April Grocery Challenge

ejminx

Have been reading these pages with interest and am happy to see that as a newbie I'm already doing some of things suggested to cut back, but as ever there is much room for improvement, so have decided to join the ranks and enlist!

I get paid on 24th so will set aside £100 for myself and husband - think it will be very tough as he is a real foodie and has expensive taste, add to this a broken oven (the thermostat has gone, in my amateur diagnosis, it nukes everything in about 10mins flat) & no microwave and you can only imagine how much planning has to go into the weekly shop!

Think I may look into a slow cooker....will let you know how we get on

Janeryan

Welcome ejminx.

Good luck with your budget(and finding a new cooker)

Lillibet_2

ejminx wrote:

Have been reading these pages with interest and am happy to see that as a newbie I'm already doing some of things suggested to cut back, but as ever there is much room for improvement, so have decided to join the ranks and enlist!

I get paid on 24th so will set aside £100 for myself and husband - think it will be very tough as he is a real foodie and has expensive taste, add to this a broken oven (the thermostat has gone, in my amateur diagnosis, it nukes everything in about 10mins flat) & no microwave and you can only imagine how much planning has to go into the weekly shop!

Think I may look into a slow cooker....will let you know how we get on

Welcome to the boards (Feel like I have finally been around long enough to say that now!) I get paid ont eh 24th too so we can support each other!

Be careful about trying to cut back to quickly, it'll be unfamillar to you at first & you may find you fail & give up, try cutting back just a little at a time & you may succeed more slowloy but for long term. Remember it isn't necessarily about trying to spend less than everyone else, it's about your own personal goals so if you like good food don't feel you have to switch to value ranges, just make sure you're getting the best value for money from that good food!

Good luck & keep us updated on how you get on;) .

amarillo_2004

I love this site! Found it this afternoon & have been here for hours...

Had been trying to challenge my grocery spending myself alongside an American site, and thought I was doing quite well. But my "budget" is £100 cash taken out on a Friday and no more spending money until the following Friday (unless, y'know, I spend more). Thats food, toiletries, cleaning, etc etc but NOT bills. There's just one of me.

HOW are you spending so little? I really did think I was being frugal. Haven't had fresh pasta for months AND the wine's been coming out of a box.

moggins

I now owe my credit card £20. I was only nipping to Asda to get a last minute pressie and birthday card and spotted they had Pampers Easy Up pant boxes of 84 for £14.98, we get through a pack of 15 Huggies in a week and they cost me £3.99 from Wilkinsons.

What was even better was they went through the till at £13.97

ejminx

Lillibet Welcome to the boards (Feel like I have finally been around long enough to say that now!) I get paid ont eh 24th too so we can support each other!

Cheers Lillibet, for the advice and to Janeryan for the greetings. I feel like I'm settling in! Welcome to Amarillo too. It will be fun comparing how we all get on. I have been saving a small fortune by doing sandwiches for mine & hubbie's lunch, but I really want to eat more fruit. I'm a bit lazy and work & won't eat most fruit unless it's already chopped up - too much hassle finding utensils to peel and core etc. I was wondering if I pre-chopped whether there is anyway of stopping fruit going brown, have heard lemon juice works but think that could be a bit too zingy! Any ideas?

moggins

ej you don't need to pour lemon juice over the fruit, if you just pop it into a bowl of cold water with the juice of a lemon added it will do the same job and you won't get a strong lemony taste on your fruit.

ejminx

Thanks Moggins. Will try that out, only have jif lemon in fridge but I guess that's as good Here comes the new healthy me. One of the things I have been good at is cutting down on useless expensive cereal bars & instead investing in a big tupperware full of mixed nuts, seeds, raisins & dried fruit. If you buy in bulk from health food stores (or better still, market) then you can take a little tub to work & happily munch away at will (always check you haven't got them stuck in your teeth for meetings though, not a good look)

Lillibet_2

I fell off the grocery band wagon big time last night & ordered takeaway even though I new we couldn't afford it:(

I felt really bad with crippling back ache & couldn't move properly, I couldn't even bend down to the bottom of the fridge to get the potatoes out or get the freezer open to find something else so gave in ordered pizza & got into a hot bath. Of course, I had to wait for hubby to get home to get me out of the bath........:o

It is my final big grocery shop of the month tonight & instead of having the planned £43 available, or even the actual £51.82 which was availble (I underspent last time), I now have just £27.55 to get us through:eek: . I have gone though my shopping list & meal plan & re-worked it & should be able to do it but even the cat & dog are going to be on strict rations. And only myself to blame:mad:

moggins

Lillbet don't beat yourself up, you're pregnant and with that comes lots of nasty surprises that incapacitate us for a while. At least you still have nearly £30 to last you and I'll bet you manage just nicely on that.