April 2025 Grocery Challenge

TravelCrystal

So I had to bite the bullet and go shopping. 

In the middle of painting our bedroom so needed to wait 4 hours for coat 2.

Had to get grapes and eggs at the weekend at Asda  £3.18

Today went to Lidl’s, haven’t been this month so had a free cake.
I also managed a free bag of potatoes as I had to get beer and chocolate for DH, his money, my ap 🤣

Fruit and veg, frozen fruit, a consignment of H.C.B’s, can’t be bothered to make any this year ( in the freezer ) Chorizo, tins of tomatoes, Tom purée and passata, cheese of varying sorts. Milk, yogurt, veg oil, Y.S muffins, tuna, pasta and more eggs and granola for a change. £37.59

Also had a £5 coupon to spend next week, only have to spend £5 to get it, crazy.
I will be there, particularly as I need to stock up on the cheap veg that is going to be available.

Total £121.60/£250

Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful sunshine 🌞 

T.C

WickedLady4

ET22 said:

Hi, ive just been reading some posts. Do people think 25 pounds per week for one adult is ok or should it be more like 30 or over? Im having to rein my spending back even further due to an unforeseen circumstance for the next 12 months and any little helps x

I would struggle with £25 pp per week. If you are vegetarian that would be cheaper and it might also depend on how well stocked your cupboards are currently.

I presume you'll be using Olio and local Community fridges to pick up free food and working around that?

Good luck anyway  

JingsMyBucket

Howdy y’all. Some good news borne of a weird shopping turn. I bought sliced ham at Lidl on Sunday, April 6th. Mr. Jings had some for dinner and as we were packing it up to put it back in the fridge, he noticed the expiry date was actually April 5th! I contacted them via customer service about this and just heard back yesterday. They gave me an £8 voucher our troubles. So that will come in very handy over the next couple weeks. On to the spends! 

£1.25 yesterday at Iceland for Philly cream cheese for our friends. That’ll go along with the salmon I got them. They can slather both on some good bread for breakfast.  

£4.30 spent at M & S for bananas, garlic bulbs and 2 packs of chicken leg quarters for dinner last night. I looked in the freezer Sunday evening and realized we were totally out of chicken. That’s our easy food option so needed a small restock. 

Our budget: £124.61 / £400 spent. £275.39 total remaining.  

Visiting Friends budget: £58.20 / £100 spent. £41.80 total remaining.  

I’ve also put in a Tesco order for Saturday morning and our friends arrive Sunday evening. It’ll mostly have food for us but a few items for our friends too like bottles of tonic, sparkling water, etc that I don’t need to be lugging around town. In that order is also a half priced lamb shoulder and our bigger restock of chicken. Yesterday I went through the cart and removed a tub of Philly (£2.25!) and a half priced pork shoulder roast. We already have that cut of meat in the freezer so it was just overkill for now. I can use the £8 Lidl voucher to stock up later in the month if need be. 

LotsOfTea

ET22 said:

Hi, ive just been reading some posts. Do people think 25 pounds per week for one adult is ok or should it be more like 30 or over? Im having to rein my spending back even further due to an unforeseen circumstance for the next 12 months and any little helps x

It's hard to say what the right amount is for you as everyone is different. It depends what you normally eat and what shops you've got available nearby.

Maybe start by working out what you normally spend in a month and, if you're able to, reduce it gradually over several months rather than drastically in one. It makes it easier to keep motivated and learn as you go along. 

It helps to make an inventory of what you've already got in the fridge/freezer/cupboards and plan some meals around those things. There's a big recipe list at the start of the thread and if you need suggestions for ways to use any ingredients up the lovely people here will definitely have lots of great ideas. 

Good luck and ask any questions you need to, we're a friendly bunch!

carboot_karaoke

LotsOfTea said:

ET22 said:

Hi, ive just been reading some posts. Do people think 25 pounds per week for one adult is ok or should it be more like 30 or over? Im having to rein my spending back even further due to an unforeseen circumstance for the next 12 months and any little helps x

It's hard to say what the right amount is for you as everyone is different. It depends what you normally eat and what shops you've got available nearby.

Maybe start by working out what you normally spend in a month and, if you're able to, reduce it gradually over several months rather than drastically in one. It makes it easier to keep motivated and learn as you go along. 

It helps to make an inventory of what you've already got in the fridge/freezer/cupboards and plan some meals around those things. There's a big recipe list at the start of the thread and if you need suggestions for ways to use any ingredients up the lovely people here will definitely have lots of great ideas. 

Good luck and ask any questions you need to, we're a friendly bunch!

 @LotsOfTea has summarised perfectly 😊 welcome @ET22

ET22

Thankyou @LotsOfTea and @carboot_karaoke

I think im going to aim for 25 a week at first from this friday onwards and see how i get on for the rest of April  

Soontobeoap

£14.46 spent yesterday in Aldi. My DH came with me. ( I will be glad when outdoor bowls starts!🤣) Anyway you have guessed it, a pkt of ginger nuts and 2 pks of 4 x toffee crisps found their way into the trolly.

I don't want to nag so I have told DH that we are both carrying too much weight and that I am going on a diet. For the last 3 days I have not eaten any biscuits or extra snacks ( I have no will power so eat them when he brings them home) and for 2 weeks I have been taking the neighbours dog for a walk with DH to up my exercise. He is beginning to show signs of being annoyed with himself so hopefully this works and marital bliss will remain in tact.

Blackcats

Well today's small Lidls shop turned into a higher spend than anticipated.  Easter gifts are included in the spend and if the monthly budget can cope with it, then I'll leave the spend allocated to groceries, otherwise I will take the money from my gifts spending.

we bought lots of fruit and veg and the big box of the cat's fancy food.  If the budget is stretched at the end of the month we have a few batch cooked meals in the freezer that will help us.

£211 remaining.  3 shopping trips til the end of the month.

sams247

Spent £18.37 at Sainbs on top up shop that included stuff to make a cake for work celebration, and £10 for community food.  Need to be careful as the £££ are disappearing fast.  Food seems to be going up every time I visit!

GSDMum

ET22 said:

Hi, ive just been reading some posts. Do people think 25 pounds per week for one adult is ok or should it be more like 30 or over? Im having to rein my spending back even further due to an unforeseen circumstance for the next 12 months and any little helps x

Hi @ET22, as been said, managing on £25 per week depends on your circumstances and what your diet is. I'm presuming you don't have any diet restrictions and have access to cooking facilities, a fridge/freezer, and you can cook basic meals. 

Think I'd purchase a largish piece of meat per week, such as a chicken, joint of pork, ham joint, stewing steak, mince, and make several meals with the meat. For instance a large £5 roast chicken can be turned into a roast dinner, chicken salad, coronation chicken, chicken mayo filled baked potato, and finally soup using the carcass for stock. Excesses can be labelled, bagged and stored in the freezer. Stewing steak can make extra meals for the freezer. Liver and onions is quite cheap and can be frozen. Mince can make a large lasagna which freezes well. 

A large lump of mature cheddar cheese can be so versatile, I'm thinking omelettes, baked potato filling, sandwiches, cheese on toast. 

Eggs are so good for keeping up your nutrition. 

Breakfasts; oats, fruit.

Whenever I've gone on a frugal spell, it's always boredom that spoils it, so that's something to watch for. Making your budget target into a sort of a game can be addictive. Good luck!