September 2026 Grocery Challenge

leftatthetrafficlights

Additional spends - soft fruit, onions, apples etc; can't find the receipts at the moment so will edit later but I do know the totals!

£61.23/£350

LotsOfTea

I needed to get lemons and garlic today as I totally forgot I needed them so while I was at the supermarket I stocked up on some bits I'll be needing for next week when we have family coming to stay for a long weekend. £27.21 spent in which brings my monthly total to £55.91/£300.

Soontobeoap

Yesterday afternoon I made up the mince that I got in M and S last week with a voucher. I made 3 lasagnas, 3 cottage pies, saved a bit back for savoury mince and rice tonight and another small amount with gravy to make 4 pasties. I am spreading the meat thinner and thinner and seem to be getting away with it. DH thought a lasagna last night tasted much better with M and S meat. Not sure wether that's psychological or not!

Nelliegrace

September budget for two pensioners at £5 a day, £150.

I short visit to Aldi, just 3 aisles taken slowly. Our new branch has a bench so I could sit down and let DH pack and pay.

£15.01 from grocery budget not including the bunch of spray carnations. The cod was very tasty, poached in milk which made a simple white sauce with butter and cornflour, served with new potatoes and steamed carrot, broccoli, cauliflower and sugar snap peas.

£71.38 spent.

K9sandFelines

£9.35 spent between Tesc@,£land and HB.

Stocked up on rice cakes, popcorn, bananas and barista milk. Only wanted one bag of popcorn, but they've put the price up £1.50 for one bag or 3 for £3. Forgot my clubcard ( went out without phone and relevant keys etc) ; so will hopefully get the other bits on Monday. Why is dill 40 p with CC in Tesc@ and 90p in Waitrose 😯. I didn't get either. Could have tried Marks and Sparks , but wanted to get home.

First time in ages I've managed to walk there without any pain 👏🏻.Normally, have to send one of my daughter's, wait til I'm on the bus or get it delivered. I'd gone out for bloods, so thought I'd take advantage of the quiet early stroll.

I did also need dehydrated mince which is down that way, but the shop was closed.

merida88

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82119890#Comment_82119890

Got hit with a cold, so have been to the shops for lemons, ginger etc. Darn it! Also managed in my fugue state to buy entirely the wrong cat food, so I will be toddling back off to the shops today to resupply the madamoiselle before we leave for hols.

I think we're on £13.75 so far, but there is a £25-odd amazon spend OH made, which could be grocery/household subscribe & save. Or it could be goodness knows what. He doesn't share my love of budget lines/spend categorisation.

JingsMyBucket

Morning. I decided to head out to M & S early this morning when it first opened at 8am to get in a morning walk and reduce my usual weekend shopping pack mule burden on Saturday. 

I spent £30.90 on strawberries (2.25), bananas (72p), clementines (2.00), garlic bread (1.25), 1kg Greek yoghurt (2.00), 350g cheddar (2.80), brie (2.00), jarred cranberry sauce (1.00), salad (1.60), cranberry & pecan bakery loaf (3.25), cheese and onion twist from the bakery (1.30), pain au chocolat (1.30), coffee beans (4.75), dark cooking chocolate (1/60), butter (1.85), and 3 cans of baked beans (1.20). 

Total £130.71 / £325 spent. £194.29 remaining. 

I’ll likely spend another £60 tomorrow between Morrisons and Lidl and need to rein it in. I need to restock on items like paper towels, pasta, eggs, 1kg tub of peanut butter, etc. I’ll also get the Morrisons 3 for £10 meat and fish deal and fill the freezer too. Below is a cooking plan for the next week or so in terms of ideas, lunches, and meal prepping. 

COOKING / EATING PLAN

• Salad for dinner — pull out the nice ham, cheddar, brie, pecan and cranberry bread, pickles, butter, etc and go at it. (Tonight/Friday) 
• Meatballs in sauce, garlic bread, and salad 
• Moong bean dal, rice, paratha 
• Chipotle chicken soup (leftovers) 
• Roasted veg to have on hand (zucchini, peppers, onions, etc) 
• Roasted elderly tomatoes — ditto 
• Quesadillas — roasted veg, chicken, cheddar, etc. 
• Orzo with asparagus and chicken 
• Egg salad 
• Orzo salad (roasted veg, roasted tomatoes, feta cheese)
• Stir fried vegetables and beef 
  

JingsMyBucket

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82132256#Comment_82132256

@Soontobeoap goodness, what size was that pack of ground beef? Was it 1kg? You're a whiz at making things stretch!

dollypeeps

Week 2 of Septembers GC

£61.56 in lidl

£ 9.91 in Aldi

£15,60 in Tesco which included a £5 off voucher

£2.98 in local butchers for 2 pots of pork dripping

£90.05 /£90.00 …….almost in budget

mandco

pet shop £8.55 sains £28.20 Aldi £34.17 b&m £6.78 Tesco x2 shops totalling £108.49 this includes a free pizza & a few extras to finish some club card challenge before they end - I was doing ok till went to Costco - went to pick up a birthday cake for ds and he wanted hotdogs for his birthday dinner - came out £110.32 lighter excluding the cake & hotdogs that said I did get a fair bit including 7kg of cat food @ 45% saving vs supermarket, 2 pks of gluten free breaded chicken steaks which I’ve frozen in individual portions, 4 pk of pork tenderloin, 5kg sugar 2 x large lemon drizzle loaf cake on offer @ £3,99 I’ve sliced and frozen 1 & a bunch of lunchbox fillers several items will last longer than the month too. £296.51 total to add £529.24/£800

I do need to pick up a couple of bits tomorrow but wasn’t well at the weekend and ended up doing my main shopping mid week instead so don’t need a full shop this weekend - hopefully that will help even things out.