Wher do you get your seeds from please

Another NSD today..yay. My budget is looking okay with exactly 2 weeks to go of January I SHOULD make it under budget for the first time ever and in a reallly long month. I think this is due to us not buying or drinking as much alcohol and me not obsessing about having insanely full cupboards and also our joint more sensible shopping including managing to get most of our fruit as whoopsies.
Will need to buy milk possibly tomorrow or try to eke out to wednesday, and also shampoo/conditioner for my DD as well but I will sit back and bask in the feeling of not spending any money in a supermarket.

We ended up having lentil bolegnese with fusilli and salad for dinner and have enough left for OH's lunch tomorrow and freeze a dinner for 3 of us for next week. Tomorrow I am at my zumba class straight from work so I will get a pot of Split pea and veg soup on in the SC so everyone can help themselves when they get in. That reminds me I'd better get the split peas in to soak.

Oh no! I'm over £270 already!! This has been such a good exercise in seeing how much we spend on groceries I'm looking on the bright side in that it was my birthday so I included in my spend about 5 bottles of wine and nibbles for friends coming over...we are now detoxing for a LONG time until financially we are straight or maybe valentines day for a bottle of vino I have also included all toilet roll, bleach, washing powder etc so am determined that next month I can do £270!! Even including cleaning stuff!!

Thank you so much to this thread!!

Oh, and we have enough lunches and dinners for another week or so...

Another couple of GC spends to declare.

One tonight at local shop for breadmilk and painkillers - £2.74
And one from Sat night when I helped out a family members pay for shopping (did have a couple of things of mine but mostly theirs) -£18.56. Not sure when I will get the money back for their part so thought take into account in my budget and if and when I get it back- that's a bonus.

Although that shopping did include use of coupons,2-4-1's,whoospsies etc- when we got back it would have cost over £45 so not bad going.

Anyway of to update signature now

Meant to ask this earlier but forgot

So, after another trip to the dentist and yet another clean / filling, I asked my dentist if an electric toothbrush would make a difference (it was a yes).

Popped to B**ts and got one 1/2 price (and some extra heads which should last out the year) ..... which budget would you take it from?

I include toiletries in my grocery one, and toothpaste a "normal" toothbrush would usually be taken out of here but ...... not sure if it should come out the "anything else" budget?

Any thoughts appreciated!

Its the honey and pecan one, they've had it for a few weeks now.

Was very nearly another NSD for me again, but just thought I'd check our local Mr T and Mr S for whoopsies when I collected DS1 from tennis tonight. Was very pleased to purchase £19.30 worth of food for £8.31! makes up for it not being a NSD. Worried I might get addicted to whoopsie hunting though. DH very impressed.

Hi minipenny,

I include all toiletries in our budget. The first challenge I joined on the site was the 'No Buying Toiletries Until My Stash is Used Up' where new joiners were advised (but didn't have to) to do a stocktake of all the stuff you had in. I'm ashamed to say I had two sides of A4 paper full of the stuff I had in! My friends and family had been ribbing me for a while before that but I was on holiday in Egypt - in denial. That was the spur I needed and stopped buying there and then. Now I only buy stuff when it's run out or got just one use left. You'd be amazed how much I've saved and I even now avoid buying BOGOF and other offers unless they really are very good prices. Oh and the storage space you regain is brilliant too.

I hope the interview went well and you are celebrating.

Thanks PennyGrabber and tigerfeet, ys makes total sense now!

ClaireT look after that wrist, sounds painful.

Bunbun2, I'm looking forward to you joining us for february. Glad you're enjoying the thread already.

Thanks rosieben for adding the Milk Jelly to the recipe list.

NeedtosavE, my spreadsheet already has each month set up in it. I have allocated out the monthly spend and have that as a total for the year. What I've done with my (shame faced ) loo roll stock up is allocated £6.99 the cost of a pack to each month to come. So for instance if I look at June now I have already spent £6.99 of that budget. By having the annual total in the chart that allows me a little flexibility to do stock ups when there is really good deal on. And there will be months where the whole budget won't be spent and that's when the stock ups get covered.

I'm sure I've missed someone else I was going to reply to but getting heavy nagging from OH to have my supper so better be off. Oh, War Horse was brilliant by the way.

See you tomorrow evening,
Spigs

I make coleslaw with pizza express light salad dressing instead of any mayonnaise and add one or two very finely chopped little red bast**d chillis for a bit of a zing

Yes and the original guide is from Mothership in one of the really useful guide posts at the beginning - #6 - well worth reading for a truly inspirational set up.

Another NSD here. Cereal for breakfast, tomato soup and wholemeal bread for lunch followed by an apple and then a homemade HFW vegetable pasty with beans for dinner - hurrah managed to get 3 of my 5 a day in lol!

So much to use up in my freezer though I daren't go to the shops. I need to get on and do some batch cooking as well but I fear I won't have adequate freezer space currently if I do. I am gradually filling my cupboards back up with a plethora of plastic tubs though!!!

Hi all, i'm new here but just getting the hang of buying value products and drastically reducing my spend. Seeing your budgets i'm envious and hope to reduce mine all the more.

We're a family of 6 and at a guess i'd say last year we were spending approx. £600 month on all groceries - inclu. cleaning products, catfood, nappies etc.

I've successfully stuck to £100 per week for the first two weeks of this year. so please put me down with a monthly budget of 400.

Looking forward to tips from the rest of you!

Millie x

I thought I would share one of my favourite recipes with you all.
Play about with the spices until you find your favourite blend.

