November 2022 Grocery Challenge

atrixa

Got paid today so I'm declaring for the month- in budget!

£139.38/£140

Ginmonster

I popped into Aldi yesterday and spent £12.24 on a whole bunch of things that were nice to have rather than completely necessary - some nice cheeses, nice toasty things for weekend breakfasts e.g. fruit loaf, crumpets and bagels and some chocolate tree decorations for Christmas. I could have coped fine without them but there was room left in the budget so I used it. I might even have a bagel filled with Emmenthal for breakfast tomorrow instead of my usual rather boring porridge. Yum!

I'm declaring now at £194.93/£200. 

thriftwizard

....Aaaaand of course OH has just announced we're running out of sliced bread - by which he generally means there's less than half a loaf left, he eats 4 slices at a time - but I'm going to make him a 2-hour loaf in the bread-maker rather than go over my budget! And will probably do another on Monday.

Soontobeoap

Well done @thriftwizard. You are really living up to the quote in your signature. I seem to have lost it this month, but really working hard to get back on track. I hadnt taken account of extra visitors at this time of year. But also with all of the christmas crafts, wrapping, card writing i have slipped into a trend of buying food instead of making. Must get back on track. Thanks you have provolided the inspiration needed. 

diminua

Home at last. As I've been at other people's houses (dogsitting or just visiting) I haven't spent much on groceries at all, but did have a couple of lunches/coffees out. (Manchester was absolutely heaving last weekend). I'm now up to £150.11 spent. Bread and milk was bought yesterday on the way from work, and I could do with some pasta and coffee and potatoes. 

mumtoomany

£3.30 spent on two bottles of milk. Now at £2610.55/£2640. Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

pinkypig

Hello 😀
This week’s top up is as £22.78 so I’m definitely going to be under 🥳. It’s pay day on the 28th so not much longer to go.
Apart from Christmas weekend I’m going to go for another use up month in December as the freezer and cupboards are getting a much needed clear out and I’m saving lots of money 😀😀
Happy Sunday 
PP x

PipneyJane

Good morning All

Four shops to declare from earlier this week:  £7.26 spent in L!dl on Wednesday - not our regular branch - followed by £1 in Iceland (because I still couldn’t get frozen peas in L!dl), and then yesterday’s “big” shops in our regular L!dl (£32.49) and Sainsbugs (£8.93).  

I won’t give you chapter and verse about our shopping this time, just a couple of observations:

• The big pots of Yeo Valley Yoghurts (450ml) have gone up again in price.  Sainsbugs are now selling them at £2.25 (note: raspberry is on offer for £1.85, if you use their handheld widget). At the start of the year, they were regularly sold at 2-for-£2, rotating between Sainsbugs and MrT’s at that price.  (Just checked and we paid £1.25 per pot at Sainsbugs earlier this month.)
• L!dl’s big block of extra mature cheddar (800g) now costs £5.29!  It was £4.99 at the start of October, £4.09 in August and £3.59 in June.
• Virtually no eggs at L!dl or at Sainsbugs yesterday.  It was early afternoon and they’d already been cleaned out.  Fortunately, I bought some on Wednesday. 

As well as the above, we’ve also amassed £12.25 in shrapnel, which has gone into the money boxes.  6 x £2 coins.  (We have a family rule:  never spend a £2 coin.  They go into a separate money box, dubbed “The Running Away Fund” which is put towards holidays.)

In other news, we ordered our Christmas Goose on Friday.  There will be a shortage this year.  Bird flu has hit at least one of the major British poultry suppliers (Gressingham), so if you want a goose or a duck for Christmas, get your order in now.

Payday is Wednesday, so I am declaring at £144.70/£136.90 with £2.20 left over.

ps86edi said:

It has been a really bad week for housekeeping and cooking. We had a fresh hot meal every day, but my kitchen is a mess and so is the house. I'm blaming the general spirit downing capabilities of a 4:30 sunset. My pain is back and I think this time it's mostly related to playing more mobile games. I made some good money with it, but still... then there is the general chill. It's not too bad and I can say without a doubt that it's been the warmest autumn I've seen in the last three years. I'm not sure how the winter will pan out, but we've managed to keep the heating off. The little one most days is happy in a pair of cotton clothes while her parents are in their hoodies/home light jackets. We have been much more active outdoors, so I'm hoping that's helping as well.
I grew up wearing warm clothes indoors, though we never really had winter like these back home. I feel really wasteful switching on the heating and sitting in cotton shorts and a T-shirt.
We spent £1.65 on milk in Waitrose last week, taking the total to £87.48/£100. There is still a shop to be done for cheese, egg, and yogurt, but I'm hoping I'll keep my budget.
I also spent £26.16/£100 of our bulk food budget on a 1L bottle of Baileys (thanks to the post on the main site), a kg of black peppercorn, and a massive 1.9L bottle of dark soy. These have an excellent shelf life and we'll finish baileys probably before the year turns.

@ps86edi one of the things this challenge is good for is self-reflection.  It sounds like you’re having your “lightbulb moment” re online/mobile gaming/gambling.  That stuff is both a time sink and a money-robber.  (The odds will always be stacked against you.). Big hug.

- Pip

bupster

It's still possible I'm jumping the gun here, but I think for the first time I might actually come in under budget this month   - I've got £21 left in the kitty and three days to go. I still need to buy eggs tomorrow, and probably bread and milk, but there's no way that's coming to £21. I might celebrate by spending all £21 on fripperies, like apples and BUTTER 

PipneyJane

bupster said:

It's still possible I'm jumping the gun here, but I think for the first time I might actually come in under budget this month   - I've got £21 left in the kitty and three days to go. I still need to buy eggs tomorrow, and probably bread and milk, but there's no way that's coming to £21. I might celebrate by spending all £21 on fripperies, like apples and BUTTER 

Fingers crossed for you @bupster.  Well done!
 
- Pip