June 2020 Grocery Challenge

Bluegreen143

I would personally use the vouchers to buy treats, stock up storecupboard stuff or something more unusual you want to try (eg a new spice mix or something) that you might not have cash in your budget for just now. I don’t count them against the total spend.

No spends today. We are pretty good at not doing the top up shops now as we really try to avoid going into the shops in person (we are in Scotland too so a big behind with lockdown being lifted).

Meals:

B - HM sourdough with peanut butter & mashed banana + fruit 

L - goulash soup with more bread (I had a couple of ladlefuls of beef goulash left from last night so stuck it back in the instant pot with some extra veg, stock and chopped tomatoes then blended. Was really good!). Then gave the kids HM ice lollies, just the frozen juice of satsumas we had which weren’t that nice to eat.

S - (Kids snack) pancakes from freezer with jam and some fruit + salad veg

D - filled pasta with a veg heavy red wine & tomato sauce plus salad from the garden 

Have approx a zillion carrots and onions to use as was getting a soup pack with my weekly veg box, which already contains both things 😂 Cancelled the soup pack now and just added celery on to my order (as that was the main thing I liked about getting the soup pack 🤣). Going to make onion marmalade but need to think of ways to use the carrots - made both carrot cake and soup last week but may need to do so again... I did grate a carrot into the pasta sauce tonight.

Merlin's_Beard

@Bluegreen143 - definitely not the only one increasing spends due to pandemic. Mine has shot up because I can't get the (non)brands I  normally go for, and have had to settle for whatever's there.

@MazzieD - I normally don't count vouchers. If I got them regularly and they were a semi-significant amount, I would, but a few pounds from my clubcard every few months is just a nice treat for me,  or a bit of leeway.

£121.45/£100 so this month is going well... hopefully things will settle  down as I'm now de-furloughed and will be working instead  of sitting at home thinking about food!

SJAllicat

Have approx a zillion carrots and onions to use as was getting a soup pack with my weekly veg box, which already contains both things 😂 Cancelled the soup pack now and just added celery on to my order (as that was the main thing I liked about getting the soup pack 🤣). Going to make onion marmalade but need to think of ways to use the carrots - made both carrot cake and soup last week but may need to do so again... I did grate a carrot into the pasta sauce tonight.

 grate the carrot and onion with potatoes and make fritters to have with an egg. Have them roasted in the oven with other veg and season with spices to have as a side. I think there’s a Nigel Slater recipe where he uses them in some kind of burger 🤨. Also I add it to my homemade sauerkraut which is super simple to make if you like it and also have some cabbage. 

Couple of spends this week. Total of £11.26 including some YS. 

So £151.09/£250 spent so far.

Pixiehouse55

Hi everyone.  Been busy lately painting garden fencing and shed etc so not been about
Weve had 9 NSD so far, really happy with this.
Payday is 30th June and managing wellness far.
Off I toddle hope I get a better night sleep tonight, although saying that the hubster is snoring away already,  we shall see 😁
Keep safe. 

PipneyJane

MazzieD said:

I'm interested to know what you all do if you are lucky enough to have any grocery vouchers to use.  Do you save the money, roll it over to the next month's grocery budget or another way and how do you make a note of it if you do.  All suggestions are welcome.

I have been given a £5 M&S voucher and have discovered there is a food hall reasonably near me.   I don't really buy clothes from them so it would make more sense to use it towards food or treats.  I'm not sure what their prices are like as I've never used their food hall but think that any contribution towards food is welcome in these times of rising prices!.

Hi @MazzieD.  We tend to save vouchers and put them towards the Christmas spend (a separate budget in our house).  The other thing they're used for is purchasing alcohol, if there's a really good offer.  On the rare occasion that I've used vouchers to pay for a regular shop, then I'll add the value of the vouchers to my Grocery Challenge budget for the month.  Since the Grocery Challenge has its own purse, any money saved in one month is rolled into the next month's budget.  We take out £120 at the start of each month and pay for everything in cash.  (NB:  I keep track of my Grocery Challenge spending via a Pages spreadsheet on my iPad and iPhone.  Each month, I create a new tab.)  HTH.

Re M&S:  some of their food is lovely; some of it is expensive for what you're buying.  I'd go to the largest food hall you can find, in order to get the widest range.  The Simply Foods and large food halls still sell fresh meat, breakfast cereals, freshly baked bread, bags of salad and toiletries.

- Pip

CRANKY40

Hello everyone, 

I took myself off out yesterday as I needed a cake tin to go with a friend's birthday present. I spent £16.60 in Home Bargains and £18 in Sainsburys. Sainsb's is the only place that had the biscuits that the HT wanted and as he doesn't usually ask for sweets or treats I don't mind buying the biscuits now and then. I also bought myself some strawberries while I was there and some pork chops that looked nice as well as bits to make salads and some eggs (it made more sense than going somewhere else as well). I've stocked up on bottled water as the HT will be back at school for 2 days of week one and 3 days of week two until the end of term. He usually takes a reuseable bottle but they've been told no bags so this seems like an easier option for now. 

Todays meals were/are....

Breakfast - pancakes and bacon for the HT, egg and bacon muffins for me
Lunch - cheese and ham baguette for the HT, 1/2 avocado on toast for me
Dinner - pizza for the HT, pork chop, butternut squash chips and salad for me. 

Signature updated

joedenise

Been shopping this morning and spend wasn't too bad.  Spent £22.61 today, plus £2.50 from yesterday leaving

£67.80/£250 left for rest of month
£1.32/£30.00 left of bulk fund which will roll over to next month
9/15. NSDs

Definitely going to go over budget this month but have plenty of meat in freezer so at least I don't need to buy any.  It'll be fresh stuff like fruit, veg & dairy.

Butterfly_Brain

Count me in for £250 from May 27th to June 27th which includes everything food, toiletries, pet food and cleaning supplies with three adults to feed
Spend so far is £140 mainly on milk, eggs, bread, fruit and veg, cheese and dog food and treats

Butterfly_Brain

Breakfast this morning was boiled eggs and soldiers
Lunch was cheese and lettuce sarnies (lettuce is home grown)
Dinner tonight is crustless quiche that  contains mushrooms, red pepper and red onion OH and DS love it and it is one of the few veggie type meals I can get them to eat  served with new potatoes and salad from the garden,  and I have just picked a big bowl of strawberries as well  and they will be served with ice cream from the bottom of the freezer
I haven't picked the cherries yet because they are not quite ripe but have to be vigilant to beat the birds!
Lots of redcurrants, raspberries and loganberries ready to be picked tomorrow

Pixiehouse55

Hi everyone 
Today was a £4.50 spend in Li6l for coleslaw, Beetroot and Avocado.
We do make our own coleslaw but my lady said "it tastes nasty" bless her.
Need to work out how much money we are left with till pay day (june 30th)
Time for sleep for me.