October 2013 Grocery Challenge

she_who_can_not_cook

craigywv wrote: »

don't know if I mentioned on this thread or another one tescos are 3 for 2 on all baking goods, helpful for Christmas cooking/baking

Thank you I was fed up tonight and went to Tesco at 7.50 got some golden syrup for HIM

lynnejk

2childmum wrote: »

, but discover amazing offers on stuff I don't need right now, but will use over the following month - and I have some money from else where I could spend on it - is it better to stick to each month's budget (and so not buy said offers) or is it better to go over budget and buy them? Which saves most money long term? QUOTE]

I tend to look at the big picture and if it is something I buy anyway I will always bulk-buy a bargain as I'm saving money in the long-term. As you can see on my signature if I have some money left I put it in a 'bulk buy fund' and then it's there when I need it. As I buy lots this way it means over the months I've always got food and the fund builds up until I do a butcher bulk buy - then it's gone.

Annie_99 wrote: »

Im feeling very down today.. I cant seem to stick to my monthly budget and have been looking at all your posts for the last few months reading and reading but still cant myself stick to it..
I do a food inventory and batch cook, walk from shop to shop to get the best deals but im still spending £600/£700 a month... I know i buy christmas presents, or help my kids out with a tenner here etc but my money is all over the place and i cant seem to get this figure down.
We are a family of 4 adults and a grandson who is 6 and lives with us..
I guess im asking how do you manage on such low budgets and stick to it xxx

Don't feel down - it's not easy to be frugal and you'll find lots of help on here and on the site also.

It may help if you divide your monies into separate budgets. I run monthly budgets for everything - household, car expenses (tax, ins, maint), drink, holiday, personal, chrissy, etc. Just work out what you want/can afford to spend on each per year and divide by 12. eg. I reckon can manage on £8 per day for me and DH for all food inc lunches, toiletries and household - so I put away £240 a month.

I keep an envelope for each budget every month and keep relevant receipts in envelope. I do a monthly reckie and write on the envelope the result.

I TRY NOT TO 'borrow' between the envelopes but also don't pay for things out of wrong budget. Sometimes have to adjust a bit for a couple of months until it works ok.

I keep the actual monies in an account paying interest that has instant withdrawal and pay for everything on my credit card which pays me cash back and is on direct debit to repay in full every month. :money: from that account.

Good luck !!

Another NSD today. This weather certainly doesn't encourage going out the door :rotfl:

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend
L.

Downsizing__for_sanity

Hello all with a late start, please put me down for 300 this month. Some restocking required - however, have just done a quick Storecupboard audit and I have LOTS of stuff in. So will be trying to use up some if possible.

In other news... I am trying to write a journal article on food poverty and what can be done about it for my medical degree <shameless plug>. My background is the infamous Black Report of the 1980's - in a nutshell, cr*p food = cr*p health, extrapolate as required. Please feel free to PM me about what YOU think would make food/benefits more accessible, healthy, available.

My tutor thinks because of of the current climate of Austerity we may well get something published (good for my career) but also as a Medical Student, I see so many cases of deprivation in a relatively rich city that I want to shout about real food on a small budget. Much respect to A Girl Called Jack and MortgageFreeInThree to start with. I would really love to hear from all of you. I come from a large Irish Catholic family and, from the recipes, clearly filling the tums came first with my granny and aunties. To start the ball rolling, we ALWAYS but always had a plate of soup to start us off. So the main event re meat was later and we didn't eat so much. Granny would also make us a trifle from a packet to keep us occupied and it was always better than the pre-made ones!

Ladyluck1

Ugh! Just had to pay £36 to get the car looked at and that was cheap!
I now have £9 for food till the end of the month...
Brilliant!
And did my due date is 3rd November!
Can I cry now please?

dannie

Good morning,

My "food stock" acquired before October is going down quite well in order to reduce spending. I must, however, pay attention to how nutritious it actually is and would any small purchases improve things? My aim to save time meal-planning isn't so easy, for instance, some ingredients are bland so it means creating new recipes.

Mainly milk purchases and winter food-planning have increased my spends. However, at the end of the month, I will see how many purchases did not actually get used and what they cost.

saving4life

I have used Netmums recently for some new recipes and inspiration. I am veggie and I seem to be eating all the same meals. They are really cheap to make too as they come from mums on a budget!

NickJW

NickJW wrote: »

Hello all!

Few NSD's thankfully. Dinners have had everything in for, and lunches have been using random bits of bread/pitta defrosted with ham or tuna mayo to make sandwiches.

