September 2012 Grocery Challenge

jennypennysaver

Caterina wrote: »

Technically I am still in August, GC-wise, today, and need to go to pick up a few basics in Lidl. Can anyone recommend their tea bags? Are they good quality (e.g. good flavour, not dusty)? Thank you.

Their Earl Grey teabags are nice

XSpender

My favourite ginger cake recipe worked well with GF flour so I have bunged it in the freezer and will put it in the cool bag still frozen to take on holiday on Saturday.

DH asked me if we had run out of lunch things today as I had padded out his lunch box with a few odd bits. It wasn't so much run out as I don't know what to put in. He has either sandwiches/Ald1 ready meal/jacket/HM chilli and 3 fruit. He says he doesn't want chocolate biscuits because he wants to lose weight and the yogurts I put in he never eats or gives them away and if I buy crisps he scoffs a 12 pack in 3 or 4 days:eek: He doesn't really like sweet things so I am at a loss really. Any healthy ideas please ????

I think if he ate breakfast he wouldn't be so hungry during the day.

Spent some money on a last few holiday bits yesterday but one of the receipts is at home so will add it to my total then. I haven't got a budget for this month as we are on holiday most of the month but still want to track my spending.

Discussed my idea of increasing our personal spends with DH to cover alcohol spends and he was up for this. I feel that by doing this I can concentrate on reducing the food element of our spends and not feel sabatogaged by a hefty beer bill every month.

Sorry for the waffle....

jumblejack

Tonight's offering is a tidy up curry. Lots of bits n bobs in the salad drawer so I've bunged em in a curry to use em up. Tastes pretty good

Caterina

Thanks for the replies re. L!dl tea, in the end they were selling Tetley 120 bags for the price of 80, which was nearly the same cost of their own, this is before I read your posts, now that I have the recommendations I shall go back next time with more trust and get their own.

Back from a shopping trip to market (tomatoes, £2), Sainsbugs (2 for 1 mature cheddar and a pack of skimmed milk powder for my yogurt, £5) and then later a visit to Waitr0se for any YS item, there I hit the butter jackpot, 25 packets of 250g butter for 29 p each, down from £1.55, fancy farmhouse butter. Stocked up the freezer, then got a few more bits and pieces, total £19.

Going to update signature now, tomorrow is going to be a near NSD except for a planned spend of £4 as I am going to eat out at a cafe with a friend, to go and see a (free preview) film.

Happy GC everybody!

Nicki_Sue

My September starts tomorrow - £400 over 4 weeks / £100 a week is my target - this my first full month GC so should be an education.
More than happy to move in with @JumbleJack and share my budget? Your food pics are divine!

jumblejack

Nicki_Sue wrote: »

My September starts tomorrow - £400 over 4 weeks / £100 a week is my target - this my first full month GC so should be an education.
More than happy to move in with @JumbleJack and share my budget? Your food pics are divine!

Hehe. Boy, to think of what we could cook up with a combined budget of £130 A WEEK!!!! :j

Keep your eyes peeled for coupons and whoopsies. These will REALLY being your grocery spend down. You've done pretty well for a trial run!!:T


Missy moo, your coleslaw variation sounds lush :T
I bet that will go down a storm.

Nicki_Sue

@jumblejack - "We"? I was just planning on enjoy the fruits of your labours
I'm pleased with my first week, especially I have no oven at the moment which makes roasting / baking and some batch cooking a pain but getting there.

postcode

Hiya, newbie to the GC here. My aim is to spend £80 a month for all groceries + toiletries and household cleaners. Last month I spent £96 on these things, but I may have missed a couple of receipts from trips to Boots or Superdrug, so it may not be entirely accurate.

Things I already do: Check the reduced to clear section of the supermarket whenever I go in, if anything I was going to buy is cheaper there then it comes home with me; keep leftovers for lunches or freezed for days when I don't feel like cooking; occasional "meal plan", not really a weekly or monthly thing, just when cooking I keep a list of how many meals I think I'll get out of whatever it is I'm cooking; buy many supermarket-brand items, especially store cupboard (pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, tinned mushrooms, milk [UHT], cookies, salted snacks). I've never ordered a take-away meal since I've been living on my own, but very occasionally do go out to eat (once or twice a month, generally for lunch time).

I do like to cook dinner for friends to come over for, that's usually something with minced meat (lasagna, bolognese, meatloaf) and usually ends up being a spur-of-the-moment thing.

I live alone, have a normal-sized fridge/freezer and prefer home-cooked food to frozen or ready-meal type stuff. On the other hand I absolutely cannot live without my salty snacks: crisps, pretzels, peanuts, pistachios, salted crackers, anything to keep the salt levels high (I know, I know, bad for the blood pressure....)

Looking forward to seeing how this goes. Think being on this thread will keep me a bit more focused...

budget_babe

So far I have spent:
1 - £35,74 (Approved Food)
2 - £19,30 (The Cooperative Food).

I am obsessively keeping a spending diary this month and I am keeping all receipts.

Lets see how Budgie does this month? I have to get my spending down but get this I have finished work 7 weeks today and I have been having dizzy spells I went to the Dr's yesterday and my blood pressure is now going too low. So I have dropped a tablet so I am now on 2 instead of 3, I am really chuffed.

Just goes to show its not worth staying in a stressful job when your health suffers.

Big hugs to everyone (()).
Budgie xxx

mossy

Hi there, I put my shopping budget up to £200 a few months ago because I just couldn't seem to stick to the previous budget, but I still go over it!! :mad: This month I have £170 to spend on food, so my target is to keep to it!!!

I'm also trying to loose weight which involves more protein and less carbs which makes the shopping automatically more expensive!

Will have to keep my eye out for whoopsies!!

Ironically we're getting a Chinese take out for tea tonight....oh the shame,:o lol!! In my defence I have been catering for a group of techies for the last five days and can't bare the thought of cooking anything!! As penance tomorrow I will meal plan for next month. :A

Oops, I meant to say that budget is for 2 adults and 1 child