June 2022 Grocery Challenge

elsiepac

Budgets updated to here

Thanks for everyone's concern - I'm ok-ish thank you.  Without going into too much detail I'm still (2 years on) struggling so much with brain fog and memory issues - I've now been referred to a long covid clinic and the medications I'm taking are being adjusted so I am feeling a little bit hopeful that I'm not consigned to this "existing" feeling forever.  Which is a big relief in itself as I've been feeling very down in the dumps. 

Anyway, onwards and upwards! Happy new thread!

ragz_2

£500 for June please 

Rolled over £50 from May as I was under but will need the extra this month due to half term plus 3 nights camping.

2 adults (1 low carb, 1 gluten free), 3 sizeable teens. Doesn't include alcohol, cat stuff or most toiletries. Does include cleaning products.

Off to do the big half term/camping shop in a minute - it's going to hurt! 

thriftwizard

Thank you for our shiny new thread, @elsiepac, and wishing you many days when the world suddenly seems brighter & you feel that little bit stronger...

I was horrified to go £120 over in May, which equates to £20 per person. It was a 5-week month for us but that's no excuse. In recognition that prices are truly galloping upwards, I'll tweak the budget up a bit to 

£550

please, for 6 adults, food, washing & cleaning stuff, from today until 29th June. One of those adults is only with us for 3 or 4 nights per week. OH & I are away for a 4-day break mid-month & also for the last weekend, which should make it a bit easier to stick to the budget whilst maintaining standards!

MissRikkiC

SausageDogSandwich said:

Thank you for the new thread @elsiepac . 

My budget for June is £150 please.

My month runs from 27 may to 23rd June this time. Shopping for 2 Adults, 3 children and 2 dogs treats, cleaning supplies but not dog food or alcohol. I am also not including ice cream/lollies but keeping an eye on how much we spend on these as my children love having an ice cream after school and a pack doesn’t last long between 3 of them. 

 Currently spent £0/150 but this will change if the rain has a break, want to go to the fruit and veg shop in the village and see if the small siansburys have the items I want. 

@SausageDogSandwich I’m inspired 😍

Saffasaver

MissRikkiC said:

SausageDogSandwich said:

Thank you for the new thread @elsiepac . 

My budget for June is £150 please.

My month runs from 27 may to 23rd June this time. Shopping for 2 Adults, 3 children and 2 dogs treats, cleaning supplies but not dog food or alcohol. I am also not including ice cream/lollies but keeping an eye on how much we spend on these as my children love having an ice cream after school and a pack doesn’t last long between 3 of them. 

 Currently spent £0/150 but this will change if the rain has a break, want to go to the fruit and veg shop in the village and see if the small siansburys have the items I want. 

@SausageDogSandwich I’m inspired 😍

Wow, @MissRikkiC that is sn amazing budget. 

Smoosh

I have a lot of spends to update on!

First big shop was done on 25/05 and split between 4 shops.

£1.57 in the first shop on a pack of broccoli, carrots, green beans and baby corn (YS - 57p from £1.35), 4 bakewell cookies (YS - 30p from £1.65), 2 sub rolls (YS - 10p from £1), a loaf of bread (YS - 10p from £1.20), a chorizo bread stick (YS - 10p from 75p), a cheese and ham bread stick (YS - 10p from 75p) and 3 raspberry croissants (YS - 10p each from 75p each).

The next shop was £20.31 on 1 litre of juice, 6 litres of fizzy drink, a jar of olives, a pack of mini cheese and onion rolls (YS - 37p from £1.49), hummus, chicken slices for sandwiches, egg mayo deli filler (YS - 94p from £1.35), pasta salad deli pot, raspberries (YS - 52p from £2.09), Thai curry meal kit, feta, tomatoes, a pack of 5 chocolate waffles, 3 bananas, 2 bags of popcorn, 1 kitchen roll and 9 toilet rolls.

3rd shop was £19.87 on cat litter and 2 big bottles of syrup for coffees (this will last several months).

Last shop that day was £3.44 on 4 litres of fizzy drink and a chicken wrap (YS - 44p).

On 27/05 I spent £2.98 on cleaning products.

Then on 28/05 I spent £13.40 on 2.5kg of dog food and some treats. The food will last around a week, the treats longer.

