November 2011 - Grocery Challenge

franby64 · 10 November 2011 at 2:50PM

Hi

Now up to £220.26 but have most of the basic stuff for the month and some of the ingredients for mincemeat and puddings.
So November's looking quite good but no doubt I will find a way to spend it all!

xxlouisexx56 · 10 November 2011 at 2:52PM

Nimeth - is your hubby not at work?

When my DP is not at work (day off - studying - working from home) he always has to have some sort of cooked meal for lunch. Whereas, during the week its just myself and the baby at home (bigger DD at school) and i will have just a sandwich, or toast or some leftovers from the fridge.

He also doesn't realise that i don't have endless amounts of money to spend on food

MissOrganised1972 · 10 November 2011 at 3:06PM

Nimeth wrote: »

Don't know how I'm going to manage in the next couple of weeks, promised OH he could go to the German market in Birmingham soon, we're doing Thanksgiving dinner for some American expat friends and now OH has gone an eaten an entire stir fry packet sauce (that would have served 2-3 people) to himself for lunch. We're also low on cereal despite me buying a month's worth two weeks ago because he can't stop munching on it all day. How do I get him to stop doing that as I can't afford to keep adding more stuff onto my top up shops?

Poor you! Sounds like my husband! He'll come in and pinch cheese out of the fridge or 3 slices of ham. When I point out that it could have filled the kid's sandwiches the next day he looks at me as if to say-can't I even snack on something! He tries to be a healthy eater and asked me not to buy biscuits any more (a long time ago). I didn't buy them for ages but he is rather partial to biscuits & so now I have gone back to buying them but only the value ones (approx 35p a pack) and perhaps offer him a cup of tea when he gets in & then a biscuit goes well. Also, I make his lunch for him each day so that I can try & give him what I want him to have!

With regards the German market. We've been a couple of times. We've travelled in on the train after school. We've had 1 or 2 drinks each & had something to eat off one of the stalls (not lots, perhaps a crepe, some garlic bread & 1 other thing between the 4 of us). The kids usually go on the carousel & we usually end up spending £50+ (incl the train)! Add on to that any purchases you want to make! So as much as it is a fantastic atmosphere, especially if you go on a December evening, it is not a cheap outing.

Just been to Morrisons & very disappointed! Had to pay full price for my fruit! Kept nipping back to the fruit & veg section but they still didn't reduce anything! Booo!!

Nimeth · 10 November 2011 at 3:08PM

xxlouisexx56 wrote: »

Nimeth - is your hubby not at work?

When my DP is not at work (day off - studying - working from home) he always has to have some sort of cooked meal for lunch. Whereas, during the week its just myself and the baby at home (bigger DD at school) and i will have just a sandwich, or toast or some leftovers from the fridge.

He also doesn't realise that i don't have endless amounts of money to spend on food

He is at work in the week, he usually has a sandwich or last nights leftovers, occasionally he'll make himself a small portion of pasta with some sandwich filler. I'm not so annoyed that he made stir fry as a I am that he used the whole packet to himself.

I do the shopping so he doesn't really understand that I'm trying to keep the food budget down. I'm trying to get through to him that if we run out of something, that's it for the rest of the month.

Sallyhat: He does that with the cereal. He'll have a couple of bowls for breakfast, which is fine, but then he insists on having two more before bed! I remind him gently that those have to last the month but it doesn't seem to be registering. Maybe I'll let him run out and not get any more till next month's big shop.

I may have to go back to making his lunch for him. And tack a meal plan to the kitchen noticeboard so he knows what he can snack on and what I need to make dinner

tessie_bear · 10 November 2011 at 3:15PM

hi....went and got the m and s meal deal....went for the chicken and apple pie....also went to tesco and gor a selection of jam and peanut butter...flipping heck i asked the lady to put it through in 3's and u would think id ask her to do cartwheels down the freezer isle naked...but she did in the end....its a shame u cant put it all through and the till take off a third of your spend...prob cost them too much

got chilli for tea and spag bol tomorrow...bit of a mince habit going on here...got a sack of potatoes arriving on sat so need to get some cash to pay for them

take care tess

MissOrganised1972 · 10 November 2011 at 3:19PM

SallyHat wrote: »

Poor you! Sounds like my husband! He'll come in and pinch cheese out of the fridge or 3 slices of ham. When I point out that it could have filled the kid's sandwiches the next day he looks at me as if to say-can't I even snack on something! He tries to be a healthy eater and asked me not to buy biscuits any more (a long time ago). I didn't buy them for ages but he is rather partial to biscuits & so now I have gone back to buying them but only the value ones (approx 35p a pack) and perhaps offer him a cup of tea when he gets in & then a biscuit goes well. Also, I make his lunch for him each day so that I can try & give him what I want him to have!

