February 2021 Grocery Challenge

goldfinches

Off to a greedy start today as I called in at one of my favourite Indian grocer's today on the way home from my long delayed hygienist's appointment and bought peanut butter, fine polenta, mango chutney, brown lentils, curry leaves and aubergines.
The polenta was a mere 69p for 375g so I'm resolved to sort out a few more recipes that include it as an ingredient to make good use of such a cheap staple.
I also bought radishes, cherry tomatoes and bread at my local T*sco.
Running total is £14.74/£116.

flossyblog

hi @elsiepac, I'd like to join in please with an annual budget of €3000 ÷ 12 = €250 per month.
my total spend in January  €198 and my first shop for February €28.01.
Does anyone else keep a food inventory?

candygirl

Hi can I please join in again with £120?I completely went berserk with food shopping last month, so am determined to cut down now 😊
Have also treated myself to  pressure king pro, so foresee a lot of chick pea n lentil,  stews, curries etc from now on 😘

pamsdish

flossyblog said:

hi @elsiepac, I'd like to join in please with an annual budget of €3000 ÷ 12 = €250 per month.
my total spend in January  €198 and my first shop for February €28.01.
Does anyone else keep a food inventory?

I am in the eating out the freezer and cupboards challenge thread, although I only keep a spreadsheet for my freezer, often take a photo of my fridge interior before shopping, especially the veg and cheeses

goldfinches

flossyblog said:

hi @elsiepac, I'd like to join in please with an annual budget of €3000 ÷ 12 = €250 per month.
my total spend in January  €198 and my first shop for February €28.01.
Does anyone else keep a food inventory?

Yes I have built a spreadsheet with various pages and a dashboard on the front to show me what's getting low. There are also various apps both free and paid for that one can use.
Whatever you plump for I recommend choosing a method that lets you record quantities and then reduce them as ingredients are consumed. I found early on it was no use knowing I had an ingredient without knowing how much of it I had as I then had to go and dig it out of my larder to check that I had sufficient for a particular recipe which was just as much faff as having to check whether you had it at all.
I do find it useful when I'm meal planning to have my inventory open to refer to so that I can decide then and there whether a dish is going onto the list or not; rather than having to get up and go to the larder, freezer and fridge to check specific ingredients each time I can't remember how much I have of something.

moneyonmymindsam

Hi 
Just recording a £1.15 spend on milk. 
Thanks, 
Sam 

zafiro1984

pamsdish said:

I am in the eating out the freezer and cupboards challenge thread, although I only keep a spreadsheet for my freezer, often take a photo of my fridge interior before shopping, especially the veg and cheeses

Good idea pamdish. I only shop online at the moment. I used to order what I think I needed and what I fancied. I had a sort of loose meal plan for the week in my head and tried to order around that. Then I would leave it a day and then print it off, go around the fridge, freezers and cupboards deleting what I already had tucked away or things I could swap for items I had. It was very surprising just how little I actually needed but unfortunately it didn't stop me buying treats!!!

VickyV

Hi,
Just checking in with a £6 spend yesterday on some milk, toothpaste and toothbrushes and bits for lunches. A refund of £1.65 from Shopmium puts the total at £4.35/£180 for February. 

Vicky x

2Scratters

I have found an Indian supermarket that I will be visiting this week!! with a few pounds not many to spend I am looking forward to get some basics in to help with meal planning. I got paid on the 27th but trying to tilt my month to start on my pension payday which is tomorrow (3rd) then save all my wages. My balance remaining is currently £102 for 4 weeks, this is going to be a real challenge.
2Scratters x

Suffolk_lass

2Scratters said:

I have found an Indian supermarket that I will be visiting this week!! with a few pounds not many to spend I am looking forward to get some basics in to help with meal planning. I got paid on the 27th but trying to tilt my month to start on my pension payday which is tomorrow (3rd) then save all my wages. My balance remaining is currently £102 for 4 weeks, this is going to be a real challenge.
2Scratters x

I wish we had one nearby. We do have a good little health food shop that does some excellent items like a spicy "Bombay mix" but I miss the lovely big bags of spices and the less usual vegetables our local one had where we used to live. There is an interesting looking African market about ten miles away but I have not been to that town for a year now