May 2012 Grocery Challenge

Florenceem

sonastin wrote: »

I've got a real dilemma now. Ended up about £40 overspent for April. May's budget doesn't start till Tuesday but we ran out of teabags yesterday and I can't leave OH with emergency looseleaf tea while I'm out at work tomorrow - can't bear the sulking and whingeing I'll have to listen to if I try. So went to MrA to get tea bags, and bought the rest of the stuff on the shopping list while I was there. Rest of it could have waited till Tuesday so can't decide whether to put the ~£30 spend on May's budget or be honest and accept that it was more spending in April. Should help with bringing May in under budget so perhaps best to put it in April where it belongs, but reduce the budget for May.

What do you reckon? What would you guys do?

I would put it on April's budget. Then start to train your OH - no sulking - he is a grown up!
I feel SO blessed with MR F - his nickname for me is Mrs Mean - mine for him is - Mr Tight! :rotfl:

thrifty-gal26

I am going to take the plunge and join in for May ( starting the 1st ) and give myself a budget of £100.

We have LOTS of food in and freezer is jam packed so would like to cut back this month. Whatever is left can go towards all the take outs we will probably eat next month. ( baby due 13/06 lol )

Flat_Eric

I spent ages earlier chopping up veg so now have to find room in my freezer to fit aubergines/onions and courgettes! I think I won't be buying any more (fresh) veg for a few weeks/months! I think in the future I might stick to buying frozen veg. I am terrible for buying fresh veg with the best of intentions but losing interest in cooking with it until it goes manky and needs ditching.

I have also made a huge sausage casserole so lots of veg went in that. I think though that I must have overfilled the dish because there is a nice mess on my oven floor. I daren't try to clean this while the oven is on/hot !! (its an electric one) but I'm guessing/hoping it cleans up ok? Any tips on how best to do it.

Have started a meal plan for this week so will try to finish this now basing it on what I have in the house.

I agree that money off coupons are generally a rip off. likewise buy two for x amount deals.

Teatime

Hi Everyone,
I am new.
I'd love to join in with this.
There are two adults in our house, a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a large dog.
Our month is a calendar month so will start on 1st of May.
I'd like to go for £200 please.

Kylieminoag

NSD for me today:j

But BiL number two arrived last night and announced he was staying two nights.... bang goes the meal plan again! - we've already used most of the veg I had planned for the week.:eek:

Will have to have a storecupboard tea of baked beans one night..... nice if you saute an onion with some curry spices (cumin coriander garlic ginger with optional chili) add a tin of beans and stir, make a well on top and crack an egg in - cover and simmer gently til egg poached. Serve with toast.... :Ddelish!

Happy Sunday everyone - (anyone fancy pretending its only Saturday so we dont have to go to work tomorrow?!):rotfl:

p-pincher

Flat_Eric wrote: »

I'm trying to do slimming world as well. I am not doing very well at the moment and I agree, it is hard to do when trying to rein in the grocery budget. Do you visit the slimming world thread on here ?

I have a read through every now and then but to be honest i always forget there's a slimming world thread on MSE. I get my slimming world fix on minimins, theres some excellent ideas and recipes on there. Got a few new ones to try this week including baked beans lasagne and syn free BBQ sauce, yum yum.

Spent a massive £96 already. £50 at tescos and £46 from Ocado. Ocado is a shop I dont really shop at a lot but every so often they send me a £20 off a £60 shop so it makes it worth while. Stocked up on plenty of chicken and store cupboard bits. Was good round tesco and only bought things that i needed and that were on offer, no junk.

What I have noticed since starting GC is how differently I now shop. I went up tesco with my mum and sis and they kept commenting on how i shop. For example the sanex was on half price offer so i bought 4 and the big tin of nescafe was £8.50 for 500g so i bought 2. Both of them commented on how much i was buying. They couldnt understand why I had bought 4 massive bottles but they will last us ages. I said to my mum that she should buy the same coffee as she goes through it faster than me but she said no, she bought the 200g for £4.79 and said she will buy another 200g one next week:o. They've got plenty of storage but I dint think they understand at all why i shop like i do x

MissOrganised1972

Back I skulk, head bowed!! Have been MIA for the last 2 months but am back on the straight & narrow!

