August 2022 Grocery Challenge

wishus

I did a shop on Sunday in Aldi* £21.17 which leaves me £20.44... but I paused the milk which gives me back £3.60  - that will probably go on camping food. I'm travelling to a tourist trap city where a lot of friends are and they tell me you can't get anything breakfasty for under a tenner. I'm trying to think of things that will be okay unrefrigerated for 3 days. Beans, eggs and tomatoes I suppose! Ideas welcomed!

I spent on a campsite mains adapter too £36, but that will come out of the camping budget.

joedenise

Ham and egg muffins - a bit like a crustless quiche cooked in a silicon muffin pan or in muffin paper cases - these keep easily for 3-4 days in a lock n lock type box; cereal bars.

London_1

Morning chums ,still grimly hanging onto my purse strings and have had a good few NSD thank goodness.I ate out for most of the weekend and first my eldest DDs for dinner and the big fight on tv then a family 'do' on Sunday for all the family to see my eldest grandson before he flies back to the USA.So part from a quick cooked breakfast on Sunday morning, I've not really cooked much at all.

I have my Dobbies coffee morning this morning and may find some reduced tomatoes in the deli part as there has been for the last couple of weeks ,if so I may snaffle them to make some pasta sauce as they are usually reduced to about 30p.My coffee is free from my Dobbies card so no cash spent there.Hopefully I can resist the deli part as it is rather nice in there

JackieO xx

PipneyJane

joedenise said:

Couple of spends over the weekend to declare.  Have now spent £81.86 of my now £200 budget leaving £118.14 until the end of the month.

As we are away in September anything left will be used for holiday spending in addition to that which is already budgeted.  We are away for the whole month in the motorhome in France/Belgium/Germany but no real plan just following our noses!

@joedenise hope you have a lovely trip.  Enjoy shopping in Carrefour and do stock up before you come back, at the branch in Citi-Europe, near the Channel Tunnel.

Even on a rough exchange rate of £1=€1, it is worth having a browse and stocking up.  Not just on wine and cheese, either.   Their vinegars are great value: cider, balsamic, white balsamic, sherry and white wine vinegars - all are excellent.  Ditto their extra virgin olive oil and their “value” ground coffee beans.  Also check out their own-brand toiletries; they do a “face and hand cream” similar to the one manufactured by Nivea but at half the price.  Oh…and browse the kitchen supplies - they are my main source of preserving jars, usually at half the price for the same jars in UK.

(Yes, I love shopping in Carrefour.)

I have two shops to declare from the weekend:  £18.27 in L!dl and £40.32 in MrT’s.  I really shouldn’t go shopping on my own.  I only went into L!dl for mushrooms…. Picked up a few YS items:  two 500g packets of 10% fat minced beef for 90p each, plus two YS pizza for £1.50 each in L!dl; three packets of marinated pork for £3.60 each, plus a packet of 8 chicken thighs for £2.72 in MrT’s.  It took quite a bit of shoe-horning to fit that lot into the freezer.  (I did talk myself out of buying a couple of YS large chickens in MrT’s at £3.60 each, because there simply isn’t space.)  

Anyway, the above brings my total spend for August to £120.79/£152.50 leaving £31.71 for the rest of the month

- Pip


ETA:  @Greying_Pilgrim - I love your “thinking aloud” posts.  Please keep them coming.

joedenise

@PipneyJane - funnily enough I always top up my oils and vinegars when we're in France, sometimes in Carrefour other times in Auchan.  I always used to buy their beef for bourgiguion but it was getting quite expensive last time we were there so probably won't this year.  The other thing I try and pick up is the sealing ring for my pressure cooker as they are half the price of buying them here as well.

I'm another who loves your thinking out load posts @Greying_Pilgrim - keep them coming.

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks for all your support everyone - it is always appreciated. 

Up to me to supa-gloo me purse shut now until the end of the month tho!  #tain'tgonnahappenmethinks........🤣

August budget £170.92/200

Greying X

PipneyJane

joedenise said:

@PipneyJane - funnily enough I always top up my oils and vinegars when we're in France, sometimes in Carrefour other times in Auchan.  I always used to buy their beef for bourgiguion but it was getting quite expensive last time we were there so probably won't this year.  The other thing I try and pick up is the sealing ring for my pressure cooker as they are half the price of buying them here as well.

I'm another who loves your thinking out load posts @Greying_Pilgrim - keep them coming.

If you can't find one in Carrefour, there's a kitchenware shop in the Outlet centre just up the road from the main Citi-Europe site in Calais.  Well worth checking out.  That's where I bought my last seal for my pressure cooker. (It's just past the petrol station, on the right.)

I just love the French attitude to food.  For them, it is all about ingredients.  

- Pip

joedenise

Thanks for that Pip.  Couldn't get a seal last time we were over (in June) at Carrefour so useful to know about the kitchenware shop at the Outlet Centre.

atrixa

Had £1.12 left of my budget so I went to Sainsbos and managed to pick up bread 36p, jam 30p and a packet of bourbons for 35p I had a 45p voucher so only paid 56p.

The bread is awful quality but it'll do toasted. My total is now £144.44/£145. I've plenty in so should make it to payday.

mumtoomany

Ran out of milk, bread, nappies and a few other bits, OH ran out of beer! Total spent £89.23 . Total to date now £1831.02/£2640. Hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx