July 2012 Grocery Challenge

MrsCD

PennyGrabber wrote: »

I just don't know what to do. That's not true. I know what to do, I don't seem to be able to do it...

My first little tiny aim, is to not go to a sm today or tomorrow.

Oh dear PG. I know just how you feel. Only my prob isn't not going in to the sm, it's walking past a tin of biscs ;)
It's horrible when you know you shouldn't do something, but you still do it Don't beat yourself up about it though. Could you leave your cards at home and just take a little bit cash out with you? Lots of low cal, money free hugs :grouphug:

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I've tried to get my head around it loads of times - I do "get" the principles of it but just can't errrr get my head fully around it eg I don't have a lot of cupboard space..... how on earth do you know when you go to the cupboard, what is "yours" and what is "shop" IYSWIM?

I'm afraid it seems a load of hassle to have to work that out everytime you want to get a jar or packet of something out to use?

Risingfrom...I know what you mean about it seeming like a lot of hassle. I decided to have a 'second purse' just to put the amount of money the SM says 'I have saved' :rotfl:So far I have 'saved' over £30 which I would have paid the SM, so I'm keeping it for treats!

NSD again :T We have no ice cream or lollies in the freezer, but it won't kill us to do without until Monday or Tuesday!

ladymay

Hello!

Hope everyone is well

I'd like to try for £80 again this month.

Dipndo

Thanks for the posts on 2 nd purse going to give it a try.
Made Mac cheese tonight instead of planned meal,needed to use up 2l of milk.Enough for another meal so froze that,still had loads of milk left,so made the white sauce for lasagna we are having on Tuesday. Feeling virtuos now lol the milk would have been binned prior to the GC.

NSD today

XSpender

Achieved a NSD today even though we are almost out of toothpaste I will squeeze out every last bit to last us until Friday when I am due to do my next weekly shop.

Pinched a bit of DS sausage tonight and liked it (it's 25 years since I last ate a sausage) so may tweak my meal plan to add a sausage meal as I have 32 good quality M&S ones in the freezer I bought for DH and DS. Added bonus is they are GF so I don't need to buy any specially for me:)

DMIL wouldn't take more than £3.50 from me towards the dogs food for the next couple of weeks so a saving there. It was lovely to see the dogs, I hadn't realised how much I had missed them and them me.:happyhear

Fancy eggy bread for breakfast tomorrow. DH will want the works as he is out again tonight.

Glitzer

Hi all!

I would like to join in please.

My family consist of myself, DH and DS aged 2 years old. I very briefly joined in some time ago then life got in the way so to speak. Anyhow, things are pretty dire, as tight as they ever have been really since I was made redundant in December and we relocated to be closer to my family, despite both having a little temping work neither myself nor my DH have found anything permanent as yet but managed reasonably well, until now! :eek:

I would like to set our July budget at £250 to include cleaning materials, toiletries, nappies and wipes; who knows, if the summer ever arrives we may be able to get DS potty trained. :rotfl:

I may be a little cheat though? Can I start our month from Thursday just gone although I don't know exactly what we spent, it just makes it a little easier for me?!

Aldahbra

Hi Make-it-3 and Glitzer welcome to the thread. Glitzer I don't see why you can't just have a budget until the end of your month and call it July. It is the changes in your lifestyle that is the important and the sooner you start the better.

PennyGrabber wrote: »

I don't know what's happened to me... I've fallen back into my pre-gc ways this week. Before, I used to drop the children off at their dad's and then go straight to the sms. I realised this was my problem area, as then I emotion-spent. I stopped this, and saw a dramatic reduction in my spending, as I used to spend around £40 a time, twice a week, on top of the weekly shop!!

Ohh PennyGrabber Hugs :grouphug::grouphug: it must be so hard to do. You asked for advice, it is not a situation I have ever been in, but I just wondered if you could arrange to do something as soon as you've dropped the kids off, see a friend, go to gym, anything really, even if the arrangement is only with yourself like... I'll shampoo the stair carpet as soon the kids are gone so that it will be dry by the time they get back. Then by the time you've kept your appointment maybe the pain will be a bit less acute and you might not resort retail therapy.

cattysmum

Evening, just a small spend for me today in Tescos, I needed some carrots, milk and yogurts and OH snuck a bottle of Red wine in as well, that will be coming out of HIS budget not mine, Slow cooking a Beef in Ale casserole at the minute, ashamed to admit not home made but a Jar of reduced Sauce from Asdas a few weeks ago that cost me 60p. Will update siggy,night all

PennyGrabber

Thanks to all that have offered help/advice/hugs/sympathy...

I did go into a sm today, but didn't spend anything. I was with a friend, and she wanted a pudding/cake type thing, so we zoomed in, got that and zoomed out again (after paying, of course!)

Spent the evening with her, in fact she's only just gone, and feeling a bit better. I really wanted to get a load of housework done, but felt so rubbish about myself that I went back to bed and carried on reading until six o'clock! However, friend has made me feel better, and I am going to get up early tomorrow, wear scrubby clothes that I can't go to the sm in, and tidy and clean my a@@ off!

The children come back tomorrow at half four, and I will cook them something nice for dinner. Spent a lot of this evening talking about them, and how much I'm looking forward to taking them away - really should start saving for some euros, so that's another incentive for being better behaved.

Have a renewed outlook now, and a nsd to boot. Let's see if I can keep this thing going...

Oh, and declaring June as £145. Not very good compared to what I wanted, but considering £75 of that was this last week, it's not too bad.

Night all

PG x

Violeine

I've been lurking the June thread and I would love to join! Can I be put down for £120 please? This is for me, OH's evening meals and a cat including all food and toiletries etc.

[Deleted User]

Busy day today I made a Victoria sponge cake for DGS Jack and iced it in strawberry flavoured and white icing with stars sprinkled over the top.
Then I made a quiche with lots of odds and ends mainly 2 eggs,grated cheese some chopped up onion and some diced left over red pepper and a couple of mushrooms that had seem better days. I made the base from some wholewheat pastry I had left over from last week that was in the freezerI also made a big square tray bake and covered it with icing and some decorations and some cheesy scones.The last two will be going on our picnic tomorrow to Mersea Island of the essex coast

I rustled up a creme caramel for pudding tomorrow night as well so I think I have done my share of cooking today I'm just off to bed now I stayed up to watch Andy Murray playing at Wimbledon,close run thing but he's still in with a chance He seeme so ungainly as a tennis player and I feel he will suffer with back problems as he grows older,got a hell of a serve though.Bit let humid now so I may be able to sleep a bit better now
Tack care everyone
Cheers JackieO xxx