My month runs 25th-24th each month. My budget is £140 (happy to keep note in my signature) for May & I have already had my 1st spends. Did a Tesco & Aldi shop last Wednesday & came in at £36.90. Pleased with that. It did help that none of us ate at home on Friday. Also I planned roast chicken today with the leftovers in a pie tomorrow BUT we're off out to Prezzo for dinner now (entertainment budget) So, have been organised and got some casserole beef out ready to stew tonight ready for a pie tomorrow, instead.

Freezer is nicely stocked. Am feeling organised and ready!!!

Suffolk_lass

thrifty-gal26 wrote: »

I am going to take the plunge and join in for May ( starting the 1st ) and give myself a budget of £100.

We have LOTS of food in and freezer is jam packed so would like to cut back this month. Whatever is left can go towards all the take outs we will probably eat next month. ( baby due 13/06 lol )

Teatime wrote: »

Hi Everyone,
I am new.
I'd love to join in with this.
There are two adults in our house, a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a large dog.
Our month is a calendar month so will start on 1st of May.
I'd like to go for £200 please.

A quick welcome to both of you - it is well worth reading the first page of posts - Spiggle's excellent advice is in Zippychick's #1 and loads of economical recipes to try (not all are fattening!), and Mothership's 2nd purse system is explained near the bottom of post #6. Well worth considering. There are loads of great tips and top people on here and generally we try to be supportive and helpful. We all want each other to succeed and we all have different pressures and contexts in which we are doing this. So welcome and we wish you success. Well done for joining in :j

Flat_Eric wrote: »

I have also made a huge sausage casserole so lots of veg went in that. I think though that I must have overfilled the dish because there is a nice mess on my oven floor. I daren't try to clean this while the oven is on/hot !! (its an electric one) but I'm guessing/hoping it cleans up ok? Any tips on how best to do it.

Biological washing powder made into a paste with a little water and left to "soak" for an hour is pretty good

HTH
SL

Flat_Eric

p-pincher wrote: »

I have a read through every now and then but to be honest i always forget there's a slimming world thread on MSE. I get my slimming world fix on minimins, theres some excellent ideas and recipes on there. Got a few new ones to try this week including baked beans lasagne and syn free BBQ sauce, yum yum.

Spent a massive £96 already. £50 at tescos and £46 from Ocado. Ocado is a shop I dont really shop at a lot but every so often they send me a £20 off a £60 shop so it makes it worth while. Stocked up on plenty of chicken and store cupboard bits. Was good round tesco and only bought things that i needed and that were on offer, no junk.

What I have noticed since starting GC is how differently I now shop. I went up tesco with my mum and sis and they kept commenting on how i shop. For example the sanex was on half price offer so i bought 4 and the big tin of nescafe was £8.50 for 500g so i bought 2. Both of them commented on how much i was buying. They couldnt understand why I had bought 4 massive bottles but they will last us ages. I said to my mum that she should buy the same coffee as she goes through it faster than me but she said no, she bought the 200g for £4.79 and said she will buy another 200g one next week:o. They've got plenty of storage but I dint think they understand at all why i shop like i do x

I buy a certain honey soap because other soap makes my hands dry and sore. I have about 10 ? in my upstairs spare room and a bag full under my desk at work! Everywhere you look in my kitchen, you will see boxes of nature valley bars. I bulk bought when they were bogof last year! I love those self service checkouts for bulk buying! Also when I spotted those big bottles of encona sweet chilli sauce at a very good price in a Mr T store in a town I was visiting, I cleared the shelf! likewise I did the same when I went into a local corner shop in london.

I just wish I had more storage space!

Teatime

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

A quick welcome to both of you
SL

Thanks Suffolk Lass.

I think joining in with the challenges will make me much more likely to stick at it - have been struggling along trying to do it on my own for a while now.