September 2012 Grocery Challenge

tentickles666

Save_Dosh wrote: »

Helenathena - you can name supermarkets if you like, some people prefer not to give them free advertising.

Ah I see! If I think it's a good deal I'm happy to share, likewise I'll name and shame the rip offs:beer:

Quick question, do you guys include eating and drinking out in the grocery budget or is that separate?

Maitane

Afternoon all,

We've been to the supermarket since last posting to stock up on reduced stuff and bits and bobs so that we can avoid the supermarket at all costs. We ended up spending £30.53 taking us to £54.22. We have £30.78 leftover to get fresh bits like milk, bread and salad through the month.

I also got £20 of M&S vouchers through from my bank to apologise for the major issues I had when buying my car because of their very public server crash. Didn't quite make up for the situation as I lost out on the car I originally wanted and ended up with something substandard which requires far too many repairs (My own fault really, should have waited for my dad to come and help but I was impatient ) but they're an unexpected bonus and I'm still rather grateful none the less.
When things get tight near the end of the month (which they will), I can pop there to take advantage of the YS stuff which can be cracking at our little branch. :T

Hope all is as well for everyone as it can be and best of luck with the month ahead.

Maity x x

jumblejack

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice wrote: »

Just managed a walk through town with OH asking for chorizo to go in tonights stew... I said "No", cherry tomatoes for his packed lunches... I said "No" and some chocolate biscuits for our tea break this afternoon... I said "No"

Aren't I a meanie!!!

"No!"

jumblejack

Last nights supper was a Heinz Five Beanz chilli:)


Yet another easy throw together cheap meal.

I just fried onions and garlic in oil with a teaspoon of chilli powder, ground cumin and ground coriander.
To this I added celery, peppers, lots of grated carrots, handful of red lentils, 3 tins of 5 Beans, a bit of beef stock and a dessertspoon of pure cocoa powder (my secret weapon: it adds depth of flavour and colours it a little more too. Some folk add dark chocolate but I dont like the sugar element)

Simmer away and serve with rice.

Lovely, You would never miss the mince at all

Suffolk_lass

Just been to Sainsbugs as wanted to get DS some underwear (his socks are always horrible in true young man style and in my view, all his UPs were a size too small!) So also got him 2 new pairs of jeans and a nice shirt (£84 - thank goodness it's not GC):eek:. Funny to think it will only be Xmas and B'day in future as he will move out for Uni next month (must cultivate a line in bad taste clothing just to put the willies up him and make him budget...)

As we walked round (I was with Grumpy and his son Practising-Grumpy) it was really hard to take the time to compare prices and make sure I was picking only what I need - it's the huffy puffy thing they do that really irritates me. Some things were much more than Azda so we are going without this week. I got a till spit saying I had saved £4.86 over Tosca and Azda so not completely awful but it felt too much. I'll go through later and update my sig

For anyone who is interested Sainsbugs are doing 10p off a litre of fuel if your shopping exceeds £60 - the spit lasts two weeks

SL

sig updated with spend of £66.94 on Sept GC plus oil and rice for my store cupboard (£26.80)

Bluegreen143

Can't believe it's now September!!

Was really pleased with my total for August as I was once again under :j. I'm going to set a target of only £170 in September. This sounds like a big reduction but actually I'm away on holiday for a week which comes out of a different budget, so it's not really reduced at all. I really struggled with deciding where to set it because of the holiday so we'll see how it goes!

Did my first shop today in Mr M (went in person as didn't need much):

Whole milk 4 pints £1.18
Brown bread flour £1.27
Savers frozen peas £1.00
Bananas 1kg 70p
2 mangoes £1.00
Tin chickpeas 70p
Carrots 380g 34p
Colgate mouthwash half price £1.64
Sanex deodorant on offer 89p
Savers lemons x5 63p
3 x peppers £1.65
Pine nuts £3.00
Pot noodle £1.00
Savers pasta 30p
Vine tomatoes £1.00
Ham £1.00
Bacon 16 rashers £3.58
Garlic x2 60p
Living coriander 90p
Walkers crisps 6pk x2 on offer £2.50
4 leaf salad x2 £2.00
Baby spinach leaves £1.00

Meal plan:

Sun - mince pasties with roasted carrots/parsnips (mince in freezer and parsnips in fridge)
Mon - tomato and pepper pasta with pine nuts and olives and salad
Tues - fishcakes for me, burger for OH (HM burger from freezer, fish is in freezer too so just need to make into cakes) with HM chips and salad
Wed - lentil dish with HM bread and salad
Thurs - Brazilian chicken with peppers and rice
Fri - vegetable & chickpea tagine with couscous
Sat - think we're going out to dinner, otherwise stir fry or something we can make with cupboard stuff.

Breakfasts are cereal (already in), lunches are split pea soup for me (will make tomorrow), ham or tuna sandwiches for OH, and snacks are fruit for me, crisps for OH, and I'll make scones as well I think.

sneakyspender

Terrific NSD took 4 dcs out blackberring -got loads and free entertainment at the same time. About to make blackberry and apple stew to freeze and add to yoghurts/make c:money:rumbles over the winter all for the price of 250g sugar:D

she_who_can_not_cook

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

I bought a sack last spring and it has gone up from £16 to £20 in 3 months. I bake bread a minimum of 3 times a week and this time I bought strong white and wholemeal so that is the key behind 2 sacks. I got them from Amazing (free 3-5 day delivery)...

If it comes to it, I just have to get better at cupboard Tetris :rotfl:

thank you you know i buy from approved foods , and ebay now but still haven't got round to buying from amazon anything other than books lol

gettingready

1) Can not keep up with you guys on here...but still in .. ermm somehow... LOL

So far - non Tobacoo related shopping:
£69.26 (from 28th)
£0.99 chocolate on 30th
£1.29 packet of Ritz on 30th
£0.90 bit of cheddar on the 30th
________
£72.44

Tobacco:

£6.26 on the 28th
£2.99 on 30th
£2.99 on 31st
______________
£12.24

[Deleted User]

helenathena I personally add eating out on - not always. If its a one off celebration or something, i don't, but if im running errands and grab lunch i do. Some people, who eat out a lot, prefer to have a separate budget for entertainment. Its totally up to you to tailor things to your needs.