Dinners this week have been/will be

Monday (I cooked): Turkey stir fry using a edamame bean stir fry mix, rice noodles and Chinese stir fry sauce (the usual £3 deal in Mr S). Made it more to my style by adding some five spice, garlic, chilli and a splash of soy
Tuesday (housemate cooked): Breaded fish with garlic new potatoes, broccoli and sweet chilli sauce
Wednesday (I cooked): HM Chicken Biryani
Thursday (housemate cooked):Spaghetti Puttanesca
Friday (I'll cook): Hoisin turkey stir using l/o veg, mangetout, soy beans and rice Housemate wanted fish and chips - from his budget
Saturday (housemate will cook): Piri piri chicken (ready done by Mr T) served with mash and broccoli Housemate went to his aunties so cooked myself a chicken pasta dish to myself instead of him cooking.
Sunday - going to a show in the evening, so raid the cupboards/fridge/freezer for a random late lunch for myself! Housemate bought a Indian meal for 2 from Mr S for £5 from his budget

Need to do another Mr T delivery next week for another 2 weeks worth of food.

Hi All

Bit of a change to last weeks meal plan. Housemate received a letter saying he wasn't eligible to ANY student loan support for his uni course, so had to drop out. He's looking to start a course similar to mine in January instead, because he couldn't afford £27k over the duration of the uni course. Hence the fish and chips on Friday evening.

I've been reading but haven't had time to post - just wanted to say a very belated congrats to K9sandFelines to your new job! :T Also 2childmum - I thought that was a very helpful post.

Some meals I didn't have last week have been reincorporated into this one as follows:

Monday (housemate) - he wanted to go out for a meal - his budget, but I still bought my own drinks. Chickpea Burger and chips
Tuesday (I cooked) - Turkey breast, carrot and mangetout stir fry in a hoisin/sriracha/rice wine/soy sauce marinade served with rice
Wednesday (housemate cooked) - Rosemary and anchovy chicken in a tomato sauce served with orzo
Thursday (I cooked) - Chicken breasts with balsamic vinegar and garlic served with pasta (new recipe - was very nice!)
Friday (housemate cooked) - Piri Piri chicken served with broccoli and mash.
Saturday (I'll cook) - Harissa chicken with bulgur wheat, pine nuts and apricots.
Sunday (shared cook) - Roast Pork sunday lunch. Egg and muffins for breakfast, dessert for dinner.

Had a few spends last week - £8.73 in Mr S over the week and £40 towards my share of a Mr T delivery.

Hope everyone is well - will update signature shortly.

Islandmaid

Spent £13 in Mr L this morning, have a freezer full of mince now (6) - was there before 730 am the stock was nearly gone, obviously very popular at 99p a pack, was lured into the new bakery section and HAD to sample the chocolate crossaint

A few basics like tomato passata etc, looks liked spag bol, shep pie and chilli will feature high on the meal plan for the next couple of weeks

Coxy11

Hi everyone,

Budgets updated to here

Welcome back Soworried

Coxy

Nelly11

I have just completed my first meal plan to the end of the month, hopefully I need not buy any more food until then, went a bit mad yesterday and stocked up, whic meant I put more in the freezer I'm trying to empty.:D Silly girl.

So here is my meal plan, can I just explain why we have so much chicken, I visit the SunValley outlet shop twice a month to stock up as its so cheap, a whole chicken is only a pound but its hit and miss what they have there

Saturday - only me at home so
Breakfast -Porrige with a banana made with water

Lunch - meatballs, veg, mash left over from yesterday

Snack - banana and satsuma

Dinner - Meatballs,veg,mash left over from yesterday

Sunday - only me at home again
Breakfast - Porrige with a banana made with water

Snack - banana and satsuma

Lunch - Chicken from freezer with veg

Snack - Shortbread

Dinner - rice (leftover) fried with veg and the juice off yesterdays meatballs

Monday - 2 people at home
Breakfast - Porrige with a banana made with water or toast

Snacks - Rice cakes

Lunch - homemade soup and bread

Snack - Shortbread

Dinner - Chicken nuggets and chips (DS)
Beans on toast (me)

Tuesday - 2 people at home
Breakfast, as above

Snack - fruit

Lunch - soup and bread

Snack - 3 biscuits

Dinner Chicken Curry & rice

It's going to be boring at times I'm sure, but I really need to empty the freezer, we have gone from having 5 at home to just two and I feel my shopping habits havent adapted.

Have a good weekend every one:)