On 29/05 I spent £4.04 on tzatziki (YS - 22p), chips (YS - 46p), 4 yoghurts (YS - 40p), 2 steaks (YS - £1.12), a pasta ready meal (YS - 84p) and a vegetable pizza (YS - £1).

And on the same day £8.14 on 6 pints of milk and 2 lamb shanks (treat for OH!).

2nd weekly shop of the month yesterday, split between 2 shops. First shop cost £7.77 for 4 litres of fizzy drink, dried pasta, cheese, a muesli bread stick (YS - 20p from 75p), grapes (YS - 48p from £2.50), rice noodles (YS - 10p from £1), fajita seasoning, pomegranate seeds (YS - 10p from £1) and a punnet of plums (YS - 19p from £1.29).

Then £18.07 on bleach, shampoo, 2 bottles of shower gel, washing up liquid, hand soap, 1 kitchen roll, 1 litre of juice, pesto, BBQ sauce, 2 boxes of cereal, 20 coffee pods, a pasta ready meal, chicken slices, 2 bananas and yoghurt.

I think that's everything!

Annoyingly couldn't get artichokes, olive oil or dishwasher salt yesterday, so will have to pick those up in the week. 

Really noticing there's a lot less YS bargains these last couple of weeks. I imagine more people are buying them at lower reductions with how things are. Definitely making our way of life harder - but I will continue to try! 

Meal plan this week:

1. Pizzas made on wraps. I used BBQ sauce for my base, topped with cheese. OH made a tomato base for his, topped with cheese, pesto, chicken, olives and mushrooms (YS)

2. Veggie meatball subs (using the YS rolls and the rest of the sauce used on the pizza) with chips

3. Out for dinner with OH's parents

4. Spinach and artichoke pasta

5. Away for the night so eating at my parents' house

6. Veggie mince and refried bean burritos

7. Undecided - possibly a takeaway

Breakfasts will be cereal or there is plenty of YS bread in the freezer for toast. I had the YS muesli bread stick this morning which was nice!

For lunch today I made Korean beef (Quorn mince) and used up the YS rice noodles. Lunches for the rest of the week are likely to be pasta or crackers with cheese and tomato. OH is home this week, so we'll possibly go out for a couple of lunches.

For puddings we have yoghurt and fruit, and sticky toffee pudding (YS) with custard.

And for snacks there's fruit, crisps, cereal bars, waffles and biscuits.

The pantry has gotten a bit messy so I may spend this rainy day sorting it out and doing an inventory!

So far altogether we've spent £99.59/£230.

As always, thank you to @elsiepac for continuing to run the thread ❤️

bargainbetty

Budget for June is £150 for me please 

MissRikkiC

@Smoosh are you particular about the chicken slices? Assuming they’re for sandwiches? You might find it cheaper so buy a ham joint, soak it, boil and roast it and slice finely for sandwiches/ wraps etc. 

Also do you have a fussy dog. Even with a 5er for treats (guessing) you might be better switching dog food if they’re not too precious. We have started using Sk!nners which is a working dog food but we use the maintenance blend for older/less active dogs as he’s both not a working dog but also a bit lazy too. It’s on both amaz0n and in a few other places like garden centres for approx £20 for 15kg… just worth a thought. 

bargainbetty

I've ordered £41.97 worth of Asda (huge stock up for me) that will arrive on 9th June. Until then, I need to eat my way through the freezer and fridge stores. 

Good luck everyone!

Smoosh

MissRikkiC said:

@Smoosh are you particular about the chicken slices? Assuming they’re for sandwiches? You might find it cheaper so buy a ham joint, soak it, boil and roast it and slice finely for sandwiches/ wraps etc. 

Also do you have a fussy dog. Even with a 5er for treats (guessing) you might be better switching dog food if they’re not too precious. We have started using Sk!nners which is a working dog food but we use the maintenance blend for older/less active dogs as he’s both not a working dog but also a bit lazy too. It’s on both amaz0n and in a few other places like garden centres for approx £20 for 15kg… just worth a thought. 

OH uses the chicken as I'm veggie. That is a good idea though - I will suggest it to him!

The dogs aren't fussy but they are raw fed. We try to stick to the cheaper brands (some of them are very pricey!) but I do I like to mix up the proteins that they have, so some of their meals cost a little more. They eat better than we do 😂