May 2011 Grocery Challenge

Billie-jo · 11 May 2011 at 1:21PM

quintwins wrote: »

can i just ask how much you all spend on meat a month? i worked out spend just over £30 a month if i don't get any reductions this includes 9 portions of mince,3 gammon, 3 portions of chicken, 2 portions of fish, 2 portions of sausages,4 portions of bacon, and a roast big enough for 3 dinners

In March I spent £51.30 -fish/prawns x 4, steak, chicken x4, jt. beef, jt. pork x 2, sandwhich meats, gammon, sausage, bacon x2, liver and in April it was £58.88 :eek: -fish /prawn x 7, sausage x 2, chicken x 2, steak, gammon, bacon, pork chops, mince beef, sandwhich meats, Oh dear seeing it wrote down makes me realise just how much we spent. Blimey seems an awful lot doesnt it.

I cant bulk meat out with lentils as I absolutely HATE them with a passion. I do add some oats though to stews, cottage pies etc and always add lots of veg in. No doubt I also used some meat that was in the freezer as well.
As a matter of interest the amount I spend on fruit and veg has been just slightly higher than the meat both months - this is just fresh fruit & veg as frozen and any tinned veg are under a different heading i.e. freezer and tins/pkts etc. (super organised or anal retentive? - take your pick but I prefer super organized):rotfl::rotfl:

Have got some french onion soup cooking - havent made this for years so hope its ok.

Today have spent £15.12 fruit, veg, eggs, tomato juice, prawns and a couple of other bits. Will do main shop tomorrow.

ebayqueen_2 · 11 May 2011 at 2:04PM

Aftenoon all

Hi to Mothership...so sorry to hear about your daughter and your mothers funeral details:grouphug:. What a lunatic you have for a neighbour..I would certainly consider contacting the Police. Life not simple is it.

Just a quick update. Doing well this week had to pop to Lidl for cereal and and spent £4.74. Top up of fresh fruit, dishwasher tablets, cat food etc at Mr T's and spent £22.19. Milk this morning as well at local shop. All in all I am happy with my progress this week.
Best wishes to all and hugs to those who need them :A:A

helen_jelly · 11 May 2011 at 2:05PM

Mothership - go to the Police - racial motivated or not, what a horrible person, if I'd been your daughter I think he would of had a right mouthful of me!!

Flip, flip, flip - spent more money at Sainsbugs and L!dl

Helen x

quintwins · 11 May 2011 at 2:34PM

Billie-jo wrote: »

In March I spent £51.30 -fish/prawns x 4, steak, chicken x4, jt. beef, jt. pork x 2, sandwhich meats, gammon, sausage, bacon x2, liver and in April it was £58.88 :eek: -fish /prawn x 7, sausage x 2, chicken x 2, steak, gammon, bacon, pork chops, mince beef, sandwhich meats, Oh dear seeing it wrote down makes me realise just how much we spent. Blimey seems an awful lot doesnt it. I cant bulk meat out with lentils as I absolutely HATE them with a passion. I do add some oats though to stews, cottage pies etc and always add lots of veg in. No doubt I also used some meat that was in the freezer as well.
As a matter of interest the amount I spend on fruit and veg has been just slightly higher than the meat both months - this is just fresh fruit & veg as frozen and any tinned veg are under a different heading i.e. freezer and tins/pkts etc. (super organised or anal retentive? - take your pick but I prefer super organized):rotfl::rotfl:

nothing wrong with being organised, on mine included some ham aswell, i can't really use lentils or oats to bulk stuff out as hubby doesn't like it, he never complains about anything so the fact that he has said he doesn't like it is reason enough not to do it so i tend to bulk mine out with alot of frozen veg, i'd say if you include taties in it i spend just as much of not more than you in veg, altho that does include froze and i don't buy tinned veg and rarely will buy a tin of fruit

Sunnyday · 11 May 2011 at 2:35PM

Hi peeps :wave::wave:

siggy is now up to dateish, i have one more receipt to prise out of DH`s wallet when he arrives home and then i can relax.

Both freezers are full to bursting point and i really need to make a new list of the contents as quite a few things have been put in there without being added to the original list. I have a huge bowl of mixed salad in the fridge that i made yesterday which was supposed to last 3 days for both of us but it will have to keep longer than that now, i`ve just had two days off work and i was really looking forward to them but i`ve been under the weather and the glands in my neck have been swollen, this morning i`ve been suffering with S&D so i`ve had to ring work and tell them that i won`t be in - honestly i feel really fed up.

