August 2012 Grocery Challenge

jasmin10

Hello People, hope you are all ok. So a couple of days of nice weather and I am planning on taking DD's to a local attraction. I have found a 20% dicount of my ticket, DD1 gets in on a cession and DH is the carer for her. My plan is not take any money (well we havent got any anyway), feel very nervous about this as I have never gone out with any money of some sort. Have £2 in the pot which I was going to use to get DD1 an icecream to keep her happy.

My question is - today I am spending the afternoon making the picnic food for it so that we wont need to buy anything anyway. I cant for the life of me remember if it was this thread or last months. where there was a fanatastic couple of posts with picnic food ideas. I have done a search but must be doing it wrong as it's not coming up with anything.

So far I have JJ Herby bread (cant wait to try this)
Bread pudding / twinks.
Cheese sticks (need recipe)
Sausage Rolls
Sandwiches

I have looked through all the recipes on the first page but cant find anything suitable. Couple anyone possible add a link to the relevant posts for me please.

Just an idea, I notice that there is a link on the first page for Dairylea Triangle ideas, perhaps would it be possible to have a similar thing for 'picnic food ideas',

Thanks in adnvace folks, your help is much appreciated.

quintwins

morning all, went shopping yesterday spent around £19 but some of that was cinema food that comes from my entertainments budget so i spent £15.70, i have enought food to last we quite a while now i will just need milk next week, then milk andfruit the week after, i'm feeling pretty good about my £50 budget even tho i'm quite far into it.

PennyGrabber

Hi jasmin! I posted a list of my picnic idea son this thread, post 228. Hth

PG x

Aldahbra

PennyGrabber wrote: »

Urgent advice needed please!!

I did a gorgeous piece of roast pork on Friday, and was going to put the rest in the freezer, but have only just remembered I haven't done it! Will it be ok to freeze now?

TIA
PG x

It's been in the fridge and should be fine. To be on the safe side I would probably cook it into something else before freezing. Maybe a pie or casserole or something like that which is cooked for a while.

Soworried

I was going to say morning but it is afternoon already.:eek:

I have been shopping this morning and spent £10.01 but the amount I got for that small amount is ridioculous. None of it was YS either, it was all mainly vouchers and stocking up on cheap items. 4x shaving gel for £1.60, just 40p each. Free cereals, free creams, free airwick airfreshners. The main cost was on frozen filo prawns, we love these and they were down to just 50p a box. :T So they are now in the freezer, I will use some at dinner to go with YS salmon I have pulled out. Nothing else should go in.

My back has eased off a little today.

I haven't caught up on the thread yet, I will do that now. I hope everyone is well and happy. x

KatyReed+5

Ok so i popped to my mums to borrow her hoover as mine is broken and she lives 2 mins from sainb0bs so popped in, wish i hadn't. A £8.59 spend on

£2.60 - 12 eggs.
53p - biscuits.
£1.20 - dairy free spread.
£1.65 - juice.
65p - dairy free crumpets.
£1 - choc for me.
95p on treat sweets for the kids for being so good shooping

That's all for my GC.

But i also spent
- A reduced books and art sets for the kids to put up for christmas £15.50.
- A reduced lolly making kit for 75p.
- An outdoor golf set and a stick ball trowing set for £3.40.
- Some school uniform for my 3 year old as she is starting reception in September £27.50, sounds a lot but i got 3 pairs of tights, 2 polo tops, 2 pairs of trousers, 2 skirts and 2 dresses, now she just needs shoes and she's set to go.

Out of the voucher machine i got a £12 when you spend £60 online, so i may try shopping online there next week.

But the upside is they have finally started building the A1di opposite Sainsbobs after 2-3 years of if buts and maybes, excited much

Katy, X

barksavingmad

Good day lovely grocery challenge peeps!

Been around MSE for many a years, but on lots more recently due to having to cut back mahooosively on outgoings.

I have spent the last 4 months or so trying to cut back on grocery spends using coupons etc I spend a crazy amount of time trying to work out shopping lists and going to the supermarket. This has saved me lots, but I'm thinking if there is a more feasible way of cutting back and possibly less stressful.

I have gone though my store cupboards and freezers and updated my lists. It's a start. I have also started flying with Flylady!

My time is so precious, and life is far too stressful, and thought that some of you may be wiser than me could advise/suggest.... should I spend time making lists, dashing round supermarkets etc or, meal plan spend time cooking properly... Or combine the two.

This is all in a bid to get organised before I return to work, hopefully making next term go without stress!

TIA as I know your time is precious also

jasmin10

Mrs_Addicted_to_Spending wrote: »

Could you possibly put a certain amount by each week e.g. £5 or £10 depending on your overall budget to pay for great offers? If you don't see any that week, it will build up so that you have enough for bigger offers when they come along. Personally I think it's worth getting really good offers when they are on even if you go over budget though because it saves you money in the long run.

What a fab idea. As yet I have just taken my £40 out in cash each week and any money left over (odd pence, £'s etc) I put in another zip in my purse, I call it my 'rollover money' lololol. Dont think I could afford to take £5 out as my budget is so low.

I do agree, its such a shame to miss out. I just need to start saving my 'rollover money' again as I have spent it trying to keep on to as I went so overboard on 30th. Still - doing ok have £33 and oddments left for milk etc so will see how it goes.

PennyGrabber wrote: »

Hi jasmin! I posted a list of my picnic idea son this thread, post 228.

Thanks for that will go off now to have a look.

jasmin10

barksavingmad wrote: »

My time is so precious, and life is far too stressful, and thought that some of you may be wiser than me could advise/suggest.... should I spend time making lists, dashing round supermarkets etc or, meal plan spend time cooking properly... Or combine the two.

This is all in a bid to get organised before I return to work, hopefully making next term go without stress!

TIA as I know your time is precious also

Nice to 'meet' you lol. I personnally do a mixture of the two. By the time I have put the children to bed and sat down I'm shattered and it's about 9pm before I get freed up. So at this time, the day before shopping I have a quick recky to see what I have, then write out my menu plan for the week. Then go through the menu plan and write a list of what I think I need to do this. Then I take my list into the kitchen and double check that I really do need everything thats on it, and it's either left on the list, subsituted or I have a brainwave and change it for something else that I have spotted I can make.

It takes me about half and hour or so but when I go to the sm I just aim for the things I need and job done. Without this I would be wasting more valued time and money browsing.

HTH with any ideas

sistercas

jumblejack wrote: »

Yes you can. There is no limit unlike Tesco.

thankyou , off shopping tomorrow