April 2013 Grocery Challenge

rogue999

Hi all, can I join the GC please? We are 2 adults, 2 kids (9 and 7 - with big appetites!) and 2 cats. I shop mainly in Aldi and Morrisons but trips to Costco see me going overboard on my budget as i'm always tempted. I generally do a week by week meal plan and I mainly cook from scratch and freeze portions. We all take pack-up to work/school. We don't often have takeaways but every couple of weeks we have a chippy tea which is about £15 for the 4 of us.

At a guess we spend about £250-£280 pm but i'd love to lower this as we really need to do some home improvements this year. Cat food I buy in large 6kg bags online which last around 6-7 weeks at around £35 per bag (Hills Vet Essentials as they have dental/UT issues!) so I'll not include this in the budget.

Can you put me in for £220 please?

Thanks - look forward to getting new ideas.
xx
Happy Easter - off to eat my choccy egg!

pinkypig

Had a pretty good day today. Batch cooked Thai red curry and had one lot for tea and had enough for another two meals for the four of us to freeze. Also made some chicken soup with a carcass I shoved in the freezer. We'll have this tomorrow with HM rolls followed by roast beef as we have family coming for dinner. Still need to bake but that will have to be tomorrow's job. Still need a pudding for tomorrow. Think I'll do syrup sponge and custard seeing as it is still so cold and icy here.

Apart from getting a bag of Super6 onions I am hoping for lots of NSDs between now and next weekend.

PP xx

nannygladys

Hi all,

Set up for this months challange, cant wait to start but wont be doing any shopping tomorrow, as I have enough in to last a couple of days. I have put all frozen HM ready meals onto my chalk board so I know what I have in and I will make a concerted effort to wade my way through as many of those that I can, I must stop eating rubbish as well cos want to lose some weight, so hoping to save a bit from that as well!!
nannyg

Bluegreen143

thriftmonster - your GF focaccia recipe has been added to the index

Bluegreen143

Mr A delivery today totalling £55.75 (including delivery at £5) - got:

Fruit and veg - bagged salad x2 £2; Loose bananas 1.4kg 95p; Unwaxed lemons x5 £1.35; Smartprice apples 850g £1.01; white potatoes 2.5kg £1.80; Loose courgettes 170g 23p; Green beans 240g £1; Fresh sage 65p; Butternut squash 1.1kg £1.14

Meat & fish - Extra special corn fed free range chicken 1.5kg £7.64; Asda ham 125g £1

Dairy - Smartprice butter 98p; Whole milk 4 pints £1

Bread - large white baps 6pk x2 £1

General groceries - W*lkers crisps x6 £1; walnut halves 150g £1.76; D*ritoes salsa 300g £1.00; Olives 310g 88p;dried cranberries 170g £1; rich roast coffee 200g £1.98; tuna in brine 97p; mackerel in oil 85p; Smartprice chopped tomatoes x3 93p; Pinto beans 39p; extra virgin olive oil 750ml £2.50; cooked chestnuts 200g £1.47; crushed chillies 28g 71p; smoked paprika 82p; Smartprice ketchup 28p; balsamic vinegar 250ml £1; Smartprice orange juice 3x200ml 45p; Asda cola 4 pk x2 - £4.30

Cat, household and toiletries - Cat food 950g £1.28; Smartprice food bags 100 78p; deodorant 250ml £1.50; Smartprice cat litter 10kg x2 £3.20

Made a roast chicken dinner and my sister, her fiance and OH's brother came for dinner and a game of monopoly - lots of fun. Sister brought a gorgeous chocolate cake and we have some left, plus the leftover chicken from the carcass and I've stashed the bones in the freezer for making stock. Got enough veg left to make bubble and squeak for lunch tomorrow, too

Islandmaid

Hi all,

Can,t beleive its April already.

Naffed up March,s budget:mad:, but will try again for April - can you put me down for

£350 a little bit more due to school hols and DS2,s birthday.

thriftmonster

Thank you Bluegreen for adding the focaccia recipe to the index - I really need to get my head round some of these techy bits!! Eating a piece of it toasted with marmelade atm.

she_who_can_not_cook

Posting my first spend of the month this morning aldi was open at eight and iceland was nine so my pedometer got a work out. Aldi was cat food and s6 and iceland was milk and reduced .

WantToBeSE

Can i please try AGAIN this month?

I don't know what I am doing wrong I am not managing to stay within budget at all, every month!
So I have changed to weekly, in the hopes that it might help me budget better..but i have tried weekly before. Lets see if it works this time.

Any advice appreciated.

Please put me down for £60 a week in April.
Thanks.

meg72

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Can i please try AGAIN this month?

I don't know what I am doing wrong I am not managing to stay within budget at all, every month!
So I have changed to weekly, in the hopes that it might help me budget better..but i have tried weekly before. Lets see if it works this time.

Any advice appreciated.

Please put me down for £60 a week in April.
Thanks.

Are you using cash,I find putting thr bedget in a separate purse helps me focas , when yu see the cash going down really makes you think do I really need it. Good luck