March 2015 Grocery Challenge

Milly-Ann-Molly

lynnejk wrote: »

HTH and is understandable - any queries please ask

Lx

That helps alot. Thanks Lynnejk. I notice you split everything into separate budgets. I am going to try that too. I do have several banks accounts and put bits into each for birthdays, holidays, car insurance etc... but by week 3 every month I usually end up taking it back out for groceries! or getting shopping on the CC so it does not affect the overdraft... I seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut!

I will write out a spreadsheet of smaller budget areas and also list my cupboard contents... I plan to spend tomorrow writing meal plans and shopping lists... No more shopping randomly!

Hmmm...This may take a while.

Does anyone on here shop on a budget ethically, organically and vegan? Just curious as everytime I try to it becomes obscenely expensive. I then end up reverting to reduced bins at big supermarkets and eating meat / non-organic products...

Any advice on shops or websites for an ethical vegan tight budget lifestyle would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks xx

Milly-Ann-Molly

gayleygoo wrote: »

You need a spending diary
If you don't already, try meal planning and shopping with a list. Supermarkets make their money from people who wander round with a big trolley and fling stuff in on a whim.

Thanks. I am going to use all of your advice. I have a notebook and am going to start today. I did sometimes feel like I had shares in Mr T as they take all our wages!

I will let you all know how week one goes with the new methods. I need a big budget for household as I am renovating and decorating...on a tight budget too... Off to ebay stuff now for a bigger bank balance!

See you all on here soon and good luck everyone x

Milly-Ann-Molly

Coxy11 wrote: »

CatherineMM - please let me know what budget you would like.

Coxy

Hi can I have a budget of £250 please? Thanks x

WantToBeSE

CatherineMM wrote: »

Hmmm...This may take a while.

Does anyone on here shop on a budget ethically, organically and vegan? Just curious as everytime I try to it becomes obscenely expensive. I then end up reverting to reduced bins at big supermarkets and eating meat / non-organic products...

Any advice on shops or websites for an ethical vegan tight budget lifestyle would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks xx

Hey Catherine I am actually transitioning to a vegan diet at the moment, and have picked up some advice along the way, i hope you find some of it useful.

First off, it is much cheaper to eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. So that obviously means lots of fruit and vegetables, but also add to that some beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. Things like 'vegan cheese' or 'fake meat' can be expensive, so just try to rely on a plant based diet mainly.


Nuts and seeds CAN be expensive, but if you eat a lot of them, its best to buy in bulk from places like Amazon. It always works out cheaper to buy in bulk.

There is nothing wrong with frozen fruits and veggies, or tinned. I often buy a butternut squash, dice and freeze. So a £1 squash can last me a month, whereas a fresh one would have to be eaten within a week or 2 and I'd end up throwing some away.

Dont get caught up in all this talk of 'superfoods'. Personally, i add flaxseeds to my porridge or sprinkle some onto salads, mix some (ony 1tbsp or so) into curries or stews. The reasons for this is that flaxseed is rich in omega 3's, which you would traditionally get from oily fish. I dont buy or eat other so called 'superfoods' as i think they can be a con. As long as you are eating a variety of fruit, veg, seeds, nuts etc, you can get everything you need from that.

Dont worry TOO much about organic. Its better to eat veggies instead of meat, instead of no veggies because you cant find or afford organic ones. If you REALLY want to eat organic, look at the dirty dozen. Those not on the DD list are not too high in pesticides etc, but the DD are the ones that are very high. Personally, i dont buy organic, unless it works out cheaper that non-organic, or only a few pence more.

Soy/Almond/Coconut mik are, in my experience, more expensive than dairy milk. I am not too sure how to get around that. For almond milk, if you look on the ingredients list, it is often no more than 10% almonds, so hardly worth it. You can, instead, make your own. Its very easy, and only uses 1 cup of almonds and 3 cups of water, then blend. Look on youtube, there are loads of videos on how to make it.

Thats all i can think of at the moment.

EDIT- also, if you shop in Tesco, you can use clubcard vouchers to top up on things like quinoa, brown rice, flaxseed etc. I had £14 worth of clubcard vouchers a few weeks ago, so stocked up on those things.

WantToBeSE

I also forgot to add that ethnic shops are great for picking up cheap things like tinned beans. I have to go quite a way to my local' ethnic shop, so pop in when i am in the city for any reason. I'll buy tins of black beans (49p a tin) and chickpeas, as well as tofu etc for much less than in the supermarkets.

EDIT- Sorry, i keep remembering things! For skincare, superdrugs own brand is suitable for vegans and vegetarians, and Barry M cosmetics are vegan too. Not too sure about others, as i havent fully researched it yet.

mrs-moneypenny

This is another year that seems to be flying through!

Went over by about £98in feb but I am going to do better in March so am setting a budget for £400 and will stick to it!!!

March budget £400

Milly-Ann-Molly

WantToBeSE wrote: »

EDIT- Sorry, i keep remembering things! For skincare, superdrugs own brand is suitable for vegans and vegetarians, and Barry M cosmetics are vegan too. Not too sure about others, as i havent fully researched it yet.

Hi, thanks so much for all the great advice. I will be looking into it. I have two kids under 9 so have to buy junk like linda mcartney foods for them to have with meals and i worry about the protein. My husband is a meat eater so we eat typical meat eating 'man foods' when he is here...although he will be working overseas for nine months soon, hence my upcoming vegan drive ...

I have found some vegan and cruelty free products in the toiletries of the 99p shop! Quite a few of their items are good to animals. Was the last place I expected to find them. I think I am the first person to ever check labels in there as staff looked completely bemused that I was looking at every item hahaha

WantToBeSE

CatherineMM wrote: »

Hi, thanks so much for all the great advice. I will be looking into it. I have two kids under 9 so have to buy junk like linda mcartney foods for them to have with meals and i worry about the protein. My husband is a meat eater so we eat typical meat eating 'man foods' when he is here...although he will be working overseas for nine months soon, hence my upcoming vegan drive ...

I have found some vegan and cruelty free products in the toiletries of the 99p shop! Quite a few of their items are good to animals. Was the last place I expected to find them. I think I am the first person to ever check labels in there as staff looked completely bemused that I was looking at every item hahaha

Will you be feeding your children a vegan diet too then?
I keep a few LM products in my freezer, for those nights where i am just too exhausted to cook after work.

Google plant based sources of protein and you'll find that many green vegetables such as kale and broccoli have as much, if not more, protein per 100g than meat does.

Soworried

I've just finished the weekly shop and it came to £36.20 after the £5 Ald1 voucher came off.
I got a lot of meat with it and a stock up on some cupboard staples.

They have Pork joints at £1.99 per kilo so I bought a 2k piece that will do a dinner, a stir fry and a couple of curries for the 4 of us. It has gone in to the freezer for next week.

They had big Gammon joints on for £4.49 as well. I am going to cook the Gammon today for a dinner. Then the left overs will be Carbonara tomorrow and Quiche on Tuesday. I find Gammon stretches out really well

I shouldn't need to shop now until milk and fruit during the week, fingers crossed anyway

About the budgets I count everything food wise, cleaning and toiletries. I don't include alcohol as we don't drink really. Our budget is for 4 almost grown ups, my youngest is 15 and needs more food than most adults do :eek:

Billie-jo

1st March and its NSD # 1 here.