January Grocery Challenge 2015

ScaryGreen

Got my first online shop of the month delivered yesterday and spent £27.26. This did include dishwasher tabs and loo roll for £11.35 the former will last at least 3 months.


I'm not expecting to have to spend anymore until my next shop comes on Thursday, except maybe for bananas which my DD is eating like they're going out of fashion.

scotmumof3

cherrypie the words "accident prone" and "bubblewrap".:D springs to mind

Airthrey

First shopping day of the year and spent £22.90, mainly on milk, fruit and veg. I went to A*da, A*di, Mr M and Mr T in quick succession; RP tea bags in Mr M and some YS mushrooms and clementines in Mr T. And 10 metres of gift wrap and some gift tags in A*da for next Christmas for 50p. Also YS eggs for 60p, mostly used up in potato, mushroom and onion omelette this evening.

merzal

Bobarella wrote: »

Blimey which shop was that in?

Mr T, some of the multi-buy offers still came off. Timed it just right (between 7-8pm) meat was all reduced between 10-60p (apart from pork joint which was 83p), fruit / veg were pennies, pies & ham were 8p.

Bread, rolls and doughnuts etc. were all under 10p but didn't need any of them. There were plenty of ready meals at 11p too but skipped them.

Just remembered what else I got - 2 packs of cooked chicken and a pack of ham for sandwiches. Also got 2 bags of peppers, 3 packs of mushrooms, avocados, 2 scotch eggs from the deli and a big pack of sausage rolls.

The amount of stuff was incredible, there was at least 20 crates of fruit and veg and 10 of chilled products. They must have seriously over ordered and there were not many people about. Our freezer is full or I would have got more.

I'm Merzal and I am also a food hoarder!! My problem is I can't resist a bargain!

DanielleNic87

It's 3rd of January and I haven't been any where near a SM.

My sister phoned earlier asking if she could come around for a cup of tea.... I said yes only if she brought some milk with her I now have 2 pints in the fridge that will last a couple of days for my cereal.

Hubby and I had a talk this morning about food spends and although we don't spend too much, we don't need half the stuff we buy as our fridge, 2x freezers and cupboards are bulging, so this month we are only buying fresh. We may be in for some weird concoctions:D

Bobarella

Mezcal - is Mr T it's actual name? Just that people seem to make up all sorts for the main supermarkets on here. I am curious as I don't think they have London stores or if so Def not in South London.

I am curious how so many are able to stay out of the shops so long. Are you either people who have overspent on food in the past hence massively overstocked or do you just not eat much? As I say I spend about £40 a week and never have stocks. It comes in gets eaten and we buy more. I feel hard pushed to have a NSD without drastically upping my food budget as we often need just 1 item. But spend wise I'm happy.

merzal

I mean Tesco, sorry for the confusion! I know on some boards people get funny if you post the actual name!
I find Tesco and Asda the best for reductions. I've never had much luck in Morrisons but I know some people get good bargains from there.
We manage NSDs as we have a chest freezer full of reduced bargains, I buy the veg when it is reduced to pennies and freeze it. We also have good cupboard stocks. As I said earlier I'm a bit of a food hoarder but I'm working on it!!

lynnejk

cyberthrifty wrote: »

Just checking in with a spend of £51.91 so far. I woke up the other morning with a cold and feel really rough so should get a couple of NSD's in :j

Hope you soon feeling better

Bobarella wrote: »

Mezcal - is Mr T it's actual name? Just that people seem to make up all sorts for the main supermarkets on here. I am curious as I don't think they have London stores or if so Def not in South London.

I am curious how so many are able to stay out of the shops so long. Are you either people who have overspent on food in the past hence massively overstocked or do you just not eat much? As I say I spend about £40 a week and never have stocks. It comes in gets eaten and we buy more. I feel hard pushed to have a NSD without drastically upping my food budget as we often need just 1 item. But spend wise I'm happy.

