I want it all...and I want it now..

jwil

BB50 - good luck with your targets :T

Suffolk lass - that's really interesting, thanks for sharing

BalanceBy50

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

It might help if I set out how we got to that spending total.

I joined the Grocery Challenge back in 2012 after two months where I spent over £800 and £700. There were three of us and two cats. I bought all my favourite brands and had a standing list of stuff (I still do, but I will get to that). My cupboards and freezers were stuffed with stuff I never touched. I thought nothing of buying our favourite fruits out of season and rarely took advantage of offers or coupons. I was a shopping snob and a brand victim.

I read the post at the beginning of the grocery challenge and adopted the list and some of the ideas and got it down to about £450 a month by the end of my first year. Then progress slowed for ages until I set up my use it up thing. I normally shop once a week and make at least one meal from what I have in (either RM meals from the freezer (often these are freezer surprise as the labelling has wiped off!) or just adapting stuff I have. I also started growing veg at home so we have become virtually self-sufficient in seasonal veg in the summer (I have two potatoes left from last year and three leeks still in the ground) and I often now cook without meat or make it stretch. I get a dozen eggs once a fortnight from my local farmer (they deliver them £2 for a dozen beautiful free range fresh as you ever get eggs.

I have a separate stores thing where I only buy certain things when they are on offer - coffee, tea bags, shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent and washing up liquid, - and my face cream from outside this budget. These are my brands. Enroute I did try others but saving is not about deprivation, it is about adapting. I prefer my laundry gloop (or the Italian one I buy there!) to wash-nuts or HM. I do use half what the pack says and use W-up liquid to remove greasy stains on clothes.

I clean using basic products like distilled vinegar with lemon juice, thin cheap bleach (28p versus £1.99 a bottle) and lots of bicarbonate of soda and the cheapest cola (for limescale). I use solid soap for pennies (Pears, Cussons IL), rarely liquid soap.

I buy wonky veg (unless the premium stuff is on offer and cheaper) always check offers against big packs to see what is cheaper, buy seasonal veg and two portions of meat, often YS - one to cook and use leftovers (500g mince in the summer for chilli, "lasagne" made with leeks instead of pasta, and stuffed peppers, for example) - a chicken cooked in a slow cooker makes me roast, cold, soup and either a curry or pie (depending on whether I am treating us to carbs in the form of pastry). I pad out mince with red lentils and chopped up sad veg that I freeze (often celery or carrots)

I do not buy crisps, salted nuts or sweet biscuits (other than plain SM ginger nuts and McV's Digestives on offer) unless I expect visitors, then I make shortbread or Twinks Hob-nobs!). I buy treats of basic Ryvita or the dark ones for a £1 a packet - not the lovely multi-grain or other premium ones for 50% more money and 10% fewer crackers, and a basic pack of SM cream crackers. Obviously this doesn't fit with my 8WBSD but DH struggles without snacks.

We eat lots of mixed unsalted nuts and seeds (bought in bulk), plain SM greek style yogurt, jumbo organic oats and frozen wonky berries (go-to breakfasts are a mixture of these and porridge) - occasionally bacon and eggs or an omelette at the weekend.

If I buy bread it is YS or Hovis wheatgerm for the freezer (79p or less!).

I eat lunch of eggs, salad or soup (50p lettuce, basics coleslaw, egg or cheese or avocado, cucumber, sweet pepper, my own chopped onions in a jar with distilled vinegar and half a teaspoonful of sugar, and no dressing unless it is egg - then I might have a little mayo). Fridge veg soup is great! DH has school dinners currently so supper can be light.

Dinner is normally simple meat and veg or spicy like chilli. Cheese and apple or celery or greek yogurt with frozen berries is good for desserts. Again I do a 500g pack of SM extra mature cheese or get the offers from the fresh counter.

DH gets paid tomorrow and I will do a stores shop of anything running short on my list and check MySM for offers on my premium products. My regular list is now "veg, meat, milk, butter, cheese, fruit and anything I use that is on offer - I have 2x9 packs of toilet rolls upstairs but only one spare kitchen paper as I am waiting for an offer. If the offer is there I will use my stores budget to buy six (this amount seems to match the interval between offers) - I pay myself back from my £200 whenI use them but do have a float to be able to buy "in bulk"

Sorry for the gargantuan post! I hope it is helpful.

BTW I used to read these sort of posts looking for things I could not or would not do, rather than what I could adopt and save from and it was this change in me that took another hundred off my monthly budget.

