November 2013 Grocery Challenge

Florenceem

Do a menu plan and list and stick to it.

Florenceem

NSD here.
I am shopping tomorrow.
We had fried off LO roast potatoes + black pudding + mushrooms +buttered toast + baked beans + poached egg for dinner tonight.

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WantToBeSE

shiningfaery wrote: »

I am so mad with myself. I went to asda earlier to get baby milk and nappies, came out £77 lighter. .....I knew I didn't need anything other than baby stuff really.

In situations like this, i ONLY take enough cash for what i need, and leave my wallet and cards at home.

CountingPennies

Would have been a NSD, but popped to local shop and bought sweets for me and the kids as a treat. Only spent £1.40p so not too bad.

CP xx

2childmum

Went to Mr T on Monday and couldn't believe it when the total came to £92.11! :eek: Made a bit more sense when i got home and thought about it though. I had to go later in the evening (cos of being on jury service) and quite a lot of cheaper things I would normally buy were out of stock, so I had to get more expensive alternatives, I also bought 4 lots of face wash - the one i wanted to buy for the spotty son was £4 but 3 for £5 for it seemed a bit daft not to go for that as it made each one cheaper than the alternatives. And i bought creamy face ways for me too. I also bought bedding for the gerbils (I think the girls might be a bit poorly:sad:) so that was a bit more of the budget. I needed quite a number of store cupboard bits I had run out of and I did manage to get about a kilo of smoked haddock from the fish counter reduced to less that half price, so that's all in the freezer and I plan on mixing it with cheap white fish to make fish pie/crumble cos i think the smoked fish taste will be the one that stands out. This was the only YS stuff they had though, despite announcing that there were reductions - i wandered around for ages waiting for them to appear! I also bought some lamb shoulder steaks which were on special - I have a very tasty lamb curry recipe which we all enjoy and only really needs half the lamb stated in the recipe. so whenever lamb steaks are cheaper i stock up, then make the curry in a huge casserole, just doubling the other ingredients.

My massive double cooking sessions over the last few weeks are paying off now I'm on jury service and we are eating our of the freezer. Tonight we had shepherds pie (padded out with lentils which nobody seems to notice) and tomorrow it will be spag bol. Friday DH is planning on being home for when the kids get in so he can cook something :eek:!!!!. The child care arrangements are proving tricky and all a bit last minute - my parents had said they could help out most evenings but now it's come to it they are finding it hard and have backed out a bit - they are in their 70s and my dad is disabled so I'm not surprised (or upset with them) but it's all rather a juggling act and my rather wobbly daughter is worried and not sleeping. Some people have been there 9 weeks --I live in dread of being told I have to do that! And the food allowance doesn't pay for anything like enough food! I'm taking some sandwiches tomorrow and using the allowance just for drinks - although not hot ones apart from lunch time - had to leave a whole hot cup of tea behind when I got called to court yesterday!

Enough woffling on. Need to spend rather less on my next shop!
Good shopping to everyone:)

lynnejk

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Don't be silly like i was being and buy a bottle of lucozade everyday at tesco on the way to work! Nooo..instead, buy 1 (repeat, 1) bottle of water (or similar) and refill it with juice/drink of choice from home.
just dong those 2 things have saved me approx £15 a week.

I agree - I always carry a bottle of water (filled from home) in my bag. It staves off the odd hunger pang when shopping and stops me buying a cuppa when out and about.

shiningfaery wrote: »

I am so mad with myself. I went to asda earlier to get baby milk and nappies, came out £77 lighter. how do I get better control of my senses when out?
I know this is my first month and is setting the bar for me but I knew I didn't need anything other than baby stuff really.

Don't beat yourself up - it happens to the best. One way is to make sure you write a list to cover all essentials for the week so you aren't tempted to pop in for 'just' something mid-week. If you run out of non-essentials just survive until next shopping day. Most of this is only getting into better habits and takes some time and practice.

Another NSD for me but think I will have to 'bite the bullet' this week and go to the butcher's :eek: for a bulk buy.
Hope you all have a good day
Lx

Faete

Small spend yesterday at Lidl's £6.49 - bread, cheese and pate. I'll need to get some eggs today but no big weekly shop as I'm away for the weekend. I think I have enough supplies in for the BF who's home-alone but I bet there will be at least one takeaway to add!

Fae xx

meg72

shiningfaery wrote: »

I am so mad with myself. I went to asda earlier to get baby milk and nappies, came out £77 lighter. I now have a freezer full to bursting of meals and food and my hubby still has the cheek to say he is going back on Saturday for garlic bread. Unfortunately for him I saw red......how do I get better control of my senses when out?
I know this is my first month and is setting the bar for me but I knew I didn't need anything other than baby stuff really.

Been there done it many many times, no point in upsetting yourself over whats done. Just plan for next time, make a list and only take enough money to get what you want.

This is my 3rd year of this challenge and I think I have cracked it now by planning, batch cooking and buying offers and reduced I have managed to get ahead of myself. I have a couple of months meals stashed away so only need to keep it topped up. I cant remember the last time I did a really big shop .

Just keep going love, it will happen.

mooomin

Has anyone noticed Chocolate Oranges for £1 in any of the supermarkets? I did a search on Mysupermarket this morning but they didn't seem to come up.

BlueMoo

2 different suppers last night. OH had crispy breadcrumb chicken cooked asian style with fresh toms, yellow/orange peppers, red onions, drizzled with soy sauce and sweet chilli served with rice.
I had JP with beans and cheese.
Lunch today is the same as above as made 2 portions of each. OH did not want JP so that's why we are repeating the meal otherwise we would have shared chicken and had JPs for lunch tomorrow.


Don't feel bad shiningfaery, it happens to all of us. The key is not doing it every shop, but only as a once in a while blip.
I manage by then banning myself from the shops for the next week to re-balance the budget. If you desperately need something - loo roll/milk, then go with the exact cash to the local newsagents so you aren't tmepted by the big supermarket. Most of the time though, you will not need to go to the shop - you can manage by using the freezer/store cupboard.


Florenceem - Sorry if this comes off the wrong way, but genuinely curious - black pudding seems to feature a lot in your meals. Is it your favourite meat? Is it the cost?
It's fascinating to me as I would only ever associate black pudding with a fried breakfast - never for supper.