We had an incredible piece of luck with the shopping again this week. G received another coupon offering £12 off a second £60 online shop which was just too good to pass up. I ordered extra bits and pieces like tinned stuff and food for the freezer as well as extra paper goods. It will keep us going for some time so, hopefully, this will be the last shop for March. The total spent was £48.45 making the total for the month £203.27 which is well under budget. We are really pleased with that. It has been well worth the effort of seeking out bargains and using up leftovers......
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I will sweep £50 into the savings account and contribute extra to the food bank trolley and the Ukraine Aid bucket over the coming weekend.
We have been pleasantly surprised how much we could cut back despite rapidly rising prices in the shops and will continue to do so next month too. Any future food budget savings are likely be swallowed up by energy costs from 1st April though as we will have to pay £120.99 by direct debit instead of the £95 -£100 we have been paying on a monthly basis but I do feel we can cope at the moment 👍
With Spring already here we are going to have to spend some money on the garden as well as the allotment. We can already see rising prices there too. The bucket of blood, fish and bone meal, for example, is currently priced at £16 and the ticket on our almost empty bucket from last year shows £7.50 for the same quantity, which is more than double 😕 but we have drawn a plan for crop rotation and will try to make the most of our growing space including pots at home. At the allotment G has put in potatoes, onions and a few salad-y bits so far. At home we have a pot with breakfast radishes and I want to put in some cut and come again lettuce leaves. We are having to be careful and not get carried away by the lovely spring weather only to be caught out by frost! Our cold frame at home is in full use!
I'm hoping we will have some forced rhubarb soon. We placed a big plastic tub over a different clump to last year so fingers crossed for rhubarb crumble 😃
Thanks so much for popping in and stay safe wherever in the world you happen to be x
Praying for peace in Ukraine 🙏
March Food Shop Challenge:
£203.27/ £275.00
I can cope with the rise in Electricity prices, but am worried that every tank of heating oil is going to cost double compared to the last few years.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very worrying thought Elizabeth. I'm glad we no longer have to rely on LPG because the price of that is shooting up too 🙄
DeleteWell done with your grocery spending in March! Hope April will be another good month for you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Bless 🤗
DeleteYou're doing brilliantly well.
ReplyDeleteA little tip for your cut and come again lettuces, if you see any yellow stickered 'living lettuce' for sale in the supermarkets snap them up and plant them in your veggie beds. I usually get a couple of trays each year this way. It means you have something to eat straight away and something that will carry on growing, usually for around a pound.
Hey! That's a jolly good idea Sue! Lettuce seems to be really expensive at the moment doesn't it :/
DeleteWay to go, being underbudget is great.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thank you!
DeleteNice deal on the $12 coupon. I would be using that too. :)
ReplyDelete👍🙂
DeleteYou are so good at finding bargains. I eat up all the leftovers, too. It really saves money.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie, and I agree that using leftovers for another meal really helps.
DeleteYou are doing brilliantly with your saving challenge.
ReplyDeleteHope you get lots of lovely rhubarb for the crumble x