November 2023 Grocery Challenge

goldfinches

@LadyWithAPlan - thankyou for the tip about the CC price tamari, I will have a look at those the next time I'm in Mr T's and let my coeliac friend know too. Sorry to hear about your relationship ending with a text, that's a rotten way to behave toward someone else. 

I forgot to buy milk yesterday so called in to M*rks this morning and spent £3.46 on 4x milk and a YS pack of lettuces as well as a soft pretzel to eat with lunch.

That makes my new total £84.23/£170 and my average daily spend is £4.95.

thriftwizard

For once, I've managed to stick to my masterplan this week & stayed out of the shops until yesterday & today; a combined supermarket & market spend of £59.38 has left me with £63.42 for the rest of the month. With just the 3 of us here ATM that actually feels do-able; there's plenty in the store-cupboard and the freezer, and there are still leeks, parsnips and various brassicas down at the 'lottie.

Which is just as well - OH's car has died unexpectedly & my poor old van has been sold on to two happy young mechanics who know how to make her better, so we suddenly found ourselves virtually without transport. Very fortunately, we do have the use of DD1's little runabout whilst she's in South America, so OH has been able to get to work, but it's become apparent just how limited my options are now for sourcing good stuff inexpensively. We just have the two small & expensive supermarkets, several good but not cheap local shops, and the tiny remnants of our previously-thriving market. Fine if you've just retired down from the Home Counties, as most of the residents of the new housing estates & retirement schemes have (min price now about £750k) but not so good for rest of us!

CRANKY40

I've been missing in action this week as I've been providing moral support for the teen with a difficult uni assignment. All done now, so back to normal for a bit.

The cat's 9th November cream lasted until yesterday before it started to give just a whiff of maybe sour. Not bad and it makes buying yellow sticker stuff a bit more interesting after Christmas maybe? I haven't been grocery shopping again yet (not even a top up!) so my grocery spend is still £152.14/£320.00. I'm up to 14 NSDs  - I usually have trouble counting them but it's easier if I stay out of shops altogether 😁

Dinner yesterday was cheeseburger and chips - quick and easy after being at my friend's house for the afternoon. 

LotsOfTea

Reporting in to log a few small spends over the last week. I picked up a few essentials like wraps, tofu and bananas as I needed them through the week and then on Friday treated us to some fancy bread, fancy ginger beer, mince pies and crisps. I'm going to need some more fruit this week but I've got loads of veg so I'm going to hold off on ordering another supermarket delivery until next week. 

We've got lots of potatoes to use up so lunch today will be sausages and home made chips with some broccoli & carrots for veg. The OH and I are out tonight so I've promised DS I'll leave some hm pizza for him and the babysitter to have for their tea and we'll just grab some toast when we get back. 

I'm up to £153.30/£250 now.

lilly81

I haven't posted much this month but I'm currently at £182.91/£200
Yesterday I batch cooked tomato pasta bake, carbonara pasta bake and cauliflower cheese 😋
I have £17.09 left for the month 

LadyWithAPlan

@goldfinches good you can grab some tamari as great for bulk stores. I am ok on the text dumping now  as once that happens you know they are no gentleman but I do get the odd fit of anger still at the method of my disposal ! 

@Blackcats yes i think one has to cancel these straight after the offer as subsciptions always catch one out.
I enjoyed the Hell Fr arriving today - just my second box so I added extra chicken to the thai green curry to make it more as its only me but the portion for 2 is really not really...

@2Scratters tx I will look as there is a Morrie 13 mins or so walk away - i dont often go but I will check it out ..
 always good to compare as well

@joedenise ok I will pop in next week for the colmans hunt ,.. its been a few months !

@Wraithlady and @goldfinches I am also now on the hunt as well for Chermoula  so tx - I will picj a few up when I finally find it

Grocery  £138.59/£150  grocery    + £2.25/100bulk 
Popped to MR MS £5.41 spent 
- grabbed a few YS inc 2 x cooked chicken breasts one of which i added to the thai green HellFr meal  to bulk out plus a YS veg medley which accompanied my half of green thai ... the YS also had some nice indian dips to liven up the veg..
YS pineapple as well  as chunks for dessert.

