August 2013 Grocery Challenge

Billie-jo

NSD since Saturday so budget looking good.
We had some tomato & ham soup tonight using some of mums home grown tomatoes, followed by meatballs, pasta & mushroom sauce tonight.

Off to find the September challenge now although not finished here till end of month.

lizalloareds

spends today £2 co o*

1st day at college was ok, found it difficult keeping up with the word processing lecturer though:(

lizalloareds

good luck girlatplay

lovefullshelves

Last little shop of the month out of my baggy, £13 at aldilly for some veg, bread, rolls, pitta and a chicken. Chicken for next two nights, some veg towards 10 pints of tomato pasta sauce, some for alot of relish! I must have a go at making pitta's! I love them with HM hummus!

Peggybabcot

NSD here today. We had roast chicken with all the trimmings yesterday and there was plenty of chicken left on the carcass so I popped it in the fridge for today. I made a HUGE dough base (45cm x 30cm on a baking tray) and covered it with tomato puree, cheese, tomatoes, pepper, mushrooms and onion with some of the leftover chicken and then a drizzle of BBQ sauce. From my store cupboard I made a lemon drizzle cake as I had some lemons which were starting to look a little limp. Oh yes I used one to make coleslaw too, I forgot. As there was a cabbage in the fridge that needed using I thought I might as well. We also had some corn on the cob with it too. Went down a storm. I've also got enough chicken left for chicken fried rice for tomorrow night and enough pizza for lunch tomorrow. I also put the remaining carcass in the slow cooker to make some stock for soup too so that medium chicken from Aldi which cost us about £3.50 owes us absolutely nothing! We might be clucking by Wednesday mind you I've gone over budget by quite a bit but I'm on a damage limitation mission. I'm going to stock take my cupboards and have a tidy/rummage in the freezers tomorrow. Is it just me who loves making lists??? x

K9sandFelines

Spent £8.57 (I think) in Mr M yesterday on YS free range eggs (15 for £1.25 ... so don't need to beat myself up about not buying more of the last YS lot I came across). Also, carrots, bananas, frozen Chinese veg (as these worked out cheaper than buying fresh seperately - no other alternatives), sparkling water and Quorn chicken pieces (on offer).

Also got Mr T shop coming later and coincidentally just been emailed £5 off £40 off my next shop, but I'd already qualified without realising. Unfortunately, this now takes me over yet again ... ho hum.

Six months of doing this and still not quite at the point I'm happy with. Want to reduce spends to £70 a week but seem to be way off the mark, spending more like £90 a week averaging that over four weeks. My downfall seems to be offers, but that's how i have always worked. I don't seem to be able to meal plan and just buy what's on the meal plan alone. I will buy all the offers too, because in my head I feel like I'm saving in the long run. I have managed it once when i spent £301odd for the month; which is about £75 a week. Not sure if school holidays are contributing to these overspends!?

Anybody any tips?

CountingPennies

K9sandFelines wrote: »

Six months of doing this and still not quite at the point I'm happy with. Want to reduce spends to £70 a week but seem to be way off the mark, spending more like £90 a week averaging that over four weeks. My downfall seems to be offers, but that's how i have always worked. Same for me, however i've started writing a list and sticking to it, despite the tempting offers, and so far thats helping (apart from this month with kids being off school, my list are changing to suit the weather, lol). I don't seem to be able to meal plan and just buy what's on the meal plan alone. I will buy all the offers too, because in my head I feel like I'm saving in the long run. Try just for 1 month not to buy ther offers. Thats what i did last month and it made such a huge difference. I have managed it once when i spent £301odd for the month; which is about £75 a week. Not sure if school holidays are contributing to these overspends!? I would say yes! For me just on ice creams alone i'm buying much more of certain products. I think we will see a difference after the kids are back, i hope so anyway! :rotfl:

Anybody any tips?

Not sure thats advice as such, but thats whats helping me. Writing list and trying my best to stick to it, unless its something YS and too good to miss.

Good luck!

Today for me a £3.80 spend on milk, bread and cheese :cool:

Simply sausage sandwiches for lunch and tea is chicken bites and actifry chips. Potatoes are from my in-laws allotment and chicken bites were in the freezer.

Welsh_Poppy

I have had a small spend on milk £1.50 and that is me done fo August £95.76p another month under budget by the narrowest of margins.I am hoping that in September I shall be around £75 no promises though!

Peggybabcot

Oh yes! Hubby wanted to pop into Tescos for a mooch and I refused point blank to put anything into the trolley other than milk which we'd run out of. So a small spend of £2.78 to report. Still over budget but my damage limitation is working so far. We do need to go to Aldi tomorrow though for the weekly shop but it'll be NEED not WANT. I think I need to allocate my OH his own budget for their mousse type things with cream on the top! Off to update signature feeling smug (ish) even though I am technically over budget. Still £220 under roughly what we spent last month before I joined the grocery challenge. Hopefully I'll do better next month. I even thought today in Tesco that I wasn't prepared to report to you all a "massive blow the budget out of the water completely" spend so doing this GC has helped in that way. Forgive me MSE but I'm a serial supermarket spender and I have sinned or not as this has just proven x

meg72

Peggybabcot wrote: »

Oh yes! Hubby wanted to pop into Tescos for a mooch and I refused point blank to put anything into the trolley other than milk which we'd run out of. So a small spend of £2.78 to report. Still over budget but my damage limitation is working so far. We do need to go to Aldi tomorrow though for the weekly shop but it'll be NEED not WANT. I think I need to allocate my OH his own budget for their mousse type things with cream on the top! Off to update signature feeling smug (ish) even though I am technically over budget. Still £220 under roughly what we spent last month before I joined the grocery challenge. Hopefully I'll do better next month. I even thought today in Tesco that I wasn't prepared to report to you all a "massive blow the budget out of the water completely" spend so doing this GC has helped in that way. Forgive me MSE but I'm a serial supermarket spender and I have sinned or not as this has just proven x

220 under last month thats very impressive. Well done you.