DH rang not so long since and told me that his glands are starting to go the same way as mine and he feels ropey so i`m guessing that he will be in the same boat as me too:( Its the fact that the prepped food being wasted thats irritating me most - that and the fact that i`ve not had any time off sick at work for absolutely ages so now i`ve ruined my record :mad: I have no appetite whatsoever but my tum is making the most horrible noises! Think that i shall try and have a sleep for an hour and then if i feel up to it later try and update the freezer list.

nikki1986 wrote: »

Hello everyone
I was wondering if I posted up some of our fave meals whether anyone might be able to recommend how to cut costs?:

-thai green curry (Mr S chicken, tinned sauce- no idea if it would be cheaper to do my own- served with rice)

Hi Nikki :hello:

We love thai green curry and i make it often, i buy the block coconut that needs dissolving in hot water to save money and it tastes exatly the same as a tin of milk. I use a third of the block for two huge portions, it can be a pain chopping it up when its so solid but worth it for the saving. I use a concentrated thai green curry paste instead of the jar of sauce and i find this to be a huge saving, if its a large jar then i can get 4servings for the price of one jar of sauce. I used to buy the MrM one as its really strong so the jar goes further but they didn`t have any last time i went in so i`m trying a different one next time.

Instead of chicken try fish, i buy a pack of frozen cod portions for £4 and there are 4 in the pack so each pack makes this dish twice, just add onions and green peppers and maybe a few green beans to bulk it out and this makes for a lovely dish. A rough estimate of the cost is less than £2 per head including the rice, if i use frozen peppers instead of fresh then this brings the cost down more but i love the crunch of the green peppers

HTH

SD

SavingJane · 11 May 2011 at 3:33PM

Hi all

Just doing food order does anyone know if PG Tips are on offer anywhere, need to order some but thought see if any deals atm, have A$da or Te$co to pick from

Thanks

cutiepieabf · 11 May 2011 at 4:01PM

cookiemum wrote: »

DH offered to go for milk to Mr M and spent £22.41:mad:

Whiskas pouches are on offer at 3 boxes for £6 so at least he bought a few. Meal plan done until friday so hopefully no more spends until the weekend. It seems like a loooong month so far:)

wish we had a Mr M........

Sunnyday · 11 May 2011 at 4:07PM

cutiepieabf wrote: »

wish we had a Mr M........

Every once in a while pouches are on offer on the Amazon website with free delivery so its worth stocking up when this happens. Its not too often but can make good saving especially when the delivery isn`t payable.

Ours alternates between felix and whiskas so its not too difficult for me as by the time we are coming to an end of our stocks i`ve usually already placed another order.I`ve currently got over 250 pouches stashed in a corner of the spare room

Saved me loads though

HTH

SD

cutiepieabf · 11 May 2011 at 4:30PM

Sunnyday wrote: »

Every once in a while pouches are on offer on the Amazon website with free delivery so its worth stocking up when this happens. Its not too often but can make good saving especially when the delivery isn`t payable.

Ours alternates between felix and whiskas so its not too difficult for me as by the time we are coming to an end of our stocks i`ve usually already placed another order.I`ve currently got over 250 pouches stashed in a corner of the spare room Saved me loads though

HTH

SD

i would never think of amazon for cat food!! but i shall keep my eye out now!! thank you!!

Pixie_Fairydust · 11 May 2011 at 7:16PM

Haven't got a budget this month, but will try to be in for June.

Money is really tight for us this month so am having to be careful with grocery shopping. I have a free delivery from A$da on line so will use that this week. I find internet grocery shopping is cheaper than if I wander around a supermarket.

Made veggie lasagne tonight and used up some onions and peppers that were past their best! No complaints though! Have enough 'mince' mixture for tomorrow eve, will add some curry/chilli and a tin of chick peas and have with jacket pots.

Also made eves pudding (apples on the turn!) & custard, all gone too! :T

Love this thread, have a good evening, just off to do the washing up!

Pixie

MSE Forum

May 2011 Grocery Challenge

Replies

New plastic £50 note in circulation

TV MoneySaving tricks

Pret subscription loophole