November 2025 Grocery Challenge

TravelCrystal

@mandco, the shop I get it from is called Kimber’s near Wincanton in Somerset. The prices may look expensive to start with but if you look at the meat boxes they do and buy in bulk, it works out more reasonably. Their chicken breasts for instance are huge and can easily be cut in half, or like I sometimes do cut into chunks and with additional ingredients will easily feed 4

T.C

PipneyJane

Good morning All

One shop to declare from yesterday.  We went to L!dl to pick up various free and discounted items, since DH crossed 3 price thresholds for freebies, while shopping with his mum and stocking up on booze for Christmas.  £47.63 spent on a free family pack mushrooms (was £1.69), YS dried cured ham 3x£1.59, 1kg frozen Four Berry Medley 2x£2.80, free 1L bath foam (was 89p), free bakery item 89p, chocolate-filled croissant 89p, 1L lactose free milk 3x84p, bran flakes 79p, 1kg tropical granola £1.95, fish cakes 2x£2.49, has browns £1.69, 1kg Salt. Chilli Belly Pork £7.99, 12 FR large eggs £2.89, 200g mixed nuts 2x£1.75, Camembert 2x£2.19, cream cheese 2x95p, and tinned sweetcorn 6x63p.

This brings our total spend to £137.90/£193.60 leaving £55.70 for the rest of the month.

I will have to go Sainsbugs this afternoon to pick up the paper, some carrots and some sandwich stuff for lunch.  (We’re picnicking at the club.)

Vague meal plan for the week, order subject to re-arranging:

Dinner tonight some of the pork belly, grilled, accompanied by potato croquettes and broccoli. (I’ll freeze the rest.)
Monday: Mr Julian’s Dhal, served on bulgar wheat.  (Haven’t had dhal for ages.)
Tuesday  baked Camembert with HM bread.  (Must make some more bread.)
Wednesday:  warm French lentil salad served with hot peppered mackerel.
Thursday something in the slow cooker, probably beef stew
Friday Bread & Cheese Pudding

- Pip

BogStandardBob

I had to do another £91 shop in Tesco today bringing me way over budget. This has been a very sobering process. I knew I was spending an awful lot on groceries but even now when I'm making a serious effort, it's still a lot of money each time I shop. 

At least I am keeping my receipts now with a view to trying to go through and see where I can improve but there honestly wasn't anything that could be thought of as a waste or not needed. I did have some offers e.g. 3 Head and Shoulders conditioners for £10 though and I was out of Centrum Woman tablets so I got the 3 for 2 on them. I guess a pretty easy substitute would be an online generic multivit but I guess I've bought into the marketing that my lady body needs the Centrum woman. 

I needed to get a gift that was only available on Sainsbury's Online shopping so I have done an order there with store room stuff (laundry tablets etc) to get it up to the £40 for the cheaper delivery slot.  If my order goes under £40 due to unavailability of what I've ordered, can they then charge me a higher delivery price?

Soontobeoap

If you go under basket price because they haven't got something you ordered they don't charge the higher delivery price. Just don't check your basket beforehand,

JingsMyBucket

Reporting in with a spend on Friday of £30.87 at Morrisons. £10 of that was spent on their Dine in for 2 for £10 deal because I wanted to try it. 1 main, 2 sides, and 1 dessert for only £10. I chose the Crackling Pork Belly Joint, mashed potatoes, the green vegetable medley, and a sticky toffee pudding. Talk about a good value and I’ll return to that on a regular basis. M & S also has a Dine In for 2 for £15 that I’ll likely try later this month. It’s a lot cheaper than ordering Dominos, KFC, McDonald’s, etc and the food is better! 

£52.93 / £70 week 1 budget spent. £17.07 left over and I’m generally rolling it over to the bulk which I haven’t touched yet.  

£227.07 budget and £70 bulk budget remaining. 

My week 2 runs from November 8 – 14. I’m going to M & S tomorrow to get some basics like milk, yoghurt, fruit, onions, etc. I’ve put in a Tesco order for next week that will have a couple lamb roasts that are half off and I’m restocking on canned tomatoes and toilet paper. The roasts will definitely come out of the bulk budget. 

Suffolk_lass

oceandreamer said:

Have spent another £30.83 over the weekend on bits really as I'm trying to eat out of the freezer and stores as much as possible.  I did get some baking ingredients but went with no list which is definitely an area I need to improve on.  Thanks @carboot_karaoke for the tip about My Replies - I'd never looked at that before and it makes it so easy to keep track on here rather than doubling up! 

£45.11/£300 

I am registered with Morries (and for their loyalty card) and I build my list up as I notice things I need at home, then I do a bit of a look in the fridge to check out veg and dairy, adding these or at least remembering them. As I walk round the store, I stick better to my list on my phone, doing this; removing the things I get and leaving any that are missing from the shelves. Then I know if it is an urgent or just a store-cupboard that needs one, next time they are on offer. 

