April 2019 Grocery Challenge

Doom_and_Gloom

We have spent £12.40 since last post.
£1.57 spent yesterday to buy my apples and OH got tortilla chips.
£10.83 today on 1kg red grapes, vegan grated cheese, vegan white chocolate buttons, houmous, 4 pears, 605g courgettes, 210g easy peelers, 485g carrots, 290g white onions and 310g red onions and duck spring rolls.

Vegan pizza (bfree base from freezer) for my dinner tonight.
For dinner OH is having duck spring rolls and other junk.

£86.38/£180
£93.62 left.

dollypeeps

So....very excited ....did the SM shop ..

Lidl's £47.31
Aldis £13.51
Tesco£ 3.21

Total £64.09 voucher for £5.00 at Lidl's to take off

Spent £59.09/£60

Yay go me!!!!! I bought 2 Sirloin steaks for £5.29 with the voucher so they cost me .29p really ))

I stuck to my list and bought only 2 extra items, which I forgotten about.

Bananas weren't included in my original price estimate as they are weigh items and 3 items had a price increase.....so all in all I'm well pleased ....

It goes to show that it takes you lot to keep a really close on eye on things but it's worth it to stay on budget.....
I'll continue to track any spends each day and then update in the week.....

Learning all the time ....

[Deleted User]

dollypeeps wrote: »

So....very excited ....did the SM shop ..It goes to show that it takes you lot to keep a really close on eye on things but it's worth it to stay on budget.....
I'll continue to track any spends each day and then update in the week.....Learning all the time ....

Well done - yes really helps.


Hope everyone is keeping well. I have an online delivery making its way to me which came to £25.88. I have updated my sig and will adjust if needs be. Welcome to any newbies. Have a lovely w/e everyone.

BrassicWoman

£30 and some vouchers since ast entry - that includes a few work breakasts and lunches til the end of the month. Vegan croissants, and Red Red lunches (think fancy vegan organic pot noodle) which are not cheap but were on offer.

PipneyJane

dollypeeps wrote: »

Did a list yesterday for week2 SM. However did it differently this time....did a general list as I looked through cupboards and my running list from the week ( always jot down if I run out/ need something on next shop). Then, as I shop at Lidl,Aldi and tesco ( we much prefer certain items in each store) I made separate lists .....the bulk of my shopping is done at lidl. I then went through old receipts of each shop noting what I buy usually and whether it should be added so I don't get any 'surprises' as I walk around. I listed the prices of each item at each store and nots it on my list so I have a comparison and hopefully I can at least come in on budget !!!!

Well done! Your new methodology is similar to mine: write down what we’ve used, as we use it, then go through the freezer and larder to see what’s missing. Finally, I’ll do a rough meal plan to determine if there’s anything out of the ordinary that should be purchased. It may have seemed like hard work at the time, but it leaves you much better prepared. Did you find that you always bought additional XX even thought there are 10 jars in the cupboard and you never use them? (I’m a sucker for fancy pickles, often sold from a stall in the atrium at work and rarely used in our house.)

FWIW, I run an imprest system in our larder, rotating tins and jars as we go, but always buying enough of something to replenish what’s used and ensuring that we have a certain amount in stock after each shop, for example I’ll buy enough to ensure we have five cartons of “emergency milk” (longlife skimmed milk) in stock. We do one main supermarket shop a month, split between MrT’s and Lidl, with fortnightly top-ups of veg from a local farm shop.

I have one spend to declare: £3.69 spent in Lidl yesterday by my husband. He went to get 6 packets of their penne pasta (at 29p/500g, it’s the cheapest), and found their ChocoFudge Brownie ice cream irresistible. That spend brings our total for the month to £74.53/£120, leaving $45.47 for the remainder of the month.

- Pip

thriftwizard

Eeek - £66.50 spent at the market this morning, which leaves us with just under £100 to last the next two weeks/weekends. And we have DS3 home for most of that, plus DS1 & his partner for the second weekend, and DS2 and his partner are never far away at weekends anyway! On a brighter note, I think I forgot to set the "entertainments" budget back to zero at the end of March, so I'll correct that, which will pay for Easter; we also have my mother & brother coming for the main Easter lunch so I'm going to need a big joint to roast.

And today's £66.50 included a fair amount of stuff to stick in the freezer for another day, so there is half a possibility that I'll still manage to stick to the budget. Assuming my operation goes ahead, some of last month's under-spend will be left in cash for the troops to spend if necessary, which should keep them going and relieve them of the necessity to account for every penny - though that wouldn't do them any harm!

I shall be back on the "low residue" diet for a week or so after the op. but I think I can do that now without adding to our expenses by buying ready-made food. One of the things that makes me realise just how very lucky I've been is that we've been able to weather all this financially without too much strain; in many households, one partner not being able to work for months would really muck things up. Not to mention those who live in countries where there's no NHS... I've done my fair share of moaning over the last few months, but in reality, I'm one of the very lucky ones.

Vanlady

Morning everyone

Thank you pipney re the advice about chapatti flour and bread making - I baked a loaf blending some in with strong flour to start with; turned out great! So that should keep down costs too when the chapatti flour was on offer at £3.

Thriftwizard-I loved hearing all about you feeding the local wildlife, especially the heron:D

So far this month:
NSD 7
£111.30/£300 on groceries
Mainly all spent on food as few toiletries and cleaning stuff needed. We have always used bar soap in the bath/shower but once handwash has been used up in kitchen and downstairs loo, I have replaced with bar soap. It's a massive saving plus helps reduce plastic (but why oh why do a lot of companies feel it is necessary to pack each individual bar of soap in a plastic film :mad:!!).
We have also been using bar shampoos and conditioner which are fabulous and last for ages, so although a bit pricey to buy, definately work out cheaper than a bottle.
So far I'm quite pleased with the spending so far. We have a few meals out planned during April but this money comes out of other funds.
Will need to do a small shop tomorrow as my list ( like others on here, I also make it a 'running ' list and add to it when things are used up) is getting quite long now.
On the menu tonight is a good old slow cooker chicken casserole with potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire puddings. And probably a pudding of some sort seen as the oven will be on as I like to fill it. The rest of the week will be a mix of meat free and vegan meals.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.

flubberyzing

A £13.93 in Tesco. My first of the month, as I was using up old stuff up to the 5th, and then went off to Italy, where all food was paid for in advance. Got home yesterday afternoon. So hopefully I'll come in well under budget for the month, and I'll use the excess to re-stock the cupboards a bit.

tiredwithtwins

morning,
I fell off the challenge last month due to stress and life and the usual cr#p life keeps throwing at me!
im sticking within my £120 a month budget for now .. done really well this month as well within my budget and only really need things like milk and bread and bits ..
good luck to all those struggling to budget in this ever-increasing stressful world!
sue

MadamMim2013

A very spendy £74.39 today, it has been a while since I did a big shop and there was lots missing that needed to be replaced. I am however running the tin cupboard down as much as & will work out what we really do use and what’s just there for the sake of it.
WIll go sort my total out as have been slacking :rotfl: