December 2017 Grocery Challenge

PipneyJane

Please put me down for £162.70 this month, which consists of £60 cash contribution from me, £22.20 carried forward from November and £80.50 of Clubcard vouchers that need to be spent.

Since DH is unemployed, I’ve told him that the Clubcard vouchers can cover his share. He has 3 week’s work for Royal Mail starting on Tuesday, with a possibility of more in January (to which he’s already signed up). Bless him, he hates being dependant on me - it took me a week to convince him that the Clubcard vouchers could cover his share this month.

Thanks everyone for the recipes you’ve shared.

caronc

Only working on the first two weeks of December as after that I'm on my Christmas budget. £22 todaty mainly on bits for friends round tonight. So far £22/£60

Pandora_2

Spent some time yesterday making a vague meal plan for the month and doing a big shopping list of everything I think I will need including all the Christmas stuff. Went to Ald! with my big list as a reminder with certain things highlighted as the essential items to buy now. Bought all my essentials plus a few bits from the Christmas list and, rather than get my Friday night takeaway, I got myself a frozen pizza, frozen sweet potato fries and some dip which definitely worked out a LOT cheaper and of course it means there's fries left for next Friday's treat night which just means getting the pizza and dip or save them for a different week if I fancy something else!

I know I could save more and make my own sweet potato fries/wedges, but Friday nights are about being lazy!! :rotfl:

Spent a grand total of £30.63 (which nearly gave me a heart attack as I never usually spend that much in one go!!) but got loads of stuff and obviously some of it has been hidden away for Christmas so not too bad overall. I'm keeping the receipt on the fridge and crossing things off when they are used up so I know what I've got and won't go buying more of something before I actually need it. I do have plenty of other food in as well so will attempt to stock take and do the same with lists on the cupboards and fridge/freezer :A

Plan for today is to make a big batch of leek and potato soup with potatoes I bought yesterday and leeks that have been in the fridge for at least a week, maybe longer!! Also going to make chicken and chorizo paella for tea as have half a packet of chorizo slices that need using up, some peppers that are going soft, some frozen leftover chicken (currently defrosting) and (to my shame!) I have 4 bags of paella rice in the cupboards so I see lots of paella in my future!! :rotfl:

Hope everyone is keeping warm and dry and having a good day

pamsdish

First spend this month £27.34

BrassicWoman

Just over £30 today; all of the cans of pop, some soy yogurt and puddings; good prices + tesco voucher, added some long life rice milk and bread mixes to hit the minimum spend; things I get anyway just a little early. So no rash buys!

Then £11 (!!! v expensive!) on a tofurkey for xmas. Hoping it is tasty and there's leftovers for boxing day!

Off to start the courgette soup so it's ready in time for Strictly.

[Deleted User]

elsiepac wrote: »

= I haven't had any MOC for 0cad0 where I get my Ecozone stuff from, and it's getting a bit urgent!

Have you tried Tesco, they now have an eco brand now, which is Vegan too.

Camomile wrote: »

Genuine question to everybody else declaring less than £300/ month, how do you do it?:)

I normally come in at about £50/60 per month, occasionally in the £40s but averages £70. I have a massive stock cupboard, that I'm continually stocking with bargains I spot, which has been built up over time. My budget per month is usually £80, though it has been lower on quite a few occasions (hence the £70 average). Any monies left over, go in2 the bulk buy pot, so I can dip into that. You can always chuck in a few cheapy meals, value pasta/spaghetti, which is only 20p a pack. I'm vegan, so if I eat fresh veg, its a lot cheaper for most things, except cheese, mayo etc. I bulk buy fruit, when on offer and freeze for smoothies, overnight oats, make homemade soup with lentils, onions, veg etc. I normally only buy things on offer, as I normally have loads of other stuff in stock and can afford to wait 'till they are, they always come around again, you will get there, if you live out of stores, while also stocking up (if that makes sense). Good luck.

Mrs_Cheshire wrote: »

Morning all,
I'm currently trying to reduce the amount of meat we're eating, I've started adding lentils or oats to mince when making cottage pie or bolagnese. I'm also only using 1 large chicken breast to go round 2 adults and 3 kids (age 8,6,2).
Does anyone had any other tips for reducing meat, don't mind trying a few veggie meals but hubby likes his meat so anything that tastes meaty even if there is a small amount in it.

