May 2008 Grocery Challenge

taplady

searching_me (((hugs))) so sorry to hear your news x

MRSMCAWBER

Sosh wrote: »

Hubby thinks I've lost the plot. He caught me writing the date on my washing up bottle last night. I realised, with a week to go until Payday, I still have tons of stuff left under my bed because I completely overestimated how much I would need in a month. (Better to over than underestimate I suppose!) So I decided to write the date on things as I start them, to get a better idea of how quickly I use things up and he caught me.

Maybe I'm addicted :whistle:

:rotfl: :T ... suddenly i feel like an amature :T .... even i sat here and had to chuckle at the image of you sneaking around the house marking and dating everything I think it is brilliant...

gunsandbanjos

Looking forward to my 6th No Spend Day on Groceries:D Will need to give in and go to the shops tomorrow though:rolleyes: I need lots of NSD because i slightly overspent at the start of the month:o I have £56 to do me til the end of may so its a little tight:rotfl:

ifonlyitwaseasier

morning all,

been to tescos and sainsburys and spent £27.90. including loo roll, kitchen towel and whoopsied pork mince. :j

MrS have muller corners on bogof btw unlike MrT who have 4 for £2, works out cheaper on the bogof.

made some yog muffins yesterday and added chopped up dark choc , tasted perfect!!

and i've just heard that my library copy of "how to cook for a family...." gill holcombe, i'll have to go get that monday.

now i'm off to read some posts,

Flylady_Flower

Sosh wrote: »

Hubby thinks I've lost the plot. He caught me writing the date on my washing up bottle last night. I realised, with a week to go until Payday, I still have tons of stuff left under my bed because I completely overestimated how much I would need in a month. (Better to over than underestimate I suppose!) So I decided to write the date on things as I start them, to get a better idea of how quickly I use things up and he caught me.

Maybe I'm addicted :whistle:

Ha Ha, brilliant, we're all thinking of you sneaking around marking things up now, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I might just be doing the same soon... now where did I put that marker pen? :rotfl:

:jHad a NSD yesterday first one ever! whoo hoo.:j Had a really busy day which finished really late and both DH and me were too tired to cook, but decided to have beans on toast instead of getting a takeaway. were going to have the Chelsea buns I cooked with jam & custard for afters (like a jam roly poly!) but were too tired to even do that, it's amazing how much beans fill you up!:D

Am just finishing off some alterations to a great planner I downloaded off here - I need more spaces - and then I'm going to work out my meal plans for week. I've got freezer full of stuff so intend to use those up first and try not to spend for rest of month after this shop except on fresh stuff (note I said try!) Also going to make up next weeks sandwiches too - SOOOOO glad I found out you can do that...

Quick question. I froze 4 pints of milk for the first time the other day and am panicking a bit now as I looked at it in the freezer yesterday and couldn't work out what it was, as it had gone a yellowy/orangy/opaque sort of colour and looked like juice - is it supposed to go like that???

Happy MS to everyone,
Denise

MRSMCAWBER

Morning all

Well i have a NSD today :T .....have to add on a few more euros to my total after yesterday after treating myself to a whole water melon oh and a wedge of golden water melon -which i had never seen before

It is peeing it down her ...2 days now..still it saves me watering the veggies... although i did get soaked running round the garden attatching fleece to a few pots to stop anymore rain getting in..the neighbours must think im a complete fruit loop :rotfl:

Fancied something warming for dinner tonight.....and think hubby might need it as he is out golfing..in THIS weather ... so have made a Thai beef curry... and OMG it is stunning :j ...will add a couple of bashed up dried chillies to hubbies (after i have taken out my portion;) )

• the steak, asparagus and baby corn -whoopsies out of the freezer
• a tiny tin of coconut milk, fish sauce and thai green paste from the store cupboard
• a few onions and then a green pepper that was on its way out

I am amazed just how tasty it is and how quick it was to make ..and all from stuff i had in .... going to do it with rice with frozen peas in.. and make some naans..not strictly thai I know -but how can any HM bready product be wrong ?:p

have a great day everyone

Hi there denise... yep the milk does go a strange colour but once defrosted it goes back to normal -give it a good shake as hubby couldn't understand why full fat milk was tasting like skimmed -until i told him to shake it as it kind of seperates

YoungBean

Morning All!

Me and the fella are COMPLETE newbies to this. Only after reading the hundreds of post on MSE I have decided to sign up and get as much as help as possible! Need it!!

We are trying to do our own challenge, of meal planning and spending as little as possible on food, we have never had a set budget, it has always been £40 there, £70 there, £2 for bacon sarnies here, £10 for takeaways there! Until last week when we watched the Tonight show on ITV1, and we realised that we really need to sort ourselves out!

We are lucky in the sense that we dont have any children, or pets, or a mortgage, but we spend as if we are shopping for about 6 people, the amount of waste we have. Its no acceptable.

After talking to a colleague at work who follows OS, he reckons we should be spending about £35 a week for two of us.

Does this sound right??

So £140 a month on groceries?

Can it be done??

Any help and advice is greatly received!!

Sooz xxx

angelatgraceland

denisefowler wrote: »

Ha Ha, brilliant, we're all thinking of you sneaking around marking things up now, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I might just be doing the same soon... now where did I put that marker pen? :rotfl:

Quick question. I froze 4 pints of milk for the first time the other day and am panicking a bit now as I looked at it in the freezer yesterday and couldn't work out what it was, as it had gone a yellowy/orangy/opaque sort of colour and looked like juice - is it supposed to go like that???

Happy MS to everyone,
Denise

Its just that the milk has separated-it does that when it freezes. When you thaw it out, give it a regular shake -it will be good as new when completely defrosted and remixed.

angelatgraceland

YoungBean wrote: »

Morning All!

Me and the fella are COMPLETE newbies to this. Only after reading the hundreds of post on MSE I have decided to sign up and get as much as help as possible! Need it!!

We are trying to do our own challenge, of meal planning and spending as little as possible on food, we have never had a set budget, it has always been £40 there, £70 there, £2 for bacon sarnies here, £10 for takeaways there! Until last week when we watched the Tonight show on ITV1, and we realised that we really need to sort ourselves out!

We are lucky in the sense that we dont have any children, or pets, or a mortgage, but we spend as if we are shopping for about 6 people, the amount of waste we have. Its no acceptable.

After talking to a colleague at work who follows OS, he reckons we should be spending about £35 a week for two of us.

Does this sound right??

So £140 a month on groceries?

Can it be done??

Any help and advice is greatly received!!

Sooz xxx

Yes-it can be done easily! Im budgeting £75 pw for 5. £35 pw seems a good starting point. Even if you don't make it, you will be a lot more aware. Main thing to do is to keep a spending diary. Keep all receipts-ask for them in shops which don't give them(its only that they have switched off receipts on the till function)Say" I need a receipt "before they start totting it up. Nobody ever minds. I always tuck these in my diary or wallet of my purse and when I get home each day I write them in my big desk diary which is only kept for this.Maybe an exercise book will do the same but diaries are cheap at the mo-halfway through the year.I often use up old ones for this purpose.
Good luck!

kiwi88_2

Welcome YoungBean you'll find loads of advice and encouragement here :j

For the first month keep all your reciepts and note down the takeaway spends as that will give you an idea of what you're spending. Once you've got over the shock believe me that takes a while try reducing it a little at a time.

There are loads of recipe threads on the Old Style board that will help this one's a good starter http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=346932 (Thanks goes to PenelopePenguin)

Hope that helps