Nothing crazy yet this week but I’m really quite shocked at just how much we spend on groceries! We’re barely past the halfway mark for my tracking month! This is a real reality check.

Running total: £167.13

2nd September – £3.36 for two boxes of cereal
1st September – £26.25 for Abel & Cole delivery – fruit and veg, milk and eggs, plus pork mince for burgers (plenty will be frozen for another time) and more bread flour
31st August – £6.29 for massive block of parmesan (went on last night’s courgettes and pasta)
30th August – £4.25 for goats cheese (half off! to go on beetroot salad and baguettes) and £.89 for the baguette
29th August – nothing!
28th August – nothing!
27th August – nothing!
26th August – nothing!
25th August – £23.73 for Abel & Cole delivery, which included salmon and mussels (but we had a £10 off voucher)
24th August – £3.20 lunch stuff
23rd August – £28 misc lunch and dinner stuff (E didn’t save his receipts so this is an estimate)
22nd August – £5.20 baking stuff for chocolate chip cookies
21st August – £37.24 (guessing again here, as I also lost my receipt. argh!) mainly on fajitas stuff and also rye flour which we will someday use to make sourdough starter
20th August – nothing!
19th August – nothing!
18th August – £20.13 Abel & Cole order – fruit and veg, milk, eggs and bread
17th August – £5 on 2 x 500g steak mince, £1.50 on 2 x 750g tomato sauce
16th August – £1.80 on stirfry stuff for dinner, £.98 on cereal
15th August – nothing!

Save money and eat well by choosing food that is in season. Here is what to buy in September, according to BBC GoodFood:

Fruit
At its best: apricots, blackberries, broadbeans, damson, figs, gooseberries, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries, tomatoes

Coming in: bramley apples, cranberries, quince,

Veg
At its best: aubergines, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, cavalo nero, celeriac, celery, courgettes, fennel bulbs, garlic, globe artichokes, kale, lamb’s lettuce, leeks, lettuce, parsnips, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, sorrel, spinach, sweetcorn, swiss chard, watercress

Coming in: brussels sprouts, pumpkin, salsify, swedes, sweet potatoes, turnips,

Meat
At its best: autumn lamb, goose, grouse, guinea fowl, lamb

Coming in: duck

Fish
At its best: crab, halibut, oysters, salmon, tuna

Coming in: mussels

Other than our Abel & Cole delivery we haven’t spent much…except for a few investments in cheese. I love vegetables with cheese – beetroot with goats cheese or blue cheese, spinach or courgettes with parmesan. Yum! Anyway the increase in veg in our house correlates with an increased spend on cheese.

We were away this weekend visiting family and friends so we didn’t eat in very much but we’re trying to get back on track with the home cooking – even with MORE family in town this week!

Here is where we stand:

Running total: £137.52

31st August – £6.29 for massive block of parmesan (went on last night’s courgettes and pasta)
30th August – £4.25 for goats cheese (half off! to go on beetroot salad and baguettes) and £.89 for the baguette
29th August – nothing!
28th August – nothing!
27th August – nothing!
26th August – nothing!
25th August – £23.73 for Abel & Cole delivery, which included salmon and mussels (but we had a £10 off voucher)
24th August – £3.20 lunch stuff
23rd August – £28 misc lunch and dinner stuff (E didn’t save his receipts so this is an estimate)
22nd August – £5.20 baking stuff for chocolate chip cookies
21st August – £37.24 (guessing again here, as I also lost my receipt. argh!) mainly on fajitas stuff and also rye flour which we will someday use to make sourdough starter
20th August – nothing!
19th August – nothing!
18th August – £20.13 Abel & Cole order – fruit and veg, milk, eggs and bread
17th August – £5 on 2 x 500g steak mince, £1.50 on 2 x 750g tomato sauce
16th August – £1.80 on stirfry stuff for dinner, £.98 on cereal
15th August – nothing!

