December 2008 Grocery Challenge

Sylvan · 11 December 2008 at 12:57AM

I'm very pleased today. £4.05 on milk and margarine and NO extras.:D
Could have something to do with the fact that DS4 took me across the road to the local shop when he came home from school instead of DH going to Mr T at lunchtime. I'll have to try it more often.

:rotfl:I gave a new meaning to the phrase "warming winter food" this evening. DH finally managed to get one of those £1.87 half legs of lamb from Mr T yesterday. It took me over an hour but I managed to cut it off the bone (DS4 said he had a lot of work today and I do feel guilty making them help so much) and made pilau with it to fill 7 people (and enough left in the fridge for them to nuke for breakfast tomorrow). When DH got home he peeled and chopped the rest of Saturday's 39p Aldi vegetables and I turned them into soup with the lamb bones (after which the bones made the dog very happy:cool:).

I wanted to watch a programme that ended at 11.30 and the heating goes off at 9pm so I sat and hugged the pan of soup for 2 hours as it slowly cooled. Howzat for value?:p

cw18 · 11 December 2008 at 1:10AM

I won't give lamb bones to my dogs, as they splinter too easily. Not sure what the official recommendations are any more, but I was told by a vet in the 80's that the only "safe" bones were beef ones.

Sylvan · 11 December 2008 at 1:45AM

We've never been sure so we take them away from her as soon as she has chewed off all the cartilage and cracked them open. She can't have beef bones. They give her the runs

poor thing.

mrssnowy_2 · 11 December 2008 at 7:48AM

Sylvan wrote: »

Thanks rosieben. That's much less work than my normal method of emptying the cupboards to put the new stuff at the back!

What would be the best things to put in those inaccessible cupboards?

Also, how long can you keep HM jams, chutneys and pickles?

Thanks:D

The tall cupboards would be a good place to keep chocolate:rotfl:

HM jams etc keep for ages,but do store in a cool place.
mrss

Kiwisaver_2 · 11 December 2008 at 9:21AM

Well, I've truly blown it today and obviously not as good at this as I thought. That'll teach me!! $101.66 (£37.58) spent today, with no frills or extras. :mad: Consoles me a bit to convert it it UK Pounds, because $100 is so extravagant (Not).

I drooled over the Christmas goodies and admired the lovely potted Poinsettias, but not one of those evil things made it to my trolley. I even had second thoughts about two impulse buys that weren't on the list (wooden skewers and a tin of fruit) I reluctantly prized them from my sticky mitts and left them on the chocolate rack beside the till.

So all I can say in my defence is that three weeks shopping doesn't miraculously turn into two weeks cost and cutting the budget in half was way too ambitious. Still I will persevere and see if I can keep the budget blowout to minimal over the next week.

nickynoo08 · 11 December 2008 at 11:28AM

Morning everyone,
went to mrT's last night - was absolutly heaving. Managed to get all of my xmas choccies and the last of my xmas presents plus my normal stuff - milk, bread, cheese, fruit n veg etc.... Total came to £68.86 - used my £50 stamp book and £10 gift card so only had to put £8.86 towards it:D
will update sig

findingmyfeet · 11 December 2008 at 11:37AM

hi there just checking in. Updated my sig and have already spent £220.94, this has been between mr m, iceland and the butchers but stocking up on longlasting stuff so i wont need much more than fresh f n v and fridge stuff for the next few weeks. Hopefully that plan will work but who knows. Any way dont need anything before the weekend lots in.
My 2 food hampers for grans are ready to wrap and thats come out my last 2 months budget too.
At the weekend hoping to get some baking done, hopefully 2 quiches, fairy cakes, mince pies, jam and lemon curd tarts and maybe sausage rolls all to go in the freezer ready for visitors and when we get the 'munchies'.

xmas lunch we are at my parents so cheap xmas for us, just taking some wine as a contribution. I have my family buffet to cater for next weekend but everything looking ok.
Looking at cutting costs further in the new year.
bye for now

KAAT_LADY · 11 December 2008 at 1:23PM

morning all

just thought I would drop in as you may have missed me :rotfl::rotfl:

I am going to MrTs today to pick up my BM that I bought with my vouchers its a Tescos own BM which is supposed to be like a panasonic ,, but we will see ,,I would not pay that much for a BM so I have a tesco one ,,
I also got 3 magazine subscriptions with the vouchers

I will also update my siggie while I am here but not spent much as have been living out of freezer again

see you soon

KAAT x

kiwichick · 11 December 2008 at 2:31PM

KAAT_LADY wrote: »

I am going to MrTs today to pick up my BM that I bought with my vouchers its a Tescos own BM which is supposed to be like a panasonic ,, but we will see ,,I would not pay that much for a BM so I have a tesco one ,,

Would you mind letting us know how you get on with the BM please? I have an old Russell Hobbs one that needs a new paddle but with the paddle costing half as much as the Tesco BM I'd rather get the new machine given the choice.

Thanks,
Al x

mummygems · 11 December 2008 at 3:07PM

Hello all. Not posted yet this month and I have missed reading what everyone is doing!

Not going too well here but I am still within budget for the month (just). I have no fridge or freezer as they broke last week and am waiting for a part - its been a nightmare honestly you dont realise how much you rely on something until its gone. I lost a few bits and pieces but luckily my mum took the majority of my meat and my brother has my veg (trust me its a nightmare to plan meals as I have to go from house to house lol). Fingers crossed when they come tomorrow it will be fixed and I can get back to normal as I havent followed any of my menu planning as I just dont have the things here to remember to get them out and defrost them. Am thankful that it is at least fixable as that would have been an expense we could do without!!!

Apart from that I am struggling to find any whoopsies in my local Tesco/Asda's so I guess everyone else is camping out in the shops to grab them lol.

Hope everyone else is doing okay.

Off to catch up on the 22 pages now!

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December 2008 Grocery Challenge

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