February 2022 Grocery Challenge

QueenJess

Top up shop sadly needed as DS has decided to eat lots more fruit and veg, but I can hardly complain about that! Spent £11.70 on fruit/veg etc to tide us over until the fruit/veg box comes later in the week.

Total spend £303.20 / £400

wannalot

No spending to report here. I decided to stay home at the weekend instead of doing my usual wander round the shops, even if I don’t need anything. I need to stop thinking of food shopping as a leisure activity. Does anyone else do this? There were a few things I needed, but nothing I couldn’t do without. 

I’ve now made a meal plan for the week, using up bits and bobs from the fridge and a few things from the freezer. I really want to run down my freezer stock (it is chock-full) to free up space to keep some frozen veg and berries handy. 

I have a shop arranged for Wednesday from Morrisons (using a £5 off voucher), after which I probably won’t need another big shop this month. I might need a few odds and ends after that, but not a lot.

How does this bulk fund method work? Do you physically keep cash separate, and what is it used for? I wish I had one this month, as I would have liked the LIdl tuna offer, and Morrisons has a great deal on steak too. Both of these would come in handy, as I am on a low-carb diet at the moment.

Suffolk_lass

@pamsdish thank you for that insight re DE coffee S&S. Mine is due next week. I noticed they were advertising it at £43 which is "just" the merest 50% more than the S&S price so I'm sure you are right

Smoosh

Weekly shop done today. 

£5.80 in asda on 4 litres of fizzy drink, punnet of nectarines (YS - 30p), pack of diced chicken fillets (YS - 50p), 8 beef burgers (YS - £1), 2 veggie burgers (YS - 50p) and a vegan spaghetti and "meatballs" ready meal (YS - 50p).

£14.92 in aldi on 4 litres of fizzy drink, 4 pints of milk, 1 litre of juice, 2 frozen pizzas, Spanish meat platter, 8 tortilla wraps, a block of gran padano, 400g cheddar, a kitchen roll, 2 cinnamon buns (YS), 2 bananas, a bag of salad and 2 500g pots of yoghurt.

Meal plan:
1. Omelette (cheese for me, mushroom, chorizo and cheese for OH) with chips
2. Burgers in wraps with salad and chips
3. Vegetarian "steak" pie for me, beef short rib for OH, with mash, broccoli and peas
4. Veggie sausage casserole with broccoli and mash 
5. Risotto (pea for me, added pancetta for OH)

We are away again Saturday and Sunday.

Looking forward to spring and growing some vegetables again!

I also spent £10.80 at aldi on Friday night on a last minute fakeaway consisting of 2 pizzas, garlic bread, cookies, mozzarella sticks, 2 lots of flavoured garlic sauce and a jar of olives. Unsure if it will be coming out of the grocery budget - but for now, it is.

£135.46/£200.

1 more weekly shop left and I need to order cat food and litter. 

Cocobeans

@wannalot I totally get what you mean about shopping being a leisure activity  - I need to see it as a chore instead of a treat! 

I have now spent £178.13/ £300 - some of this for a friend who has covid but for ease will just include it in this months spends.  

I am finding all the talk of price increases is making me want to stock up but thanks to this challenge I am instead putting my anxiety into planning what to grow on the allotment (although if there is money left at the end of the month I may stock up the cupboards a bit!)

MissRikkiC

Meal plan created tonight for the next 3 weeks so that either hub or I can be in charge of dinner and getting stuff out of the freezer and not just me! 

Strangely only 2 of the 23 cans of tuna I have will be used 😂

esjw

£54.76 spent bring monthly total so far to £158.54/£475.00

Thank you for all the freezer ideas, I've tackled the smaller one already and now have a drawer of open veg, a drawer of fish/seafood, a drawer of fruit, and a drawer of random bits like ice lollies & jackfruit 'sausage' rolls. The chest freezer will be dealt with when I have my next day off later this week.

@joedenise I have the same problem reaching the bottom so different bags sounds like a good solution

@Doom_and_Gloom I would need to hide the pens from the younger ones but I think a whiteboard may be on the cards, was already considering it for making note when we run out of items. I'm going to laminate an a3 sheet and see how I get on with that before spending out on something I may not get on with.

@Suffolk_lass I also have siege mentality, tackling the freezers is a way of avoiding sorting through the pantry/tops of cupboards/random hidey holes The thought of using any of the horde brings me out in a cold sweat just incase it's needed a week later baby steps.

@JingsMyBucket Food budgeting currently takes up a lot of my time at the weekend. 10 years ago my monthly budget was £200 and since then have had another 2 children and they're all getting older ( = bigger appetites). Last year the monthly costs were nudging £700 and I know that was in part due to stocking up to give us a bit of a buffer incase DH lost his job again, too many takeaways, and too much convenience/junk/treat food. I'm slowly reducing it and having this group has definitely helped. DH likes his meat too much and school dinners are currently costing @ £100 a month, but I would still like to reduce down to £350 a month - anything after that will be a bonus. Very fortunate to have access to most supermarkets, C@stco, C@mpany Shop & a past best before warehouse so can shop around. I've priced up our normal purchases at various shops to work out which is cheaper per item and have started splitting shopping that way. Donate to the local food bank monthly and changing the way I shop has meant I've been able to maintain that despite the rise in prices. Also use Oli@ when they have local listings but they are few and far between now.

@MissRikkiC hope you are enjoying the new fridge freezer my parents have an American style and I can't reach the top shelf or the back of the others (guess where they stash the good stuff)   

MissRikkiC

@esjw it’s brilliant, I’ve literally dreamt of having one since I was about 12 years old and I’m so pleased with it. It’s just taking a bit to fill! 😂 funny how you couldn’t reach the good stuff! My husband is 5ft 6 so now I know how to keep him off my prized possessions! 

Suffolk_lass

pamsdish said:

PipneyJane said:

• Coffee.  While I will happily buy and drink Douwe Egberts instant coffee when there is an offer - I use their jars to store spices - 

On coffee PipneyJane my Amaz0n S&S for D0uwe has been cancelled twice now, think prices are getting too high for them to fulfil their orders

Tesco have the indulgence one for £5 190g but it is only the gold available for £5 a jar if you buy six on big river. It is on offer at £5.50 in Morries (50p more than their offer price last year)

GreenCat80

I went to Aldi & Lidl this morning and ended up spending over £100 😱 I have £208 left for the month and will have to buy pull ups from that too, so I'm going to plan cheap weeks for the rest of the month. I do feel happy my store cupboards are well stocked now though, so I think the big shop was worth it...