July 2012 Grocery Challenge

Welsh_Poppy

Morning

JJ
Thanks for info will have a look for Artisan bread and see about making it.
I do have packets of AF white bab mix stocked up whilst it was on offer.
I made Strawberry jam yesterday all Strawberries from garden and it tastes so scrummy it only cost the sugar so not too expensive I rather homemade jam infact anything Hm is delic and better than sm I also make a mean chilli jam ,marmalade and chutney's my cupboards are usually bulging under the weight of them.

EverTheOptimist

Morning all

I have just heard on the news that fruit shoots with the new sports cap (???) are being recalled, just for anyone that might buy them for kiddies as treats.

Have a good day.

lilian1977

Reporting a couple of spends that bring my balance to £21.65. Hoping that's it until the weekend now though.

FrugalinStrood

NSD yesterday:j
I 'bought' hair dye with my Boots Advantage points and chicken food, bedding and grit with my £20 scratch card winnings.

Boodle

For hampers, I try to get some shoe boxes to cover neatly in Xmas or birthday paper then cellophane it with ribbon and a gift tag to explain what is inside.

I find fruit preserves expensive to make too if using bought fruit so this year I am concentrating on floral/herbal jellies and foraged fruit. For the summer birthdays I have lavender, rose and elderflower jellies (next year I will be at the dandelions ) which I plan to pack up with some green tea I got on Approved Foods.

For Xmas, my plan so far is Rosemary and Vanilla Jelly (as I mentioned yesterday tho, I am yet to experiment with this!) Bay and Molasses Chutney (carrots and a marrow so not too expensive + bay from the garden, in the past I have done apple chutneys from foraged windfalls but my nanna can't have fruit so to make it easier, everyone is having the same), Fruity Gin with a mixture of hawthorn berries, rowanberries and blackberries from my garden (not for nanna, sorry nanna!) then will tuck in some nice crackers and Nairn's dark choc chip oatcakes (yum!)

I find the nicer the hampers are presented the more appreciated they are, but it has taken a while to get the hang of it. At first, they were not usually met with great enthusiasm (not sure if they actually thought "cheapskate or what just my paranoia!) But I think now people expect the hampers, they sort of look forward to seeing what it will be this time

I like seeing what everyone plans to put in theirs, so thanks for sharing

Mrs_Addicted_to_Spending

I'm doing quite well this month so far staying within my budget yay! And I have quite a few meals for next week in - luckily we got invited out last minute for Sunday lunch so didn't need to use my massive pack of YS chicken. So that will do for next week instead.

Made ham coquettes with jacket potatoes yesterday plus some LO lasagne from Saturday. Coquettes were very cheap and taste yummy . Tonight we're having potato slices with bacon, onion and cheese sauce which is a recipe from the first page (I can't remember the name of the dish) so I'll see how that goes down with the troops.

All this talk of breadmakers is making me want one (even though I can't eat bread - the family eat lots). I'll have to put it on my list of things to get once debt is gone, along with a slow cooker .

Barbeduk

savesummore wrote: »

I went with a collegue at lunch time today and spent £10 on bl**dy shampoo!! Mr T has an offer on J8hn Fr*da 3 for £10 so I had a shampoo (usual cost £5) condtioner (usual cost £5) and a new heat treatment spray (usual cost £7) so yes a great 'deal' except I DIDNT NEED IT!!! And I would have never have paid those full prices anyway :mad:

I used to spend a fortune on hair products, now I use !id!s cien provitamin shampoo and conditioner and can honestly say I can't see or feel any difference! And they're 75p each!;)

Dipndo wrote: »

Going to attempt to clean lounge carpet tonight with Stardrops????

DS had a stomach bug in the night so guess what I was doing at 2am! :eek:I dilute it in a spray bottle, but you can also just mix some with water in a bucket.

Had a spend of £14.40 as was getting low on things like rice, pasta, milk, apples etc. also bought more br@nston beans to add to the bean mountain and a bottle of wine.

Went to a leaving do last night, we all took nibbles. In the past I would have bought something but I made a batch of Twinks hobnobs with choc chips (I use MR M savers plain choc chopped up), they went down a storm and I have loads left to last us the next few days (if I don't keep eating them). Don't know if anyone else has seen it but there's a whole thread devoted to them on old style!

Jumblejack have you thought of starting a foraging thread? Bet there's loads of people on oldstyle that would contribute tips. And have you seen the home brewing thread on the debt free board, lots of recipes and tips on there.

fozziebeartoo

ikkle87 wrote: »

Please may I join? Will be setting a target of £200 for this month and that's for two adults, as my budget when bubs is here including nappies, wipes, formula etc will be £300 so want to try to cut back where I can now

We've not done a food shop for July yet, it's a case of eating what is in as I'm currently bed bound so 2 nsd's here already. OH brought me a bacon baguette home from work which was overstock and so didn't cost anything and then I had some weetabix for lunch and tea was made from what was in - some corned beef crispbakes and chips.

Hoping I will be well enough to go shopping tomorrow or Wednesday, going to go to Aldi as still have the voucher from the Mirror to spend x

So sorry to hear you are stuck in bed :(:( .....hope things improve hugely for you very soon!! :T:T:T

fozziebeartoo

PennyGrabber wrote: »

Good money news today, which I wanted to share - my mortgage is now under £130k!! I'm so excited!

Night all,

PG x

ps - just had a crust of bread with my raspberry jam on - diiiiiivine!!!

Congratulations on your shrinking mortgage, brilliant news!! :T

Soworried

Hugs to all that need them.

Breakfast was YS bananas and YS waffles with honey.

Pack up lunches are YS buns with egg mayo. YS blueberry muffin, YS melon pack. Less than 50p each

Dinner will be YS salmon fillets with asian style noodles. So a few things out of the freezer and hopefully nothing in.

I do have to go shopping for coffee today though. I'm hoping for a very small under £5 spend.