June 2008 Grocery Challenge

ladyroughneck

Hi Knittingnelly, just type your target into a post, highlight it in red or something and it will be picked up by the lovely Mrs Mc who will add you to the list for July hth

yellowmonkey

Hi

Have gone through the £300 barrier in this my first month so at least I will have a target for July

Have a good one


ym

dink1

Hi GUys,

I only have two days left and have sorted food out for all meals....so am declaring Junes budget was £249.49 thats 51p under budget!!!!! FEEL SO PROUD OF SELF Couldnt believe it, thanks to everyone on here. I raced downstairs this morning and couldnt wait to get on to declare. Even shoved DH off computer (he thinks I am obsessed! does anyone else's other halves think so?) I am now trying to meal plan for July it will be a 5 week month for me so still considering budget would like to keep it the same but may be unrealistic what does anyone else think?

Belfastgirl23 - I thnk set means when the fruits begin to grow. BUt I am like Mrs m I am starting to feed mine now.

Mummygems - there are always stuff such as cucmber sticks and fairy cakes, how old are the kids involved?

Sccoterwife - The only advice I can give is meal plan, meal plan, meal plan, and stick to the list but I too am a newbie and find it virtually impossible to stick to the list. I am hoping it will get easier!

Sav3R - Try half a teaspoon of baking soda, you should see a big difference.

SFT - You keep going girl! I think its great that you will be able to go away somewhere. hold on to them dreams. Its not easy when your dh job situation is as it is (know this from experience this month!) But you will get there!

Mandymoo - sorry you had a rubbish day yesterday, lets hope your new bm is loads better.

Bigbird - sorry to hear about your hols, have you thought about buying a bottle of nice but cheap plonk and a box of choc or popcorn, a good dvd and have an evening or half a day in bed pretending you are away?

Knittingnelly - I am sure everyone will tell you its different for each person. I usually include alcoholic drink, cleaning supplies and all food (bar the very very occasional meal out) but not clothes. You say you wrote down your receipts for a week, I think its suggested that you do that for a month and then gradually cut back. I on the other hand stuck my finger in the air and guessed a figure and have tried to keep down to that. (first month I have achieved this as you can see) Its about being realistic and not wasting stuff thats all. Good luck anyhow and dont be affraid to ask questions. PS batch cooking and home made stuff really tastes better and is cheaper.

DINK1

ifonlyitwaseasier

WELL DONE DINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


MrsM - can i set my july target at £115 again? have a couple of meals out then but as they are wedding related thats a whole nother budget to be spent. i'll declare junes on saturday

pennypinchingmum

Hello all.

Mrs m- big hugs and loves.

Well as usual i started off the month with high hopes and expectations and as far as the food budget goes i have managed to do o.k. But and this is a big but...I bought a sofa, a computer desk, a new wardrobe, bunk beds and new storage boxes. The house is looking fantastic my bank balance isn't! So the plan is to have lots and lots of NSD. So i'm going to have to work really hard. Back to baking and lentils. Forward planning, shopping lists and meal plans. The good thing is it's reminded me (now we dont have any money again) that i've started to waste money on silly things and homebaking and budgeting is best for all concerned. I guess i know why we've gone out and spent lots of money this year as my f-i-l passed away at christmas, i just cant seem to say no to my husband and he likes spending money. We're not in debt or anything but not much has been saved, if you know what i mean. Hmmm i think i'm rambling on.

So well done all of you that are on or under budget and Good Luck for next time all of you who havent quite managed it.
200 again for july please and i am gonna be strict with myself...i hope!

So this is the second day of my 7 day NSD plan. So far so good.

mummygems

dink1 wrote: »

Mummygems - there are always stuff such as cucmber sticks and fairy cakes, how old are the kids involved?

DINK1

Hi Dink. I have a range from 18 months to 12 years and then their parents as well. One party is for DD1 who will be 2 years old and the other party if much larger for DD2 as its her naming day.

I would like to make as much as possible from scratch but having a demanding 9 week old baby who doesnt sleep much during the day can sometimes hinder my progress.

OrkneyStar

knittingnelly wrote: »

Hello all
I'm very new to this so please someone tell me if I get it wrong!
At home there's me, DH and three lads, two of whom are teenagers. (Mind you the little one eats more than the big two ) I am pants at food shopping and organising. We don't spend money on clothes or cars or anything like that - we are real 'make do and mend'ers' but our food budget is dreadful - abslutely out of control :eek: This week I saved all my receipts and wrote EVERYTHING down and in six days I have already spent £126 (not counting a takeaway on friday which I'm too embarrassed to add...) and that was me thinking I was being REALLY good There must be weeks when we spend a lot more than that - shameful. No wonder we lurch from skint to broke and back regularly...

