

Newbie on a late night Mr.T shop........stocked up on loads of fresh meat veg and bread all at knock down prices ........will deffo be doing this again, spent less and got loads of goodies yum yum I could get used to this new me lol

Dont know why I have not done this before, shop was full of the regular bargain hunters and a few angry customers, I had that first etc and I thought why not jump on the band wagon.

Same time next week for me

PennyGrabber

NickJW wrote: »

I need to go searching to find a recipe which uses up half a pack of sage and half a pack of parsley in the same meal for Friday since I refuse to throw them away!

I always chop (with scissors) my parsley up and freeze it in a sandwich bag, then tip it into white sauce to make a parsley sauce. Good things are : it's already chopped!! and you can use as much as you need.

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Well done everyone, there is such superb support on here and so much helpful advice. I went to stay with a friend Mon/Tue and had to catch up this morning but really enjoyed the posts


My meagre tips for cutting down on sm spend are:

• Write the list based on a fridge list of things we are running out of + meal plan list and the staple things we always use I buy the milk and one loaf of bread for the week and make my own bread the rest of the week.
• I keep one spare 4 pint and 1 spare 2 pint of milk in the freezer and use this when we overuse or have a freezer no sm week (once a month/6 weeks currently)
• I send DH on his own to do the sm run at least once a month. He hates shopping and gets only what is on the list. He really appreciates it when we go together that way! :shhh:
• My new bargain hunting is on-line rather than in person, where I look for MOCs, read other's saving posts and use SM comparison sites, then I also check Waitflower (free delivery if over £50 - and we are 18 mile round trip) and Amazing (also free delivery) before finalising the list.
• I still go shopping but maybe 2-3 times in the month so I get the buzz but less often. We go to Aldo's first, and only go on if they can't do it. We use the local butcher at least twice a month and the farm shop for eggs (cheaper than sm for FR)
• I was getting drawn into the £10 off £70 in Sainsbob but I shopped there 3 weeks running and suddenly it was £10 off £80 so not going there for a few weeks now.
• I've got a 2nd purse spreadsheet for shopping from my own stores (complicated as I was already stocked up for the next Suffolk siege :eek: and I'm not counting the "old" stuff).
• All my ood tins are on the counter (really annoying and makes me consider using them instead of forgetting I've got them)

Not sure if this helps anyone but it sort of works for me (I stop sleeping if I don't know what we've got and what to expect).

This is a really good idea. I have a shelf of my pantry dedicated to ood stuff (really just wishing I hadn't actually bought so much in the first place!), but still have to get a few bits out on the side every now and then to make sure I use them! I used up an ood tin today yeah me!, so only a shelf full to go!

OS_QS wrote: »

Feeling very pleased with myself - went into M&S on Monday to get the V-day meal deal for £20. As I was putting the items in my basket, I was thinking, I have similar stuff in the freezer, left from christmas and have a nice stash of pink bubbles from before my changed GC days:beer: (which is now for a treat, not every weekend!

So after freezing my hands off trying to find things in the freezer - I managed to rustle up the following for me and my OH:

Baked camembert and cranberry sauce
Pan-fried steak with a dash of whisky and cream
Chunky chips
creme brule cheesecake
Sparkling Rose

ALL FOR FREE :j Happy Valentines day to us! This challenge is certainly making me think!

Check you out!! Well done - bet it tasted sooo much better for knowing you didn't have to buy anything new!

I spent a few pounds today, but not counting it, as it's entertainment - my daughter is having a friend over to play. She chose hm pizzas for lunch (bless!), so I bought them some nice drinks (we like something called Kirstyjuice - cocktail of orange juice, cranberry juice and lemonade, with ice and chopped up apple and orange in it. It's so called, because we first had it at my friend Kirsty's house!) Also got some pring1es for them as they're only £1 at horrorsons at the mo.