Gosh, just reread this to myself! I promise I am not the control freak I sound! My husband works long hours & I only work 3 hours a day and so I look after our finances, the shopping & cooking (as well as all the other jobs a woman tends to do :rotfl:). He is happy for me to get on with it but sometimes doesn't realise that we are living WITHOUT a money tree at the end of the garden!

his_missus · 10 November 2011 at 5:09PM

Hello all!
I've been away from a computer for a few days.. Spent a couple of nights away with DH and have just been really busy at work.

I hope you are having more success sticking to your budgets than I am. I will need to do a proper tot-up when I get home but we've done an almost £80 Mr A's shop :eek:(ended stocking up on wine as one of our faves was on offer at £5 a bottle) then had a massive £125 :eek:Mr S delivery on Tues night (ordered before the impromptu trip to Mr A's). My freezer is fit to bursting now, I'm a sucker for those 3 for £10, 2 for £5 meat deals, end up buying one of each as I can't decide what to get.:o I really don't think I needed to order quite so much food but as most isn't perishable, should be ok. Shouldn't need to shop now til Xmas!

Wll update sig tonight when I've logged all my shopping on my spreadsheet. I imagine most of my shopping budget this month will end up being meat and wine.

Keep up the good work everyone! :T

recovering_spendaholic · 10 November 2011 at 5:38PM

Nimeth and Sallyhat - Your OH's sound veritably constrained compared with my eldest DD - she's 20 and eats enough for a small army. When the free shreddies were on the go I got 12 packets and they were gone in two weeks (not kidding!) - she is like a locust!! She won't eat fruit or veg so they last okay, but I have stopped buying biscuits and other treats as they go in a day, no matter how many I buy. Even when I made and froze flapjacks individually she ate them frozen!!!! And the milk she goes through!! I have decided to stop buying Cravendale because it has gone so expensive compared with Aldi - Cravendale was £1.60 for 2 litres on Friday night and last night it had gone up to £1.90 - so much for Tesco's big price drop!! I got Aldi's milk for £1 this morning.

Spent £25 in Aldi today and £37 in Tesco last night and that should do us until this time next week, except for milk.

I have baked gnocchi and meatballs in the oven for tea, to have with garlic bread, plus I made a rice pudding for me, as I like it for breakfasts!

The baked gnocchi is lovely - her is the recipe:

I pack of gnocchi (I get the 79p one in Aldi),
a tub of pasta sauce (I usually get whatever is on offer or reduced in the reduced ailse - got the one I just used for 14p last night)
a pepper, an onion and some mushrooms, chopped
two rashers of bacon
2oz of cheese, grated
bit of parmesan
pack of meatballs (I use a pack of the Tesco 2 for £3)

you just fry the onion, mushroom, pepper and bacon until soft and cooked through and then pour in the sauce, plus half of the container filled with water. Cook the meatballs (I use the george but you could do them in the oven as it will be on to cook the finished dish). Chuck in the cooked meatballs and then chuck in the pack of gnocchi (no need to cook). Season to taste.

Pour everything into a large casserole dish and top with cheeses. Bake 30 minutes in a 170 degree oven.

It's lovely - the extra water you add with the sauce is absorbed by the gnocchi so it cooks and is not too stodgy. Makes easily enough for 6.

rising_from_the_ashes · 10 November 2011 at 6:02PM

Oh dear.... I'm way behind!:o Off to catch up as can hardly type today (scrubbed kitchen floor with a nailbrush yesterday and it's upset the arthritic hands:() so it'll give me something to do!

DM arrived with her old dresser that she's donated to me:D (storage in very short supply in the whole house & esp the kitchen) and everything was crammed in where I could find space.

Of course, every cupboard now need reorganised;). However, I now have all my baking stuff in one cupboard (previously spread over 3:eek:), tinned in another, staples together etc etc.

Hoping this will really help with grocery planning as I'll be able to see exactly what I've got rather than thinking I'm about to run out of something, buy more & then discover there's a load in a different cupboard.

Hope everyone is well .... off to catch up now.

allym464 · 10 November 2011 at 7:00PM

Hi there - please could I join up? I would like to try and just spend £100 between now and pay day (29th) on groceries which includes kitty litter. Thanks! :j

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

November 2011 - Grocery Challenge

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free