June 2020 Grocery Challenge

Chloris

I've have been spending plenty and am up to £298.33/£550. The freezers are pretty full but the cupboards and fridge are looking more organised. I have tried to have a tidy up and am going to try to meal plan from the random bits that were purchased a long time ago and have been lurking. Like the half jar of mincemeat in the fridge, the bag of mung beans in the cupboard. I've also been quite conscious of not wasting things. So yesterday's lunch was baked sweet potato with hm coleslaw (leftover side from a few days ago) or spicy green lentils (spoonful of leftover Ragu with a spoonful of harissa paste languishing in the back of the fridge.) It was a good lunch! This morning I've cooked up the dried chickpeas that had been in the cupboard for ages. Some will be lunch, the rest will get frozen in portions in old humous tubs. I've also made vegan naan bread! It was delicious. All these things are quite time consuming but I think worth doing. Let's see if we can keep it up when routines get a bit more normal.
I've prepped the rice for sushi tonight so I'm ready for the day!
Sorry for the rambling post! 

pamsdish

£18.25 in Aldi, hopefully with what I have, should carry me till much later in the month

sarahj1986

sarahj1986 said:

sarahj1986 said:

sarahj1986 said:

sarahj1986 said:

Hello all

Could I be added to the list again please?
€300 for June 

I had to suspend mine in March due to the lock down here in Spain. I couldn’t use my usual supermarkets due to the restrictions and my husband was doing the shopping and he’s guilty of picking up things we don’t need. He is  now back at work (kind of) and I’ve been in the supermarkets by myself and we are allowed to go further so I can visit the ones I like. 

I’ve spent €8.50 today on tuna, veg and water €291.50 left

Hello all

€28.50 spent

this is from yesterday and today. I went to Eroski for things on offer. Safe to say I enough chocolate to last the month! Aldi today for meat/fish on offer. Today’s menu -

breakfast - I had banana pancakes with honey and Greek yogurt. My daughter had weetabix and a pear 

lunch - daughter had croquettes and peas and I had mine with salad and mayonnaise 

dinner - for all three of us lentil and minced beef lasagne. All homemade apart from the pasta. I will do homemade garlic bread (well I’ll add the garlic butter to some part baked baguette)

Daughter has yogurt, biscuits and ritz for snacks 

€263 left 

Haven’t been on for a few days but spending tracked -

€85.51 spent

i did a “big” shop in Mercadona on Monday. There’s things in there I prefer and with the lock down easing here I finally felt confident enough to venture that far (as I walk past 2 other supermarkets to get there)



€177.49 left 

Hello all

€20.28 spent today

my first trip into Lidl post lock down easing. The gloves in there are such a pain to get on but of course I fully appreciate the need for them. I actually went in mainly for the summer clothes they had on offer. I got a playsuit and loose fitting trousers for the summer. I’ve deducted them from the cost above. While on there I got things I like specifically from there (cheese, spaghetti pasta, yogurts) plus fruit, peppers, pulled pork on offer and cat food. I’ve been feeding the strays the last 4-5 weeks so that’s now part of our budget. 

€157.21 left

€18.02 spent 

it was kind of unexpected. My husband came off his scooter yesterday and has bashed his jaw and nose up. Thankfully nothing is broken but a couple of his teeth are loose. He was stitched up at hospital last night after it happened and he’s currently in the dentist seeing what they can do about his teeth. In the mean time I got him liquid yogurt, juice, gazpacho soup and a few meat items reduced while I was in there

€139.19 left 

joedenise

Another £46.82 spent today across The Food Warehouse, Lidl & tray of eggs at butchers.  Also bought a couple of cheap bottles of wine in Lidl (£2.99 a bottle on offer) but comes from a different budget.

£92.91/£250 left
£1.28/£30 bulk meat fund
7/15 NSDs

Have definitely spent more than I would have wanted to by this point but hopefully can pull it back over the rest of the month!

Chloris

Sarahj1986, sorry to hear of your husband's accident. Hope it's good news at the dentist.

XSpender

Hope your husband is recovering well Sarahj1986.

I spent more than I wanted to do today as I was attempting to have a super cheap week but £8 on dog food, £2.50 on squash and £2.99 on dishwasher tablets has bumped the cost up.  £30.61 spent in Morries and £11.72 in B&M.

Groceries - £256.20/360
Bulk Buy £47/£40

I now have £96.80 left (using £7 from groceries to cover the £7 bulk buy overspend so my total budget remains at £400) to last until 25th which is more than sufficient as we have plenty of meat in the freezer and DH has set me a new challenge of making his packed lunch (food for 11 hours out of the house) every day for a £1 with him having no access to a microwave and limited access to a kettle!  Good job I picked up a lot of YS bread recently as it looks like sandwiches and a food flask of HM soup or chilli and home made cakes will feature quite a bit.

joedenise

Have a look at the Thirfty Lesley website.  She has loads of stuff to make really cheaply.  Not sure whether they'd be suitable for your DH but certainly worth a look for ideas.

thriftwizard

I'm kind of sad I've ducked out for this month now! I spent £70 over the last two days on everything we'll need for the week, between the bakers yesterday, the butchers & the market this morning (fish, cheese, fruit & veg) which would have been bang on track! We've had more beetroot, broad beans & chard from the allotment, too, and will be harvesting the first courgettes this coming week, with the first French beans not far behind. So IF I spent about the same amount last weekend, which is entirely probable, I'd be doing pretty well at this point in the month. That said, I'll need to do a L!dls run at some point this week, as the butter, halloumi & coffee supplies are dwindling...

Narola1976

I have also exceeded my target this month, to be fair £220 was always going to be a challenge as previously we used to spend over £400 per month on food. So at £294.18 we have spent quite a bit more than planned which is disappointing. However, I do think that being mindful of what we plan to eat and shopping more mindfully is a positive in itself. So even though I have gone beyond the budget, I am proud of myself for the positive changes made...

PipneyJane

@sarahj1986 - sorry to hear about your husband.  Hope his bruising isn’t too bad/painful.  How did it go at the dentist?

@XSpender - what an interesting challenge from your husband.  You have 2 weeks left for June, so that’s £10 he’s set you for his lunch.  What does he like to eat?  What do you have in stock?  We may be able to come up with some ideas.

I have another spend to declare.  After venturing out to the shops twice on Thursday, we finished the day by heading to A$da at 8pm.  They are still selling the big (450ml) tubs of Yeo Valley Yoghurt for £1 each.  Not much range - only the Greek-style Honey and Strawberry - but still a considerable saving over full price in MrT’s, so worth the trip.  While we were there, we stocked up (3 packets) of their SmartPrice Recycled Toilet Paper.  (£1.93 per pack.). We only use recycled toilet paper and usually get MrT’s “Eco”.  The A$da stuff is cheaper, contains 90% more sheets per roll, the sheets are the same thickness ply-wise and not as harsh on your nose if you use it instead of a tissue. Win Win, as far as I’m concerned. (DH bought a pack last month for us to road test.).

The remainder of our spend was on icecream for the resident Icecream Monster (DH).  In total we spent £17.12 in A$da, which brings our monthly Grocery Challenge spend to £94.52/£120 leaving £25.48 for the rest of the month.

- Pip