Add spinach, or peas for a bit of variety.

this serves at least 4

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
a tablespoon ish of oil.
A mug full of red lentils.
A chopped onion.
A couple of chopped garlic cloves or a tsp of granules.
1tsp chilli powder
1tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground ginger or fresh finely grated.
a vege stock cube.
1 tsp garam masala (optional)
2 mugs of water (at least)

Fry the onion very lightly for about 5 to 10 mins in the oil, the idea is to keep it white (you could use ghee)
Add the garlic for a minute
Add all the spices and fry gently for a minute or so.
Add the lentils stir to combine then add the water and stock cube.
Simmer gently for about 20 mins adding more water if required.
When it looks like porridge, you are about there. At this point if I have coconut milk I add it and melt it in.
Its up to you you can half the eggs and pour over them or put the eggs in the sauce for the last five mins of cooking (the turmeric and spices will flavour and colour the whites a little.

Serve over rice or with chappatis or nann bread. mango chutney etc.

If you have left over dahl, it firms up and makes a lovely sandwich filling.

54p on tea at work this morning. I have decided from next month that any spends on tea and carp at work can come out of my personal spends, it might encourage me to get up 15 mins earlier to have a second cup of tea and maybe a bite of breakfast.

DH had a lovely curry for tea tonight using a jar of sauce with a top section of spices from Ald1. It was chicken so I couldn't have any but it smelt devine and DH said it was fantastic. He even saved half of it for lunch! I had odds and sods from the freezer.

Thanks to the poster who listed the Costco offers. I am planning to go get 2 big boxes of nappies as DS is ready to move up to a size 5. Also going to send DH to Mr T for swim nappies as we are planning to take DS swimming on a regular basis and they are half price. These will be coming out of next month's budget (starts Friday), I am justgetting organised.

DH and I have agreed to try and eat the contents of the freezer this month I have 2 There is quite a bit in there and we could do with keeping our food spends as low as possible, especially since yesterday we bought a new bed which needs to be paid for at the end of March and DH discovered that my car tax is due next month I really want to buy 12 months not 6 months this time.

Jacket potato night tomorrow as I am at college until 8 and pasta bake and garlic bread Wednesday using a jar form Ald1

I have spent £24.14 out of the £25 I allocated to my 2nd purse. Tonight I used some half price beans I bought so need to charge the GC 64p for them. I don't carry a lot of change as I stick it in my sealed pot so am trying to do this virtually by putting the money in an on line account. Not sure if this will work as well as real cash in a purse. Think I will read Mothership's instructions again.

Evening all

Havent posted for a while but have been TRYING to stick to my budget, which was going well until this evening.

I went to Mr S with a shopping list, this comprised of ingredients for 3 meals, but would make approx 15 portions. so i could freeze some meals. I also looked online before i went so i knew what i would be spending. However a few extra bits made their way into my trolley.

It was all stuff we use and on offer so have meals and snacks to get us through to the end of the month, although still need to get essentials and budget is currently at approx £149 /£150.

I know i didnt have the best start to the month so am planning on Feb being a better month.

On the upside had a lovely Chicken and sweet potato hotpot this evening and couldn't even tell that i used almost all basics range items.

Hope everyone is well.

ETO
x

Spent £16.66 in MrA's this afternoon. Picked up 2 packs of tuna for £5. Not bought that for months for DH, he was over the moon when I made him a batch of tuna pasta tonight

Also made myself a batch of veg pasta, chopped onions peppers tomato cucumber with sweetcorn, mixed with cooled pasta, mayo and seasoning. Was delicious! Got 3 portions, that's lunch sorted for the next few days x

I buy all toiletries, cleaning stuff, toothpaste, toothbrush out of grocery budget, but something like an electric one, would come out of a general budget, but thats just my way, hth

Sproggi thanks for the cabbage link - my cabbage pie was so nice, i will post recipe 2moz

An NSD for me today - thats four this year....

only just managed to keep driving past Mr T though! I must stop going out when I'm hungry!!

DH is getting the hang of it too now.... he decided he would have left over onion gravy with a dash of tabasco as soup for his lunch! he even suggested turning the left over cabbage, kidneybean, tomato, cheese and rice dish we had for tea into a frittata for tea tomorrow. Will give it a go.... another NSD tomorrow I hope

Keep up the good work everyone! Even if you go over budget a bit at least you've tried and helped others by sharing your experience. |You will also have learned a little more about yourself that will help next month.... dont give up !!

Rising, I wouldn't include it in my grocery spends, as it's not something that will run out, IYSWIM. I might include the replacement bits, but I wouldn't count the actual toothbrush itself. I see my budget as a consumables thing, and you won't need to replace the toothbrush, just the heads.

Not the NSD I planned for today. Thought I needed icing sugar, as we were decorating my first ever hm gingerbread house! Turns out I had enough, but you can never be too sure with icing sugar, I find! Had a swing by the whoopsie section, and a young lad was re-reducing everything. There was LOADS of meat there, and other bits and bobs. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I spent another £10 and some pennies. Grrr! I didn't need any of that except the icing sugar, and I've got no space in my freezer to put it! Really cross with myself, as I'm now a touch too close to my limit for comfort. I must stay out of the shops! In my defense, I'm really sad today, as one of my very best friends in the whole wide world is moving to the other side of the whole wide world to live, and today was the last time we saw her in person. She and her children came round. and the six of us set off a sky lantern together (something we did a few new years' ago) with a lovely message on it. Sob sob!! Still, there's always skype, and now I have to save up for a holiday to Oz!!

PG x