December 2024 Grocery Challenge

carboot_karaoke

Morning all, 

A couple more spends to declare after using my save £5 off £50 at Tesco's l spent £47.62 and £19.35 from Lidl.

New Totals £313.82 / £500

@PipneyJane l feel your pain. I often get meal plan fatigue . If l leave it till the day to decide what were eating l literally cant think and it turns into freezer food or beans on toast.

Some of the things on this months food plan includes:
Lasagne
Hunters chicken
Cottage pie
Tuscan Chicken
Sausage and mash
Chilli & Rice
Brunch
Pulled Pork and crusty bread 
Burrito
Greek Chicken, Tzatziki
Thai Green curry
Jerk Chicken 
Roast Dinner
Pulled Chicken

As you can see we live off chicken, mince and sausage 

thriftwizard

I've missed the weekly market, having hared up to Wales for a couple of days to greet our utterly gorgeous new granddaughter! And we'll be feeding 9 tomorrow as the rest of the gang wish to gather for a belated birthday celebration. So the budget's under a bit of strain this week, as I'll certainly need to acquire various bits to replace those that vanished whilst DD2 & I were away. However I'm not planning to jump the gun & buy bits before I know what's really needed; there's fair bit in the freezer & store-cupboard & the kale, tree cabbage & leeks at the new plot have got to come-&-cut-again cropping size now. However I will need to make another batch of mince pies...

Suffolk_lass

thriftwizard said:

I've missed the weekly market, having hared up to Wales for a couple of days to greet our utterly gorgeous new granddaughter! And we'll be feeding 9 tomorrow as the rest of the gang wish to gather for a belated birthday celebration. So the budget's under a bit of strain this week, as I'll certainly need to acquire various bits to replace those that vanished whilst DD2 & I were away. However I'm not planning to jump the gun & buy bits before I know what's really needed; there's fair bit in the freezer & store-cupboard & the kale, tree cabbage & leeks at the new plot have got to come-&-cut-again cropping size now. However I will need to make another batch of mince pies...

Congratulations @thriftwizard. You sound thrilled x

JingsMyBucket

Happy Sunday evening everyone. I have a few spends to declare from the past week. 

£10.05 at Savers for 3 bags of cough drops, Listerine, trash bags, and a Snickers bar. 

£2.00 for milk at a farm store 

£67.99 at Aldi for a big shop. It’s the first time I’ve been there in a very long time and decided to get some of our basics along with items like microwave curries to try out their wares. They were pretty good and we’ll definitely get them again.

£12.72 at M & S for eggs, carrots, bananas, clementines, coffee, YS yoghurts, YS tamarind daal ready side dish. 

£117.83 / £400.00 spent. £282.17 remaining. 

We are definitely heading back to Aldi for some of our holiday shopping. The yoghurt and kefir from there tasted good to Mr. Jings and they were half the price. Sausages were also legit, sliced ham, etc. We are planning to have a Tesco order next Saturday 21/12 but we’ll stop into Aldi first to have a look around then alter the Tesco order before the deadline. If the 15p in Aldi doesn’t look up to scratch, I’ll just add it to the Tesco order, etc. 

We’re also having Christmas lunch with his sisters but we’d like to pick up something for Boxing Day. I’m thinking of stopping  into Aldi on the 24th to see what they have YS. Has anyone done this before? 

I’m also starting a long term restock list for later this month / early January. We’re likely to run out of dishwasher tablets then as well as detergent. Before preparing dinner this evening I also noticed how low we are on staples like couscous, rice, foil, etc. Those are also going on the Tesco order too. 

JingsMyBucket

Evening folks. OH bought some local honey today for £8.00 and I wanted to record it before I forgot. I also put in an iHerb order for different flours yesterday and that came to £24.04. 

I’ll probably venture to M & S either tomorrow or Wednesday since we’re out of yoghurt and bananas. I’m really happy that we’re at less than 50% of our budget even though we’re half way through the month. Long may it continue!

£149.87 / £400.00 spent. £250.13 remaining. 

TravelCrystal

Morning folks 
Just an outing to Lidl’s to report. 

So wanted to buy their £1.50 box today, they were full of loads of lovely things.
We are on our Wedding Anniversary outing for a couple of nights at Warners on Friday so it would have been a waste.
 Did pick up some free Emmental as I reached the £100 spend.
Stocked up on other cheeses and bits and pieces for Christmas/New Year’s Eve.
Eggs, flour, marg, t bags and washing liquid 
Total spent £37.29

Total so far £529.86/£600

Have a good rest of the day

T.C

Pennypincin

£20 left over from last weeks budget, so it's been put onto the bulk fund.
Nothing been spent this week so far.
I'm bound to venture out in the next few days to do some food shopping.

MissRikkiC

Spends to report, 2 take aways. One for the family at Burger King, a place I would never venture to but it was next door to the where the Christmas tractor run started and then the other was last Friday, Chinese from town. It was bloody delicious so it was in no way a waste  

Essentially £50 though that isn’t budgeted for within here tbh! Not that there is a budget for it so it’s got to come from somewhere 

Nelliegrace

Less shopping than usual because DH has had several buffet meals out with bowls matches. The football club gave the volunteers a lunch, one sports club where we are both members, had a bring and share tea, and another had a dinner. I missed the local WI lunch and the Smallholders’ bring and share lunch this year. 

DH fetched milk from the local Co-op £3 for 2x 4 pints with the loyalty card. 
We shopped at Aldi for milk, cream, fruit, dried fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts, cream crackers, and pâté. 
I bought 2 packs of lean beef mince half price, and salmon pieces 30% off, which have been frozen in portions.

For Christmas I bought Aldi “Winterblend” ground coffee x2, £2.49 instead of their coffee beans, a bottle of English vintage cider £2.39 to have with Christmas dinner, and a box of shortbread fingers, (flour, sugar, butter and cornflour) £1.49. That is most of the Christmas food shopping done! Just a chicken and the budget vegetables, and the usual groceries next week.

Budget £155, £105.28 spent, £49.72 left.

A friend on a forum in South Australia wrote, “I took in Costco on Sunday …no sign what so ever of Christmas ….nothing ..I asked where’s all the Christmas stuff and the assistant said …we don’t have any.” 

Doesn’t that sound WONDERFUL! 

carboot_karaoke

Evening All,

Two more spends to declare, £4.90 at Asda for squash and our fav hot chocolate that was on offer.

I then spent £44.49 at Tesco, making an overall saving of £38.40 including a save £7 on £50 and save £2.75 on £11 on meat, l was very pleased with myself sticking religiously to my list, l brought a leg of lamb and a side of salmon, both of which are in the freezer to use in the new year  

I did have more things to buy, but because l have my final save £5 on a £50 spend voucher to use from the 23rd l decided l could wait a few days to get them.

I also put £10.03 fuel in my car at the local petrol station, ill fill up at the cheaper place by my work before breaking up for the Xmas hols.  

New totals £373.24 / £550 Its going to be very tight 

Food £363.21 / £500
Petrol £10.03 / £50