August 2026 Grocery Challenge

PipneyJane

Afternoon All

While I remember, here are my findings re the Aldee all-in-one Dishwasher Detergent (£2.99 for 40 tablets). I started using it last weekend and, so far, it has worked well. No spots on the glassware and it completely cleared the burnt on/crusty edges of a lasagna dish used to make Baked Tomato and Feta Pasta. (No, the dish was not soaked first.)

I have multiple GC spends to declare:

• £7.72 in Sainsbugs on Wednesday, where I purchased 450g Yeo Valley Greek Yoghurt with Honey 2x£2, YS 80g Watercress £1.26, YS 200g spinach E£1.27, 2 bananas 29p, 1kg baby potatoes 90p.
• £40.42 in L!dl yesterday, spent on a free pretzel roll (was 35p), 500g wholewheat fusilli 2x75p, 1.5kg wholemeal bread flour 3x£1.09, 200g Gold instant flour £2.65, 500g bran flakes 85p, 1kg muesli £1.99, 700ml EV olive oil £4.59, 300ml crème fraiche 2x75p, 1L lactose free milk 3x99p, tinned pink salmon 4x£1.45, 1kg frozen berries £2.99, 800g extra-mature cheddar £4.75, 200g smoked salmon £4.49, 12 large FR eggs £2.89
• £7.67 in Sainsbugs today, spent on 8 bananas £1.39, peppers £1.69, 662g loose carrots 46p, spring onions 65p, 2kg kidney beans £3.48.

@merida88 and @Suffolk_lass the only thing that surprises me regarding C0stc0 is how I never get out of there without spending £100. Seriously, I can go in there with a list, to buy 2-3 items, and somehow come out with a cart full. 🤣

• Pip

ETA: This brings our August GC spend to £104.10/£180, leaving £75.90 for the rest of the month

And I found our missing £9! The spreadsheet that I use to track the Grocery Challenge had an erroneous £9 brought forward from last month. That cell is hard-coded, so I’d obviously duplicated the tab from a month where there was money b/fwd. D’oh! (I’ve checked the other unused tabs that I have and corrected them all.)

Elizabeth49

Hi, Well I've not done too badly this week.

Town on Friday:- £4.46 in Savers, cotton wool £1.10, descaler 0.99p, toilet duck x 2 £1.98, bags 0.39p

£6.85 in M&S - bananas, greek yogurt x 2, carrots and bakery.

I got my Sainsbugs delivery yesterday £61.23. It would have been more but I gave the chicken back to the driver as it was £4.00 over the estimated online price. I knew I'd be charged by weight but that was too much of a variation.

There were also two unavailabe items, baps and English muffins, so that was another £2.70 in the local shop yesterday.

Hopefully that's it until next weekend though as I'm trying to stay out of the shops during the week.

£148.59/£350 £201.41 remaining

merida88

Thanks @JingsMyBucket!

£17.44 spent in sainsbos yesterday morning - definitely a few off list spends because things we use and store well. I do need to check the receipt though as I can't quite recall everything I bought...

New total £237.45 / £550

thriftwizard

Flying past to record the weekend's spend of £154.16; this includes the non-perishables shop as we didn't actually need very much to replenish the store-cupboard. The week's menu plan is sorted, using stuff we already have, so it's all currently looking quite manageable…

carboot_karaoke

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are good, braced for the incoming heatwave 🥵 because of this l have tweaked the food plan, to a more acceptable level of hot meal 😂

I spent £42.67 at Tesco's with a further £8 for Persil tabs and a toilet bloo from the bulk fund. A friend also picked up two 1kg tubs of flora buttery from Costco at £2.99 each.

Grocery Budget £136.41 / £400

Bulk Fund £11.24 / £50

Grocery Challenge £ 147.65 / £450

The month is going well considering its the school holidays. However, with 3 full weeks left plus, entertaining and day trips planned l will do well if l come in on budget.

joedenise

@Greying_Pilgrim - I think it might be worth paying the £1 Co op membership just for the deals and money off coupons each week. I only ever use it for these and only if I want something I have money off something I'll use. As examples the current deal is 2 steaks and chips or sweet potato chips for £4 member price so £1 off. The previous deal was 2 pizzas and 4 small beers for £5. Money off coupons which change weekly often include £1 off or 50p off your shopping so can make your odd milk purchase much cheaper.

I check the deals on here before I go shopping to see whether to pop in!

Suffolk_lass

Having successfully switched off two freezers this year I am going to have to switch the commercial one back on. It's in the block built pig shed that has got to be emptied and extensively repaired/rebuilt so we need to move it into the cart lodge - wooden sheds are too warm - and that involves a major amount of shifting stuff first - BBQ leftovers and garden produce!

Greying_Pilgrim

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82097653#Comment_82097653

Actually, a very sensible proposal @joedenise . Thank you 👍

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Right, I've seen sense and signed up to be a c0op member. I was yonks ago, but for some strange reason they stopped paying us a dividend and we stopped hearing from them, so the card got cut up, or used as a window scraper or something. But yes, it makes sense to be a member, as the fee is easily 'made back' with a purchase, and moving forward, is enough of an incentive to buy some things from our local store - or, indeed 'co0ps around the globe'.……. 😉 Well, at least when out and about in the UK 😁

Thanks again @joedenise and GC'rs for sharing. It all helps 😁👍

Greying X

C_J

I have managed to avoid going in to any supermarkets so far in August, and have instead been eating from the freezer (it’s SO full) and supplementing this with items from two smaller Community Fridges (instead of the one I usually visit, which has just too much stuff). Last Friday I picked up strawberries, honey, lemons, 2 bags of caramelised&salted popcorn (which was delicious, I wish I had accepted more when they offered them to me!), a white sliced loaf, two pointed sweet red peppers, 2 ordinary red peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, a punnet of lovely red grapes (juicy and ‘crunchy’, just how I like them), some radishes and carrots - all for a £1 donation.

Today I called in to a different Fridge and collected 2 pints milk, a punnet of chestnut mushrooms, lots of red and brown onions, 2 bananas, a bag of sweet potatoes, 4 large baking potatoes, a bag of custard doughnuts, a pack of plant-based ‘beef’ burgers (I’ve not tried these before, but am going to cook them for dinner tonight - they look very tasty), a small sliced loaf of Warburton’s brown bread with added extra protein, and a handful of the Hello Fresh chicken stock paste sachets - I was pleased with those, as I use them a lot. This fridge is funded by grants so doesn’t ask for any donations, which is nice.

I turned the tomatoes, pointed pepper, cucumber and white bread (along with garlic, celery, spring onion, sherry vinegar and olive oil that I already had) into a jug of gazpacho which I’ve been having for lunches. The onions and mushrooms are going in to the slow cooker tomorrow with cider, chicken stock paste and some pork steaks which I am defrosting, and I think I will cook and mash a couple of sweet potatoes, season them with chilli flakes and use them to fill soft flour tortillas along with sliced jalapeños from a jar and grated cheese to make some pan-fried quesadillas. Lots of menu options.

Total spent so far this month is £1/£150.