January 2008 Grocery Challenge

belfastgirl23

Blairweech you made me smile cos we have just had a *ahem* heated debate about whether you should just throw out all the little potatos cos 'they're not worth peeling'.

Anyway I'm doing a bit of hanging head in shame. Had to go to lidl today cos we were running low on oatcakes and theirs are hands down the nicest (and cheapest) and ended up spending £22.51 :eek: All I can say is that normally I've also bought crisps and chocolates there and I didn't this time and most of what I did spend is 'stocking up'. I then made it to Tesco where I spent £8.36 on organic weetabix (you can guess who refuses to eat regular weetabix!) and 2 bags of breadflour and some potatos. That is the week 3 budget fairly comprehensively gone but I did get a lot for my £. The other thing is that I hadn't budgeted for us both having colds so extra tissues, OJ and fizzy water had to be bought. At least lemsip comes out of another budget

On the bright side I think I'll be able to set a fairly tight budget in Feb too since i have spent January's budget very wisely if a bit too enthusiastically Still no point in counting the chickens just yet.

And a (belated) happy birthday Bobbykins.

jackiegibbo

Hi everyone i have just updated my sig to show my spend so far and as you can see i have £2.93 left for the rest of the month so its a definite failure for me:mad:
I think i need to reassess everything i buy and possibly try a weekly shop rather than the big monthly one at the beginning of each month and possibly a menu planner.

Keep up the good work everyone else:beer: :beer: :beer:

Frugaldom

Blairweech - Large coffee tins are brilliant for storing flour and sugar as the plastic lids are pretty much airtight. Just ask anyone who uses them in their offices or staff rooms to save you a couple. I think you should get OH to join MSE and nominate him a username something like 'thumbsdown'

Moniker - thanks for the economical fruit loaf recipe! It's arrived at an excellent time as I am in the middle of baking bread right now and hate not using the oven to capacity! A couple of fruit loaves will do the job nicely

rosieben

nopot2pin wrote: »

...
Rosieben - I think it was yourself that said you make your rice pudding in your slow cooker.... could I have the recipe please ??:o ...

Hi Nopot, I just use normal rice pudding quantities; I sometimes heat the milk to put in first, sometimes dont bother and cook it on high for longer, depends on how quickly I want it to be done.

Here's a link to the complete Slow Cooker collection http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1332010#post1332010

You might find more ideas there, lots of links to check out

orchid-96

Just placed an order with the local veg box delivery company (have used before) so got a veg/salad/fruit box coming next Friday with some Milk and Eggs (another £18.36) have updated sig.....I have decided that is going to mainly be it...I am going to budge for £10 to cover some more milk, bread and stuff like kids yoghurts and anything else, but will meal plan based on the delivery...pleased with the price of eggs as well, half a dozen large free range for 80p (the medium ones are 70p) much cheaper than Tescos...

mikeD

singlemum wrote: »

They are usless arn't they!! Must agree with Mollymops being without one has its advantages:rotfl: Well enjoy the takeaway and make him pay in more than financial ways!!

That's not a very nice thing to say. It seems a lot of you ladies take great pleasure in denigrating men just because they don't think or act like you. Please, if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBBYKINS :bdaycake: HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD ONE

tru

Well I'm going to fail spectacularly this month. Note to self - do NOT let mr tru go shopping :rolleyes:

How is it possible to spend £32 in Farmfoods and then NEED to spend another £60 in Morrisons?

clowe1

to rosieben,

thanks for your helpful reply

Clare

BrokeWelshChick

Bought 5 pints of milk in work on Friday for a £1.00, would have been out of date by Monday, they are now in my freezer.

Spent £14.74 in Asda today on fruit and veg,working on eat 5 a day.

Today first time in ages I have made bread instead for buying a loaf and I have £27.46 to last the rest of the month.

BWC x

MRSMCAWBER

Evening everyone

Well the end of week 2 for us :T and so far only €24.95 spent this month -something even I can't believe :rotfl:
Its the start of week 3 tomorrow -but i am postponing my 1st shop of the week..... have checked I have enough milk (which is the only thing that would have made me "have to" shop tommorow -can't be without my tea:eek: ) and we have 1lt :j . The only things i need to pick up on tuesday Are:-

• milk -full fat to let down, have hubby doing this now
• potatoes
• lettuce
• and apples -and i think that is about it :dance: oh and possibly a block of butter

Hubby will be taking a flask of soup and some HM bread for lunch, this batch is made from the water that i boiled a gammon with and then had lentils and broth mix oh and veggies added to it..and blitzed... i even make it really thick so it takes up less room in the freezer, and then hubby "lets it down" when he warms it up . I thought he would be sick of soups now, but apparently not :T ..... not only does it cost pence, but it keeps him lovely and warm and best of all there is NO way he isn't getting his "5 a day"

Hubby is really getting on board with the OS ing.... his response if i ask him if he fancies anything in particular to eat for the following day is "do we have anything need using up?"
And on the rare occasion when he does go round the shops with me he stands looking at the price per 100g -not the unit price :T

If i can get through the next couple of weeks being sensible -it looks like i will be able to set the February budget at whatever is left from this months budget... which is what i was really hoping to do.
I know that every month won't be this good -but i figure if i can just get off to a good start and squirrel away as much as possible it will encourage me to put even the smallest bit of money away .
OOOHHHH just had another thought... in a few months i will be harvesting a lot of my own veggies which should mean no buying :-

1. lettuce
2. cumber
3. tomatoes
4. raddish
5. spring onions
6. carrots
7. green beans
8. french beans
9. peas
10. peppers

any buying less:-

1. potatoes
2. beetroot
3. onions
4. and various other bits im going to try and grow :rotfl:

Ok im getting all excited and carried away now ... better get off before i have you all snoring :rotfl:
Thanks for the great ideas and encouragement folks and keep at it