December 2014 Grocery Challenge

sweetpea26

Yesterday was not the planned nsd

Cooking oil, Potatoes, reduced pork chops, 2 cans of fizzy drinks !! on the way home from school run. £7.08

Grocery delivery tomorrow but need to buy some lunch bits today. Happy enough with my progress as I am watching every penny

Caterina

Hoping to hit my first NSD of the month today.

DH was told that B00ts do a 24 hour cold and flu remedy but I told him that we already have plenty paracetamols and ibuprofens and whatnots, that these medicines are just tarted up concoctions of the above and that he is well on the mend so he does not need it. And to sweeten the pill I told him that the best remedy is a hot toddy made with the whisky I bought him yesterday at ald1. :rotfl: he is a happy boy now!

joedenise

Yesterday turned into an unexpected NSD as the butcher didn't have any beef skirt (the proper meat to make cornish pasties!) but said it would be in today so DH is going to pick that up this afternoon on his way home from work. No sure whether to count that as another NSD as DH is spending or to include it as I gave him the money from the GC budget.

What should I do?

Denise

Solstice_3

joedenise wrote: »

Yesterday turned into an unexpected NSD as the butcher didn't have any beef skirt (the proper meat to make cornish pasties!) but said it would be in today so DH is going to pick that up this afternoon on his way home from work. No sure whether to count that as another NSD as DH is spending or to include it as I gave him the money from the GC budget.

What should I do?

Denise

If it was me it would be a spend day as the money is coming from your grocery budget

Online delivery for me yesterday came to £61.97.

Will update signature later

Caterina

Joedenise I would also consider it a spend, even though your DH paid for it. If my DH buys something for himself on one of my NSDs i don't count it, but if he brings in, say, a loaf of bread, for the family I would count it as a spend, as we have joint finances.

But if DS buys it, or he often brings tins of baked beans, I don't count it as his finances (meagre ones) are separate from the household's.

bmma

spends to day = 78p
total spends to date £12.21p/£100.00p x

joedenise

Thanks Solstice and Caterina - think you're both right so will count it and will add to signature later once I know how much it actually cost (knowing DH he'll probably nab the £10 I gave him to buy it!

Denise

Happygreen

peaceandfreedom, thanks for sharing - for some including myself this thread and MSEforum can be quite therapeutic, lol. Writing about spending habits is the first step to change I agree with the others, take small steps at the start.
I personally find it hard if I don't get cooperation from the family. I buy, so I have to be able to decide what happens with the groceries. People have called me a control freak and worse (although on a different thread) but as long as OH doesn't contribute to the food budget he will ask - as do the teens - if they can have something. This is also because we live in the middle of nowhere and it's a trip of 15 miles to stock up on for example Digestives if I want to make a cheesecake and someone has just had them! If my beloved doesn't fancy what I cook he buys something else and treats himself . Budget management here only works with cooperation and communication. Maybe once you get ideas on weekly meals you can all sit down and have an informal chat if others have plans with the stuff that is already there (like OH and DS)? You could suggest to cook a meal for 4 out of what they thought was just for them? Or they might be happy to go for cheaper cuts of meat occasionally? Possibly the biggest burden on your budget is not the butcher as such but that your family requires lots of different meals to be cooked on the same night.

I don't include booze in the family budget, which I consider my own personal luxury. Cat food yes, she belongs to all of us, lol, but the laying birds have their own budget.

Billie-jo

Joedenise - I would also count this cost in the budget as its money that has been spent from it whoever actually handed the money over.
£2.50 spent this morning on mushrooms and watercress.

lushlifesaver

Oops an expensive few days in our household; dad went in for surgery so I have been on taxi duty (he's not allowed to drive for a while and it was nice to be useful even if it means more money has gone on fuel this month than it would otherwise)


So; £10.98 in Tesco on formula and a snack for my dad post hospital release, £6.65 on some post Christmas lights treats for us, £11.50 on some gifts and advent calendars in Thorntons (usually a different budget but as they are edible taking them from here) and about £25 in Tesco on some offers that were ending yesterday but were too good to miss (laundry detergent @ £5 - better than half price, fabric conditioner on a good offer, favourite wine down for £14 to £5.50 a bottle - just got the one) and some condiments etc to take to Christmas dinner and some necessary spends for little one. so that's a whopping £59.13 to add to my sig and I am determined that that is it now until the 19th which is next pay day.


Should only need milk and maybe a tomato and basil sauce for the next two weeks - we have tons of fruit and veggies in, plenty of meat. Bf is away Tuesday - Friday next week so one less mouth to feed and I have tons of freezer meals in that need eating anyway.


wonder bairn is now on the meals nursery provides and has 'proper' food for tea time at home (pasta to mush and chew, meat strips, veggie sticks/mash etc) so I'm not buying jars now apart from for if we are away and I know the available food won't be appropriate (like tournaments where there's only deep fried stuff available etc I'll take a couple of jars probably). She has whole milk for cereal/porridge at home and other than that she's no bother


Going to need to start proper meal planning asap just so I know in my head what I'm doing for each day to save time and brain power