Yesterday I had a spare 30 mins between seeing friends so I popped to waitr**e with the cashback apps open  - spent £4.05 ON 3 things  but on  2 things  - i will get £2 back so  £2.05 really spent.

diminua

£163.43 spent. That does include a fairly expensive ground coffee from Wtds and a latte bought wandering through King George's Park earlier, but I resisted the nice tearooms and cake at Fulham Palace. I have a pretty good meal plan up to Friday, when I'm off to my brother's for his birthday.  
I also seem to have accidentally shoplifted a bottle of stout - I know I scanned it and put it on the self-service scale, but it's not on the bill - I wonder if the member of staff who did the 'person over 18' thing could have messed up and taken it off instead? I used to work in a supermarket and it's so repetitive you do end up on autopilot some of the time. 
I'll have to put the amount in a charity box or something. 

wishus

Planned food for the week includes a couple of Jamie Oliver/guest recipes from £1 Wonders:

Mon: Tortelli al magro*
Tue: Crispy pork and broccoli noodles*
Wed: 50/50 Bolognese
Thur: Fish, chips, and peas
Fri: veggie pasta
Sat: cauliflower and coconut curry with red onion roti (have vegan friends coming round to watch Doctor Who, don't know if we're feeding them, but this sounds nice).
Sun: Beef stew and dumplings

Things I have on my shopping list but failed to get: jelly babies - must be acquired for Saturday!!!!!; maggi liquid seasoning (but I can do without a bit longer); bread (I do have a mix in the cupboard though).

* These involve making my own pasta/noodles. Oh dearie help me...

Mad dash between 3 shops to get the stuff for this lot. Used a couple of Perkboxes, and should get 1% cashback from most of the shop, too. Plus, scored a free cat food voucher. Spent £46.88, signature updated!

CoffeeSonata

Checking in with an update. I realise our budget may be a bit high for 2 adults (& two cats wet food).  I also increased it a little to handle three adult guests for five days. 
I am still on track:  Grocery Spending  £321.56/£410.

Leaving £88.44 to the end of the month. 
So that's £44.22 per week.  

For some reason this doesn't feel actually doable.  My brain tells me it is and we have a reasonably stocked fridge, some things and bath cooked meals in freezer and a lot of random cans. 
I think it's because a basic shopping order tomorrow comes to £44.79.  

This does include food to be able to batch cook bolognese and mushroom stroganoff for the next two weeks. 

I guess I thought that at £410 I should have some left over toward next month, maybe it's because I did feed 3 extra adults for 5 days and it's made a huge difference. 

I don't know why this feels like I won't make it and will overspend. Really ideally needed to come in under. 
I think maybe also that I've been ill most of October (whooping cough!), and am in late stages of recovering from surgery so it all feels disorganized and low energy,  which hasn't helped with meal planning and motivation. 
Both have gone out the window mostly. 
Also working against me is broken main oven -  we have a microwave combi which is small and temperamental and cooking in it as an oven isn't easy with timings and one shelf - and some things it just doesn't cook well at all. 
1 working gas ring.  All others are broken. 
I do have a slow cooker. 

I think I just need some moral support and someone to tell me this *is* perfectly doable. I know it is, my brain knows it is, but then £88 doesn't seem to go very far right now.  I think it's planning /decision overwhelm whilst not being very well probably. 

It's perfectly possible isn't it - even with being slightly disorganised/low energy?  

• I know that in the freezer:  I have 4 portions of sausage pasta  - so 2 meals. 
• 2 large portions of vegetable cawl
• a pack of prawns (usually used for stir fry or chinese rice mains)
• 2 burgers and 2 brioche buns (squashed I think)
• 4 x white fish square cube things that were for cats but they hate! 

Multiple random bits and bobs like 3 fish fingers, small amounts of veg. 

 I also have about 7 winter squashes, a full veg box, plenty of fruit including a LOAD of home grown pears and apples and kale. 

And random tins (though need some things like sweetcorn, and chopped tomatoes). 

So I don't know why £88 for 2 weeks for 2 people (and some cat wet food will have to be in there) seems tight. It isn't really is it?

I think I am just still recovering and overwhelmed by trying to keep up with everything and plan.  

Soontobeoap

@CoffeeSonata, I think it is doable. You have at least a weks meals already which would take you to 27th of month, even if you have to eat the same thing twice in a week. Sounds like your tesco order will give you the other few meals left over so only wet food and bread, milk, eggs etc left to buy. It is early days and even if you go over your budget you are learning all the time. I went £180 over budget last month when 12 of is ended up together unexpectedly for a few days so I have cut back a little this month. (only £20 but it all helps). The important thing to remember is that you are in control. You set your budget. You are making yourself accountable. Without this you would have spent much much more. On top of that you have had extra guests, and been feeling extremely poorly. When you have totalled up this month try to cut costsa little more next month and eventually you will find your happy place.

The idea of this forum is to help yourself keep costs down to what you want them to be. We are all different. Dont compare your spends to others and dont stress about it.

Some people keep pet costs, cleaning costs seperate. Others keep their own animals for meat or grow most of their own veg. Some people are dealing with allergys, buying nappies etc so all budgets are very different.

I have learnt lots of ideas from othets on here and have managed to keep my budget much the same as last year. With everything going up I am happy with that.

Good luck.