new challenge - grocery

Sarahsaver

Still no other takers? I have in the mean time upped this to another level!
Here goes...
Wrote a shopping list for this fortnight.
Went through it and crossed half of it out, dont need instant coffee when I have filter coffee lurking in the cupboard.
No point buying bread when I have some flour and yeast already.
Got enough meat and fish last time from BOGOFS at tesco, dont need any of that.
Found some sausages in the freezer that were presumed to be missing in action 8)
All i need to buy this FORTNIGHT is some cereals - cheap porridge and some value cornflakes, fruit and maybe some veg when ive used whats in the freezer.
Going to get someone who drives to get me a sack of spuds.
A very cheap shop this fortnight!

catznine

Me too MATH, I'm still trying to find the bottom of my freezer, , still full of fruit and veg from the summer! Have to make room for all the Christmas food I have to put in there (home made as far as possible, if I ever find the time!) I don't do an every week shop, instead I buy the bogofs when available then live on those for a while until the next ones come along also home bake where I can.

Lillibet_2

I typically spend £45 a fortnight on groceries etc for 2 adults, 1 dog, one cat & one hamster, then spend approx £5 on a Friday on "weekend treats". However, I can't take up the challange just yet, I too am trying to use up freezer contents.....must be that time of year!
From January we will be trying to live on just one salary (& stashing the other in savings in the expectation/hope of me getting pregnant & giving up work ;D) so budgeting will become even more controlled & strict than it is now. I am happy to give it a serious go through January & let you know how I get on

chloe99_2

I shop a bit like ssaver I guess - about £55 a fortnight in tescos and then £10 a week cash. In the "tescos" week I use the cash for meat, chicken, spices etc from local ethnic store, and in "non-tescos week" use the cash for fruit and veg. So, £150pcm on all groceries (including nappies, shower gel etc) plus I put about £10 pcm by for the one month in every 6 that has 5 weeks in it!!!

This is for 2 adults and one child.

But GET THIS - I can't quite believe it myself still - this is for mainly (but not yet entirely) ORGANIC shopping !!!. How do I do it? Well, when I switched from regular to organic I thought, mmmm, I'll only be able to afford bread and milk - it's too expensive. Then I switched to fortnightly tescos deliveries so NO MORE IMPULSE BUYING IN THE SUPERMARKET and no more CONVINCING MYSELF I NEEDED THAT EXTRA INGREDIENT when I only went in for bread and milk (why not just cook something different? I began to ask myself).

I now freeze the extra milk to stop me going to the shops that extra time and buying stuff I don't need.

Plus, as the food is 50% - 100% more expensive I've noticed my ATTITUDE to food has changed. The regular supermarket stuff is TOO cheap, we're a nation of food wasters and we don't treat it the way Granny used to. We don't respect our ingredients.

For example, I used to have a few veggies going over in the basket, wrinkly, soft and bendy, and maybe a bit brown on the ends, and I'd toss them (terrible I know). Now, if it ever got to that stage, I'd quickly peel them and put them in water to plump up - then work out what to cook.

Another example, I used to make my menu list then buy the items needed to cook the menu. NO NO NO!!! Now, I have an automatic list of basics - bread, milk, marg. Then I look what I've got in and see how many meals I can make from that. Then I make out the rest of the menu and the shopping list - trying to opt for IN SEASON and SPECIAL OFFER veggies.

I know, I know, you've all probably been living like this for years, but I'm part of the throwaway generation (33 yrs old), and this is a real revelation to me - and I'm enjoying it - it's kind of more creative and challenging.

MATH

I was raised part of the throwaway generation too. As a child all my mother's meals were 'just add water' the only way you knew ya veggies were cooked was when they were no longer frozen and nolonger held the oblong shape of the birdseye box ;D

All my moneysaving/waste not want not ideas are inbred from my grandparents who part raised me so I count myself lucky they passed them on.

16011996

you sound lucky that you had them to influence you math, and glad you pass it on to us here. ;D

Magentasue

I'm truly impressed with how little you all spend. I spend £40 a fortnight just on milk, butter and cheese. Another £20 on fruit and veg in the winter too. There are 6 of us, 7 sometimes and four of us are 16+ so I'm obviously going to spend more than smaller families but I am wondering how little I could spend. I never throw stuff away and we don't eat meat ... horrible feeling it'll be the wine that has to go (5 bottles of £1.96 supermaket red).

taxi97w

Hi Ssaver

I'd like to know how you make your own washing powder?

MATH

There are five of us at chez Man and visitors every weekend. Kidz take packed lunches and we have dinner and pud every night, we eat very well. I refuse to spend more than £50 a week on groceries including household stuff like washing powder, bleach etc.

I find it easier to plan meals to run on from one another. If I cook a Sunday Roast plan casserole for Mon to use up left over meat and serve with bubble 'n' squeek topping to use up left over veg. If I'm buying mushrooms for a dish I buy a big economy pack and plan 2/3 meals which need mushrooms so I don't have to throw money away. It really is cheaper to make your own meals rather than buy ready mades but I'm lucky to be at home all day and can fit 'from scratch' cooking into my routine.

Magentasue

Hmmm, I agree about the proper, grown-up cooking and that is mostly how we eat. But I still spend so much on basics - need a cow in the garden! ;D ;D