October 2023 Grocery Challenge

LunaCatty

I'm going to split our pet food budget out from out food/household budget next month. A very good offer on cat food at MrT's meant we ended up spending nearly £100 stocking up, but having set a budget of £250 for the month that was a rather large chunk! Thankfully we are well stocked and so far as well as the cat food we have a MrT's spend of £54 and a Lidl spend of £82 which, I hope, will last us until the end of the month and keep us under budget despite the excessive amounts of sheba.

Total spent - £236/£250

Soontobeoap

@LunaCatty I have not been as successful as you. In my defence my children, their partners and gc  asked if they could come for a long weekend. We are so excited but also caught a bit off guard with 10 extra mouths to feed for a long weekend. Our first thought was to buy takeaway and eat out but that would have been a false economy. So a trip to sainsburys was in order. With 2 gluten/dairy and soya fee children it pushed the price up.

I am ashamed to say that we are £155.00 lighter. The shop included bulk buy dishwasher tablets and washing powder as well as a big birthday cake fo DD and some free fom cake options too. I got 2 chickens on nectar point offer, salad and naked potatoes for one meal, sausage and mash for another and I think they will all want fish and chips by the sea another day. We stocked up on ham, cheese and eggs for sarnis and loads of fruit. The price was sti a huhe shock as we have got used to Aldi prices. It os such a shame that ours doesnt do much free from stuff. If I had had more time I would have done some baking.

Anyway. Hopefully we will have some bits left over that will be used in November. I was doing so well this month!

Now I have confessed I am off to have, a fun weekend. 

otb666

600/600 All spent this month as i go from 23rd to 23rd and I am away now til 23rd I am right on budget.  Wins this month was going to farm shop for fruit and veg and using musle food Thank you to person on here that suggested it.

leftatthetrafficlights

So, I finished this month on £250 which isn't great and I've started my November challenge already spending £34 yesterday. It's a 5 week month for us and I am going to try to do it on £100 so I can replace funds we used for our city break and run down the freezers - a mini challenge is afoot!! 😉😂

JingsMyBucket

Hey @elsiepac would you be able to start the November GC thread some time this weekend? Thank you!

@Soontobeoap that definitely must have been a shock for you. Even I gasped when reading it and it's not my wallet! 😂 I definitely think it was being taken by surprise that did you in. You're usually good about making food from scratch, especially gluten free baked goods. Just give yourself a pat on the back for doing well so far and have a lovely weekend x

Suffolk_lass

My freezer month is nearly working. Once I have included the big river subscription coffee and the weekly milk DD for the milkman, it isn't looking as good as I hoped. My running total is £2265/£3000. We will see if we can stay under the £35 to round it up. It should be doable. Another chicken coming out of the freezer will help!

diminua

I have £2.35 left for the month. I think the biggest extravagance has been artisan bread and cheeses when I didn't want to cook, and that bottle of fancy vodka early on, and posh coffee. I think now I'm earning slightly more I'm falling into the 'ooh, that looks nice, lets try it' trap, but of course food prices are going up at a faster rate still.
Home made veggie toad in the hole, roast veg and gravy tonight (its that sort of weather) and I'll put a teabread in the oven, which should see me a while.  

Update - my self raising flour has flour beetles in it. It's in an enamel container with a tight fitting lid so I don't think they've spread (The plain flour is definitely beetle-free), but will have to turn the cupboard out and check properly. 

goldfinches

@diminua - I feel your pain with the flour beetles, it's horrible when you find an infestation. I had to turn out my larder a few years ago now and it wasn't pleasant at all. 
One thing you can do in the future is to pop new bags of flour into the freezer for 48 hrs when you first bring it home from the shops, that kills the little bu99ers stone dead.

@Soontobeoap - I agree with @JingsMyBucket and also gasped at your till total, it's always the unexpected things that trip you up. I also agree with you about the cheaper supermarkets not carrying a good range of options for people with different dietary needs and think that it is one way they keep their prices down as well.

I walked up to M*rks earlier this evening and spent £3.40 on milk and greek style yoghurt. If the weather is dry tomorrow I will cycle to the Lidl out on the ringroad here with a list to see whether I can get everything there and how the prices and selection compare.

That makes my new total £85.29/£170 and my average daily spend is £4.06.

smudgybunny

So my latest total is £350/£400 which I’m pleased about as I’ve got quite a lot of bits for Christmas and only need fresh veggies until my November budget starts on Friday. I’ve been inspired by you all and have decided to challenge myself to a £350 budget for November. 

LotsOfTea

We have a monthly artisan market in our town and I don't often get the chance to go there but today I managed to get a quick look around and bought a few treats including a lovely proper baguette which we're having for lunch with some butternut squash, sweet potato and carrot soup. Yum! I spent £18.50 in total and je ne regrette rien as Edith Piaf would say. I've got a big shop booked for Tuesday and plenty of batch-cooked meals in the fridge and freezer so I'm feeling optimistic for ending the month under target.

I'm up to £84.12/£250 so far.