I regularly cook veggie mince for meat eaters and they can't tell the difference, once spiced (not Quorn mince, that's yuk). Linda Mc quarter pounders are a good sub in a bun, once you have your other bits, salad, cheese, etc, quorn chicken pieces are nice, in a stirfry, you can't really tell the difference if you don't tell people. They are just meat replacements for people who like their meat. hth


Had spends of £9.72, got a ton of stuff, should be me done for the week, as I have batch cooked a load of stew & frozen, plus have veggie savoury mince there and am going to cook a few soups this w/e. Might have to go buy some (of the hard stuff) booze to drown my sorrows at Arsenal's looming defeat, watching as I type, but I can sip as I cook - perfect. Have updated sig.

thriftwizard

First week of December basically catered for, with £60 spent at the local market and £18.63 at the W8rose, on coffee, butter etc., just because I can't get to L!dls until sometime next week. Having DS2 home again puts a spanner or two in the works, as he can't bear mushrooms. I'd worked out a kind of system whereby OH & I would have left-over meat in sauce, and the girls would have veg in the same sauce, but most of our favourite sauces have mushrooms in! And he's not going to be a happy bunny to be served allotment veg, but beggars can't be choosers, and he has to pay half the rent & bills on the house that his ex-GF is living in, possibly right up until the end of next July.

He does have the option of buying stuff in & cooking it himself, as long as he clears up after himself. But by & large he's too busy playing footy or going to the gym to do that. At least he seems to have broken the take-away habit; when they lived here, every other meal was a takeaway. And they couldn't work out how they couldn't seem to save money... sigh! We also have DS3 home this weekend, who can't bear even the smell of fish, our normal Friday meal; I'm looking on this as a trial run for the festive break & think I'd better start planning the meals now!

Mrs_Cheshire

Camomile wrote: »

Genuine question to everybody else declaring less than £300/ month, how do you do it?


Mrs. Cheshire, thank you very much for all your help, much appreciated

Think a lot of people on this thread are on there own or a couple, so spend far less than a family would. Also everyone's income is different, so therefore people have different budgets to play with.

It's a pleasure, I've gained loads of good advice through following these challenges over the past few years.

Mrs_Cheshire

schiff wrote: »

Buy any cheap cut of beef, trim it of most of the fat, slow cook it with garlic, onions, lentils or chick peas and some curry powder (not paste which is dearer) and have it with couscous. Slow cooking gives it a great flavour and all the ingredient are cheap; it is also healthy. If you do a lot freeze some of it. Same with pork and chicken or turkey but for health reasons skin the poultry; and use thighs or legs instead of breast.

Another accompaniment: broccoli, red pepper, leek, scattered with black pepper, sea salt, coriander and turmeric powder, a splash of olive oil and water, and steamed in the microwave. Reheat with olive or rapeseed oil.

Save_Dosh wrote: »

I regularly cook veggie mince for meat eaters and they can't tell the difference, once spiced (not Quorn mince, that's yuk). Linda Mc quarter pounders are a good sub in a bun, once you have your other bits, salad, cheese, etc, quorn chicken pieces are nice, in a stirfry, you can't really tell the difference if you don't tell people. They are just meat replacements for people who like their meat. hth

Thank you both, the curried beef sounds lovely.
will have to give veggie mince a try, even if I add a bit to regular mince to bulk it out.
Need to add a few spends to my total
A$da for pasta £1
Tesc0 for milk £0.79
Ald! for top up £11.90 including nappies to last hopefully the month.

This week coming is a short week, as we're likely to be away from thursday afternoon till sunday evening.
I've got quite a bit in, so will need to buy a bag of satsuma's, milk, bread, yogurts and perhaps some mushrooms. I really need to make some healthy snacks for my boys, some days my eldest needs 2 snacks, his lunch box and something after dinner. I've got some pumpkins that need roasting before they go off, so will hopefully do that on Monday and then make some pumpkin cupcakes.
I've got oats and golden syrup so should be able to make flapjack!

taka

I'm in again please! No idea if this budget will be remotely possible but I have £155 set aside plus the £2.04 underspend from last month: £157.04 for December. So far £12.80 spent but a trip to costco will happen mid month so this plus christmas may well mean the budget could be an epic fail.