January 2008 Grocery Challenge

Bobbykins

Hi WMF


re your signature.....if you look towards the top of the forums page, there is a green strip with various options in it, "main site" "Forum" "user CP" etc. Select the one that says "quick links" and a menu will drop down. Select the "edit signature" one from that and away you go.

Just a quick warning though, try to keep your signature to 4 lines or less, otherwise the signature police will get you! :rotfl: :rotfl:

rosieben

lalapalooza wrote: »

...
I remember mum making spag bol one day and using the leftover mince mix to make pasties with - a long lost art I guess!

Anyway, next month I hope to have a budget set and stick to it.

How much do you think should be the average you aim for, for 2 folk?

Debs

Welcome Debs

Remember they're not left overs, they're ingredients

Its very difficult to give an estimate of how much would be a reasonable spend. We are all different in our situations, eating habits, like and dislikes etc. If you keep all reciepts for the rest of this month that will give you some idea of what you’re currently spending and you can reduce (slowly is best!); reciepts will show where your money is going and where you could reduce spend.

Menu planning and shopping with a list (and sticking to it!) have been the way to go for me; I shop with cash and take just a few extra pounds in case I see an unmissable offer on something that I know I will use.

Check out what you have in cupboards and freezer to help work out your menus. There’s a weekly meal plan thread here, and lots of threads on cheap meals and recipes, have a browse through the index

Anything else you want to know, just ask. we're a very friendly bunch here

Good luck with the challenge!

theamazinggem

oh i forgot, i saw a trolley in the supermarket the other day full of yellow sticker stuff (well mostly) and i'm going to my OH "look look! they're one of us!!"

to which i got something like "not us, just you" !!!

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there lalapalooza

It's not a lost art in this house ..i still do a lot of the things my mum used to do when they were trying to feed all 7 of us on one low wage

I regularly pinch a bit out of a pack of mince and make it into pasties, or savoury meat roll/pie....

Leftover mash into potato, onion and cheese flans etc

In fact, if i think about it most of my meal stretching ideas came from my childhood only now im passing some new ones from here back to my mum :rotfl:

Im sure you will soon be a whizz and have that budget reduced in no time :j ... I actually love thinking "ok, what do i want to use up? and what can i do with that?" -it's becoming addictive :rotfl:

meanmarie

Afternoon all,

Another late sleep this morning...getting fed up. Nothing spent today and probably won't, having some Christmas ham with turnip and celery today for dinner.

Irish Mom...presume from your profile that you are in West Kerry, Tesco/Dunnes in Tralee is not bad, neither is Lidl/Aldi (can't remember which) on Castlemaine road, but certainly farmer's markets and yellow stickers are few and far between and reductions never seem anything like they are in UK...having never lived anywhere else I am used to it, when I visit my daughter in London I am amazed at prices. As I live near Dublin my choices are somewhat better, I use oriental and health food shops (is there still one in Dykegate Lane in Dingle?) and find them much better price and selection wise than supermarkets for herbs, spices and dried pulses.

Have a good day all,

Marie

Sunnyday

Hi all
just popped back to update my sig with the spends.
It dosen`t look too good at the moment and we`re fast running out of cash but on the plus side the cupboards, fridge and freezer are all stuffed so it should balance itself out in the last week or so.
I`m guilty of buying offers but it will save in the long run.
I`ll catch up with the thread to see how everyone else is doing later today.
Good luck with the no spending everyone!!
SD

BigMummaF

I've mislaid me little book, so I'll have to try & remember what I've spent this week...darn it:mad:

The milkman was £20:78 with the xmas extras, & I think it was about £6 in Mr T's last Tues. But then I spent about £25 in a discount shop, stocking up on loo rolls...they do 12 Double Velvet for £3:45 & 2400g jars of asda pickle for a quid:o
Yesterday was a bit :eek: too, cuz we had three lightbulbs go over the week-end & all my reserves were empty, so another £16:67 on Dyas deals; £14:19 in Mr T & £1:98 in the 99p shop.

OMG that makes £93:59_pale_ but hopefully I won't have to spend like that again for a while.....
That makes a half of my budget gone, at a little over half way thru, so I guess I'm on track. Just wish I hadn't run out of light bulbs:D

Frugaldom

Bobbykins wrote: »

Hi WMF


re your signature.....if you look towards the top of the forums page, there is a green strip with various options in it, "main site" "Forum" "user CP" etc. Select the one that says "quick links" and a menu will drop down. Select the "edit signature" one from that and away you go.

Just a quick warning though, try to keep your signature to 4 lines or less, otherwise the signature police will get you! :rotfl: :rotfl:

Signature police got me too, deleted it all because I had put a link in it to the forums. Trying to rejig my new one so it doesn't happen again but it IS a bit annoying seeing some sigs with dozens of lines and smileys and stuff and mine got wiped for linking to the MSE forums :mad:

Anyway, hope everyone's well, thank you for the por suggestion (wish I'd checked here sooner as it's too late to use the SC now) and today I have spent only 80p on a bag of sugar. U also did my freezer inventory and think I'd be fine for a kids tea party but not really up to scratch for 3 adults for any decent length of time :rotfl: Mini choc eclair, anyone? Cocktail sausage? Mini sausage roll? Oh, come on, surely someone will have a nice little mince pie with a scoop of ice cream On plus side, it also contains:
2 whole chickens
500g minced beef
600g white fish fillets
500g prawns
750g frozen chips
500g mixed veg
a packet of smoked bacon
1 cheese & tomato quiche
HM soup
4litres hm chicken stock
6 individual portions hm meals, 2 each spicy pasta, cottage pie, spag bol

For 3 adults, I reckon I have enough there for at least the next week to 10 days, except nobody else like prawns and 1 doesn't like fish!! :rolleyes:

catherineblack

I spent £30.50 in Tesco yesterday - and felt quite chuffed until I got home and realised they had charged me twice for the curry I'd treated myself to! I'd even been to customer services to get clubcard points added (the girl didn't ask for my clubcard and i forgot, and I wanted my green points too) At £3.69 it was not a MSE but I just had to buy it. How annoying to find the girl had swiped it twice, it cost me £7.38! This happens to me nearly every week in Tesco or Asda. And I always forget to check my receipt. Do you find you get doublecharged regularly?

Erin

Thanks, Charleypink for info about soapnuts. Will post when I have tried them. Erin