May 2024 Grocery Challenge

otb666

600/550  have gone 50 over after 200 iceland shop for 90 items But that should be it for may as i go from 23rd til 23rd and no more spends expected.  Hoping for better in June.

goldfinches

I visited the posh suburb farmer's market this morning and fell for a celeriac and a cauliflower from the fruit and veg stall which came to £3.70 for the two and as I had four pound coins and the stall holder looked half starved I told her to keep the change.

That makes my new total £98.64/£150 and my average daily spend is now £5.19 which isn't as bad as it could be but I'm sure I can do better if I try. Off to research recipes for both vegetables and sort out a meal plan for the next week or so. 

PS Have just been vouching my receipts for the last few days and realised that I hadn't included two top-up spends yesterday morning. First £5.05 at Sains for a pack of bog roll and then £6 at M*rks for milk, onions, radishes and cucumber.
That has made my new total a shameful £109.69/£150 and my daily average a horrendous £5.77. Aargh, must do better!

navelorange1

Hi, everyone!
After a really tight month last month I was so excited to have £80 to spend on food this month that I blew most of the budget in the first week (£55) however alongside wasting some of it, I did get enough to last me. I’m currently at £72.70 and plan to use the full £7.30 for the final long week 22nd-31st. I can see history repeating itself though as once again I am super excited to have more money in June and have already started adding things to the first week of June’s shop which so far is mostly treats and bulk cheese. It’s already at £30 without everyday ingredients. Next month however is my birthday so I will be increasing my budget

The next few days I plan to make my first ever fish pie; baked beans with pecorino and veg; and chicken noodles.

wishus

Signature updated. Meal plan done for the week. A spend of £56 at the three supermarkets in a row near my house. Going to try a Saturday Kitchen and a Hairy Biker recipe this week. Summer vibes!

Soontobeoap

@pipneyjane I really hope that the chemo has done its job and you feel better soon.

Thank you so much for mentioning oral thrush. I looked in hubbys mouth and he has a yellow scaley tongue. Just had a GP call back and after decsribing inside of his mouth she is going to give him something for it alongside trying to adjust his pain relief. 🎉🎉🎉. I wouldnt have even thought about it without you. You are a star. 

Off to Asda in a minute to try to find tasty treats. I am already over budget but freezer is still choc a block and overflowing so will just shop from stores next month instead. 😉

debtfreewannabe321

Hi all, we have had our final shop for the month, month ends on the 24th.
We are at : 

£569.34 / 500

Didn't manage to bring it on budget again. I have been over my receipts this morning and there really isn't a lot of extravagance in there.
I am thinking of-
1- taking the toiletries/ cleaning products back out of the budget and budgeting separately for that. So I can easily work out how much is spent on food going forwards.
2- having a month of easy cheap meals with not much choice or variation just to catch back up with myself and restock the pantry without overspending.
3- staying away from the shops for top ups, we went 4 times this month.
4- last resort upping the budget. 

We want to move soon so I really don't want to be upping the budget right now for affordability purposes so I can foresee a lot of Jacket Potatoes, HM pizza and curries in our future  
569.34/ 4 is £142.34 a week so it isn't too bad but I am going to keep trying to get it back under or as close to £500 as I can going forwards. 

Finstickle

Suggestion, don't go food shopping after 2.5 hours at a kid's birthday party - you will be bored and hungry!!
£52.71 in Tesco yesterday for 3 bags of shopping!!!!
I couldn't face driving anywhere cheaper and although the list was very short when I went in the sunshine and DD convinced me I needed wine for me, beer for DH and ice-creams for DD.

2 small top-ups this week of £16.41 and £1.20 combined with a gin & rum purchase of £31.  We've not really been drinking so not sure why it's hit hard this week but has definitely had an impact on the budget.  I'm still under though and as we go to a festival on Thursday we are eating all the perishables we have between now and then.  Booze and snacks for the festival will probably take the rest of the budget for the month but still looking to come in on target at the moment.

£249/£400

PipneyJane

Soontobeoap said:

@pipneyjane I really hope that the chemo has done its job and you feel better soon.

Thank you so much for mentioning oral thrush. I looked in hubbys mouth and he has a yellow scaley tongue. Just had a GP call back and after decsribing inside of his mouth she is going to give him something for it alongside trying to adjust his pain relief. 🎉🎉🎉. I wouldnt have even thought about it without you. You are a star. 

Glad I could help, @Soontobeoap.  

The chemo’s gone well, although I’m completely knackered by it.  This cycle is my last and then I’ll be officially in remission.  I was so knackered that I couldn’t face cooking dinner tonight, so sent DH out to L!dl for a pie and box of their panfried potatoes.  £3.68 spent.

The above brings our total spend to £141.41/£160 leaving £18.59 for the rest of the month.

- Pip

Pennypincin

At least £5 left from last week put into the bulk fund.
Plus £1 spent in Tesco on 2 cartons of soya milk today.

goldfinches

I had a word with myself this morning and decided to make a list to get me to Friday or even further when I will then top-up once more before the end of the month. So I duly trotted up to M*rks and spent £10.35 on gherkins, white cabbage, more milk to avoid needing it again before Friday, cottage cheese, white vinegar, yoghurt and a pineapple. 
That makes my new total £120.04/£150 and my average daily spend is now £6.002  !  If I can get as far as Friday without spending any more money then that will come down to £5.001, which would be much more respectable, so now I'm really motivated.