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February 2024 Grocery Challenge
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I've just added £88.04, taking us up to £371.11. More than I'd hoped, but meat, cheese, yogurt, cream etc. are sorted for the week. Fish, (decent) bread, fruit & veg to go tomorrow, then we're just about all in for February; I'd expect to have to pick up another loaf of sliced bread early next week, though.
In other news, DD1 & BF are now actively looking for a home of their own. Assuming that something reasonable does turn up inside their budget, in the town of their choice, we will be down to 3 FT and 1 PT inhabitants - wow! And I've been offered an allotment on the site in our road; it's just a half-plot, but it has a shed and a greenhouse (yippee!) unlike our 110m² plot on the other side of town. The plan is to run both this summer, as I already have crops in the ground at the other site, then give that plot up at the end of the year and just use the little one close by. Which will work out much better time-wise (It's less than a minute away - on foot!) & involve less vehicle use too. Off to draw up plans and work out what seeds I've already got & can use...Angie - GC Jul 25: £225.85/£500 : 2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge: 26/68: (Money's just a substitute for time & talent...)7 -
Just updating the figures for the month. I'm over budget £412.46/£400 but that's not too bad considering it includes £6 on easter eggs. We'll probably need milk and bread early next week but that should be it to see us through to the end of the month.Grocery Challenge 2024
Feb £419.82 Mar £599.53 Apr £405.69 May £531.37 Jun
Declutter challenge 2024 0 items4 -
lovemula21 said:Hi everyone, I’ve topped up my totem pre paid card with £175 to last the rest of the month. This is a little more than I have budgeted for but unfortunately I could only top up in multiples of £25. I received some cashback too which added approx £3 making it £178.
@PipneyJane glad the chemo is working though I am sorry to hear you going through it all - impressive the GC is still going ahead!
@Soontobeoap amazing about your son .... and yes vent here not at home - those mini melon portions!!!!! No!
I love my GF breadcrumbs ...
there are 2 kinds of people in this world it seems - some people really dont seem to understand how to use left overs and others are obsessed (and its not only to do with food budget/income)
@London_1 as always your portioning and frugality is inspiring and makes me think try harder
Grocery £114.83 /£155 + £21.59/£50 bulk + £7.88/£0 crisps
Grocery shopping some bulk £7.76 groceries
Sain had some YS rib eye steaks (£2.44 from £9.75) and some other meats so picked up food for freezer so counted as bulk- still got a Hfresh meal to cook
£2.57 Sain toilet rolls for 4 - my local lid* closed down - so annoying!!! I loved their FR chickens
I have compared the Sain to lidl toilet rolls and lid much nicer - v similar price (saind are the double width rolls) so wont buy those again
Plus £5.27 in my local N*sa sunday after a long boozy lunch (crisps £2.09, water and some baba ganoush)- yes champagne was drank but a friend picked up tab for 10 of us! which I didnt expect ..
Tesco today £10.75
- a reduced pork crackling joint, YS sugar snap, tesco club card reductions on satsumas etc, kale, eggs
This GC also includes a £10 morr+sons gift card I bought on a tcb offer - £2 cb plus 25p ... back - not yet spent - there is a morrisons but its a bit of a trek.. This also reminds me I have maybe £3 left on a waitr*se gift card
I have a very full freezer so I will start whittling that down but tomorrow will be the pork crackling joint £3.60 from £6. and will last me 3 meals I guess - to do in my halogen.
Food
I have another glorious GF fruit/seed brown/white loaf going in the Panas*** breadmaker as I type - so just had the excess yolks plus an extra egg with guac and tomato for brekkie - will have a thick cut ribeye YS later with greens - I do think my less sugar (no haribo/candies ) in 2024 - and all these greens with my face mask is helping my skin.
EDIT The YS RIBEYE - was amazing - rarely eat it at home but did on a griddle with salt/pepper and some garlic oil to baste - left it to rest ... it was restaurant quality - served with greens, brown/white rice - ran out of brown so used a spare pack of HF white cooked with chermoula spicesDON'T BUY STUFF (from Frugalwoods)
No seriously, just don’t buy things. 99% of our success with our savings rate is attributed to the fact that we don’t buy things... You can and should take advantage of discounts.... But at the end of the day, the only way to truly save money is to not buy stuff. Money doesn’t walk out of your wallet on its own accord.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6289577/future-proofing-my-life-deposit-saving-then-mfw-journey-in-under-13-years#latest6 -
PipneyJane said:Good shopping there @London_1. Perfect timing, too.
