February 2023 Grocery Challenge

Saver-upper

Needed milk, bought bread and bagels, which were reduced for clubcard holders (saved £1).

Total spent £4.85. I have a brand new current account with Santander (previous account switched from this morning). This purchase was meant to be the first time I use the debit card that comes with it. Wouldnt scan, and card- reader said it didn't recognise my card  .  Maybe I need to use card in an ATM first or something? One of the staff suggested I use my pin number, which I hadn't even though to take notice of before shopping. DOH!! Paid cash.

£145.10/£300

joedenise

@Saver-upper - you definitely need to use your PIN number the first time you use a new card.  I've just had the same problem with one of my cards which had to be replaced after DH lost his card which was on my account so we were without one of our CCs for just over a week until our new ones came through and then needed to be used in the machine with PIN rather than just tapping.

mumtoomany

First spend this month. £47.47 across three shops. This included a catering pack of dustbin liners and a pack of beer. Total for the year to date now at £313.79/£2640.

hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

Saver-upper

joedenise said:

@Saver-upper - you definitely need to use your PIN number the first time you use a new card.  I've just had the same problem with one of my cards which had to be replaced after DH lost his card which was on my account so we were without one of our CCs for just over a week until our new ones came through and then needed to be used in the machine with PIN rather than just tapping.

Thank you joedenise,will try that over the next couple of days

zafiro1984

Soontobeoap said:

I cant believe how many meals that you can make with stuff that is already in kitchen! Today I have picked the bones of our chicken and with 2 rashers of bacon, 2 small onions a stock cube and some homemade pastry I have made 4 pies. Thats 4 meals for almost nothing. Although they arent entirely, I always call them free meals as I would have thrown that little bit of chicken away in the past.

Women of the past knew how important home making was and I am now embracing it too. 
Hope everyone else is doing ok. 

I couldn't agree more, there is a thread on here 'reverse meal planning'. It has a philosophy of doing exactly what you have done. There's plenty of ideas so maybe worth a look and browse.

Gettingmyshiztogether

Hello everyone!

Just hopping in to give you a quick update. 

L!dl shop done for ½ term! £78.83 spent and then I whizzed to Sain0s also for the "on offer" bits another £21 spent there but part of that covers a treat for 100% attendance this term.

Whilst in L!dl I picked up a few extras.... the pAnde-mick has definitely scarred me. I worry in case I can't get some items again later. So a bulk 10kg bag of basmati rice picked up as it works out to be £1.39 a kg rather than, £1.89, and rice keeps. A huge, monster Swede picked up to be chopped and frozen, just 62p! Then Oats are on offer for 70p so I took 2 bags of those, and a few extra Tins. So nothing huge, but definitely still unable to buy just what we need for the week. 

N@tion-wide BS have started offering cashback also on grocery shopping. It's 5% and so works out better to pay on my debit card than on my Mr T CC for the Clubcwrd points as that works out to be 1% cashback I believe. So Clubcward points will now be just gathered from fuel. Which is fine. Saving them this year for Christmas and my nect@r ones too... I have over £20 in nect@r already so will be feasting come December 🤣🤞

Sitting at a total of  £177.40 /£420 so far... ½ term and 2 more shops to go!

Suffolk_lass

zafiro1984 said:

Soontobeoap said:

I cant believe how many meals that you can make with stuff that is already in kitchen! Today I have picked the bones of our chicken and with 2 rashers of bacon, 2 small onions a stock cube and some homemade pastry I have made 4 pies. Thats 4 meals for almost nothing. Although they arent entirely, I always call them free meals as I would have thrown that little bit of chicken away in the past.

Women of the past knew how important home making was and I am now embracing it too. 
Hope everyone else is doing ok. 

I couldn't agree more, there is a thread on here 'reverse meal planning'. It has a philosophy of doing exactly what you have done. There's plenty of ideas so maybe worth a look and browse.

Yes indeed, here is a link to the first post - everyone welcome to join in, hang out, use ideas and recipes. There also used to be a rubber chicken thread on here, bouncing that old chicken along, day after day

Suffolk_lass

Just the milk bill pending today and for this weekend as we will be eating from all the veg I got in my TGTG bag plus what we have in storecupboard, freezers and drawers. I have made soup and about to whizz some stewed fruit with leftover custard (not leftover really [for the benefit of anyone about to faint], as I over-made to ensure there was enough for fool). Strawberry and rhubarb this time

Gettingmyshiztogether

Soontobeoap said:

When we retired early we took on a big renovation project with our house. We found jobs along the way to afford any extras and life was fulfilling. At 62 however I was suffering with such severe sciatica that all that stopped. We joined clubs, I did the crafting i love but could only do anything in short bursts. I feel that everyone needs a purpose and without it things get hard. Anyway one op and 3 yrs later, I am fit and healthy again. What I am trying to say is that I have found my purpose again through this thread. I thought that the problem was that I wasnt working and bringing in money but its not all about that. Saving money for the important things is just as vital. I have saved on average £100 a month on grocery shoppingvin the last year
and I think that I can reduce that further. 

I cant believe how many meals that you can make with stuff that is already in kitchen! Today I have picked the bones of our chicken and with 2 rashers of bacon, 2 small onions a stock cube and some homemade pastry I have made 4 pies. Thats 4 meals for almost nothing. Although they arent entirely, I always call them free meals as I would have thrown that little bit of chicken away in the past.

Women of the past knew how important home making was and I am now embracing it too. 
Hope everyone else is doing ok. 

Sorry if I have strayed a bit off topic. 

I love this Soon ♥ the older I get the more I miss my grandparents and would love to sit with a pen and pad to get all of the grandmas war time recipes and their make do and mend ideas. What pearls they had, when I was too young to fully appreciate them. 

I hope I get to retire to renovate houses, that sounds very exciting indeed! 

joedenise

A quick update from shops this week, the biggest of which was today where I've stocked up on basics like potatoes, onions and carrots plus a couple of boxes of eggs - I wanted to get 18 eggs but no large eggs in 6s so ended up with 2 boxes of 10 but that's fine as we eat loads of them!  Total so far for this month is £69.36/£200 so £130.64 left for the rest of the month - although having said that I do have an extra £10 in my purse as I bought some dog biscuit for my friend which I put on my card and she repaid me in cash.