November 2023 Grocery Challenge

joedenise

joedenise said:

Ordered a Morrisons TGTG bag last night so another £3.09 spent taking my total so far to £41.43/£200 leaving £158.57.   Any left over at the end of the month will go into the Bulk Fund which will pay for Christmas meat as well as any regular bulk buys although shouldn't be many of those next month as think I am pretty well stocked up now.

Some lovely crafted stuff @Suffolk_lass and @Soontobeoap.

The TGTG bag was absolute rubbish today!  Basically a bag of stale bread and rolls plus a large potato full of holes and a limp hispi cabbage!  Complained to TGTG and they are going to refund me.  

Also realised I'd missed off a small shop in Tesco so spend to date is now £46.33/£200 leaving £153.67.  Should be plenty - famous last words!

Blackcats

We did some shopping at lidls - plenty of fruit and veg, yoghurts, cheese, orange squash, toilet paper and some maltezers also made it into the trolley too.
I picked up a beautiful bunch of flowers from olio and some pears as well as some fresh mint which I shall use to make mint tea.  

Mr Blackcats is making beef madras curry tomorrow night using leftovers from today.  As his curry of choice at an Indian restaurant is chicken vindaloo naga hot, his version of madras is likely to be hot so I think the mint tea will be very soothing.

balance remaining £193.11.  Hopefully I can keep to budget this month

joedenise

What a horrible experience @bluebadger6.  I've given up on our market as it ended up with only one fruit and veg stall and it was one of those £1 a bowl things and quite honestly with only 2 of us I don't need 3 cabbages or lettuces, 6 peppers or a huge bowl of red onions!  The smallholder got narked when I asked for a mix of red and white onions because I only wanted a couple of red so I just left it and went to the supermarket!  The stall didn't last much longer as it seems to be that's what everyone ended up doing.  I'm sure the same will end up being what happens at your local market.

Suffolk_lass

@Blackcats I dollop some Greek-style yogurt on and stir in to anything too hot here. To be fair it is always my fault though.

@bluebadger6 how awful. Don't let him ruin your day. Be prepared for next time you go and if he is rude, just say that to him and that you don't need to buy from him if that is how he is going to be. It will make him realise. He won't like it but if you walk away he will be under no illusions why. "Forget it. I don't need you being rude to me when I am trying to support you and your business" Hand out like you are patting a dog's head, low and firm!

I was hoping to make it through November without shopping but I need some regular things. Not enough to go shopping yet, but also the chickens have stopped laying so no eggs delivered this week. And I have to make two things for Saturday, and one ingredient may take some finding!...And I need to order some food platters for an event on 1st December. Who was I kidding with only one shop!

JingsMyBucket

What a terrible experience @bluebadger6. I'd tell him directly that he's being rude. And please don't let him sour your mood today or this week. I'm sure you have great people around you who treat you better than the grumpy shopkeeper.

I've just put in a Tesco order that's roughly £75. It's for delivery tonight and restocks our fridge with dairy, some fruit and veg, a lump of beef for roasting this week and some other bits. Again fresh strawberries weren't available so I've opted for frozen ones this time. I thought I'd try something new. I'll update my totals after receiving the order tonight. 

SausageDogSandwich

Hope everyone is well, just a quick post to say I am up to £150.40/350. I’ve got Uber sains coming shortly as they have 50% off fruit and veg on Monday, added milk, bread and ham, not planning to do shopping until Sunday as have everything else for the week now. 

PipneyJane

joedenise said:

That's a shame about your SC @PipneyJane.  I would definitely replace mine if it stops working, after all they are relatively cheap to buy but also to use.  Have to say I always make sure mine has actually started heating up before I leave home particularly if I'm going to be out all day.  I'm sure you managed to find something in the freezer/cupboards so you didn't have to resort to a takeaway!!!

@joedenise if C0stc0 has them, then I’ll go for the same model/size of Crockpot.  That way, we can keep the existing liner as a backup.  (DH is tempted to try and fix it.  Ex-engineer, used to working with and testing electrical items.  He’s already diagnosed the cause.  What can I say?)

Dinner became frozen Salmon-en-Croute from L!dl.  (I usually have one in the freezer.). DH popped out to buy potato croquettes from what used to be our local C0-0p and was disgusted that he could only get McCains Hash Browns for £3.  There was nothing else available.   (C0-0p sold the site to A$da two months ago, small store + petrol station.  I haven’t been in since they completed the sale.  I know the staff were TUPE’d over, because they told me.)

- Pip

otb666

@bluebadger6 I had been using a fruit and veg guy but quite honestly his prices were getting very high and he said he had to make it worth his while.  I now use a farm shop and its half what i was paying.  Also noticed on his fb he was taking a lot of holidays So glad i voted with my feet

MissRikkiC

Well after various spends over the last week and paying back accounts which had been used to pay for speed, we are at a depressingly low remaining budget of £25 to last until next Friday. 

I must admit that the joint account paid for some items which it shouldn’t, so they need adjusting for, a coat for my son and a dress for my daughter (total £21.50) as well as some stuff which won’t be repaid like Take away stuff (shop bought) on Friday. Plus I double scanned something at £4.50 and didn’t realise until I was home.

I was so cross with myself and should be a lesson learnt however this year we have paid for, but not actually purchased a grand total of 11 garlic bulbs and 22 peppers in 1 sitting which should have been 1 of and 2 of on the self scanners. And 7 bottles of a shower gel on an online shop. My brain has been quite overwhelmed recently so likely the real root cause but still just generally annoying. 

After adjusting for the above items, we should have left £46.50/£400

diminua

Chilli made - it says serves 4 but it was one third eaten, one third in fridge for Wednesday's dinner and a third to freezer. It meant buying limes, yogurt, aubergine, red kidney beans and oregano - I usually have the last 2 anyway but had run out - and I needed tomatoes and milk and thought I'd pick up some butter beans while I was there, so another £7.64 spent.