Ugh.... only came in needing loo roll and cat food and came out £38 lighter. But did get a HUUGGE gammon on special offer at £6 and BOGOF on muller corners so at least have some snacks for the month
Off to think about making a sponge cake good luck all
It has taken me a couple of days to read through the whole of this thread!! Got loads of fab ideas from you all and will be joining in the July challenge. We need to keep on top of the spending Got loads of ideas for dinners that should keep us going for a looooong time! I've done an inventory of the freezers and cupboards and going to try and use stuff in those. Been a while since I've done a GC!
Official DFW Nerd no. 082! :cool:
Debt @ 01/01/2014 £16,956 Debt now: £0.00 :j
Aims:[STRIKE] clear debt, get married, buy a house[/STRIKE] ALL DONE!!
Hi All,
Had a very good week GC wise, only spent £16.40. Getting a little low on supplies, but I am determined to to try to come in at £185 for the month, even though my "real" target is £200. Just been hunting the freezer for sandwich ham for the week, but must have run out, so I am going to cook a gammon joint thats been lurking in the freezer for a while, half for sanwiches for the week, and the rest to go with tomato, spinach and mascapone bake, later in the week. Feeling very smug, even though supplies are low, I have all meals planned for the rest of the month, and am wasting zero amount of food.
Groan, this is my first month sticking to a grocery budget (and I did make a massive reduction from an average of £340pm to £200 for June) but I've gone over already - have spent £208.70. Not too far over I know but there's still quite a lot of month left.
Ah well, I'll still have saved absolutely loads. If I secretly change the target to £240 that's still achievable and still means a £100 saving on last month which is still pretty good. I've learnt loads too so can't really grumble.
Will be over here lots tomorrow carefully meal planning for the rest of the month so we can spend as little as possible.
Sorry, I've not been posting much but I do lurk :cool:
Well, ever the optimist I made a big list this morning of all the meals I have in and I reckon, with topping up onions, veg, milk and eggs, I've got at least 18! :T So given that there's 10 days left of June we won't be going hungry and I really do think that I'll get away with spending less then £20 between now and the end of the month so we can actually eat really well :T:T:T Very pleased with that as although I've not made the budget I set we have still saved well over £100 on last month's grocery spend which given that I'm about to have a baby and my pay will more likely than not be frozen on Tuesday is very good news! I've made some lovely bread today too and I only have a little way to go now until it's consistently at shop quality (had a couple of disasters along the way :eek::rotfl:).
So, although I haven't posted much this thread has been brilliant for me.
Thank you! :cool::money:
A reminder to myself: Persistence Pays Off :idea: :rotfl:
Mortgage 1: [STRIKE]£95,000[/STRIKE] £78,900 at 3.1%
Mortgage 2 (BTL): £83, 489.15 at 2.99% (I.O.)
Savings (S&S ISA): £3000 Plus 6 months emergency savings earning 3%
Hi All,
Had a very good week GC wise, only spent £16.40. Getting a little low on supplies, but I am determined to to try to come in at £185 for the month, even though my "real" target is £200. Just been hunting the freezer for sandwich ham for the week, but must have run out, so I am going to cook a gammon joint thats been lurking in the freezer for a while, half for sanwiches for the week, and the rest to go with tomato, spinach and mascapone bake, later in the week. Feeling very smug, even though supplies are low, I have all meals planned for the rest of the month, and am wasting zero amount of food.
Have a good week all x
Yes, that's one thing I've noticed too - I've hardly wasted anything. Wasn't quick enough with half a small tub of very cheap tomatoes and some spinach but that's it :money:
A reminder to myself: Persistence Pays Off :idea: :rotfl:
Mortgage 1: [STRIKE]£95,000[/STRIKE] £78,900 at 3.1%
Mortgage 2 (BTL): £83, 489.15 at 2.99% (I.O.)
Savings (S&S ISA): £3000 Plus 6 months emergency savings earning 3%
Well, ever the optimist I made a big list this morning of all the meals I have in and I reckon, with topping up onions, veg, milk and eggs, I've got at least 18! :T So given that there's 10 days left of June we won't be going hungry and I really do think that I'll get away with spending less then £20 between now and the end of the month so we can actually eat really well :T:T:T Very pleased with that as although I've not made the budget I set we have still saved well over £100 on last month's grocery spend which given that I'm about to have a baby and my pay will more likely than not be frozen on Tuesday is very good news! I've made some lovely bread today too and I only have a little way to go now until it's consistently at shop quality (had a couple of disasters along the way :eek::rotfl:).