Most people on these threads don't like to use actual SM or product names as it's like giving them free advertising. So they usually use an acronym that most will get if they use the SM/product themselves or it's pretty obvious


Re NSDs - many of us on these various threads have been frugalities/budgeters for years.


Personally I have two freezers and batch-bake all the time, usually at least cook one/ freeze two, if not more.

I have a monthly bulk-buy fund and buy stuff that I use all the time when I see it on specials, and buy and cook in bulk from the butchers, (stuff like mince for bolognaise and chilli, beef for stews/casseroles etc).


I buy stuff on YS when I know I will be able to use it and where possible freeze it on day of purchase.


I plan weekly menus but am flexible as have plenty in stock.


I try never to throw anything away. Left-overs are used next day or frozen to make other meals/soups. End of week veggies make stock or soups.


When I buy bread/rolls I always freeze on day of purchase and use as needed. I do the same with packs of cold meat etc for pack-ups.


Most fruit and veggies will keep for a week if stored properly and then see above. Usually milk and eggs will keep for the week also.


Sorry long post but HTH
Lx

Bobarella

Hi Mezcal & Lynne
Thank you that is so helpful. Honestly I am glad I asked as Mr T's I would never have gotten and have genuinely been thinking it's a shop for the last 2 years!
Yes I am pretty frugal too but genuinely find that food is here today and gone tommorow. I also never see YS stuff at the few pennies level here I wonder of its regional. For example I often manage to buy bread at 18p or meat at around a pound but never 5p for things.
Anyway! It's obviously quite personal as well each persons ability to shave the pennies off the bill. I just am in awe as I feel I honestly can't go much more frugal. I note that people with lower spends do often seem to have huge stores to use up. Which I can't seem to gather in. Must try harder??

Bob

NewShadow

Hi All, Hope everyone had a lovely christmas and new year. Only got back from the folks a few days ago and just had my first food shop of 2015:beer:

I wanted to buy a couple of tubs of Osem beef powder (amazing stock for casseroles and stews), and the cheapest place that sells it is 'trose, so I bit the bullet and used one of those £20 off an £80 spend codes.

In truth I need to sit down and work out the actual food spend as I bought cat food and litter to tide me over until my proper shop, but I was actually very impressed.

I'm tempted to count the cat fud as the £20 discount as I'm planning on spending £150-200 in the next week stocking cat fud for the year and being fussy over the small spend seems picky in comparison

Eitherway, £60 got me:

• 4 small Chickens, three frozen and one being cooked today

• 25 Bananas, diced individually into snack bags in the freezer for porridge
• 1.2kg Clementines, accompanies the 2 bags I brought home (omnomnom)
• 500g Rhubarb, will be diced blanched or stewed and frozen
• 4 x 750g tubs of Grapes, more omnomnom - won't last the week
• 4 x 400g bags Blueberries, frozen for with porridge, one bag does a week mon - thurs

• 10kg Potatoes - four 2.5 kilo bags, some will be wedged or mashed and frozen, decent size ones fished out for microwaving at work with beans and cottage cheese, the rest will keep fine in a potato bag.

• 1kg Sweetcorn, frozen
• 1kg Broccoli, frozen
• 1.8kg Peas, frozen

• 8 tins Baked Beans, half a tin does work lunch with HM cottage cheese, so 4 weeks worth here
• 3 tins Spaghetti Hoops, my guilty pleasure when I've had a hard day

• 12L UHT, for tea, HM yogurt and cheese, and (v. occasionally, for with porridge)
• 2 tubs Osem powder, storecupboard staple. 2 tubs = 6 months

• 12 tins Cat Food, 2 weeks worth in case the delivery is delayed
• 20L Wood Cat Litter, ditto

In addition to this, I'll buy 6 eggs a week at work, have a cooked breakfast on fridays rather than lunch, and will certainly fancy picking some other bits up, but this is basically a months shop for me easily (giving my existing stocks of pastas, HM ready meals, flours and tins, ect...).