April 2019 Grocery Challenge

elsiepac

Further to my overspending, I've been very careful about what I've spent but am still in a horrilble position right now. Oh there's food, just not the food I want :rotfl:

Basically I've now done a big inventory of what is left in my house as it's feeling very empty, but looking at what I have, I do have a lot of stock. I have all herbs, spices and condiments, just need fresh stuff.

I have £6.56 left for this and that's for the next week. It's literally going to be spent on fresh veg. Except I have a friend visiting briefly tonight so a pub visit may ensue, but I'll just have water as I don't drink anymore and I don't want to spend my precious veg money!! I'll probably go out around 6ish tomorrow as I expect with Easter Sunday the next day there'll be some good YS about! I hope so anyway! I have enough oats and almond milk for my breakfasts until I get paid so that's good. I just really crave fresh veggies, especially salad now the weather is so gorgeous, but that's the lesson I need to learn isn't it! Don't spend all your money at once! I've always been rubbish with money, my whole life, I just don't seem to be able to put into practice what I plan!

Also, my car died yesterday and has as of this morning been towed to the garage I use ready for them to see on Tuesday, thank goodness for breakdown cover! The RAC man couldn't have been nicer or more helpful, but I have a horrible feeling my old car is now an economic write off so whilst for the moment I am going to borrow my dad "spare" car (long story!) ultimately I need to get another one. It's never ending


...............................£202.50 Budget
Date......Shop......Amount....Remaining
24 Mar....A5da......£12.12....£190.38(WEEK 1)
26 Mar....eBay......£08.00....£182.38(STOCK)
27 Mar....Sup3rdrug.£20.01....£162.37(STOCK)
27 Mar....H&B.......£04.98....£157.39(WEEK 1)
28 Mar....C0-0p.....£02.90....£154.49(WEEK 1)
28 Mar....T3sc0.....£05.39....£149.10(WEEK 1)
29 Mar....T3sc0.....£06.54....£142.56(WEEK 1)
31 Mar....M&S.......£04.00....£138.56(WEEK 2)
31 Mar....Tesc0.....£01.89....£136.67(WEEK 2)
31 Mar....Tesc0.....£16.09....£120.58(WEEK 2)
1 Apr.....Tesc0.....£44.67.....£75.91(WEEK 2)
2 Apr.....Tesc0.....£26.02.....£49.89(WEEK 2)
3 Apr.....Tesc0.....£02.68.....£47.21(WEEK 2)
7 Apr.....Tesc0.....£29.85.....£17.36(WEEK 3)
7 Apr.....Co-0p.....£00.34.....£17.02(WEEK 3)
7 Apr.....Tesc0.....£08.38.....£08.64(WEEK 3)
9 Apr.....Tesc0.....£02.00.....£06.64(WEEK 3)
12 Apr....Tesc0.....£00.88.....£05.76(WEEK 3)
13 Apr....Tesc0.....£07.68....-£01.92(WEEK 3)
13 Apr....Tesc0.....£07.90....-£09.82(WEEK 3)
16 Apr....Tesc0.....£00.80....-£10.62(WEEK 4)
17 Apr....Tesc0.....£02.92....-£13.54(WEEK 4)

Doom_and_Gloom

We have spent £22.40 since last post.

Vegan chilli and rice for my dinner tonight.
For dinner OH is having baked sweet potato and cheese.

£126.63/£180.
£53.37 left.

ma-ri-ella

massive amount of spending done this month spends around 170 after savings lol i think though i saved around 100 - maybe slightly more but going by receipts i still have ( vouchers off like 15 quid off 60 x2, 10 off , couple of more vouchers , lidi voucher, multibuys and a staff double discount event ) i think my cupboards so full it should keep me going until next double discount in November . Most of the stuff i bought was on offer at work so work was cheapest for it anyway then by the time i added in double diso!!!! was wellworth stocking up

So next plans - ive done some meal prepping and planning for next week
i only have to worry about fresh stuff and even then not for next few weeks ... i use long life soya milk which i have enough for at least a few months , i have flour to make bread .hopefully i can get some wild fruit to keep costs down

Vanlady

£220.50/£300
NSF 10/15
Evening everyone and welcome stinabean:hello:
What a beautiful sunny day it's been!
So sorry to hear about your car Elsiepac.....such a pain! Hope it's not too expensive to get fixed.

