October 2022 Grocery Challenge

cinnamon123

Went shopping on Wednesday. Of course wasn't planning on getting much as we are trying to eat down the freezer this week...needless to say we spent pretty much the usual.

Total spent on groceries at the store was $87.41. It was only a few items (no fresh fruit/veg as we had plenty) but looking at the receipt everything seemed to be $3 or more - ugh. This month I am aiming to restock my spice/herb collection and this week purchased some chili and curry powder - 2 each - for a total of $9.76. (This is coming out of the grocery budget and I'm hoping all the spices will come in at or under $50.) 

For the stock-up budget, I picked up some dried beans, olives, jalapenos and mustard for a total of $20.13. Expecting to allow myself access to the stock up supply starting in November but this will also be dependent on weather. Should aim to use it Dec-Feb as those 3 months tend to have the worst weather and I may want or need to push out grocery shopping.

Also purchased some nuts online for $11.62 which will come out of my grocery budget.

Current budget is now $99.03/$550 (grocery budget-food only) + $20.13/$100 (stock-up budget)

Also, managed to make a large pot of tomato soup on Wednesday along with a small slow cooker pot of curry (enough for 2 meals) and as the weather will consistently now be *cold* starting this weekend, I am right grateful for these meals. Planning on making some black bean soup in the coming days as well. 

Have a good weekend!

K9sandFelines

I don't know whether I commented for October, but £120 please. My month starts on the 13th.
It's been a bit easier with DD2 back at uni, and not frequenting the house as much. I think I'm nearer to a £100 this month, but I've got another week to go yet.
Buying things pro rata off myself has helped. Though technically, I don't know if that's cheating a bit 🤔
Thanks @elsiepac, and apologies if I've already posted my budget. 

elsiepac

Budgets updated to here

@Tink_04 thanks for the updated link for the front page - will sort that now

flamingo747

Just waiting for payday to start properly, which is friday coming.

I have a quick question,   do you include food out/takeaways in your costs? I am trying to cut them right down  but it's a challenge.  We generally don't budget with them in mind, and then have to take it from grocery budget not ideal at the end of the week when the shopping has been done. Thank you 

Crazycatlady2

£330 plus £80 on takeaway/eat out 🤷‍♀️😱 must keep purse closed and use what’s in for at least a week now 

joedenise

@flamingo747 - I only include food which will be used fairly quickly in the GC.  I have a separate budget for bulk buys like large quantities of meat from the butchers, multipacks of beans and tomatoes etc.

I also have a separate eating out budget (which could include takeaways although haven't had one of those since it was collection only during Covid!).

I think everyone has a different way of calculating what is included in the GC so you need to decide how you want to do it.  I sounds as though you could do with a separate budget for eatingout/takeaways or up your GC to include them.  Either way it's your decision.

leftatthetrafficlights

£17.55 today on salads and fruit - total so far £79.95/£300

flamingo747

joedenise said:

I think everyone has a different way of calculating what is included in the GC so you need to decide how you want to do it.  I sounds as though you could do with a separate budget for eatingout/takeaways or up your GC to include them.  Either way it's your decision.

I think you might be right thank you. I think we're currently at about £450 a month forn2 adults, a 10 year old and a medium size dog

Mrs_Cheshire

Hi all, coming back on board after a few months away. Been monitoring since august but haven't commented on the thread. 
We have quite a bit of cupboard stock but very little fridge or freezer stocks. Going to do an inventory and then try and use some bits up before December. 

Could I set a budget of £450 - a family of 5 (2 adults, a teenager, a pre-teen and a 7-year-old -all boys)

JingsMyBucket

FrugalThymes said:

@JingsMyBucket I tend to eyeball it and make it with whatever I have in but here are a couple of ways I've tried that went down well 

About 250g oats mixed with two over ripe, blended bananas and one egg. Then a few handfuls of raisins in there, mixy mixy. I make it to about the consistency of a pastry dough so adding a few more oats if too wet, or yogurt/milk/water if too dry. Pop it in a greased pan, squashed down to about 2cm thick, and approximately 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

Another batch was oats, few handfuls of cashew nuts, couple of dollops of peanut butter with equal amount of golden syrup OR over ripe banana, plain yoghurt to get it to the right consistency, and then after it was baked but still hot I grated some cheap chocolate over the top. 

Over the years I've added blueberries, other dried fruits like apricot, chocolate chips, jam, all sorts I find that as long as there's enough moistness to soften the oats and something sweet, it passes as a treat. They're great in lunch boxes, and we've even microwaved slices and added a little jam and cream over the top to enjoy as a dessert.

@FrugalThymes thank you so much for that rough recipe. I ended up making this Rosh Hashanah cake simply because I didn't have that many baking resources and it fit the bill perfectly: https://food52.com/recipes/804-rosh-hashanah-apple-cake.

Because I wanted a darker spiced cake, I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove to the apples and the batter along with exclusively using dark brown sugar instead of regular white. The recipe is really flexible. Like other reviewers, I didn't bother frying the apples; and I baked it in a loaf tin instead of a square or circular pan. And I was also very "rustic" about the apples and just left them as chunks. For the oil, I used extra virgin olive oil instead of the vegetable oil in the recipe. OH and I loved it. He ate his slices with single cream while I ate mine neat or with a few slices of butter or cheddar. Image attached below.