Panini Press each £19.99	Autumn Heather per pack £3.99	Italian Salami each £1.99
Italian Breadsticks per pack 99p	Grissini Breadsticks each 99p	Bruschetta Snack Breads each 79p
Chunky Italian Soups each 69p	Mini Bruschetta each £1.29	Stir Through Pasta Sauce each 89p
Bronze Pasta each 99p	Wholewheat Pasta each 59p	Pasta Bake each 99p
Italian Egg Pasta Nest each 99p	Premium Pesto each 99p	Spaghetti Meal Kit per pack 99p
Risotto Rice each £1.29	Italian Spice Mills each 99p	Gilt Head Sea Bream Fillets each £1.99
Italian Grated Cheese each £2.29	Aceto Balsamico Di Modena each £2.99	Mini Ciabatta Rolls per pack £1.39
Balsamico Crème each £1.69	Carbonara/Tomato & Ricotta Pasta Sauce each 99p	Reginette/Tagliatelle each 89p
Birra Moretti 4 x 330ml per pack £3.49	Italian Lemon Cream Liqueur each £4.99	Sambuca each £8.99
Amaretto with Peach each £6.99	Italian Travel Sweets each 89p	Italian Biscuits each £1.49
Cantuccini each 79p	Milk Chocolate Pralines each £1.79	Amarena Cherries each £1.99
Full Support Bra each £4.99	Ladies’ 2 Pack Briefs per pack £3.99	Ladies’ Waist Slip each £2.99
Ladies Shapewear each £6.99	20D Tights per pack £1.39	Cushion Sole Knee Highs per pack £1.99
Control Top/Support Tights each £1.99	Ladies’ Pyjama Set per set £5.99	Insoles per pair £1.29
Ladies’ Trouser Socks per pack £1.99	Warm Lined Clogs per pair £4.99	Men’s Classic Boxer Shorts per pack £3.99
Men’s Briefs/Boxers per pack £3.99	Men’s Cotton Lycra Suit Socks per pack £2.99	Men’s Pyjamas/Lounge Pants per pack £6.99



The Co-operative Best Buys for the week commencing 30 August 2010

OWN BRAND

The Co-operative British Fresh Beef Burgers 10’s 855g – £4.00
The Co-operative Elmwood British Hot & Spicy Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks 1.2kg – £4.00
The Co-operative Elmwood British Garlic & Herb Thighs and Drumsticks 1.2kg – £4.00
The Co-operative Elmwood British Chinese Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks 1.2kg – £4.00
The Co-operative British 8 Jumbo Cumberland Sausages 840g – £4.00
The Co-operative British 8 Jumbo Pork Sausages 840g – £4.00
The Co-operative British Hot & Spicy Pork Loin Steaks 420g – £4.00
ANY 3 FOR £10

The Co-operative Plums 400g – £1.50
The Co-operative Nectarines Punnet  - £1.50
The Co-operative Peaches Punnet – £1.50
ANY 2 FOR £2

The Co-operative Cherries 200g – £2.00
The Co-operative Blueberries 225g – £2.00
The Co-operative Strawberries 400g – £2.00
The Co-operative Raspberries 170g – £2.00
The Co-operative White Grapes 500g – £2.00
HALF PRICE, ANY 3 FOR £5

The Co-operative British Dry Cured/Breaded/Honey Roast Ham 300g – £3.00
HALF PRICE

The Co-operative Twin Pack Peppers - £1.00

The Co-operative Watercress, Rocket & Spinach Salad 100g – £1.00

The Co-operative Charlotte Potatoes 750g – £1.00

The Co-operative Kiwi Fruits 6’s – £1.00

The Co-operative Soft Bathroom Tissue 9’s
2 FOR £5

BRANDED

Thirst Pockets Kitchen Towels 2’s – £2.00
BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

Gu Chocolate Soufflés/ Fru Lemon Cheese Cake 2×65g/2×90g – £3.00
BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

Head & Shoulders Shampoo/Conditioner 200ml - £2.54
BUY ONE GET ON FREE

Pantene Pro-V Shampoo/Conditioner 200ml - £2.50
BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

KP Assorted Discos 10 x 28g – £1.14
HALF PRICE

Cadbury Fruit & Nut/Crunchie Blast Ice Cream Bars 3×90ml/ 3×100ml – £1.39
HALF PRICE

Honey Monster Sugar Puffs 450g - £1.29
HALF PRICE

Febreze Fabric Spray 500ml – £1.50
HALF PRICE

Gillette Fusion Razors (each) – £3.99
HALF PRICE

Gillette Venus Razors (each) – £4.17
HALF PRICE

Gillette Fusion Hydragel Sensitive/Ultra Protection/Stealth 200ml – £2.00
HALF PRICE

Gillette Satin Care 200ml - £1.50
HALF PRICE

Fairy Washing Up Liquid 450ml - £1.06
BUY 2 FOR £1.60

Lenor Concentrated Fabric Conditioner 750ml – £1.82
BUY 2 FOR £2.00
Fairy All In One 90 Dishwasher Tablets – £7.99

Oh, what an embarrassment. Our grocery shopping is definitely NOT frugal this week. We’ve had three mouths to feed plus friends over for dinner and that means lots and lots of food.

On the plus side, we’ve had some lovely meals, including prawn stirfry, bubble and squeak, baguette pizzas and chicken fajitas. Yum! And loads of veg are being eaten in these parts.

We also did lots of baking. We tried our hand at making bread using this recipe from Jamie Oliver. His countertop mixing method was a huge hit but the flavour didn’t blow my mind. I’m keen to try making his sourdough starter and see if that makes things more interesting. We also made some delicious chocolate chip cookies using this recipe and some fat chocolate chips we got in the States (although we used self-raising flour because it was all we had and scooped the dough instead of slicing it, as the recipe calls for).

