March 2015 Grocery Challenge

CRANKY40

£30.79 spent this week, signature adjusted. I still seem to have plenty in the freezer including a few home made meals so we should be ok for the week. Master Cranky has his op today so there won't be any top up shopping done either for the next few days, possible the next week depending on how he is.

plymouthscubagirl

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Its nice to know that others understand it.

I have 10 days and £35 left to go. I popped into Morrisons this morning and spent £45, and i am hoping that i wont need to enter another shop until at least the 20th

I just need to find some recipes for a vegetarian burger that doesn't use any dairy.

Hi, there's a recipe on Girl Called Jack for Carrot/Cumin/BEan burgers. Think they worked out to 12p each!

I too am a 20th payday so not long to stretch it out. Really pleased as I have done extremely well this month. Considering I have enough washing powder/toilet paper to last a year, plus I bought all Easter Eggs for nieces/nephews and flowers for Mothers day out of this months budget, I have only spent £85.72/£180. Whoop whoop. This is nothing short of a miracle for me :j Its really making me think about breakfasts and lunches to brin into work rather than the canteen, in fact haven't used the canteen in weeks now.

I have a language student coming on Sunday so my budget may get a little skewed this month, fingers crossed I can keep it sub £150. Also off to Newquay/Padstow for 3 days tomorrow so some eating out costs :mad: I'm usually looked after though thankfully!!

bargainhunterss

m1nk1e wrote: »

Just a quick question - apologies if this isn't right thread.

How do you resist the 'extra' goodies that sneak in the trolley when you physically go shopping?

This month I have shopped on line to avoid temptation but next week I only need bread, milk and fruit - I do not trust myself going in as I am a supermarket's ideal shopper. I have tried taking a list, working out how much it should come to and drawing out the cash but somehow.....

Any thoughts greatly received

I agree with Anzac biscuit, I always spend more when I'm hungry. Eat something (maybe sweet if that's what you go for?) just before you go shopping and that might help? Also, I suppose ask yourself before you put ANYTHING in the trolley....'do i need this?'

Good luck!:D

newthrift

Morning All
I think I need to hop back in to the GC. I was doing it last year and then carried on for a while doing it but just not posting in the official groups. As life has got busier I fell off the wagon a bit and although most of the time I am careful, it has to be said I am aware the spends at the SM are creeping up and I am ending up with food waste again :mad: So as my redundancy is looming at the end of June and I am happily planning my wedding in September, although we are no-where near spending more than what we earn and are not heading towards any form of debt, I want to rain in my spending, increase my savings and ensure my money spending doesn't head in the wrong direction. Meal planning is beginning again as this had dropped off and I need to set myself a target. So I am going to start at £240 for the month for two of us. This will include cleaning products but not toiletries.

First shop for this month will be tomorrow.

wishus

Went out for a freebie night out last night. Cinema tickets to see an early evening showing of Birdman - free as paid for using my work bonus gift card, with free cinema snacks (some of the corporate snacks my company was chucking out). Then OH insisted we should stay out and eat dinner...

Well, I whittled him down to a Wetherspoons, but I have no socialising budget left for it, so this had had to come out of groceries at £16.99 - actually not bad for 2 steaks (of course, he had Aberdeen Angus, too) and a bottle of wine. :money:

joedenise

savingfortomorrow wrote: »

i use chickpeas, drain and use kitchen paper to absorb any moisture, using tiny spray of oil or few drops of oil pan. ive done them plain mostly but serve with hot chill sauce. very solid and easy to turn. one tin makes four decent burgers.

Thanks for that will give them a try but unfortunately DH can't eat chickpeas so I'll have to eat them all myself! Do you find one burger is filling enough for a meal? Of course the others would need to be frozen but assume they'd be OK defrosted and cooked later.

Denise

WantToBeSE

Thanks everyone for the burger recipes and 'shoppers anonymous' suport

Those carrot, cumin and kidney bean burgers have never worked out well for me, as the mixture is always VERY wet...coud i just add more flour/breadcrumbs to make it less so?

I made this one yesterday http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-best-vegan-burger/#JSTlZy7cK7dDf2Ve.97 and it was really lovely (having leftovers for lunch), but that was also very wet. So i oven baked instead of frying, since the oven was already on.

A nsd today

Billie-jo

Having another NSD today that takes us up to 8 so far this month.
Today we were going to A!di but after a quick glance around the cupboards and fridge there really is no need. Like last week we will need fruit & veg on Sat but not a lot else. Have enough cheese, milk, eggs, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, potatoes, butter and T.Bags etc to last until next week. Also plenty of meat in freezers. Doing well so very pleased . . . . so far.

lushlifesaver

Had to nip to the big ASDA on Monday for a few specifics - haven't been for ages as I've been using Tesco (fuelsave attracted me, clubcard points encouraged me and the Orchard is Tescos own scheme so the vouchers are only for there) but the savings aren't enough to justify the time it takes to shop there (about the same time wise to get there but always busier and takes far far longer to get round and get everything we need). I was really impressed with some of the prices/offers.


So much so I'm going back to ASDA for the foreseeable apart from for amazing, not to be missed, offers


Stocked up on bf's crisps and biscuits for lunches, filled his treat tin, got some extra treats and extras like a few new kitchen/home bits, tights for me, travel toiletries for him, a piece of make up for me, new bottle and a couple of treats for wonder bairn all for under £40 which surprised me as I came home with loads (doesn't all fit in the cupboards!)


Also this week wonder bairn has dropped her morning bottle (bigger breakfasts now but there's still a saving as they are cheaper than formula!) and last night had whole milk before bed rather than formula and she did alright on that too - got a few bottles worth of formula to go but I think I'll alternate until that's used up so she's still getting used to the whole milk. Massive change as that will drop the additional £40 a month I spend on wonder bairn specific items (£34 on formula plus she was having a few other bits/jars on nights we are out but she wont eat them now!) so the budget should be a steady £100 now


Trying to get financial control back as I've been a bit slack since coming back to work and not having council tax to pay for a couple of months but that starts again from pay day so money will feel tighter for a month or two I think!

CountingPennies

NSD here! Delivery coming tomorrow with last of easter eggs. Also ran out of toilet paper nearly so got a 16 pack coming, along with the some more bits for holiday box and the milk/fruit and veg for the weekend. Making dinner for 12 on Sunday for mothers day but working 16 hours on Saturday so want to be prepared for it.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

CP xx