January 2008 Grocery Challenge

Bobbykins

tattycath wrote: »

I did remember some kind soul putting the golden syrup offer on this thread-not sure who it was unless it was Bobbykins)

. not me hun!

OH just stands patiently and waits these days while I rummage around and run round the shop like a headless (freerange) chicken trying to find the best offers and reductions.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Oh, tattycath, that's SO funny and topical too!! I just spluttered tea all over my keyboard!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

BigMummaF

Hey All......

First I need to :kisses2: MikeD as promised:D Was it good for you too

Second...'ol here has been faithfully writing down page & post nos to 'record' recipes...when the Jan is replaced by Feb & subscequent challenges, will I still be able to access the recipes? Only other thing I can think of is to invest in a card-file so I can add the recipes in their sections. Not very MSE I know---I've loads of note-books but I'll end up with sausages next to cheesecake & end up cooking an inedible quiche

Third I know Pup is almost 10mths old so maybe not eating as much as an adult dog, but he has virtually the same as us. NEVER SALT,ONION OR LEEK.
I cook cheapo

• mince; pigs liver/kidneys; chicken livers; heart; coley bricks; egg;

To that I add--in any combination--

• veg; a little out of a tin toms; bit of garlic,
• pasta/rice/spud [sweet potato if I remember:o ]
• grated cheese

Or he'll have some cooked chicken; tinned sardines/mackeral [NOT brine]; peppered mack fillet; hot dogs...He also has shredded wheat, runny porridge, weetabix or toasted granary with either a scrape of peanut butter, jam, cheese spread or marmite. His 'proper' food is JWB that gets mixed in too sometimes.

Is there not a way you could 'experiment' by mixing their usual food with the cheaper stuff? Perhaps starting off with a smaller proportion of the cheapie & gradually increasing it, to eek out the premier stuff, just to help a little, if you don't want to cook? There are also some very good ideas on the Pets thread..... I do this with our meals too:rotfl:

I forgot to update my sig from before 22/01 so I've got £66:11 to add on, cuz even tho that includes a £27 MrT yesterday, the offspring didn't pay lodge till late last night:o It also includes £6 for water filter cartridges, £3:99 for a mate's B'day pressie &£7 dog food.

So Lil-Me I'm declaring my Jan total as £305:72 leaving £44:28 in my Gift Fund.:T

Good Luck for the next one folks....think I'll stick to £350 to help me save for December.

Janeryan

"For me there will be 5 weeks in February due to DH weird pay scheme he will get paid on 29 Feb so will go for total monthly budget of £250.00.

See you all on the Feb thread"

Re the above had a rethink and decided that I should really only budget the same amount as January so will be setiing my target as £200 for Feb

Bobbykins

See now, old age creeping on at an alarmingly accelerated rate.....got so carried away with mopping up my keyboard that I forgot what I came on for in the first place!

Like Rosieben, I've found that being ill results in a good few NSD's!. Have had a couple of days in bed due to a horrid cold. Sadly, as we were virtually out of food by last night, I had to send DH off to the shops WITH A LIST!

Did he stick to it? Did he 'eck (sorry frogmaster, my prejudices are showing again:D ) He bought himself two fancy "vitamin" supplemented milkshakes (£1.18 EACH :eek:) He bought dog food for over £5 :eek: :eek: , and then he apparently spend 10 minutes debating on the best "bargain" for the potatoes I'd asked him to get and decided that 2 kg of Rooster spuds at £1.49 was better that 2.5kg of ordinary reds at £1.75 BLESS!

OH well, I really should be glad that he dragged himself out in the wind/rain at 9.00 pm to go shopping for me....he is a real sweetheart.

We are doing very well, overall, so far - being £75 below budget (hope I'm not tempting fate) this month. I suspect it's as a result of the bulging freezers we were left with after the obscene Xmas overspend Just off to update my siggie. I should hopefully manage the rest of the week until the end of my budget without spending anything else - wish me luck!

purplevamp

I thought I would start the grocery challenge today (I know... a bit late in the month but never mind). But I didn't write a list for OH to do shopping today as yesterday we went to London to see Linkin Park at the O2. Well, we got there and was having a bit of trouble finding where to go. A couple of ladies who work there asked if we wanted any help. Told them and they said "they're not playing here until Monday and Tuesday". I checked our tickets and they're for Tuesday :embarasse . So back off to London on Tuesday, more train fares. :mad: . And to top it all when we came home I had an extremely sore throat, blocked nose and headache, which still hasn't gone away.

I think I'll join the challenge in February. (If I remember when the month starts) :rotfl: :rotfl:

mrssnowy_2

Hi lil_me,count me in please

Skyegirl

Well my jan grocery challenge has come to an end and I chuffed that I managed to come in under budget, budget was £200.00 I spent £174:T for two adults and two children, I am soo pleased as my usual monthly shopping bill was abour £450:eek: I did have quite a bit of things left over from Christmas though, mainly biscuits, so I did have an advantage, so have set Febs budget a little higher. I have to say one of the main things that has helped me lots is having the breadmaker, which we got at Christmas, it means I am not going the supermarket on a daily basis to pick up a loaf, as I usually would get other things beside the loaf, things that I didn't really need!

Well done to everyone thats taken part and managed to reduce their shopping bill:beer:

lil_me

Well done Skyegirl, just added it to the totals list

I won't be counting anyone in until the February challenge thread starts, as soon as it does I'll be starting the new list, just easier. My month also starts on Monday. I am sure PW will post in here once it's up.

rosieben

I've just worked out my meal plan for the next couple of weeks and I know I wont need to shop again till Feb, so

Lil_me, my final January figure is a spend of £18.35 out of my £40 budget, Thanks!

Sassamac

I havent updated on this thread for a few days but my total is in my sig. I am a bit over budget (on a pro rata basis) but nothing drastic.

I have £16.55 to last me til the end of the month, but I shouldnt really need anything - something always crops up though so I hope I can still manage it.

I stocked up on nappies today as the offer ends tomorrow and picked up a couple of yellow stickers at the same time.
Ive had to have a reshuffle of the freezer to make it all fit, but then I took some things out for dinner tonight so there is more space now.

Last week I devised a fortnights meal plan for the first time in a long time and Im impressed with how well Ive stuck to it. Several times I have swapped days but so far we have eaten 8 meals from it in 8 days. the best thing about it is that everything is currently in stock (and more) apart from Friday night pizza which will be paid for in Feb and therefore not count towards this months GC.
With the yellow stickered stuff I have bought since I devised the plan there are several more meals also in stock (a whole chicken, and two packs of sausages spring to mind which is 5 or 6 'free' dinners next month).

My challenge for next month is to meal plan properly. I didnt think that style suited me as when I have tried it before I fell of the wagon before I even started. Im going to make an effort to go through the freezer and meal plan for anything thats not already accounted for. Then every time I buy something (the theory is only to buy meat from the chuckout counter or on offer and base meals around this) I will add a relevant meal to the plan to use it.