You lot are an inspiration and I am determined to get that bill down but not sure where to pitch my budget for July. I am at home till September ( bl$$dy idle student :rotfl: ) so I have time to shop and cook etc Any advice welcomed gladly! Where and how to I submit my best guess for next months expenditure?

Welcome.
I am a relative newbie to the GC, came in slightly over hoped budget this month with my first MSE GC (also used to do my own little challenges before this and managed to keep within budget then- its all on my sig if anyone actually bored enough to look at it all lol).
Many people here would suggest that for the first month the most important thing is to keep all receipts and add up what you are spending- you seem to have started this already. Also note how much food, if any, that you throw away and make lists of what you actually have in the freezer/store cupboards. You could start meal planning (loads of recipes around here) and this tends to help make it easier plan/shop/reduce waste. The next step would be to think about budget, some people jump right in and reduce whereas others take wee steps! I tend to vary my budget to stock up some months or to empty the freezer other months.
hth and others will have loads of advice for you too :j

MRSMCAWBER

Afternoon all

Well i have busied myself by re-jigging the freezers... bringing all the hm portions up into the freezer in the kitchen for hubby to use whilst im away and taking things like the salmon portions down into the basement freezer as there is NO way he will eat that through choice ...

Last night i took 2 packs of mince out of the freezer and lots of steak...
So the steak is now a thai curry -done in the SC and next im going to turn the mince into a huge batch of chilli...hubbies fave..and i don't like it much so he can eat as much as he wants whilst im away :T ... I got up and realised i had no tins of red kidney beans left...i was determined not to shop and then remembered i have some dried ones :j so i have put them to soak and will cook them and whang them in the chilli later..

So at least i know he has the following in the freezer he can just grab:-

• thai beef curry and hm naans
• chilli
• pizza
• hm sausages
• hm soups for lunches at work
• going to make 2 loaves and slice and freeze in 2s
• 15 pieces of super yummy banana/coconut cake from yesterday mmm
• kiwi muffins

so on thursday night we just need to nip out and get a few salad bits (the 1st spend of July).... he is using the salad leaves from the garden -he loves salad :T ,
He has told me not to get any milk as we have a bottle of cravendale unopened and he will use the coffee mate if the milk runs out... so i think whilst im away he is going to do a good job of using up odds n sods
we have plenty of cheddar/feta/goats cheese, salami, chorizo in the fridge for his salads

I have to take hubby round the garden tonight explaining how different things are watered and how often and which cucumber flowers he needs to take off -as he is on gardening duty whilst im away :eek: :rotfl:

right i had better get off and get the chilli made... gonna wang that in the slow cooker as well
have a great day everyone..hope everyone is well and looking forward to a nice new month :j

linzmac_2

mummygems wrote: »

Hi Dink. I have a range from 18 months to 12 years and then their parents as well. One party is for DD1 who will be 2 years old and the other party if much larger for DD2 as its her naming day.

I would like to make as much as possible from scratch but having a demanding 9 week old baby who doesnt sleep much during the day can sometimes hinder my progress.

Ooh I know that feeling well!! This is my first, though, so don't have others to deal with too!

Right, well, what about things like cheese straws/breadsticks, quiche, pizza slices, wedges, dips, pasta/rice/potato salad. A bit of prep required but you can do bits in stages and don't really need to stand over things so if you get interrupted it won't be a problem.

Sorry, not very imaginative....sure others will have some great ideas!

Managed NSD yesterday but will definitely have to go for water today. Quite pleased, though coz thanks to my Mum bringing me a couple of reduced bits she picked up on Sat, leftovers from dinner with my Dad & his wife at night, contents of our veg box this week and some recipes posted on here I have been able to re-jig my meal plan this week and bump some things to next month! :j Will need to get a few basics/one offs (like dw rinse aid) at the beginning of next month but definitely have enough meals for the month already in the freezer so feeling very confident that I will be able to slash my budget for next month at least!

Yay dink1 :T ...fab result for your first month-well done!

Linz x

mummygems

linzmac wrote: »

Ooh I know that feeling well!! This is my first, though, so don't have others to deal with too!

Right, well, what about things like cheese straws/breadsticks, quiche, pizza slices, wedges, dips, pasta/rice/potato salad. A bit of prep required but you can do bits in stages and don't really need to stand over things so if you get interrupted it won't be a problem.


Linz x

I am glad I am not the only one who gets interrupted all the time by the kiddies lol. Sometimes I think its just me!

Thank you for these ideas, I shall add them to my list and work out which ones I can make and which things I need to buy.