October 2017 Grocery Challenge

mumofthetwins

Hi guys ...

I'm back ... after OH booked a surprise trip for us it threw me right off track but I'm like arnie .. I'm back lol

Can I rejoin this month with £300 for the month.
I'm also going to go for 12 NSDs this month

Good luck with October everyone .. new month new start ...

See you guys soon ... Lisa x

Cherry_Burton

Hi everyone,

I'm fresh from posting my results for September. I find these threads so useful in keeping me on track and intentional (as the Americans say) with my grocery shopping.

I'm going to go for £100 again this month from the 1st - 31st. I still have quite a lot in the freezer but my cupboards have definitely been run down. October is a very expensive month for me for a variety of reasons so I will have to try very hard to meal plan so I can come under budget again if possible.

I have a friend who always has very full food cupboards and a big chest freezer full to the brim with food. She says it makes her feel secure to know that if the food supply system of the county fails for some reason she can survey on her stores for a while. I have never thought of that and I'm am now pondering whether I should start to build up some stores like she has. Any views?

elsiepac

Just popping in to say hi! My H&B has been out of nooch (nutritional yeast) for over a week now... and I've run out for a couple of days longer than that. I usually eat it pretty much every day in one form or another - usually as part of my breakfast as I have savoury oats most mornings.
Yesterday I asked them again when it would be back and they said they weren't sure as it kept being missing from deliveries! It turned out the girl could order it for me, so I bought two just in case!
Obviously this was an unplanned spend at £6.58 BUT I am not deducting from my grocery budget... because it turned out some hamster food that I get from my vets, which I'd ordered earlier in the week and collected yesterday, I had already paid for without realising! It was £7.89 so that little bonus has covered this extra expense rather nicely!
It was quite funny in the vets though... me arguing I definitely hadn't paid and them saying no, your account is 100% at £0 balance!! It's annoying because they never give you an itemised receipt unless you ask for it, then it takes AGES and it's a proper invoice type sheet of A4... which is why I don't usually bother! Oh well, at least it was in my favour this time!

Last night I tried out one of those Blue Dragon meal kits I mentioned before - half price at £1.34 in Mr T but only for 2 more days I believe - I was VERY impressed! I definitely wouldn't pay full price for them, but I'm glad I bought a few (okay, ten, 2 each of 5 different kits... you can see why my money goes fast lol) as because they include the coconut milk, this makes them quite an economical purchase. You just add your meat or veggies.

I tried the Panang Curry one, it said to use beef but obviously being vegan I couldn't!! I didn't have any suitable fake meat to hand, and I'm not sure I'd like meat in a Thai curry, having never tried it before even when I used to eat meat years ago! So I used the equivalent of a tin of chickpeas (I cook mine from dried then freeze in 240g portions which is a tin drained weight average) plus a sweet potato, and then used the suggested pepper and aubergine... I only hadlittle cheap peppers, so I used a red, a green and a yellow instead of a big red one.
(the kit includes coconut milk, curry paste, plus 2 dry ingredients - this one had kaffir lime leaves and crushed peanuts)

I really recommend these if you can find them at this reduced price! Lovely treat meal and very easy!

Lauralozzle

Yesterday was a small spend day as we had ran out of some spices so we walked to Mr T to get some for dinner. Will update my signature when I find the receipt!

Today will be a NSD and today I'm going to start the meal prep for frozen meal, treats and some up. Will also cook a Sunday roast as well and possibly make pastry for the pie the leftover chicken will inevitably turn into!

XSpender

Surprisingly small spends so far this month at £45.56 for the month so far. This includes a maccy dees breakfast, 2 hot drinks at DS rugby and the weekly shop at Aldi. We didn't need much, especially as I am away 3 nights,and I just about kept to my list.

We are Skinty McSkintface this month as DH has been short paid £400 as he moves from one job to another and the fuel costs for our August holiday has come out of my pay this month, a further £350 shortage. I am hoping to cut my £500 budget by £150 this month when hitting £100/week is a challenge:eek:

I have 2 dinner allowances from work to play with this week (£40) so will use these to stock up on coffee, rooibos tea, squash, cereal, SW friendly crisps and chocolate bars and any other non perishables. I will take dinner from home Monday and buy something for Tuesday within the allowance. I don't count these spends in my budget as it is not my money I am spending.

I do have a can of drink for DH and some sweeties for DS to add on when I find the receipt.

DH and I are doing Go Sober for October so will save a bit on not drinking, about £20-25/week.

Meal Plan this Week

Su - Slow Cooker Sausage & Leek Casserole made SW friendly and mash
Mo - SW pasties for lunch, SW RM for DH, HM SW soup for me, DS at DMIL
Tu - SW RM for DH, I'm away, DS at DMIL
We - SW RM for DH, beans on toast for me, DS at DMIL
Th - Chicken, quark, bacon, garlic roasts and frozen veg
F - Wrap pizza and wedges using bits from freezer for toppings

I will need milk, bacon and bread rolls before the weekend and will ask DH to pick this up from Asda near his work on Wednesday.

medsdemon

Could you please add me for the month as I try to curb my food and alcohol 😳.

My budget will start today (1st October) and end the 29th, making it four weeks.

I'm going to go with [COLOR="rgb(244, 164, 96)"]£240[/COLOR]and see how I go. That's £60 a week so really that should be fine since it's only the two of us plus cat ( who is now off his expensive Catfood.

First spend of the month today of £44, with no alcohol in that :T. Sober October here I go.

Really I'm hoping the only buys I'll need will come to approx £10 the rest of the week, and my cupboards have plenty of options in there, to be creative with.

Thanks everyone, and goodluck .

K9sandFelines

Hi guys and gals,

I am so, so busy at the mo; that I haven't logged in for the whole of September (and I have still to add that up and part of August). College and work and homelife are eating away all my time.

I am still going for £333 which is part of the yearly budget. In the new year it will be lowering immensely, as I am averaging about £250 including subscribe and saves. This needs to stay at £250 or lower as my course fees and normal bills are crippling me. I wish I could fast forward to next year when I know if I've passed and can then progress to the next level and have a little more help by way of a student loan.


Good luck everybody

BrassicWoman

£9.75; tea, fruit, avocados, salad, lunch

[Deleted User]

Can you add me please. I am upping the budget this month to £80. Been batch cooking. Made the most beautiful onion soup, which has been frozen, along with spicy tomato soup and a mushroom soup, some sweet potato curry and am about to batch cook some veggie mince for freezing. Made some vegan friendly coleslaw and a spicy lentil dip, so am well stocked. Have spent £12.30 of the budget. Not planning on going (food) shopping 'till Friday now.

thriftwizard

Not thrilled to get back from the final instalment of my holidays (4 days up & back to my uncle's 60th wedding anniversary) to find, "There's no FOOD in this house!" from the girls. Even though I'd left them the last of the September food budget, plus the code for the allotments so they could go & help themselves to spuds, beans, the sweetest sweetcorn ever and no end of chard, kale & courgettes - they are both veggie/pescatarians. So I've had to run up to the local W8rose for some basic supplies. I debated not declaring it, as it's just under the £30 they hadn't spent from September's budget, but decided it would be more honest to put it down & adjust the total I'm aiming for later if necessary.