July 2022 Grocery Challenge

DizzyMissIzzy

Hi all,

 I realised that I’ve forgotten to update a few spends, so am going to lump together like so:

Te5c0: £90.82
Wi1k0s: £9.75
Misc spends (incl. ice creams and local bakery): £24.62

Making total spend so far this month £125.19

Hopefully I can use what I’ve got in the freezer and stores to get me to pay day (5th Aug) but will need fresh fruit and bread before then.

Also got a family birthday coming up which I need to get a present for, but that comes out of a different kitty. I’ve been wondering if it’s easier to keep groceries as it’s own kitty, like I do now (but it does include practical non food purchases like toothpaste etc) or just put a simple Can Spend which is used for everything from food, household, birthdays and holidays. Mmm I’ll think on that one for a little longer

elsiepac

August Grocery Challenge now Live!

As always, waiting for the forum team to sticky it (Announce it) so until then, use the link!

Blackcats

dizzymissizzy - I keep my pots separate as I'm not disciplined enough to not massively overspend in one category.  I also find it interesting to see what I'm actually spending on food - It was an eye opener.

no more spends to declare - really good items from Olio including blueberries, grapes, easy peelers, aubergines, garlic baguettes, GU Lemon cheesecake puddings, bbq pork steaks, jacket potatoes and a lovely bunch of flowers.  I feel very fortunate! 

DizzyMissIzzy

Blackcats - thanks I agree, it’s interesting to see where the spends are going. Plus it has made me much more mindful about what I do spend on. For example, I’ve had quite a few TGTG magic bags this year, but since doing the GC I’ve cut right back (not had even 1 this month!). So I think I’m going to stick with keeping separate pots.

London_1

Still holding good on my july budget with £14.63 left over at the moment and absolutely zero to buy  and only 10 more days to go

My daughter dropped in yesterday with a box of cherries for me.She is a property manager, and one of her clients dropped in a huge tray of cherries for the staff to share between them .DD had so many she shared them out and dropped some off to me on her way home from work bless her.
So at some point today I shall be eating fresh Kentish cherries and ice cream from the freezer for dessert I had a couple last night and they were delicious

I may have another big salad today as its really still a bit too warm to cook and I have lots of salad bits in the fridge. DD and my son-in-law are off to Essex today for my DGS graduation ceremony, I don't envy them the trip in the warm weather at all, but she will take lots of photos. The last of her four sons will start there this September can't believe how quickly the time has flown.
have a good and spendless day chums

JackieO xx 

JingsMyBucket

Morning folks. Just one spend to declare so far. On Sunday I planned to reach Aldi to buy a load of toilet paper but just went to Tesco instead because it was closer and my hip was feeling funny while walking. In either case, it turned out to be a decision because T had a 24 pack on Aldi price match that was only £6.59. After returning home I also cancelled one of the food items from Amazon earlier in the week. That meant £6.36 went back to our account on the same day – so only a net spend of 23p on Sunday. Result! 

£229.17 / £250 spent so far. £20.83 remaining

Tomorrow I'll head to M & S for compost bags and then to Iceland frozen pomegranate seeds and some sliced ham. Last night I was rather proud of myself for not ordering burgers from a local place down the block. Instead I made burgers with cheddar in the middle, roasted vegetables, and essentially made sweet potato fries. Loads of money and calories saved. We still have a lot of fruit and veg to eat up. We have a pineapple that's ready for eating that I'll cut up tonight. More roasted vegetables are also on the docket so we can add them to salads and as sides themselves. 

Stay cool everyone. 

joedenise

Went out yesterday and did a big shop at Mr Ts but forgot something so needed to go back today but also wanted to pop to Aldi and Morries for a few bits as well so overall I've now spent £136.93/£250 so £113.07 left which is plenty for the next 10 days.  

Still undecided what to do with the leftover money at the end of the month - I think some of it will be moved to the Bulk Fund budget as that is extremely low as quite a lot of stuff bought for the freezer after our holiday last month and the rest will be moved to the holiday spending fund - we currently have 3 holidays booked over the next 9 months (all budgeted for) so any extra will be added to the holiday spending fund which will need topping up over this period.

Greying_Pilgrim

Morning July GC'rs!

My daughter dropped in yesterday with a box of cherries for me......So at some point today I shall be eating fresh Kentish cherries and ice cream from the freezer for dessert I had a couple last night and they were delicious

I have just finished reading a (children's) book by Lucy Strange that is set in the Kent marshes, and she mentioned Huffkins - which I had not heard of before (although they seem very like Stotty Cakes, which I had heard of and, indeed, have made).  I love regionally originated foods - and I don't know if the origins of this bread are true, or whether the (alternative explanation of the) spiteful action of a baker's wife are actually why they are the shape they are, but I will endeavour to give this recipe a go. Alas, probably without a 'cherry on top' 😉 

*Apologies @London_1 I seem to have managed to cut off your moniker when I quoted your post - again, apologies 😕*

Back from shopping.  £28.05 spent today between MrL and HB (total updated).  A £1.50 box bought today.  The contents were a good balance of fruit and veg, although the $50m question is "will the mango ever ripen........?????"  I did bag a carton of 15 mixed weight eggs in HB for £1, and a punnet of pears for 45p.  I expect this means the price will be going up - last time I got some 'yellow stickered' eggs from HB was when half a dozen FR large eggs were 89p.  Next time they were in stock they were £1.09 🙁

We have benefitted from some more produce from the waste food diversion scheme, and it has all be eaten and used.  

I really need to knuckle down and decide on meal plans etc until the end of the month, as with a bit of thought, and a juggle, we could have sufficient for our needs without spending much extra of this month's budget, which then can be carried forward to fund holiday food and treat spends.  A little bit of effort now could actually fund "convenience" whilst we are away, and although we're only off for a few days, perhaps not having to cook every night or being able to buy a bag of chips or whatever on a whim, will be a treat for me, and add to the enjoyment of family time.  

I also need to give some thought to August's budget and what we can do, as whilst there won't be any additional funding sloshing about, LG is at home for the whole month and lunches will need to be available.  

Greying X

goldfinches

Hello all, in a bid to use up various items that have been on my shelves for more than a year I made this Earl Grey sorbet to take to yesterday's walking group, it was a big hit and voted very refreshing. I love the colour too.



Then on the way home I popped into M*rks to top up on milk etc. and struck lucky with ys cheese so I spent £15.92 on f/f greek style yoghurt, 4x organic milk, melon, tomatoes, 3x ys ricotta, 2x ys beauvale, 3x rolls, lemons and 2x radishes. That makes my new monthly total £33.42/£120 and my average daily spend £1.67. 

thriftwizard

Well, I have less then £10 left in the budget, a week to go, and I'll need to get yogurt & fresh fruit & veg before then... resigned to going over! In my defence, we have 3 birthdays in July (and 2 in August) and I'm away trading this weekend, so am not able to get to the market & pay sensible prices for stuff. Ah well... the question is, by how much will I go over?

However, in other news, we may lose an inhabitant in a couple of months. Rumour has it that DS3 has been offered a good job in his chosen specialism at the other end of the country. Waiting for official confirmation, but although we'll miss his cheery face hugely, it will be a bit of a relief to only have to cater for 2 different diets!