March 2013 Grocery Challenge

lizalloareds

spends today
21p Mr T
45p Aldi
sig updated
also spent £3 on flowers but that is from a diff budget

MrsCautious

I've spent £14.53 on groceries today, with some of that going on my first ever YS buys (yay -- thank you for the inspiration.) I bought reduced Weetabix, red kidney beans and Homepride chicken chasseur sauce, which was 69p and I figured I couldn't make it for that as I don't have the sauce ingredients in.

Nothing food-wise that I bought today could be classed as essential really but I bought various items with my eye on saving money on next month's meals. I bought 4 Birds Eye cod cakes from Nisa for 99p and then clocked Youngs were the same price so bought them too, just so we can see what they are like/ how they compare and if we would bother again. I sort of have a figure of 50p ish as a good cost per portion for a main ingredient in a family tea so thought that fitted in well if we have one each with salad/hm wedges/veg for the kids.

I bought fresh veg as I have had to cut carbohydrates for medical reasons and I wanted to give myself more options for something rather than potatoes/rice/pasta so have bought mushrooms, baby sweetcorn and mange tout -- either on offer or S'bury's Basics so I can snazz up my meals and keep me on the straight and narrow, already have cabbage and carrots from Aldi Super Six.

I bought 2 lots of 450g tomatoes at 81p each, also in S'bury's as I want to make our own tomato soup and have all the other ingredients in already, along with coleslaw and pasta sauce, this is something else I'd like to not buy ready made and more expensive as I have time enough to cook it for a while and I do enjoy it too.

I also had to buy toiletries for my family so went to Boots and bought the cheapest, used a voucher and used my often neglected Advantage card. I've counted this in my grocery budget.


I used my Nectar card on buys out of other budgets (petrol and present from Home Base, refusing to part with a ridiculous amount of money £7 -- for the sake of a gift bag) and planned my journey to make best use of petrol.

Good luck all, thanks for reading my ramblings.

becsxxx

sheeppappar wrote: »

hurrah rubber chicken... someone asked about that..
I think it's a whole chicken which just keeps bouncing back (rubber!) as you use it all up over a number of days/meals

A-ha! Of course! I do exactly the same just hadn't heard the term before, thank you!

Bluegreen143

No spend day yesterday OH made lovely meat lasagne for dinner, the first I've had in 5 years as I've still being eating veggie lasagne since stopping being a vegetarian. It was so nice but in a different way to veggie lasagne, I do like both of them!



Re rubber chicken, you can freeze the meat you pick off the roast bird to make pies, fried rice etc the next week so you don't get really fed up of chicken btw. I only eat meat twice a week so that's what I do (e.g. have a roast one Sunday, make chicken soup for later on in the week with the bones and a wee bit of meat, make a pie the following Sunday rather than a roast). HTH!

meg72

:T

Baileys_Babe wrote: »

Finally declaring February at £157.73 which is £122.27 under, I find this unbelievable and guess we have forgotten to log a spend or two, but we have searched high and low for missing receipts as well as checking bank statements and have found nothing so it looks as if it is true :j
I'm going to put the £122.27 into my 2nd purse to cover any receipts from February that come to light, an over spends in future months and for bulk buys.

March budget £310 + £122.27 second purse.

Spends so far are £71.82 / £310

Fantastic result, well done :T

meg72

MrsCautious wrote: »

I've spent £14.53 on groceries today, with some of that going on my first ever YS buys (yay -- thank you for the inspiration.) I bought reduced Weetabix, red kidney beans and chicken chasseur sauce, which was 69p and I figured I couldn't make it for that as I don't have the sauce ingredients in.

Nothing food-wise that I bought today could be classed as essential really but I bought various items with my eye on saving money on next month's meals. I bought 4 Birds Eye cod cakes from Nisa for 99p and then clocked Youngs were the same price so bought them too, just so we can see what they are like/ how they compare and if we would bother again. I sort of have a figure of 50p ish as a good cost per portion for a main ingredient in a family tea so thought that fitted in well if we have one each with salad/hm wedges/veg for the kids.

I bought fresh veg as I have had to cut carbohydrates for medical reasons and I wanted to give myself more options for something rather than potatoes/rice/pasta so have bought mushrooms, baby sweetcorn and mange tout -- either on offer or S'bury's Basics so I can snazz up my meals and keep me on the straight and narrow, already have cabbage and carrots from Aldi Super Six.

I bought 2 lots of 450g tomatoes at 81p each, also in S'bury's as I want to make our own tomato soup and have all the other ingredients in already, along with coleslaw and pasta sauce, this is something else I'd like to not buy ready made and more expensive as I have time enough to cook it for a while and I do enjoy it too.

I also had to buy toiletries for my family so went to Boots and bought the cheapest, used a voucher and used my often neglected Advantage card. I've counted this in my grocery budget.


I used my Nectar card on buys out of other budgets (petrol and present from Home Base, refusing to part with a ridiculous amount of money £7 -- for the sake of a gift bag) and planned my journey to make best use of petrol.

Good luck all, thanks for reading my ramblings.

Agree with the 50p a portion for the main ingrediant, I find this a good rule to use.

7.00 for a gift bag :eek::eek::eek:

elizabunny

Hi everyone:)

I had 4 NSDS and then had a small grocery shop at MrS* about £23.50 spent. I have updated signature.

Roll on fresh veggies from the garden I am becoming more and more dismayed by the prices in the SMs. We are looking forward to supplementing the weekly shop so much. At least the Lettuce, Spinach, Broad Beans and Onions are on the way.

We will be having a Chicken Stir Fry for dinner tonight as it is a 5:2 fast day so have to watch the calories. Pudding might be out but if we have enough calories left we might stretch to some Melon:D

Hope everyone is doing ok on the GC. I am still overspent for the year, but hoping it will average out a bit soon when we start eating our own veg:)

Keep going everyone!

PS. I don't by Cereal as such anymore as I refuse to pay the ridiculous prices. We do still buy Oats though and turn it in to healthy breakfast Smoothies -so no need for a bowl of sugary anything and our DGS loves it -so ok if you have children as well.

MrsCautious

Thank you Meg72, do you know what re the gift bag, I don't think that even a couple of months ago I would have thought anything of it, but the price of a bit of cellophane round an orchid almost doubled its price, as it was I came out wondering what bits and bobs of gift ribbon/wrapping we may have at home to spruce it up. My mother in law is the most frugal woman I know and she absolutely wouldn't have appreciated it!

meg72

MrsCautious wrote: »

Thank you Meg72, do you know what re the gift bag, I don't think that even a couple of months ago I would have thought anything of it, but the price of a bit of cellophane round an orchid almost doubled its price, as it was I came out wondering what bits and bobs of gift ribbon/wrapping we may have at home to spruce it up. My mother in law is the most frugal woman I know and she absolutely wouldn't have appreciated it!

Wish you lived by me I have a roll of cellophane and loads ofr ibbon,gift bows etc and sadly no Mum to buy and wrap for this year.

Something to look out for if you are in a poundland or 99p are the
roasting bags, usually 2 large (turkey size) or 5 small in a pack.
They are so usuful just to pop a plant in and decorate with ribbon.

Hope your ML enjoys her Orchid.

ipie

£77.28/ £550 this food budget so far has been spent on bits and bobs and a sack of potatoes . Really need to go and do a big shop and stop nipping to the little Mr T for bits and bobs. Going to to try and do this at the weekend then aim for as many NSD as possible. Got a very long list and three weeks worth of main meals planned hope its doable.