Grocery Challenge - February 2012

prepareathome

This month there will be no extras as hubby is now done to only basic contract of 20 hrs so his pay will be £133 every week and I at moment receive £99.30 Incap ben but rent and council tax come to £120pw so doesn't leave much and he now has to pay for parking every day or get bus or train in - all comes to much the same about £23pw. Hubby needs £200 as he is playing in a bowls comp in middle of month and its a 600 mile round trip ( son paid for entrance fees and hotel as his birthday present last year but hotel is still 10 miles from venue), then car insurance and other bills will leave me with a grand total of £35 for grocery shop - that includes everything for house not just food. If I am very careful I think I can manage on what is in cupboards and freezer and just need to buy milk and other fresh things like eggs, cheese, plus he needs more cornflakes and they must be **l***s he will not have anything else for breakfast and the big box only lasts him just over a week:eek:

So got to be very, very creative now. I might just put in a claim to see if we can get any HB or CTB as anything would help but I think we are still over the limit.

At least not spent anything yet

So my budget for the month £35:eek:
I knew this was coming soon hence me stocking up like mad end of last year but was hoping it might happen later in the year

tigerfeet2006

We are having the mac cheese again tonight with roast veg. I chopped some spuds up into small pieces and then sliced up some carrots and parsnips into battens. Threw them into a roasting tin and drizzled oil over them and some sea salt and paprika. Whacked them in the oven for 40-50mins, turning them every now and then.

There is enough for the five of us plus a portion of each for the freezer. So two mac cheeses went really far. Great big platefuls on day one, a great big dollops today with veg plus two great big dollops left for the freezer. That is what you call very cheap.

I also had a banana loaf in the oven with the veg so as to fill it up and not waste electric, also used up some bananas that were going soft.

NickJW

prepareathome wrote: »

plus he needs more cornflakes and they must be **l***s he will not have anything else for breakfast and the big box only lasts him just over a week:eek:

Will he notice if you buy a cheaper brand and put it in the Kell0gs box? Cheeky I know but it's a tough budget so every little helps and all that.

Happy NSD for me today :j

hex2

Nipped into MrS on the way home, resisted using the £6 off a £60 (and was rewarded with another one for next week)

pitta breads, 2 packs for 90p - to have with dinner, cheaper than nan breads and the children love them
Lindt chocolate bars on offer at £1 - sea salt is lovely, as is the caramel. My treat for the month.
Spaghetti cheese bags - 2 bags of 4 for £2 (fussy child for packed lunch on school trip)

I noticed that cathedral city 350g was on bogof

Dinner tonight was HM chicken curry (padded with chick peas, cauliflower and red lentils), lentil dahl and rice. I didn't hide the chicken fast enough to prevent DH from having seconds, but still managed to freeze three tubs for his lunches.

aprilshower

Hi Everybody,

My budget for February is going to be £200. I still have a full freezer so should be ok and it is a short month.

Take care

Aprilshower

tigerfeet2006

Prepareathome, put your figures into the benefit calculator on https://www.turn2us.org.uk and see what that comes up with.

helen_jelly

prepareathome - there's also another site - entitledto.com or .co.uk - tells you if you aer entitled to rent and coucil tax help etc - good luck hun

redouble - you made me chuckle lol

Thanks everyone for the responses, I just need to have a little chat with 1 other and then I'll get back to you - special thanks for the PM's x

angelatgraceland

rumblytum wrote: »

Hi Tigerfeet,

I just have to say:

What an incredibly helpful post. Thank you so very much. :T


I'm so glad I joined this thread.

Tonight I collect my daughter from school, and have a 45 minute break with her in the car, when we eat our 'tea', and then take her on elsewhere, and we don't get home until 9.30. I usually buy a ready made supermarket salad for us both, which I realise is expensive and silly. I can see that I can make my own salads, and prepare the night before and leave it in my car all day (wouldn't want to lug it up to London and back), but does anyone have any other suggestions? It needs to be reasonably sized - it's our main meal of the day, although cold.

rumbly x

Does it "have" to be cold? In February-our worst month pf the year you may well be glad of something hot. how about getting a food flask and filling it with hot soup or stew-either home made or tinned it will be a welcome change from chilly salads. How about some baked potatoes with a nice homemade filling, wrapped in foil? You could also have things like a pasta salad which could be warm or cold and is filling. Things like this are good for using up the fridge contents I find-every time-they are a little different!

CRANKY40

I'm fine with being a number and thanks for all of your hard work. Could I be put down for £160 for February please. I'm full of cold so spent 20 minutes in Asda this week which is quick even for me.

Spiggle

carolinerunner wrote: »

btw does anyone know if M@kro do cheap Sheba? Can't find anywhere less than 50p for the square foil packs and it's mostly the only thing my cats will (reliably) eat. Cheap cat food isn't a bargain if most of it gets left and the little darlings both have dodgy digestion so can't let them starve, plump tho they are...;)

I don't know if anyone replied to you carolinerunner but I just checked Amazon and they have them a lot cheaper than 50p. Have a look here or just search the site if you use nectar to go there.

Hope that helps. Trying desparately to catch up and friend has just arrived so it may be tomorrow now.

Take care all,
Spigs