March 2008 Grocery Challenge

lil_me

NSD on groceries because I haven't left the house apart from dealing with walking the woofers, good thing about having them with me is I can't go into a shop! Did have to pay for my Kleeneze order which comes out of a seperate budget. Won't be spending tomorrow either.

Suppose so far I'm not doing bad at all, 3 weeks almost gone (tomorrow) 2 weeks left and over half my budget left. Meal plan needs 'finalising' tonight then will do next weeks day by day shopping list (planning just to use F&V shop and coop)

jackie, I have a doughnut maker, doesn't get used all that often to be honest. I think I would use an icecream maker more.

saver03

Don't think I am doing very well with this challenge as I only have £14.65 to last us the rest of the month:mad: It is my 1st month though so I just guessed at what I [strike]thought[/strike] hoped it would be! As well as food we have been buying toiletries and a BIG box of washing powder. At least now I will have a better idea of what to budget for next month and I already have a couple of next months meals in the freezer :A

Frugaldom

Saver, I think everyone spends more than they first anticipated, so I wouldn't worry about it your first month. Use this as the trial and error month and keep a note of what you use as you use it, that way it's easier to compile a shopping list for topping up rather than buying blind and overspending on stuff you didn't need (my downfall originally). Good luck and have fun here. It's a fantastic thread to be part of, with loads of help and support.

Weezl - I have switched to powdered milk and, as long as it's pre-mixed and in the fridge in a carton, nobody notices it. It's a huge saving for me, as we could go through about £5 worth of milk a week with the amount of puddings, sauces and, even, coffees that get made here.

skintscotslass

jackie_w wrote: »

P.S your so lucky to come from Edinburgh. I absolutely love Edinburgh, especially the Grassmarket lol. Im a weegie:D .

I know!! Unfortunately cant afford to live there anymore. Have resigned myself to being a country bumpkin for the time being :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: One by one the family have all moved out here and its really only my brother who still lives in the town (as I still insist on calling it!!) I spend a bit of time in Liverpool as well, as that's where my BF lives. It reminds me very much of Glasgow. The Victorian buildings, the warmness and friendliness of the people, decent shops My fav times of year in Edin are Dec and Aug. I'm one of the few locals who loves the festival

icandream

Oops. Fell off the wagon a bit this evening and we splashed out £21 on an Indian. :eek:
I blame this on the shabby chic thread, as I was rushing all over doing shabby chic things and lost the plot as regards cooking. :rotfl:Have updated my sig.
However, haven't been out or had a takeaway for a long time, so I have to say, it was very nice.

Downsizing__for_sanity

The only recipe I know which you could use the salt/sugar mix for is if you make "crispy seaweed" at home - basically very finely shredded Savoy cabbage deep fried and about a tsp each of salt and sugar added. Costs a fortune at the Chinese takeaway but easy to do at home...if you like Chinese food! (Also very handy if you ever end up with food poisoning... add to orange/fruit juice for a rehydration mix...sorry but a. I'm a med student and b. I hate wasting things! Don't bin it!)
DFS

Bobbykins

Hi Weezl, I've notice a couple of times you've mentioned that you make your own paneer. Pardon my ignorance but, if I remember rightly, that's a sort of cheese isn't it? I'd love to have a go at that. Any chance at all that you could post your recipe please?

thanks
Bobby

carolt2

Evening all, another quick update.
Went to tesco after visiting relative and spent £31.88.

Managed to get some whole rainbow trout that had been reduced to 80p per pack. 2 fish per pack.
So Have got 4 trouts in the freezer for £1.60 which should have cost £6+. Very impressed with that.
Managed to stock up on fresh fruit and veg.
Was gong to buy some of the cravendale milk thats on offer but they had sold out.
Will pop in on monday morning while its quiet.

Signature updated.

Downsizing__for_sanity

Quick update from the Downsizer... little D was up early so managed to get round Tesco by 08.30! Spent a lot though... addding £84.02 to my total (haven't worked out sig thing yet). But that includes nappies, wipes which were on offer, tights for the little one and a load of salmon...

I spoke to the fishmonger at Tesco last week and he told me all the salmon would be half price this week - so I bought 2 whole sides today! (He worked out last week that the £2/fillet price worked out at about £20/kg...today reduced to £5.99kg. We usually buy 2 pieces @ £2 each but bought 2 sides today totalling £14.53... which gave about 22 salmon fillets! So we will mainly be living off salmon for the next wee while but DH loves it and also got lots of trimmings to use for quiches etc. Hopefully it will average out through the month....

purplevamp

Downsizing__for_sanity wrote: »

haven't worked out sig thing yet...

Hope this helps:-

At the top of this page underneath where it says Welcome, Downsizing_for_sanity it says Main Site Forum User CP, etc

Click on User CP
On left hand side is your Control Panel
Click on Edit Signature
A box pops up for you to put in whatever you like.
Then click on Save Signature
When you need to update it just go to User CP, Edit Signature and update.

Hope I've written it correctly for you to understand - good luck