July 2018 Grocery Challenge

Hopeless_Case

Horwich_7 wrote: »

Good Morning
I am wanting to start the grocery challenge as we need to get our food shopping under control.
I!!!8217;ve just had surgery on my foot and I!!!8217;m going to go onto half pay in the next month.
I!!!8217;ve lurked for so long but now need to do this.
How do I start?
What are your tips?
Do you have a separate shopping pot so you know exactly what you have to spend etc?
Annie x

Hi and welcome - you need to start with an idea of what you want your month's budget to be, I started with what I thought was manageable and have managed to adjust it down, but that takes time and if you need to be on a very controlled amount straight away, set that as your budget.

Make a list of what you already have in the freezer/cupboards or fresh food which needs eating and then do weekly food plans aiming to use what you've got and keep it simple and cheap - there are loads of recipes at the beginning of this thread to help. Then have a strict shopping list, if your budget is very limited you'll have to price the shopping list really carefully

I'm going to start taking cash out each week and using that but it's up to you what works best - having said that I've just spent £80 of my £240 August budget on a Waitrose online shop :rotfl:, with the aim of getting £20 cashback to throw at a credit card, and I bought all Waitrose essentials-type stuff so not as bad as it might sound :rotfl: -took ages to get it up to that amount as I didn't want to buy stuff I wouldn't have bought anyway, we don't eat much meat and I tend to try and buy meat, fish, veg etc reduced to clear, but I got there in the end

I've just realised that I don't know how mobile you are after a foot op and how easy rooting around in freezers and cupboards and cooking etc will be for you but hope this helps

JingsMyBucket

Evening all. Yesterday was a NSD but I hit the shops on Thursday and today.

€40.32 at Delhaize for fruit, veg and lots of things that need to be replenished or were a bit special. Ex: salmon, Listerine mouthwash (it's so expensive in this country!), pre cut fruit that's easily eaten cold in this horrible heatwave we've been having, etc. I also got a pack of Mr. Freeze icees to keep in the freezer to keep us cool. Those were only €2.49 for a pack of 20 so I consider them a good value but it's not something we'd normally buy, IYSWIM.

€18.25 at another store buying butter, bananas, chocolate and pasta.

TOTAL SO FAR:
€368.77 / €400.00
13 / 12 NSD

I think I'm going to declare for the month as there's not much else to buy from now until Tuesday. We have a lot of fruit in the fridge and on the counter and tons of vegetables to start using. I bought veg several times this week but I haven't been inspired to actually cook anything. It's cooled down where we are today, thankfully (!!) and I think I may turn on the oven to make some savoury tarts with puff pastry. We'd be able to munch on those along with salad greens for the next couple of days.

Also, I found a cool looking recipe for savoury flapjacks that uses leeks and cheddar cheese: http://www.british-leeks.co.uk/recipe/leek-cheese-flapjacks.php. Brought to you by the official Official British Leek Propaganda Board™. :rotfl: We have everything in the house that we need for the recipe so no more shopping is required. That'll make good breakfasts and lunches for the week as well.

Has the August thread gone up? Have a good evening all!

JingsMyBucket

MadamMim2013 wrote: »

I've come to wail quietly that I am now waaay over budget and it's not the end of the month yet for me!! :eek:
A few odd days have thrown me and I've been far from organised, though I did run down the fridge and cupboard stores a little.
Currently at £349.19.. Think I may have to up my monthly amount just a smidge to be realistic!

What happened on your end? I haven't been cooking nearly as much at all and it definitely shows in my total. I'm so used to spending €300 or less. I feel like a spendthrift!

YorksLass

Highland_Fling wrote: »

To be honest I have been poorly for the last couple of days so have put off going out. I am running very low on toilet paper, milk, butter etc. So will have to visit shop tomorrow as I can't get along without these essentials.

[FONT=&quot]Hope you're feeling a little better now and managed to get out to the shops. I think most of us are quite good at "making do" when we have to, but sometimes those essentials can't be put off any longer. [/FONT];)

YorksLass wrote: »

I will be popping into Sainsbobs on Tuesday as I need to stock up on household stuff (separate budget) so maybe I should take a pair of blinkers with me.

Oh dear, I forgot the blinkers! Got the household stuff OK and thought I may as well get a few other things too while I was there – as you do. The “few other things” came to a total of £20.23 :eek:. Not a complete disaster though as there were a fair few bargain ys items in the trolley so it will save dosh further down the line.

[FONT=&quot]Last shop of the month done yesterday, £2.69 Co-op and £6.20 market, bringing the total spend for July to £124.32/£140 with 21/28 NSDs and £15.68 left in my purse. :)

That's me done for the month, next post on August's thread.[/FONT]

K9sandFelines

£4.09 spent today between work and Morrisons, on fruit and veg, tomato puree and a bottle of pop.

elsiepac

Hi all

I'm really sorry for the delay in getting August's thread up! Just putting it up now! SORRY!

Lee-anne x

elsiepac

It's up!

