February 2024 Grocery Challenge

thriftwizard

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...

Mrs_Cheshire

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. 

LadyWithAPlan

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. 

I have a totum student card but not the prepaid one - is that the cashback one you are topping up? Is it worth it - I wasnt sure  especially as I get cb from  AIRTIME rewards. Any tips much appreciated.

@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 spices 

Suffolk_lass

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

- Pip

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 grow

sarahj1986

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. 

Sorry it’s taken so long to report ad this was on Thursday 

£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 

£142.42 spent

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

£45.51

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 

£37.44 spent

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. 

elsiepac

Hi everyone!

March GC Now Live!

PipneyJane

elsiepac said:

Hi everyone!

March GC Now Live!

Thanks @elsiepac.  I’ve signed up.

Also, thank you for running the Grocery Challenge.  It is much appreciated.

- Pip

thriftwizard

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!

Wraithlady

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 grow

I don't think you can use a pressure cooker to can veg? 

diminua

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