The hardest challenge yet

lessonlearned

:T:T:T

Well done. That's brilliant.

boultdj

Well done El.

elantan

I'm looking at your signature Boultdj ... I'm seeing I have a LOT of work to do still lol


but it's a start

boultdj

Trust me it's took a lot of time to get it to that, but it's going in the right direction. Meal planning is helping as is meal prep, for example, cauliflowers are on offer at Lidl this week and we love cauli, so I've bought 3 and they are now in the freezer to use through the month, plus I don't buy organic and will also use frozen veg, plus there is still a draw of runner bean's that we grew last year.
Your doing well El and the level that is right for you will get to, after all look at all you've done so far, paid your mortgage and credit card's off, you need a breather before you reach the top your financial mountain.

lessonlearned

I too am trying to reduce my grocery spend. I darent tell you how much I was spending..... but when it got to over £250 for one person (plus occasional guests) I realised it was out of control.

In my defence I do have dietary restrictions - IBS and GERD - so no grains and no starchy carbs like potatoes but even so I simply had to reduce my food spends. So I hovered around the £200 mark for a few months and then last month I got down to £160.

However, I slipped back into eating grains and carbs so regained around 5lbs, ended up with stomach problems and, more worryingly, my blood sugar levels crept up again.

So now I have to find a way of keeping to a good budget, ideally no more than £150 but still maintain a healthy way of eating and not trigger blood sugar issues or stomach problems.

I'll keep trying......

dreaming

Fab news re January spending elantan. I am happy with my grocery bill as well but admit to having splurged a bit on some hobby stuff. It was something I have wanted for a while and I told myself I would buy it only if it came down to a certain price point. So when I saw that it had I didn't have to think too hard. I haven't had a chance to "play" with it yet though as I am finishing a baby quilt for my daughter's friend. Have also decided to drop one of my social activities as the group dynamics were getting on my nerves. Will look around for something to take it's place in a few weeks as the days lengthen. Sometimes though I realise I am in danger of filling up my whole week which wasn't the plan when I retired. Apart from sewing, and a library meeting later today, a quiet weekend is on the cards - thank goodness.

PipneyJane

elantan wrote: »

Just added up the full and final spend for the month of January ... drum roll please £503

Now if I were to put exactly what we spent it would be less than £500, I rounded up, so if I spent £13.50 I wrote down £14.

so I'm claiming a victory, Let's see if I can manage two in a row

Well done!

- Pip

elantan

This month so far is not looking so good, but I will keep at it 

elantan

P.S I'm not liking this new look forums  

elantan

Last week I made a paleo lasagne, it was awesome and so filling, but the best bit was out of 500g of mince I got 12 portions, normally I get two/three max ..  12 portions was amazing, I have 6 left in the freezer, 

tonight after some advice in here i have added lentils to my mince to try and see if i can make it go further than the 2/3 portions, so far it's looking ermmm not very appealing i must say, but will continue and see how it goes. 

Lesson i read a book called " The Switch" i think u may find it useful, i have learned a few things but wont be making all the changes he suggests, but some of them yep i will