Night all,

PG x

rosieben

tigerfeet, I've added your SC Pork in Honey, Mustard and Apple Juice (GF&DF) to the index :beer:

elsiepac, I've added your WEA Mock Goose to the index too :beer:

caroline504

Hi
just joined the Feb GC officially but been looking in my fridge/freezer/cupboards and hopefully will be able to keep it to £45 or less again this week :j

if this happens I should be £60 under my usual £250 budget

rej-c

Updated my sig to Weds 15/2 inclusive: 1 NSD added, and £11.65 of spends on the other two days. Feel like I'm sailing a bit close to the wind now - with just under £25 left of my budget, it's time to rein it in until the end of the month... need to buy and eat more veggies, less 'other things'.

Having the next couple of days off work should help me stay out of the shops...

ms_night_ryder

Hey all haven't been on for ages, whuch is a good thing, I haven't spent anymore of my budget so have £19 left ubtil end of the month, I can easily do this, have freezer stock, just realised I have a Mary berry cupcake out, needs using by the end of the month, so will make this weekend, will need eggs and butter and an orange, will also be in the lookout for some corn in the cob for dinner over the weekend, which will be sc pulled bbq pork, roasted baby potatoes, sweetcorn hm coleslaw and veg looking forward to it. Going to try and spend no more than £9 until the end if the month.

JIL

ragz wrote: »

I thought they mean the Asda bag things? Though for £5 you could buy a pack of oven bags and some spice...

Whoops, Not sure, but have covered all bases anyway and the takeaway secret book at 99p is a bargain.

Yes you are right (and I probably have most of the spices and some roasting bags in the cupboard already) But when I have done a strange shift at work like I have done today and I cant think straight, they will come in handy.
Theres no way I would be paying more than 50p though.

Ninno820

LondonDreamer wrote: »

Also for Amazon, you can trade in old cookbooks (or any books they consider textbooks) that you don't want any more for gift certificates. Sometimes the prices aren't great (25p for some of my books!) but one was getting nearly what I paid for it. So that got traded in, have credit sitting on my account now that I'm deciding what to do with.

Thanks for that - I didnt know about this facility, even tho I use Amazon a lot, so will be looking out the old cookbooks and seeing what I can get for them. The site also trades in computer games which might interest some other folks.

Hoping for a NSD / small spend day today. I am driving over to friends for a "scrapbooking" day and the hostess will provide lunch (we take it in turns - I'm not sponging)

Dinner tonight is hm pizza to use up some ham and mushrooms and sw chips with one of twinks hob nobs for afters - quick and easy tho not particularly healthy.

Its looking like a really nice sunny day today. Good luck everyone.:rotfl:

ETA - just put two textbooks that had been cluttering my bookshelf on Amazon - £16.10 - Thanks !!!

Suffolk_lass

CompBunny wrote: »

Had some blood test results today, need to have yet another in 6 weeks. My blood count is low, but the thing is I have been taking iron tablets every single day for over a year now and improving diet...so why is my blood count low? I'm seeing the doctor soon but has anyone else had this?

Not sure any of us are well positioned to explain why your blood count is low - it isn't clear from your post which readings you are talking about, except iron, which is red blood cell related. There is a really good PDF article by the american national institute for health at Bethesda that was produced to support and explain background and prevention of illness if you have this (as opposed to what causes it, although some of that is there). It suggests it was produced to explain this to people undertaking clinical trials and splits down the readings and so on. The link is http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/pepubs/cbc97.pdf

I would have a read and prepare some written questions based on the the article to ask your doctor (or nurse) next time. As one of our number said, you don't say if you have any underlying health conditions so any of our experiences could be in a completely different context.

I was given iron tablets just once and they gave me terrible constipation and I asked how low my count was to be told it wasn't low at all, they just always gave them to pregnant women. I just threw them away after that and bought a bag of spinach once a week and at every future appointment I was assured that the iron tablets had definitely done the trick and my iron was nice and high. I smiled sweetly... Clearly my experience is not the same as yours so the solution will also not be for you. It must be really frustrating not knowing how to fix it but there could be any number of reasons for this. I do hope you find out soon.