December 2008 Grocery Challenge

jackie_w · 28 December 2008 at 12:48AM

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a good Christmas. Ive hardly posted on this thread this month, but, ive kept an eye on the grocery spending, although, it hasnt done much good. I had my limit set at £250, however, Ive actually spent £325.46 :eek: :eek: :eek: . I ended up buying up buying party food which I havent used yet, and I bought a ham, for us, my mum and my MIL which came to £45, and also a turkey breast which was £10.

Only good thing out of that is i have loads of ham and turkey left over which I have frozen, along with some HM soup which is frozen too.

For January im going for £250 but to be honest, im kind of hoping that this will be way too much because my freezer is full. I shouldnt need to go shopping before hogmany, and then i will only need to buy sausages to make my steak pie, already have all the other ingredients, and I definetly dont need any alcohol.

Anyway, If I dont get back onto post before the 1st January, I wish you all the best when it comes.

Jackie xx

PS ive not thanked anyone because my thanks button isnt working.

CRANKY40 · 28 December 2008 at 11:02AM

candygirl wrote: »

I think i might start withdrawing £130 a month from the bank and seeing if I can whittle my GC spends down that way, or will I spend it all at once?Decisions decisions................... :rolleyes:

Hmmm, you need a tin like mine :rotfl: I take out all the grocery money for the month and place it in the tin. My target is £30 a week, so for January you could take out £30 a week and keep the extra £10 in the back of your purse for bargains/emergencies.

At the end of the week anything left in your purse goes back in the tin. At the end of the month anything left goes in the treat box for ME. I am about to start saving for a night away in April. My friend and I both have dh's who work away, so when the men are home we go away for a child free night.

I haven't finished the December challenge yet, as I will be buying milk from somewhere this week, and possibly a jar of coffee too. Ds gets through a lot of milk (semi skimmed), and I don't like to water it down as he's only 4.

My January challenge will be £120.00 please as it's a 4 week month for me, starting on the 5th of January.

Take care all of you.

tessie_bear · 28 December 2008 at 11:03AM

Angela thankyou for comments on turkey recipe and Rosie thankyou for putting it on list.......ive just showed them to my neighbour and feel quite 'proud' it will be a long time before they oin us though.....they are more interested in the pizza delivery bike than using up leftovers iykwim.....thats what is so good about this site u get to chat with like minded people.....i wait with baited breath for one of u to be stood next to me in a supermarket im always next to the pile it high chuck it out brigade............have a nice day

MRSMCAWBER · 28 December 2008 at 11:34AM

Hi Cranky

I have an old fashioned tin -a long one with about 6 slots in the top -so thats what Im doing this year... keep my GC money out for the month (€140) -divide it into 4 and then only use what is in there each week -then at the end of the week any leftover will go into the end compartment and I will start each week with €35 then when the next months GC money is due -I will only take out enough to make it back up to €140 ..I think that makes sense :rotfl:

CRANKY40 · 28 December 2008 at 11:38AM

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

Hi Cranky

I have an old fashioned tin -a long one with about 6 slots in the top -so thats what Im doing this year... keep my GC money out for the month (€140) -divide it into 4 and then only use what is in there each week -then at the end of the week any leftover will go into the end compartment and I will start each week with €35 then when the next months GC money is due -I will only take out enough to make it back up to €140 ..I think that makes sense :rotfl:

My mum had one of those (and I'm not that old) when my dad was paid in cold hard cash when I was small. It was one bit for electric, one bit for gas etc. I've never been able to find one like it.....

The tin thing definately works though. I like my tin.

SavvyStudent_2 · 28 December 2008 at 11:39AM

Hello everybody - would you mind if I re-join for january? I went on a placement in kent in october-dec with limited internet access so I sort of gave up (and spent a fortune in the process!)

It's NYR time so getting back on track with our money is definitely top of the list. That and losing some weight lol! Could I please aim for £100 for january for the OH and I? I'm at home with him for 2 months so it should be do-able.

Also, I got given £60 of M&S vouchers for xmas - do people think it would be a good idea or a waste to spend them on food..? I think it's a good use but the OH thinks clothes would be more useful..!

Lx

MRSMCAWBER · 28 December 2008 at 11:40AM

CRANKY40 wrote: »

My mum had one of those (and I'm not that old) when my dad was paid in cold hard cash when I was small. It was one bit for electric, one bit for gas etc. I've never been able to find one like it.....

The tin thing definately works though. I like my tin.

Thats what I used to use mine for :rotfl: 1 for leccy 1 for gas etc... I loved it -now everything comes out DD ..so I am going to use it for this again instead

I have lost the key but at least it wasn't locked when I did

ifonlyitwaseasier · 28 December 2008 at 11:55AM

hey all

i'm declaring on £95.31 and setting our target for next month at £100, in fact thats what we are going to try and stick to for each month in 2009 so our overall total target will be £1200.

should be manageable and as we are on a health kick it means less junk food so that cuts the spends down further!

Searching Me - CONGRATULATIONS!!!

ioiwe

angelatgraceland · 28 December 2008 at 12:30PM

rosieben wrote: »

And its now in the proper recipe index on the front page

That made me smile! Well Im not ready to declare yet-but so far, the food spend for December is £244.47 and Ive got tons of stuff. How do I stay away from shops and stop buying bargain food? Im truly puzzled at the people who spend a couple of hundred a week on food-what do they do with it? I cant believe it gets eaten unfortunately. So-Ive still got about £75 left for the next week as mine is a five weeker this time.
Done my sums and Im going to include a lot more for 2009. Instead of just food it will be:

Food Toiletries Petrol Household Booze Garden Entertainment.
Please put me down for Jan £500
As many will notice-that is a lot more than last year but its covering a lot more and its based on real figures which I had for the last 9 months and good estimates for the firts 3 months of last year. Hoping that even with inflation I can keep to it.

justpeyton4now · 28 December 2008 at 12:36PM

savingfortravel wrote: »

I wondered if any of you had some economical recipes for using up Turkey or Ham? OB has mentioned pies and I believe someone said about adding condensed mushroom soup to make a mixture???
Any ideas gratefully appreciated.
I have got a few from the recipe list.
Thanks SFT

I like to make scalloped or au gratin potatoes with chunks of ham in it. Makes a filling and much loved dish here. I also add some thinly sliced onions to mine. Also ham salad which I've not seen here in the UK but is frequent sandwich filling in the states. You can also toss some ham in when making macaroni and cheese. It also goes nicely in bean and/or lentil soup.

As for turkey... soup, curry, turkey and dumplings (like chick and dumplings,) turkey with sweetcorn and pasta salad. Anything you can do with chicken, you can do with turkey.

HTH

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December 2008 Grocery Challenge

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