We've passed the halfway point! The using up of things is still going well - MrEH finally got around to stashing this year's marmalade away in the storecupboard at the weekend, and to his astonishment there was actually still some space left by the time it was all in there, and freezer 2 is edging tantalisingly close to being empty enough to turn off.
As planned I shopped in Morrisons last week - I was sad to see that it looked like they are having some financial issues at the moment as for my money they are by far the best of the big supermarkets - if we had one in the town I'd happily swap the majority of my shopping to them. I bought the items on my list, switching crumpets for muffins as those were better value (2 packs for £1 means we have one in the freezer for another week) and also bought a big tub of plain yogurt - a multi-purpose wonder this being good for eating as pudding with some fruit puree or jam added, using as the base for a dip, or dolloping onto curries and similar. A 1kg "bucket" was £1.35 so a bit of a bargain, too. The total bill came to £10.11p of which £10 was paid in vouchers - so another 11p to the cash shopping tally. We did have to pop to ThaT SupermarkeT the next day and get a pack of butter - M's cheapest offering for British was £1.49 and I can get it elsewhere for 98p. Vouchers came into play again though - remember that 62p Price Promise one from week 1? Yes, you've guessed it - butter for 36p!
Current state of play for the month:
Total spend on groceries: £33.41
Of which cash: £11.97
"Earnings" for this week - free cheese! (Via a product trial for a supermarket - and have also been accepted onto another trial but the voucher for the product on that one hasn't come through yet)
The meal plan needed a bit of a re-think as my plans changed meaning I was away from home on Tuesday and Wednesday. I was able to take some food with me for breakfasts, and Tuesday's lunch, and my trusty flask went along as ever, but did have to buy dinner on Tuesday and lunch on wednesday. Those were paid from personal spending money though, so don't form part of the challenge. The pork, tomato and onion stew which was intended for Tuesday's dinner is back on the meal plan for next week, and more "using up" is also in evidence with the appearance of the dried lasagne sheets which have been in the larder since shortly after I discovered that in order for them to cook through they really need pre-soaking. Having used the cannelloni successfully though, I've twigged that making the dish a day or two ahead, and then cooking it from cold is the answer here.
Sat: Lunch: I’ll eat something that needs using up Tea: H M Pizza
Sun: Roast lamb, roast tatties, etc. Tea: Cheese & Crackers (freeze LO lamb in slices)
Mon: Lasagne of some description - use dried lasagne sheets
Tue: Pork, Onion & tomato stew & rice
Wed: Salmon & Veg, boiled potatoes
Thur: Omlette or soup.
Fri: Home made fishcakes.
Shopping for this week might be a bit scattered. I'm heading to Sainsbugs - I can go there while waiting for MrEH after work tonight and spend those £7.50 of nectar points. Careful shopping required to make sure I only buy things there that are better value that The oTher one can offer. For anything else that's needed it'll be The oTher one (using luncheon vouchers) tomorrow. This is where sites like MySupermarket come in handy - as they allow instant comparisons to see whether the item I'm looking at adding to the list is better bought at one place or the other. Whatever else I buy, I'll be grabbing a pack of Sainsbugs basics smoked mackerel - a wonderful bargain this, and along with a tub of value soft cheese you might remember from last year it can be turned into the most amazing pate. As lunches are one of the things that have now hit critical level, that'll come in useful!
How did your week three pan out?
Robyn
2 comments:
Week 3 went well despite KL being home for a few days which meant changes to the menu plan. I am getting twitchy about the overflow cupboards upstairs looking less than overflowing because they've replenished the kitchen cupboards. I did spend an unplanned £10 on almond milk. It was on offer at £1 rather than £1.59 so I stocked up as it will provide a good saving next month when I don't have to buy it at full price.
Great saving there - it would be daft not to take advantage of that wouldn't it! I know what you mean about the twitchiness too - although I'm looking forward to our storecupboard starting to look properly depleted, there is equally a bit of "but what if..." about it!
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