November 2023 Grocery Challenge

elsiepac

EEEK the DECEMBER GC is now LIVE!

HOW are we here already and where did this year go?!!!

elsiepac

@wishus do you have a link to your recipe for" cauliflower and coconut curry with red onion roti" please? it sounds delicious!

Crazycatlady2

I'm at £430 with 1 more Tesco shop to do a £50 Iceland order to use my voucher and a visit to Aldi which will mean alot of items I won't buy again till next year so December should be cheaper by alot 

Blackcats

@CoffeeSonata - well done for trying and for starting out on your journey.
@Soontobeoap is absolutely right - there is so much to learn from others here and unexpected things can affect best laid plans.

could you do a couple of "cheap and cheerful" meals - jacket potatoes with whatever you've got in stock - beans and cheese is always a good comfort food.  How about a soup and sandwich night?  Egg and chips is a perfect cheap and yummy meal.

Pennypincin

Sorry I've not been posting for a while.
I'm really sorry to hear that people are/have been poorly or things have gone awry, I hope things are on the way up and improving.
I managed to save just over £11 from last week's budget, which has been put into the bulk fund.
I made some nice pasta meals using low fat cream cheese, onion and vegan bacon pieces.
£18.51 spent today in Tesco and Sainsbury's, plus a bar of stain removal soap from Poundland.
Again some random odds and sods including eggs and vegetarian protein on offer.
I will run the freezer down, clean it and then refill it one day.
I've at least 10 home made meals in the freezer too.
I eventually hope to get some more reasonably priced Tupperware for more meals to go in the freezer. Although I will need to make sure that I label them in future as it's pot luck as to what I'm taking out at the moment.

goldfinches

@diminua - I tend to regard the very occasional mistake the supermarket makes in my favour as payback for the mistakes they make in their favour IYSWIM so you're nicer than I am!
@LadyWithAPlan - glad to hear you're okay with things overall and definitely goes to show the truth of the axiom 'when someone shows you who they are, believe them'.
@wishus - I'd also be interested in the recipe for red onion roti if you have a link as they sound mouthwateringly tasty, thankyou.
@CoffeeSonata - you've done much better than I did in the months when I wasn't well earlier this year. Food budgeting, meal planning and so on is a huge mental load mountain to climb when you're not well and I do think we're much harder on ourselves than we would be to anyone else in the same situation. Like @Soontobeoap says don't tie yourself in stressful knots, just do the best you can.
@elsiepac - you're right, this year has simply whooshed by. Thanks for the December thread.
@Pennypincin - I get most of my plastic containers from charity shops, and even snapped up a whole load of those cook and store Pyrex ones last year, so it might be worth you having a look in your local chazzas before lashing out.

I popped up to the library this evening, very useful them being open until 8pm Monday through Thursday here, and then nipped into M*rks for yoghurt and silken tofu which came to £3.35 and also bought 2x tinned toms, tinned black beans and flat leaf parsley at Mr T's for £2.95 because M*rks were out of herbs.
The Baking Budget spent £1.10 on vegan jelly crystals at Mr T's because they were new on the shelf and I didn't know whether I'd ever see them again and they'll keep for ages in the cupboard.

That makes my new total £90.53/£170 and my average daily spend is now £4.52.
The Baking Budget new total is now £17.05/£25 with two Wednesdays left this month.

I can also claim another NSD for yesterday which all helps keep costs down. 

mumtoomany

Quickly popping in to declare this weeks shopping. £38.28 over three shops. Lots of fruit and veg bought. Two multi packs of crisps, these will probably last us till nearly Christmas. OH came in with me, so cakes, sweets,etc, bought too! Total spent this year now stands at, £1727.66/£1860. Don't think I'll need anything other than milk next week. Hugs.xx

joedenise

Another couple of small shops down in Tesco and Lidl bringing my total so far to £62.19.  Hopefully I won't need anything else this week.  That leaves £137.81 until end of month.  We're away for a week from Saturday so the rest of this month's money will be used for food while we're away.  By the time we come back we will be into December so hoping there is enough left in the budget to be able to eat out a couple of times - cafe lunches rather than restaurant evening meals!

MissRikkiC

We’re down to the last £10 and I think hub spent that tonight in Aldee in a little top up to last us till Friday. We could have managed but we did need wipes and fruit so im glad that’s sorted and I didn’t need to go to the shop. £400 felt tight again this month, but we’ve had treats and mistakes during the month so maybe it’s actually not that bad. Really should get back into the mental haul of meal planning etc but life is getting in the way 

LadyWithAPlan

@goldfinches yes people really do show themselves so pointless wanting their behaviour  to be different, just move along ..

@CoffeeSonata The advice at the start of the post - to start at a reasonable level  and slowly move your budget down is v wise. I now have a separate bulk fund so for the pantry and items such as rice and oil I wont get thru in the current month so its easier for the grocery budget  to not get slammed by ys deals and bulk buying.
Maybe see the £44 per week left as a challenge - you can always top up at the end if you need..

@wishus - I'd also be interested in the recipe for red onion roti  ...

@elsiepac -  tx for the help and the posts

@Pennypincin 
I saw today a few of plastic and the cook /store ones in TK Ma**

£154.96 / £150  grocery    + £2.25/100bulk  - budget blown and I was in the States for first couple weeks
Nisa £2.14 
Tesc*  £13.23  - half price joint with crackling, sweets and such, Cov gden  soup (i make my own but this was CC prices so 
Got 2 of the 3 HF meals for wed/thurs,,plus bits in freezer - do need an MR LID shop but maybe friday for that

Still only on 4 NSD this month !