October 2013 Grocery Challenge

sachatith

AlwaysHappy - congrats on the underspend
want2bfrgual - congrats on the NSW! You are my hero lol

I've had a really good week in terms of food and bargains and freebies! Saturday we had our regional Railway Club quiz so we traveled to Southampton (about 3 hour train journey) and when we got there, expecting buffet food there were chips, curry, rice and massive puds! Because it was free I had curry and rice and then had a few chips and literally couldn't touch pud but was lovely. The alcohol we had came out of our personal budgets but because its members a round for 5 of us came out at just £11.55! Fabby. Got KFC on the way home but again that was out of OH budget as a treat so was great.

Mr T's shop on Saturday which on the receipt should have come to £42 but actually came to £29.10 included a voucher for free pack of value fish fingers worth 60p (not loads but that makes 3 dinners), £1.50 off a £6.00 freezer spend, then £3.00 off a £3 spend on Mr T's finest cheeses which were on 3 for 2 so ended up getting three posh cheeses for £2.75! To finish it off also had £3 off a £3 spend on Mr T's finest yogurts, 95p each (ouch) or 5 for £3.50 - so five posh yogs for 50p

Then to top it all, Mum and Dad invited us for roast last night. Get paid a week today so my week starts next Monday, prepping my main shop for then to be delivered (MUST remember to cancel the delivery saver this month now I'm not shopping so much) but with £26 odd left I am very confident that I will come in under budget.... fingers crossed!

This week I am being taken out for three meals because of my birthday too (not so good for the waistline but great for the purseline hehe)

Good luck everyone x

lushlifesaver

New month starts Friday and as bf goes away on Wednesday at lunch time I'm happy to declare for the month of October now - an underspend of £8.50 means we tot up at £71.50 for this month!

A huge achievement for me and a rare one to be so far under budget!

As of November I will be trying to gradually stock up on baby bits here and there (although not too much stuff until we have the nursery furniture in January as that's where I'm going to stash it all!)
With that in mind I have to attempt some maths to work out what we can spend for the month!

2childmum

Sequeena wrote: »

NSD today and tomorrow. My son is having an important operation tomorrow morning and we'll be in hospital probably until Wednesday. I'll see if i can take food with us but i have so much to do as we only found out about his operation a few hours ago (hospital had a cancellation so bumped him up)

Best wishes to both you and your son and I hope all goes well.

Meal plan for this week:

Mon - fish and chips (out of the freezer)
Tues - salmon pasta bake - making 2, one for the freezer
Weds - Spag bol - again making 2
Thurs - spiced chicken and coucous - new recipe so we will see how it goes but it looks dead easy
Fri - roasted pepper pasta sauce - may be frozen peppers, which I have, but if I can get cheaper later in the week I'll use them and save the frozen ones
Sat - lamb and lentil pie - again I'm making 2 (and hoping there is enough room in the freezer!)

We are away on Sunday and Monday - off to Hampton Court for the day (Tesc@ vouchers), staying in a Premier Inn ( and hoping my 6'2" son isn't expected to sleep on a pull out bed - he was hanging off the end last time we stayed in one and had to sleep in the double bed with my DH while I slept in his bed!) and then a trip to Oxford to see if said tall son prefers it to Cambridge. He hasn't even done his GCSEs yet, but I'm all for having a plan, however ambitious! (His plan, not mine!)

Spent £95.55 over the last 3 days, but that has included stuff to make meals for next month when I am on jury service.

I now need to make a decision:

I have 2 lots of Morrisons vouchers - if i spend another £40 this week I will get £10 off of another £40 spend next week, (my month will end at the end of next week)

If I spend £60 In Mr T next week (added to this week's spend and 2 more in November) I will get a £30 off voucher in December.

That means I have to spend £140 which means I will go over by about £30 - but I will have a freezer and cupboard full of stuff and about 6 dinners in the freezer ready cooked along with some cakes, apples ready to make crumbles etc. So I should be able to take that £30 off of next month which will be helpful as it will be a 5 week month. And I will save £40 which will be useful for Christmas food, which I am trying to buy out of the grocery budget.

Actually I will only have to spend £130 cos of the £10 off so only £20 over to save £40. And that is still less than I have been spending in the past.

Decision made I think.

Thanks for listening!

Nelly11

marris wrote: »

will try to stay away from shops for a week but if baileys is gonna be £9 in Mr M then the rest of my budget will be gone as I HAVE to have it

Just love this, really made me giggle, me too Im a Baileysaholic, can't have it in the house, Id be drunk all the time if I did, It's just so lush!

Nelly11

My new shopping week will start on 25th, Friday as that is payday here at Nelly Towers.
I've done a meal plan for the first two weeks, which should empty one freezer, then I shall take a look ats whats left and form a new budget. I really need to find something to do with red lentils.
I think If I set out my budget weekly that might be the way forward and only buy fresh veg and whoopsied bread which I'll split into batches of four, we have way too much food in a house of Just two people, I need to spin it out hopefully over two months if I really concentrate. I will keep the food money in a seperate purse so if I see whoopsied fruit and Veg or bread I can buy it as I go along, anything left on a Friday night will go into the bank to pay off the mortgage. Son3 is planning on staying home alone at the weekend, I've told him he can as long as he sticks to the meal plan I make for him, he has aggreed, so lets see if it works

Shortie

Sequeena wrote: »

My son is having an important operation tomorrow morning and we'll be in hospital probably until Wednesday. I'll see if i can take food with us

Hope all goes well Sequeena. I have no idea around whatever the op is, or any dietary requirements but generally speaking hospitals have fridges on the ward for parents to put their food into.

My eldest frequents hospital at times and it's such a creature confort when we've knocked together even a simple pasta bake xx

CH27

Sequeena wrote: »

NSD today and tomorrow. My son is having an important operation tomorrow morning and we'll be in hospital probably until Wednesday. I'll see if i can take food with us but i have so much to do as we only found out about his operation a few hours ago (hospital had a cancellation so bumped him up)

Hope all goes well xx

Islandmaid

NSD here

Used left over stock and veg from yesterdays SC gammon, made soup. Ate with YS tiger bread - yummy!!!

Sequeena - good luck for DS tomorrow x

Soworried

I bought some gammon today and some showergel and toilet rolls. MrM has 16 rolls of velvet for £5. I have updated my total.

dramarama

Sequeena- I hope it all goes well with your sons op.
Xx