November 2023 Grocery Challenge

CRANKY40

Today has been grocery NSD number 7. We didn't fancy a big meal last night so we had toast. I reminded myself that when my nana (born in 1921) was young this would have been considered an adequate meal for someone who wasn't doing manual labour all day.

It's odd isn't it how times have changed? My youngest great aunt who was still a child when my nana was working told me that she remembered being sent to the shop to buy a cream cake for my nana's evening meal as that was all she would eat. It was my nana that taught me to bake so I'm thinking that her love of cakes was lifelong 😊

The grocery budget still stands at £63.05/£320. I keep forgetting to include that bit. 

Mamaofmanybudgets

£59.71/£200 

£19.42 today. 

I've got a feeling this grocery challenge is gonna fail. Haha. But it's been a great eye opener and good for my accountability. 

£4 on the food waste group today. 
Also £15.42 on meat. But I picked up some lovely beef shin and some chicken legs. 
I need to sit and plan better for the budget. 

thriftwizard

Don't worry, @Mamaofmanybudgets, even after years of doing this I can see I'm likely to go over my self-imposed limit again this month. But the discipline of at least trying to keep to a budget has been very good for me and for our pockets! Possibly even for our health; shop-bought "treats" haven't happened for a long time...

So my dear friend took me off to L!dls this morning, after I'd been to the market & re-stocked with fresh fruit & veg; I did the butcher & supermarket yesterday. The consequence being that overall this "weekend & non-perishables shop" has cost me £169.46 but the store-cupboard has filled back up & there are a number of things we won't have to buy again until after Christmas. I also stocked up on festive things like Lebkuchen & drums of Tw1glets, which the family absolutely adore & only get offered once a year! I have just over £120 left for 3 adults for the month, with two different diets (pescatarian & omnivore) going on & a few "special needs" as I need a very high-fibre diet. I shall be interested to see if I can stay under-budget...

AnotherNewDay

Did an accidental shop today....I went for sink unblocker and ended up tempted by the festive treats. With two weeks to go, I'm now at 55.97/100

wishus

Managed one more NSD, then a few quid spent before heading out for a camping weekend. We have everything we need! Healthy salad and hummus... unhealthy crisps...and booze! We may buy our evening meal tonight, but last night my husband made us a delicious stew. Tiny bit left for lunch today. 

Now on £56.02/£200

Suffolk_lass

@CRANKY40 I saw you say your homemade bread doesn't last as long as shop bought. I'm not sure how big your loaves are or how long they last but I usually make a 4lb loaf which lasts us nearly a week and the addition of DH's sourdough starter and keeping it in an airtight box means it lasts longer than a regular white loaf without.

I additionally make four rolls from the same dough, that I put two to a 1lb loaf tin and these prove together to make a solid small loaf that can either be sliced or pulled apart for two VERY generous rolls. I freeze these in Kelly's Ice cream boxes because the raised lid is the perfect size to fit over them. I bake bread 90% of the time, just keeping a Hovis Wheatgerm as a standby option. I suppose it depends what else we do, atmospheric conditions, oven, ingredients too but the SD starter is the key thing that works here. "Flour improvers" had me thinking I was gluten intolerant but it was these mystery additions  that were making me bloat and feel awful!

Pennypincin

Im coming in under budget by just over £10.25 this week.
The money will be put into the bulk fund.
I've bought odds and sods again, including a bag of reduced carrots, reduced potato's and budget stuffing today at 84p for the lot.
I really need to keep up with the posts here and shop smarter.
I need to run the freezer down, defrost it then refill it.

CRANKY40

Thanks @Suffolk_lass. The problem is that the HT and my friend like white bread so I buy that for them and use possibly half a thick white loaf in a week. My small brown loaf gets eaten very slowly because I don't eat much bread - a slice of toast in the morning and a slice of bread for a sandwich three times a week when I make a packed lunch to take to friend's house. I only use one slice of bread for me and take fruit and a home baked biscuit too as I had to lose weight for my knee operation and now it needs to stay off until the other knee is done. I usually put half of each loaf in the freezer (if I remember in time) so they last for much longer. I do have a sourdough starter in the fridge (it makes fabulous pancakes) but I don't always have the time to do sourdough. 

Friday was grocery NSD number 8 and today is number 9. We had mac'n'cheese with garlic doughballs for dinner on Friday (doughballs came out of the freezer, yay) and we had pizza also from the freezer yesterday. The pizza doesn't count though as I'll just buy another one to put back in tomorrow when I do the food shop. It's one of the HT's staple foods. 

Soontobeoap

£27.00 spent in Aldi today. Should last us the week. Lots of no spend days as I am busy with christmas crafting. 

diminua

I'm at 109.28 spent. However, that does include some multipacks of fish and veg and some quorn mince for a freezer I purchased last week - I've been jogging on without one for about 15 years, but it's getting increasingly expensive to buy small amounts of things and then eat them before they go off - and some things, like peas, aren't always that easy to find fresh. I'm going to give batch cooking and freezing a try too, probably starting with chilli.  Also very excited at the prospect of ice cream and ice for drinks in the summer.