So, although I haven't posted much this thread has been brilliant for me.
Thank you! :cool::money:
Well done Courgette and pepsi-kins :T
NSD for me today too. 1st and only one of the week, but better than none - so yay for me also
Evening all have just made some HM mint ice cream- it's absolutely delicious! What's best about it.... it requires no eggs! Very good if you have a glut of mint in your garden
I have a hospital appointment tomorrow so need to sort out dinner for the week this evening as I can predict being off track all next week!
50g fresh mint leaves and stalks
300ml double cream
250ml whole milk
100g sugar (I use granulated)
teensy drop of green food colouring (optional)
Bung it all in a saucepan and heat gently until the cream starts to boil slightly and the sugar dissolves.
Leave to cool and once cool strain out the mint leaves
put into an ice cream maker and churn until made or put into a tupperware box and mash up every 2 hours to remove the ice crystals
Enjoy!
I usually have this with some chocolate sauce, but you could put choccy chips in the mix to make mint choc chip ice cream.
Replies
Off to think about making a sponge cake
Aims:[STRIKE] clear debt, get married, buy a house[/STRIKE]
Just had a yummy BLT for lunch, now off to make some muffins for lunch this week.
Had a very good week GC wise, only spent £16.40. Getting a little low on supplies, but I am determined to to try to come in at £185 for the month, even though my "real" target is £200. Just been hunting the freezer for sandwich ham for the week, but must have run out, so I am going to cook a gammon joint thats been lurking in the freezer for a while, half for sanwiches for the week, and the rest to go with tomato, spinach and mascapone bake, later in the week. Feeling very smug, even though supplies are low, I have all meals planned for the rest of the month, and am wasting zero amount of food.
Have a good week all x
Vouchers: £102.22
Well, ever the optimist I made a big list this morning of all the meals I have in and I reckon, with topping up onions, veg, milk and eggs, I've got at least 18! :T So given that there's 10 days left of June we won't be going hungry and I really do think that I'll get away with spending less then £20 between now and the end of the month so we can actually eat really well :T:T:T Very pleased with that as although I've not made the budget I set we have still saved well over £100 on last month's grocery spend which given that I'm about to have a baby and my pay will more likely than not be frozen on Tuesday is very good news!
So, although I haven't posted much this thread has been brilliant for me.
Thank you!
Mortgage 1: [STRIKE]£95,000[/STRIKE] £78,900 at 3.1%
Mortgage 2 (BTL): £83, 489.15 at 2.99% (I.O.)
Savings (S&S ISA): £3000 Plus 6 months emergency savings earning 3%
Yes, that's one thing I've noticed too - I've hardly wasted anything. Wasn't quick enough with half a small tub of very cheap tomatoes and some spinach but that's it :money:
Mortgage 1: [STRIKE]£95,000[/STRIKE] £78,900 at 3.1%
Mortgage 2 (BTL): £83, 489.15 at 2.99% (I.O.)
Savings (S&S ISA): £3000 Plus 6 months emergency savings earning 3%
Well done Courgette and pepsi-kins :T
NSD for me today too. 1st and only one of the week, but better than none - so yay for me also
Oct10 £266.72 /£275 Nov10 £276.71/£275 Dec10 £311.33 / £275 Jan11 £242.25/ £250 Feb11 £243.14/ £250 Mar11 £221.99/ £230 Apr11 £237.39 /£240 May11 £237.71/£240 Jun11 £244.03/ £240 July11 £244.89/ £240
Xmas 2011 Fund £220
I have a hospital appointment tomorrow so need to sort out dinner for the week this evening as I can predict being off track all next week!
Have a good night all
Ok... here is how I do it....
50g fresh mint leaves and stalks
300ml double cream
250ml whole milk
100g sugar (I use granulated)
teensy drop of green food colouring (optional)
Bung it all in a saucepan and heat gently until the cream starts to boil slightly and the sugar dissolves.
Leave to cool and once cool strain out the mint leaves
put into an ice cream maker and churn until made or put into a tupperware box and mash up every 2 hours to remove the ice crystals
Enjoy!
I usually have this with some chocolate sauce, but you could put choccy chips in the mix to make mint choc chip ice cream.