March 2008 Grocery Challenge

weemissy

triage999 wrote: »

Hi All

Quick question if I may?

Is it at all possible for 2 adults and 2 children (and three dogs) to live on a budget of £300 per month for groceries? or would I have to eat that horrible value mince with bones and gristle in it to succeed :rotfl: this would have to include toiletries, cleaning stuff and dog food (this I get for £9.00 a 20kg sack which lasts 2 weeks)

I sound a bit of a snob when it comes to food, but I'm not, I just cannot bear cheap mince or sausages or anything made with mechanically formed [strike]bodyparts[/strike] meat as you can tell!

I do have a little money over but would like this to go on nice things during the month or saving for a holiday or nicer mince

So is it possible??

Hi triage999
we are trying to manage on £200 2ads 2kids & 1 dog, I think it's very doable. Like many I buy good quality butcher meat, fish, eggs, chicken etc but am trying to be sensible with what I do with it (and eat less of it too of course) - the animals themselves would expect nothing less:o I also like to know the source of my meat and chicken, but yes very doable and I will Iwill Iwill do it next month. Only £8 over march - and had DD's birthday included. Good luck

PS just managed (well OH) to open word document and have started to cut and paste - yipee!!!!

TheBees

Hello everyone. I GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

Tried hard to keep under our budget of £325 this month but it's been impossible and we are way over budget now. I've lost track of exactly how much we've gone over as I lost interest and motivation some time last week!!!! Probably about £50 over in total which is really sad!:eek: I have to go to the shops tomorrow for some essentials and will try to keep the spend low but will start afresh for April with renewed enthusiasm I promise!

We will take part in April and our budget will be £340 please from Thursday 3rd April to Thursday 1st May.

Hope everyone else is doing ok. I've missed about 5 days of posts but will get back on track soon.

KittyNorthEast - just noticed you've also gone over budget like us so I don't feel so bad now!!!

TheBees

applemella

Have a great recipe for homemade bean burgers which my kids love and they are really cheap to make

you need
1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot grated
small pepper finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp mild chilli powder
2 x 425g tins ready cooked beans(I use kidney beans,borlotti beans or pinto beans depending on what is in cupboard)
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Fry onion,pepper,carrot and garlic in olive oil until softened.
Add ground coriander and chilli powder.Stir for a minute.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mash beans well and mix the cooked mixture in with them.
Shape into 6-8 burgers and bake at gas mark 6 on a baking tray until golden brown.

candygirl

I'll be trying those APPLEMELLA, they look scrummy:p

jackiegibbo

Failed again spent £44.14 so final spend for MARCH CHALLENGE IS £216.96

applemella

Candygirl- they are yummy, even if I say so myself!!
The secret to them sticking together is making sure the beans are well mashed!!

mhe

appelmella - just cut n pasted your burgers and sent to my recipe folder - yum yum

triage999 - 2 adults, 3 children here - previous monthly spend was £400+ (in fact dont really know cos i just bought what i wanted when i wanted and never thought about what i was putting in the trolly or when/if i was going to eat it) now spending £250 and aiming for £200 as i am saving to move house. We dont eat any value products (apart from flour and have had value tinned tomatoes once or twice) and this includes toiletries and household products. Give it a go - its easier than you might think once you get into the swing of it.

Anyway April has started for me so off Dss and I trundled to Aldi today as you all keep saying how nice the fruit and veg is there. Bought tonnes of the stuff plus some yogs and cheese for DH. Red grapes only 49p for a big punnet:eek: . I thought it was 49p a lb and theyd weigh my grapes at the till but no it was 49p for the lot. Could not believe it and neither could my parents when i showed them (sad I know to show people your bargain grapes!!). I was pleased with my shop - came to £23.49 . Mind you not a grape to be had in the house now as 3 little monkeys have devoured the lot today!!! Feel another trip to Aldi coming on. Then went to Tescos for yeast - spent £13.27. HAd other things in the trolly but then thought I dont really need all of these, ive just put them in cos they were on offer and ive fallen for MrTs cunning marketing ploys - so i took them out and put them back on the shelf. Felt very pleased with myself!!:T

Welcome to all the newbies - -its nice to see lots of people wanting to join in

Well done to the sweeter smelling non smokers - keep it up your doing great.

jessie18

I cant believe since joining this site approx one month ago just how much money i was wasting previously. I no longer buy convenience foods, well not as much, and now take lunches instead of buying. I have been amazed at the information and recipes i have picked up too. On top of that i will be free of my £500 overdraft for the first time this month.

Yippee :j

Many thanks to everyone x

Frugaldom

5 days still to go. :eek:
I WILL stay within budget!
I WILL stay within budget!
I WILL stay within budget!

minibudgetgal

hi, have you tried the dried vegie mince that tesco do in bags where the whole food is kept? dont know how much it is but it goes a long way and tastes great. i rehydrate it with a stock cube in the water and it is lovely. quorn is dear you are right, but cheaper and better for you (imo) than meat
xx