September 2018 Grocery Challenge

Merlin's_Beard

elsiepac - I think when you're constantly working 12 hour days, you get to spend whatever you need. Sometimes saving has to take a back seat to surviving!!

I, on the other hand, have got no excuse. Despite dropping down to (averaged) under 40 hour weeks for the first time in my life, I've still gone over and spent £108.41/£100 ... oops! Some of that overspend is sensible (buy 2 or 3 for X on stuff I was getting anyway), and some of it is not (a lazy premix cake with premade icing was £4 of that overspend! Don't even need it!)

And we're only 2/3 through the month...

JingsMyBucket

Racked up a NSD here today. I'll get the Listerine tomorrow and some more strawberries because I'll eat the last of the current punnet tomorrow morning.

TOTALS SO FAR:
6/12 NSD
€461.05/€500.00

K9sandFelines

Arggggh this month is dragging ...

£37.89 spent online at Tesco yesterday and £2.40 spent last night in work.

I've also just found a receipt for £7.51 from the 15/9 which I dont think I have added, so I am off to check and then i'll tot everything up.

I have to nip in work later, so thatmeans grabbing a few bits from Morrisons whilst I am nearby - bread and milk mainly as I prefer their cheap soya and bread. I might also nip in the local food club shop. Also, got an Aldi shop impending this afternoon and Ocado Saturday as need dark agave and they dont have it anywhere else .

K9sandFelines

K9sandFelines wrote: »

Arggggh this month is dragging ...

£37.89 spent online at Tesco yesterday and £2.40 spent last night in work.

I've also just found a receipt for £7.51 from the 15/9 which I dont think I have added, so I am off to check and then i'll tot everything up.

I have to nip in work later, so thatmeans grabbing a few bits from Morrisons whilst I am nearby - bread and milk mainly as I prefer their cheap soya and bread. I might also nip in the local food club shop. Also, got an Aldi shop impending this afternoon and Ocado Saturday as need dark agave and they dont have it anywhere else .

£1.15 spent at local shop. Their delivery is tomorrow so saved me from myself.
£1.20 in Morrisons and £23.12 in Aldi.Hopefully Ocado will be the last shop of the month apart from bread?

Off to update

JingsMyBucket

€14.60 on 4 bottles of Listerine. That’s the cheapest I’ve seen it around in more than a year at €3.60 per bottle, just as cheap as it is back in America. I feel like going back and getting 4 more bottles this weekend so I don’t have to bother with this until February again. GC budget be damned! :rotfl:

€6.48 at a fruit and veg stall for strawberries and blackberries.

TOTALS SO FAR:
€482.13/€500.00
6/12 NSD

It feels like I’ve done a lot more bulk buying and restocking this month than I had originally planned on doing. Well, at least that’s noted. OH is going away next month for 3 weeks due to work, so let’s see how the budget plays out then.

luckofthe_irish

Everyone is doing so well, it is so inspiring! So close to the end of the month, we got this!

I am going to do my last shop of the budget this week. £29 to last me for a week which will be tough but I hope I can make it work. Planning my meals this morning.

Wanted to ask does anyone have any ideas for cauliflower that is past its best? I have some which must be in the fridge for about four weeks at this stage - do I just bin it or is it salvageable? Thanks

JingsMyBucket

@luckofthe-irish i would use it in a curry, since a good curry can hide all ills. Another way is to chunk it and then roast covered in olive oil and minced garlic. You could also add some parmesan to the roasting like in this recipe: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/parmesan-roasted-cauliflower-51143020.

I'm also partial to mashed cauliflower, myself. I tend to treat it just as I do mashed potatoes which means I add butter, whole milk or cream, cream cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. And maybe a bit of cheese if you have any laying around. Delicious. Hope that helps.

Highland_Fling

Good morning everyone
just caught up with reading the thread.
I love when people share when they are struggling. After all the thread is called the Grocery Challenge and it is a challenge sometimes to get our spending under control. Everywhere we look there seems to be someone trying to tempt us to part with our hard earned money.
However we can only try and some months are more challenging than others. I know I have gradually brought my GC target down and some months I don't succeed. However I try not to beat myself up about it because I know it is an improvement on where I was previously. I am still aware of what I am spending which I have to admit I may not have been in the not too distant past. At least we are all trying and that has to be applauded: So well done everyone for your efforts.:)
P.S. spent £45 in Aldi and £12+ in village shop.

Suffolk_lass

JingsMyBucket wrote: »

€14.60 on 4 bottles of Listerine. That’s the cheapest I’ve seen it around in more than a year at €3.60 per bottle, just as cheap as it is back in America. I feel like going back and getting 4 more bottles this weekend so I don’t have to bother with this until February again. GC budget be damned! :rotfl:

It feels like I’ve done a lot more bulk buying and restocking this month than I had originally planned on doing. Well, at least that’s noted. OH is going away next month for 3 weeks due to work, so let’s see how the budget plays out then.

These are the exact reasons why I work with an annual stores budget (a 13th month) - and add a couple of hundred to December for treats/contingency

Suffolk_lass

Highland_Fling wrote: »

Good morning everyone
just caught up with reading the thread.
I love when people share when they are struggling.

Sorry if I sounded smug in my last post - there used to be a lot more sharing of advice in this thread - in year 8 there have been lots of struggles, I can tell you! I always found other people's ideas really helped me to develop my own systems.

I happily buy 6 bottles of my brands now, but only when it is on offer and I have the shelf space