Thanks Suffolk Lass I really appreciate this and will definitely looking into joining the grocery challenge and adopting some of the things you suggest.

I am definitely not a brand snob and will use supermarket basics brand and move up to supermarket own brands if we don't like the basics. Meat is a big spend for us xx

BalanceBy50

Sunshine_girl2 wrote: »

BB50 , Suffolk has given some great advice above. I am borrowing some tips from her as well.

You sound like you have a plan for this month , hope it works out for you.

that's what I love about this forum Sunshine the help that strangers are willing to give - it must have taken Suffolk some time to write that post! I need to print it off and digest it over time.

I did my online supermarket order on Tuesday and have just amended it so that I stay within my £100or budget. I did try padding a Bolognese out with lentils a few weeks ago but neither me or DH particularly liked it and I always double in stuff like that so had a big portion for the freezer. I did make that into a lasagne though :rotfl: and it was more edible :rotfl:

Plan is going well so far!! X

BalanceBy50

jwil wrote: »

BB50 - good luck with your targets :T

Suffolk lass - that's really interesting, thanks for sharing

Thanks Jwill x

BalanceBy50

Start of my weekly budgeting yesterday. Took the boys to the cinema yesterday and that was my only spend. As the film was over lunchtime I took packed lunches - boys loved it! Not sure what those sat around us thought as I made egg mayo sandwiches :rotfl: they were a bit whiffy :rotfl::rotfl: I had a full loyalty card so got a free coffee from McDonald's so no additional spends there.

Done my weekly online shop and despite calling at 3 other supermarkets in the last couple of days have managed to keep within my £100 budget for groceries

This weekend is looking a bit spendy so have to be careful there xx

Sun_Addict

Brilliant, helpful post from Suffolk Lass. I think we've all picked up a few tips I try to stick to £100 a week for groceries for 3 adults, a dog and cat, would love to get this amount down though, my problem is I buy too many 'bargains'

BalanceBy50

Sun_Addict wrote: »

Brilliant, helpful post from Suffolk Lass. I think we've all picked up a few tips I try to stick to £100 a week for groceries for 3 adults, a dog and cat, would love to get this amount down though, my problem is I buy too many 'bargains'

So glad Suffolk's post has helped a few of us. I am the same SA I buy too many bargains too and I tend to treat my family through food which is not a healthy habit. Hope you are having a good holiday xx

teafor2

Hi BB50 Cracking idea to take a packed lunch to the cinema with you. :T We always took our own treats and drinks, then they started checking bags for goodies (as if they weren't making enough off the tickets :mad:) so had to get very creative at sneaking them in. :cool:

I read all Suffolk Lass's tips and was thinking yep, do that and that, and also that ...... then got to bit about crisps, nuts, biscuits and snacks - which I have to admit is definitely our downfall But some really good ideas there.

Hope you all have a lovely and dry weekend. xx

BalanceBy50

teafor2 wrote: »

Hi BB50 Cracking idea to take a packed lunch to the cinema with you. :T We always took our own treats and drinks, then they started checking bags for goodies (as if they weren't making enough off the tickets :mad:) so had to get very creative at sneaking them in. :cool:

We have never had a problem with bag checking and use at least 3 different cinemas :rotfl: it makes a massive difference because the boys always wAnt snacks and I refuse to pay cinema prices :rotfl:

I read all Suffolk Lass's tips and was thinking yep, do that and that, and also that ...... then got to bit about crisps, nuts, biscuits and snacks - which I have to admit is definitely our downfall But some really good ideas there.

Hope you all have a lovely and dry weekend. xx

We had a lovely weekend thank you tea - hope you did too? It was a bit of a spendy day yesterday but I managed to stay in budget -just! I met up with 3 old school friends yesterday who I met up with at a school reunion last year and prior to that I hadn't seen them for nearly 30years we had such a giggle and a reminisce

Today has been a no spend day - I do need more of these! I sorted out my oldest boys clothes to see what he needs for the summer - unfortunately nearly everything :eek: planning on doing a carboot in May and this what it will be spent on :mad: thankfully my youngest only needs new underpants - I refuse to pass those of his older brothers down :rotfl::rotfl: poor kid needs somethings of his own :rotfl:

Thankfully school holidays end today so it's back to normal - well until the inset day on Thursday :mad:

XX

jwil

Glad you had a good weekend and a nice catch up with old friends