Are we being over optimistic with our £50 budget?

When we couldn't get crème fraiche a couple of weeks ago for the mushroom stroganoff I had to change the menu .................. well with pak choi, ginger, garlic, and carrots along with my need for brown rice, stir fry seemed the obvious answer. In the cupboard there's a selection of soy sauce, rice wine, rice vinegar and sesame oil so a good slosh of each makes an amazing vegetable stir fry.
This has now become a twice a week meal....................
Who needs mushroom stroganoff anyway?

Talking about pak choi and carrots ...............we've noticed the pak choi seems to be larger and have a stronger flavour and stay far crunchier in a stir fry and the carrots are a lot smaller than the horse size ones we bought in Waitrose. Different varieties? Probably! Different growers? Undoubtably! Fresher? Definately!

Saturday was Bideford Farmers Market and in between kite surfing up and down Jubilee Sq. on the end of a gazebo (it was a tad windy!)
I purchased a few things in the local shops - milk 80p and purple sprouting broccoli £1.04 I asked about hispi/pointy/spring cabbage as we couldn't get it this week on our veg order. The guy said that the weather had spoilt them so they didn't buy them. Explains that one then!
Smoked streaky bacon from the butcher for celariac soup and Sunday brunch toasted bacon sandwich was £1.57.

On Tuesday when I filled up with petrol in Holsworthy Texaco I bought 50 Twinings teabags £2.85 and then after working near Bude popped into Lansdowne Dairy for butter £1.69

Wednesdays only purchase was milk for 50p

Total this week £50.72

We are now wondering whether perhaps we were rather optimistic setting our budget at £50 per week.
Should we have put it at £75 which was the average we spent in Waitrose?
Or should we have a budget at all? ........ there was never a budget before we just whipped out a credit card!
Now its all cash!

We're not doing this to skimp on things , just to see if we can shop local, support local and do it without supermarkets. As well as seeing if its more or less expensive and if there is a difference in quality, taste and availability.

The jury is out!