October 2014 Grocery Challenge

findingmyfeet

hi smoosh, lynnejk, maria3104 , mandm90 thank you for all your advice and tips-will look at the bbc good food later too.

bought a kilo of minced beef, kilo of stewing beef so far so going to try stretching it as far as i can. first items on my list are lasagne, bolognese , shepherds pie, beef pie, beef and potatoe pie. i have spent the last few months defrosting the small 2nd freezer so intend filling it asap.:)

the slow cooker will be very busy-with a bit of luck:rotfl:

meg72

CountingPennies wrote: »

Right.... time to face the music and update the signature!!

Soooo.... a variety of spends from Mr T's, £26.45, £10.57, £21.98 and £3.00. Along with £6 today from Icelands and an online Iceland shop the other day of £48.06. Now I can see it all typed down i'm fearful I may have gone over already..... *rushes off to total up*.....

Well.... maybe not.... But bad enough!!

Total currently stands at ££380.48/£400

So i basically have £19.52p to last till 1st November :eek::eek::eek:

Plus side, due to crazy spending, I do actually have quite a bit in with quite a few meals I can prepare. Will do a full meal plan tomorrow (like I should have done in the first place) and see what I can come up with!

Negative side is next week is half term. I still have Halloween sweets to buy, i've very little fruit and veg left, and i'm on a diet with not much in the fits around my SW plan.

Right, need to get my positive head on. Considering I forgot it was half term and didn't include it in my budget in the first place I will try my best to go over as little budget as possible! The £19.52 will be used to buy milk/bread/fruit/veg. Then I will eat what I can out the house before I go buying other stuff. I have plenty I can bake with. Wonder if I could make cakes for Halloween treats instead of buying sweets

CP xx

I think cakes instead of sweets is a great idea theres soe really good ones here

http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=cakes%20for%20halloween&rs=ac&len=11&term_meta%5B%5D=cakes+for+halloween%7Cautocomplete%7C1

Solstice_3

Morning all. Baking day for me today - party tomorrow!

Update:

21/10 NSD (8)
22/10 £7.23
23/10 £18.10
24/10 TBC

Might be back later to update more.

meg72

Change4Life wrote: »

Most of the Change4Life recipes cost around £5 to make (to feed four people), which is based on the average cost of ingredients used.

In cases where it is cheaper/necessary to buy certain items in bulk, remember that you can use these in multiple recipes. This is where it comes in handy to plan your meals for the week and do your shopping around this.

GS, Change4Life

Thank you I have had a quick look at the site but to honest was not that impressed, we have far more information and recipes
on here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5060951

meg72

Postman just brought a bonus card offer from Iceland to get a £5 Festive bonus you just have to do 3 shops of £10 or more between 24th October and 29th November I think that will be worth doing for me.

Irisis

meg72 wrote: »

Postman just brought a bonus card offer from Iceland to get a £5 Festive bonus you just have to do 3 shops of £10 or more between 24th October and 29th November I think that will be worth doing for me.

I had an email earlier this week to say one was on the way for me too - hope it's waiting for me when I get home from work!

I've not been very good at posting my spends in recent weeks but have kept the signature up-to-date - if we can spent a little less than usual tomorrow morning during our last weekly shop of the month I think we should make our target. The freezer has some leftovers so this should be fine.

joedenise

Hope I get one of those Iceland vouchers - haven't heard anything so far from them but postman not been yet!

Denise

XSpender

Blown the budget a bit:o


Total is £284.05 out of a budget of £240. I am aspiring to £60/week and this total is £71/week:eek: I had to attend a job interview which involved 2 days away so extra food costs there and for easy stuff for DH while I was away. Also includes 2 x mcd breakfasts, a takeaway and £5 for DH lunch at work. That accounts for over half my overspend.


I did give in to temptation in a rare visit to Mr A today and bought GF macaroons (£1 for 6), GF mince pies (£1.50, cheapest I have seen and I loooove mince pies) and some GF puff pastry which Mr T and Mr S don't stock. I haven't worked out what I am going to do with it yet (maybe mince pies or pasties) but couldn't miss the opportunity. Also bought salad and cucumber.


We have everything we need and more to last until my November starts on Thursday.


I have just realised I haven't even thought about tea tonight and need some inspiration and to defrost some meat! Might have to be pasta!

Coxy11

Sorry I haven't posted in AGES....we were away at a wedding and now my Dad is over from Cyprus.


Our November starts today (payday) and we went over in October by £18.90. Not too bad considering I'm doing SW and am eating a load more fruit than usual.


I'll see you all over on the November GC thread.
Bye for now
Coxy

CountingPennies

meg72 wrote: »

I think cakes instead of sweets is a great idea theres soe really good ones here

http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=cakes%20for%20halloween&rs=ac&len=11&term_meta%5B%5D=cakes+for+halloween%7Cautocomplete%7C1

They look great! My kids are really looking forward to baking some treats next week so it keeps them busy without spending any money! Win/win for me!

meg72 wrote: »

Postman just brought a bonus card offer from Iceland to get a £5 Festive bonus you just have to do 3 shops of £10 or more between 24th October and 29th November I think that will be worth doing for me.

Ohh I got this too. I think mine said 4 spends of £9 tho?? Might have been 3.... Not sure where I put letter now as I had company when it arrived!

joedenise wrote: »

Hope I get one of those Iceland vouchers - haven't heard anything so far from them but postman not been yet!

Denise

Its not a voucher Denise. It was just a letter saying how much you had to spend a week over the next few weeks and then they would upload the £5 bonus to your bonus card around the 5th of december in time for christmas. My parents have had it via email too so keep an eye on your emails!

I did however get a different Iceland voucher in the post yesterday. If I spend £30 or more and opt for home delivery in store then I get £5 off. Has to be used by next week I think so doubt I will be using it as I actually don't have £30 to spend :rotfl:

Today I did well. Popped to shop to get my parents some bread and milk and only only 75p on some apples for the kids! Wasn't even tempted to buy anything else. :cool:

CP xx