That said, we’re definitely spending more than I’d like us to and I’m also annoyed with how careless we’ve been about receipts. But this month is about tracking and next month we’ll get down to the business of trimming away the nonessentials.

Here is where we stand:

Running total: £103.25

24th August – £3.20 lunch stuff
23rd August – £28 misc lunch and dinner stuff (E didn’t save his receipts so this is an estimate)
22nd August – £5.20 baking stuff for chocolate chip cookies
21st August – £37.24 (guessing again here, as I also lost my receipt. argh!) mainly on fajitas stuff and also rye flour which we will someday use to make sourdough starter
20th August – nothing!
19th August – nothing!
18th August – £20.13 Abel & Cole order – fruit and veg, milk, eggs and bread
17th August – £5 on 2 x 500g steak mince, £1.50 on 2 x 750g tomato sauce
16th August – £1.80 on stirfry stuff for dinner, £.98 on cereal
15th August – nothing!

Last post.

The second installment in our grocery budget tracking. Yesterday I bought sauce and beef and E made some really tasty pasta. Much more exciting than what I would have made – he really knows his way around the spice rack!

Today we got our first Abel & Cole order. It was already unpacked by E before I got home so it didn’t have that ‘Christmas morning’ feeling and to be honest everything looks smaller than I expected, but no matter! I’m excited to have new veg to play with. We’ll see if we use it and it is worth the price.

Running total: £28.91

18th August – £20.13 Abel & Cole order – fruit and veg, milk, eggs and bread
17th August – £5 on 2 x 500g steak mince, £1.50 on 2 x 750g tomato sauce
16th August – £1.80 on stirfry stuff for dinner, £.98 on cereal
15th August – nothing!

The Telegraph is doing a brilliant promotion this week that is also quite a happy coincidence for me. If you pick up two days of the Telegraph this week (or swipe them from your work, Starbucks, etc) you can collect two tokens that will save you up to £20 on your food bill. That’s pretty easy and even if you can’t find the papers for free you’ll only spend £2 buying two copies.

The promotion is designed to showcase Britain’s regional fare, including home-baked desserts, local ales, award-winning cheese, organics meats and fish and artisan breads. Once you have your tokens, visit the Telegraph’s promotions page to download the participating venues guide. Over 200 bakers, butchers, farm shops, gastro pubs and restaurants are offering discounts. You can save £5 when you spend £15, £10 when you spend £30 or £20 when you spend £60. The tokens will be in the paper all week and the offer is valid until 31 October.

The coincidence part? Abel & Cole is participating and I’ve just signed us up with them. Plus, I literally just wrote about saving money on groceries last night. Sometimes when you put it out into the Universe…

Click here to shop Aldi Thursday Special Buys.

Ladies’ Active Shoes

per pair £24.99 *

Sports Kite

each £3.99 *

Gyro Ball

each £4.99 *

AB Wheel

each £4.99 *

Sports Compression Underwear

each £9.99 *

Functional Sports Socks

per pack £2.99 *

Children’s Compression Underwear

each £4.99 *

Children’s Sports Socks

per pack £1.99 *

Adult & Children’s Tracksuit

from £7.99 *

Sports Shirt

each £4.99 *

Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil

each £2.49 *

Greek Salami

each £1.99 *

Greek Delicacies

each £1.39 *

Greek Antipasti

each £1.49 *

Original Greek Brittle

each £1.49 *

Fruit Jellies

each £1.49 *

Specially Selected Olives

each £1.59 *

Greek Tzatziki Coated Nuts

each 99p *

Greek Sauce Mix

each 39p *

Greek Olives

each £1.29 *

Ouzo

each £9.99 *

Retsina

each £3.99 *

Mythos Beer

each £1.39 *

Akropolis Greek Brandy

each £11.99 *

Greek Wines – Roditis or Nemea

each £3.99 *

I’m looking for ways to cut back and I really think we could trim our grocery spend. But I don’t have any sense of what a household grocery budget should be for two adults and a part-time kid in central London. I know we could plan ahead better so we can compare prices but without a good snapshot of what we spend I can’t wrap my head around what kind of figure we should set for a grocery budget.

E and I both go in phases of tracking our spending and haven’t been great lately. When I know things are going over budget, like on our recent holiday in the States, I can sometimes be guilty of burying my head in the sand rather than writing down all the purchases and dinners out.

Anyway I think we need an audit period so we know how we can adjust. I like starting things like this on a first of a month, but I will settle for the 15th. I’ll be tracking everything we spend on groceries. That will not include things like household cleaning products and won’t count eating out. Just groceries.

To kick things off, here is where things stand:

16th August – £1.80 on stirfry stuff for dinner, £.98 on cereal
15th August – nothing!

Does anyone have a good rule of thumb for grocery budgeting? Care to share how much you spend?