£17 ( I always round up) spent today as predicted in Aldeee as needed loads of chocolate, cream and butter to make 2 cakes, hot cross buns and tear share bread to take to a lovely family gathering on sunday, plus the usual culprit milk, yoghurt and cous cous for lunches. No toiletries needed as not only using bar soap and shampoo but also bar conditioner and face wash.....it's brilliant! Plus I invested in a random face wash cloth from the Internet about a year ago, when I found out that face wipes are made with plastic. They are brilliant and all they need is wetting with water and they even remove water proof mascara :T.
I'm really aiming to be on target this month and if I am, I might reduce my May spend to £280, but best not to get too smug just yet, another 10 days or so to go.
Dh is having a chicken curry for tea.....he makes a batch of about 8 in 1 go , I prefer a vege version, but DO not in tonight so I'm giving my poor overworked apron a night off and may just make a nice quick and simple cheese and onion omelette for me, yum .

LauraWxx

LauraWxx wrote: »

Co-op: - £2.50 (Husband top up shop:mad:)
Co-op: - £4.39 (Husband top up shop:mad:)
Asda + £3.19 (Refund of some off Salmon)
Morisons - £1.49 (Husband top up shop)
Iceland - £16.10 (I dont actually know what this was - husband again)
Vets - £43.00 (Vaccination top ups)
Asda - £51.39 (Week 3 Shop)

Remaining £130.51 for 2 weeks worth of Shopping. £65 per week - I can so do this!

Really impressed with how much we have managed to get out of the budget already this month. We have done nearly £100 in dog expenses alone (the vaccination isnt typical, dog food is!).
Also very pleased with my Asda system, online order every week, recurring delivery slot (delivery pass £5 per month after the free trial which is this month). We (I) are making sure we meal plan enough to mean we can order the weeks food. For the first two weeks we have managed without top up shops, this week DH has been a bit wild, still only spent less than £10, but with better planning we wouldn't have needed to do so!

Top up shops - £17 is during the week (bloody husband again)
Week 4 Asda shop - £72.69

Leaving a balance of £36.81 to see us through to the end of the month. We have quite a bit in the freezer and will be adding more this week as I added a bit extra meat etc this week.

Really impressed with how little we are wasting these days. We have traditionally thrown at least one bag full of food away each week as a result of little planning and no effort to be frugual.
I’m so much more aware of how quickly we go through various food items aswell which means I will have a better idea on how long certain supplies will keep me going.

thriftwizard

Oh dear, elsiepac, not good news. Hoping the mechanics can work a little miracle for you...

£67 spent at the market today, which has bought us nearly everything we'll need for the next two weeks. Some fresh stuff - bread, milk, veg - will have to be bought in, but if the troops are sensible and use the stuff in the freezer whilst I'm in hospital, we should come in within my self-imposed budget. The weekend is all catered for, though a massive leg of lamb (to feed 7 omnivores, plus at least one "leftovers" tagine or curry for 3; there are 3 big aubergines to feed the two vegetarians) did take up most of the renewed "entertainments" allowance! But we didn't need to buy in any wine or beer; there's plenty left over from Christmas. Next weekend we'll be 9 again, but there are 2 large chickens in the freezer...

[Deleted User]

i'm going to drop out of GC for a while. i got rushed into hospital for lumber decompression surgery about 6 days ago - still here. Not sure when i will be out. They have a vegan menu n i have a room with a view, so all is good.

Thriftwizard - Wishing you a speedy recovery from your op.
Elsie - hope you manage to get something sorted with your car.


Wishing you all a happy easter.

thriftwizard

Save Dosh, thank you; wishing you too a speedy recovery! Sounds like you are really going to have to take it very easy for a while when you do get out.

Puddleglum

I've got an extra £9.65 to report which did include a bottle of wine. However I have not spent a single penny over the weekend otherwise. In fact I have made money instead by cleaning up the family home. My rule is that any money I find is mine!

Hoping that my circumstances will change soon so that I can spend more. Have found myself daydreaming about being able to afford better food! These are extreme and unusual times for me and they too will pass :j

PipneyJane

Save Dosh - wishing you a speedy recovery.

Elsiepac - I’m sorry to hear about your car. I hope it turns out to be something minor but dramatic. (I used a great garage when I worked in Leatherhead. Had to get the car towed there after an incident where I couldn’t change gear. Thought I’d need a new gear box. Mechanic phoned me: “It’s going to be terribly expensive!” I had £££-signs dancing in front of my eyes. “Yes, the parts you need cost £12.50!” followed by a huge laugh. There was a broken linkage. Labour came to another £50.)

I’ve got two spends to declare from yesterday. £8.60 on fresh veg and eggs from the farm shop, and £5.45 from Mr T’s plus another £4 in £2 coins for the Running Away Fund. I’ve also counted up the coins remaining in the purse and the coppers jar appears to have claimed 16p this month. That brings our total spend to £114.80/£120, leaving £5.20 for the rest of the month.

It’s do-able. We will need to restock the freezer with meat at some point soon, but that comes from a separate budget.

- Pip