March 2013 Grocery Challenge

she_who_can_not_cook

MrsCautious wrote: »

So many good ideas and inspiration on this thread. I haven't spent anything on groceries yet this month and hope to get to Tuesday when will need bread and other

Sorry to be thick but can anyone tell me what YS stands for?

Thanks so much x

Yellow sticker the reduced section a fav of mine

[Deleted User]

Sorry I forgot to say Congratulations Suze and well done on getting back on the GC wagon.Today is my 3rd NSD I have a small list of stuff I will have to buy tomorrow but can manage without today so its another day near the end of the month :):)I have reorganised my freezer and still have stacks of stuff in there,lots of portioned up stuff that I had made as surplus to requirements which means not a great deal of cooking for me this week.I also found a small pork joint that I may dig out later in the week and cook and slice up for several meals.Just trying to think of what I can make with it as there is only me at home.Perhaps roasted one day sliced with pickles and salad the next and maybe I could curry the last of it ,any ideas chums

DollyBongo

This is my first ever posting so hopefully I will get it right! I would like to join the challenge with a budget of £300 for me and two boys (this includes everything - school dinners, toiletries, food, etc) .

Desperately trying to save money so that I can take on the mortgage by myself - ex wants to sell up but I'm hoping that we can stay here close to school and family. Fingers crossed this challenge will keep me focussed.

Verityemilia

Febraury below budget :j

Target for March - starting tomorrow £50 a week again

SilverBird_2

Spends :: Meat C&C £15.79, Okado £78.32, Unicorn £24.36 = £118.47

Well, that's almost half of this month's GC budget spent and there's a lot of month left! Still, the freezer's full, fridge and larder cupboard looking good, although will need more eggs, cheese, fruit/veg and bone-shaped biscuits for the dog as the month progresses.

thehappybutterfly

I'm struggling to calculate my spend this month. We went to Costco at the beginning of our month and bought loads and loads of meat - chicken, beef, venison, pork joints, bacon, mince and fish - but I'm not sure how long it's going to last, but I would think 2 months or so.

Everything was divvied up into 'meal portions' and frozen so what I'm planning on doing is writing down every meal I make this month, work out the cost per meal for the meat content and use this figure towards my monthly spend. Alternatively, and definitely a lot easier, I'll overspend this month and underspend the next couple of months until the freezer is empty again!

So far, going by receipts anyway, I've spent £387.16 and there are still 19 days to go! :eek: So, ahem, a slight overspend this month.......

norabatty_2

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some pearls of wisdom - DH loves his cereal bars, eats at least 2 or 3 every day and those packets aren't cheap. They are about £2.50 - £3.00 for a pack of 5 or 6, we usually get Nutrigrain bars and Nature Valley bars. I have tried own brands at Mr T and Mr A and they are disgusting so a non-runner. Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can cut down on these costs? We also get the Go Ahead slices which are cheaper but I still end up spending a good £30 a month on these things.

I wouldn't mind making them myself if they could be frozen and it would be economical to do so, but I'm not sure that it would. Any recipes or rough estimates of costs?

In other news, I did my first shop for March yesterday. I bought a month's supply of nappies, a tub of formula and painkillers for £25.39 (using vouchers of course!) from Boots. I got my first online shop from Mr T last week (end of February) and must say I was really impressed. All the fruit and veg looked decent, and everything had best before dates of at least 4 days away. I only did it cos they had a £12 off £60 deal on, but still, it's good to know if I decide to do it again in the future. I am completely stocked up on meat/fish/pasta/rice so will only have to buy fruit/veg/dairy/bread in Mr A on Wednesday so hoping to spend less than £30.

Total spend so far this month is £25.39/£195

MrsCautious

DollyBongo wrote: »

This is my first ever posting so hopefully I will get it right! I would like to join the challenge with a budget of £300 for me and two boys (this includes everything - school dinners, toiletries, food, etc) .

Desperately trying to save money so that I can take on the mortgage by myself - ex wants to sell up but I'm hoping that we can stay here close to school and family. Fingers crossed this challenge will keep me focussed.

Good luck, this is the amount I've set as a target for me and my two girls (and small dog ) as well, I think I'd like to get to £240 in the long run.

Oh no! Sorry I just realised my target this month is £200, good start that is!

My target last month was £300 and I went over, but I now have a freezer full xx

Bluegreen143

No grocery spends yesterday. We got taken out for dinner as an engagement celebration

Mr A delivery arriving today so will update once it has.

MrsCautious

Thank you She who cannot cook and Silverbird for explaining that. I have yet to discover the wonders of this section on my regular shop but got some brilliant bargains in a one-off visit to Waitrose last week to spend some vouchers which were a freebie, my favourites were a poussin for £2.20, a joint of beef for Mother's Day for about £6 for 5 of us and some 'gourmet' sausages for £2.49 x