I’ve just dropped in to mention something that I keep forgetting: if anyone wants a pressure cooker, L!dl will be selling a decent-sized one in the Aisle of Surprise this weekend and the price is reasonable, too, at about £40. 6L if I remember correctly, which is definitely large enough to cook a main course for 4-6, or a steamed pudding, or a kilo of soaked, dried kidney beans.
HTH
- PipSave £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here4 -
sarahj1986 said:sarahj1986 said:sarahj1986 said:sarahj1986 said:£360
I think that has worked well this month ideally I’d like to be under it but we shall see. This total does include all household and toiletries so I guess it’s not bad.
£132.22 spent
Big Tesco shop plus small bits specific bits. CC seems ok so got some bits especially snacks that will last us more like 2-3 weeks so next weeks should be a lot smaller. That being said I think I’ll do another online shop for Thursday and none the following week as it’s half term. I do shopping on days when my husband is at home as I struggle to balance it all with my son.Edit
£227.78 left
This is from Lidl around £20 and the rest is Tesco. Next week is half term so I stocked up a bit as I don’t want to do a shop next week at all (small shop maybe for milk and bread)
£85.36 left
that’s over the last week
It’s been half term and the cupboards/fridge/freezer were all quite full anyways but we needed a few bits like fruit, milk etc
£39.85 left
I’ve checked my freezer and I’ve still got a weeks worth of meat/fish in there for dinners, plenty of snacky bits. I won’t do a Tesco shop till mid next week, try to push it into march but it may be 28th or 29th if my husband is off. It’s easier to do the online shop when he is here. I’ll go into Lidl tomorrow when my daughter is back at school and get fruit, veg, potatoes and maybe some pork if some description as we don’t have any pork in our freezer. I’ll need to go in again for milk but I think that £40 (just shy of) will do us till the end of the month
Top up in Lidl plus a couple of treats
I think I may go a few pounds over as I will definitely need milk and probably bread. But we should last until next week. I’ve got the big shop on Wednesday, technically February but I’m counting it in march as Wednesday is the only day I can do it next week.:money::rotfl::T6 -
I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Old Style, Crafting and Techie Stuff boards.If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.GC: May 22 £tbc/£250 Vegan 27-8-135
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elsiepac said:
Also, thank you for running the Grocery Challenge. It is much appreciated.
- Pip"Be the type of woman that when you get out of bed in the morning, the devil says 'Oh crap. She's up.'
It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it - that’s what gets results!
2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge 66 coupons - 25.5 spent.
4 - Thermal Socks from L!dl
4 - 1 pair "combinations" (Merino wool thermal top & leggings)
6 - Ukraine Forever Tartan Ruana wrap
8 - 4 x 100g/450m skeins 3-ply dark green Wool Local yarn
1.5 - sports bra
2 - 100g/220m DK Toft yarn5 -
A fairly massive £61 spent at the market this morning, but in my defence, £30 of that was fish, some of which will be going into the freezer & deployed another week. Plus £6 on rather irresistible cakes, as my friends were coming round for a cuppa & there was nothing HM left. The rest was all fruit & veg. Apart from OH's sliced bread - and I still question whether that actually qualifies as food, rather than an edible food-like substance - we should be all in now for February, and we are still inside the budget!Angie - GC Jul 25: £225.85/£500 : 2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge: 26/68: (Money's just a substitute for time & talent...)6
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Suffolk_lass said:Ooh, thank you, @PipneyJane I will let my Sis know. My Mum's had an accident and instead of cleaning it they binned it (and she has regretted it ever since). Depending on the shape and size it might be that I get one too, for preserving (bottling) fruit and veg I grow2024 Fashion on the Ration - 10/66 coupons used
Crafting 2024 - 1/9 items finished3 -
Bought the pasta and milk, and also some muesli base (from H&B - it's basically just a mix of four grains) 'jewel' raisins (silly really, I don't suppose they taste very different from normal raisins, they just look pretty), brazil nuts and sliced almonds (3 for 2 with the raisins) coffee and frozen veg burgers.
I'm now at £164.14 spent, with £35.86 left
Fashion on the Ration 2025 - 1.5 coupons remaining
July Grocery Challenge £115.57 of £250 spent
Declutter 7 things (net) in 2025. Done, now trying to keep it even (5 over at present).3
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