AUGUST THREAD

I'm so sorry for the delay everyone, I've been crazy busy with work and doing tons of overtime and it's messed up all my usual routines for over a month now! Anyway, it's there now...

Hopeless_Case

elsiepac wrote: »

It's up!

AUGUST THREAD

I'm so sorry for the delay everyone, I've been crazy busy with work and doing tons of overtime and it's messed up all my usual routines for over a month now! Anyway, it's there now...

Thanks :)

PipneyJane

Good morning All

Apologies for being AWOL for most of the month - not being able to catch up at lunchtimes is really doing my head in. (The Boards are blocked by my employer’s IT system. So is personal email. You can shop until you drop, wasting hours - probably even go on eBay - but visiting the MSE Boards is banned.)

Anyway, I’m declaring at £7.50 overspent. Even though we’re a couple of days before month end, this is it. I took my share of the housekeeping out of the bank yesterday.

We spent £127.50/£120 this month. I raided the Meat Fund for a tenner about 10 days ago and added it to the Grocery Money. We’ve got £2.50 left of that money.

I’m not going to list every shop but the highlight was spending £1 cash to purchase a 12-inch, cast-iron saut! pan in MrT’s as part of our big shop earlier in the month. It was 50% off and I think it’s shelf price was £35. We cashed in our Clubcard vouchers to pay other £34. (Annoyingly, I can’t find the receipt. I think DH has filed it because it’s got a guarantee.).

I think part of of the overspend was a hangover from last month (where we seriously overspent), but we are noticing prices are rising and expect things to get worse with Brexit looming and the lack of rain this summer. DH and I have been seriously debating putting up the grocery budget by £20 (£10 each), but will see how August goes first. It would be the first time we’ve increased the general Grocery Kitty in years. Possibly the first time this decade. (We started off, in 2000, with a £100 Grocery Kitty and £30 Meat Fund per month. Now they’re £120 and £40 respectively.)

In my last post on the Thread, I mentioned Eat Well For Less. So far, we’ve made two of the recipes, the Tray Baked Eggs and the Cheese & Ham Quinoa Bites. Both were a success but the Tray Baked Eggs needed another 15 minutes in my oven.

I hacked the Quinoa Bites recipe a lot. After making the Tray Baked Eggs, we only had 4 eggs left not the 6 specified, only regular cheddar, no ham in the house and DH doesn’t like raw tomatoes, so I used cooking bacon (fried first) and a couple of red peppers. It still worked really well and it meant I finally opened the packet of quinoa that has been lurking in the larder for at least 15 years. The best before date was December 2003! (I cooked it the day before making the recipe and tasted it to see if it was OK, before storing it in the fridge.). I’ll make this recipe again.

Horwich_7 wrote: »

Good Morning
I am wanting to start the grocery challenge as we need to get our food shopping under control.
I’ve just had surgery on my foot and I’m going to go onto half pay in the next month.
I’ve lurked for so long but now need to do this.
How do I start?
What are your tips?
Do you have a separate shopping pot so you know exactly what you have to spend etc?
Annie x

Hi Annie. Welcome to the Grocery Challenge.

You’ve already been given some good advice re shopping with a list, making a meal plan and doing an audit of your cupboards. My other strategies are:

1). Take the housekeeping money out in cash and keep it in a separate purse. It concentrates the mind somewhat when you watch the money disappearing.

2). Keep track of the amount you are spending during a shop so there are no surprises. I used to have a small, credit-card-sized calculator, which was perfect for this task. (The dog chewed on it and I’ve never found a replacement.)

3) Keep a running shopping list. When you use up something, add it to the list a) so you don’t forget to buy it when you shop, and b) so you learn which groceries you actually use and what sits in the cupboard.

4). Trade down. Most own-brand products are just as good as branded and considerably cheaper. I don’t remember the last time I purchased branded shampoo or conditioner and I have long curly hair, which I wash every day.

5). Learn how long things last. When I open a bottle of shampoo or a box of washing powder, I write on it the date and how long the last one lasted. (Use a sharpie.). For things I decant into storage containers (e.g. rice), I stick a label on it. You’ll then know when you need to purchase a replacement, rather than tie up your money and your storage space unnecessarily. (We go through a large talc every 4 months; I’ll buy it’s replacement at the end of month 3.)

6). Try not to shop every week. Think beyond the weekly horizon when you do your planning and see whether buying a larger size of something will actually make two meals cheaper, one for this week and one for next. We do one big shop a month and usually only buy yoghurts and mushrooms weekly.

7). Your freezer is your friend. Most things can be frozen: meat, veg, etc. I’ll buy the largest fresh milk and freeze half, because it’s cheaper that way.

HTH. See you in August.

- Pip

PS: I’m sitting hear, listening to the rain falling, and think it’s wonderful.

PipneyJane

PS: Annie, I hope your foot heals up well. Have they given you a boot to wear? I broke a bone in my right foot two years ago and was on crutches for 6 weeks. After the first two, they gave me a boot which gave me back some mobility and meant I could put some weight on my foot. You can!!!8217;t carry anything, when you!!!8217;re on crutches. Cooking a meal involved major logistics.