I also record my spends in categories of groceries, store cupboard, and DD/subscriptions. I separately count the cat litter from the supermarket under pets and livestock which is a different budget, and treats and entertainment (which includes trips to the pub as well as things like ice cream or wine from the SM, and any occasional takeaways) - that way I can monitor what I am spending. I am old-school so my receipt gets marked with S for stores, T or P or left blank, so I tot it up and record it (it's another reason I minimise trips). I've been doing this so long that I only really get the storecupboard things when they are on offer (things like shower products are regularly on offer)

BogStandardBob said:

At least I am keeping my receipts now with a view to trying to go through and see where I can improve but there honestly wasn't anything that could be thought of as a waste or not needed. I did have some offers e.g. 3 Head and Shoulders conditioners for £10 though and I was out of Centrum Woman tablets so I got the 3 for 2 on them. I guess a pretty easy substitute would be an online generic multivit but I guess I've bought into the marketing that my lady body needs the Centrum woman. 

I am a bit of a sucker for certain brands too. We do have a bit river subscription which I run for non-fresh things that will store - so coffee and those particular vitamins are cheaper (180 size has always been better value than the 3 for 2 on 30 tablets because I get 15% off by having a minimum of 5 items per delivery). I do check periodically, especially for the longer month repeat items, and I regularly skip or change the date

As I mention to oceandreamer, I try to only buy my storecupboard things now when on offer or by finding the cheapest. It takes a few months to work out the rhythm of the offers, and particularly buying 6 jars of coffee and four boxes of tea from big river is always cheaper than the SM - you do need to get your timing right and move the dates around a bit, though, so once a month, do look and check. Having one cheap thing you can always bring forward helps me get to 15% each time

Maybe look at what you buy every time and also monitor if you have any food waste. Habit buying is a killer, as is over stocking - we call it paying the supermarket to store their food for them

Nelliegrace

That looks like very good quality meat @TravelCrystal. I checked the website and they will pack it in smaller portions. Alas no freezer space!

I did a pot roast yesterday and filled the oven with baking, a malt loaf, then a large apple pie, a mincemeat pastie with the leftover pastry, rock cakes using the leftover egg from putting a glaze on the pastry, and some banana and date flapjacks from the Heart Matters recipes. ( I used butter and rapeseed oil spread, chopped the dates and added some mixed seeds and a dollop of golden syrup, because they looked rather bland.)

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/healthy-snack-ideas?utm_campaign=3000096_HeartMatters_enewsletter_non-HCP_C_November1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=British%20Heart%20Foundation%20%28BHF%29%20&mi_u=8-10283192#flapjack

JingsMyBucket

Just returned from M & S for a top shop that ended up being more than I anticipated. So it goes. £39.20 spent on bananas, clementines, grapes, strawberries, a sack of onions, bell peppers, chilies, fresh thyme, lots of different yoghurt options, block butter, shortcrust pastry, YS big pot of hummus, YS pack of sliced chorizo, a big block of cheddar, grated mozzarella, and blue cheese. 

£39.20 / £70 Week 2 budget spent. £30.80 remaining until Nov 14. 

£187.87 budget and £70 bulk budget remaining. 

That should be it for most of the week. On Thursday evening we’re attending a holiday event at a local farm shop so we may buy some nice bacon while there. 

Pennypincin

I've £5 left from last week and have transferred it to the bulk fund.
I may have to dip into the bulk fund this week.
I was daft and somehow didn't shut the freezer properly last night, only to realise this morning and what was left was soft or looked like it was covered in snow.
An expensive mistake, although there wasn't much left other than a fairly full veg drawer, 5 homemade meals, a few wraps and about a quarter of a loaf of bread.
I will be using it as an excuse to defrost and clean the freezer.
Plus given experience of freezers being temperamental after leaving the door open whilst on, making sure it works still.

PipneyJane

Pennypincin said:

I've £5 left from last week and have transferred it to the bulk fund.
I may have to dip into the bulk fund this week.
I was daft and somehow didn't shut the freezer properly last night, only to realise this morning and what was left was soft or looked like it was covered in snow.
An expensive mistake, although there wasn't much left other than a fairly full veg drawer, 5 homemade meals, a few wraps and about a quarter of a loaf of bread.
I will be using it as an excuse to defrost and clean the freezer.
Plus given experience of freezers being temperamental after leaving the door open whilst on, making sure it works still.

I feel your pain @Pennypincin.  My freezer is equally temperamental, with a tendency to frost everything, despite my paranoid slamming of the door to ensure closure.  (I bought this fridge-freezer in a rush, when the previous one died in 2018, and it's never been good enough.  I have plans to replace it.)

Of the items that were in there, what can be cooked or reheated and then refrozen?  You may not have to throw out as much as you thought.

- Pip