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Pink.
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Hello everyone,
Welcome to the tenth Grocery Challenge of 2008. :hello:
If your new month starts early feel free to join this thread, or if you're still working on your September budget, then keep on posting in the September Grocery Challenge.
As always this challenge is to reduce your own grocery budget to levels that you will be pleased with, not forgetting that we always recommend that you stay inside your own comfort levels and take things gently one step at a time. Remember that this is not a competition....it's designed to take you and your grocery spending to a level you are happy with.
If you are new to the challenge I have quoted the advice from Galtizz below which will help you get started.
Please post into this thread for help and advice and support at any time. Good luck to everyone taking part!
For guidelines on posting in this thread please read the second post in this thread.
For the Grocery challenge Recipe Index please see posts #5 and #6 on this thread.
For everyone's targets and totals for the month please read posts #3 and #4 on this thread.
I hope everyone has a great month!
Pink
Welcome to the tenth Grocery Challenge of 2008. :hello:
If your new month starts early feel free to join this thread, or if you're still working on your September budget, then keep on posting in the September Grocery Challenge.
As always this challenge is to reduce your own grocery budget to levels that you will be pleased with, not forgetting that we always recommend that you stay inside your own comfort levels and take things gently one step at a time. Remember that this is not a competition....it's designed to take you and your grocery spending to a level you are happy with.
If you are new to the challenge I have quoted the advice from Galtizz below which will help you get started.
Please post into this thread for help and advice and support at any time. Good luck to everyone taking part!
Galtizz wrote:I have said this before, but for all the newbies to the challenge;
For the first month I took a guess at the budget but I really had no idea how much I was spending.
I found the best thing is to have a guess the first month but SAVE ALL OF YOUR RECEIPTS (and yes, that does include the ones from the local shop when you run out of milk ), then at the end of the month add them all up and have a look if you were on budget, if not, it doesn't matter because your budget was a guess. For the next month you can use the total of your receipts and take a bit off to get a realistic budget, just shave off as much as you think you can, it could be £1 a week or £20 a week.
If you are currently spending £200 a month don't suddenly drop it to £100 - you'll never do it but if you cut £20 a month off for a few months you'll get there eventually without feeling you're missing out on anything.
You might think you've done everything you can in the first month but someone always comes up with a new idea and, if you try it you often find you save a bit more (unless you are SarahSaver who is an expert at this and could only save more if she turned her back garden into a paddy field and lived on rice ) In the first month I thought, I'm planning meals, I couldn't possibly save any more, but then I started double cooking and freezing, and making soup instead of buying it in tins.
I've been doing this since Feb but only saved ALL of my receipts last month, it has given me a much better idea of where it is all going. Budget for next month is £80 for 2 of us, I'll start on 30/4. I could probably save more, by eating different foods but I can afford to live on £80, I have saved a lot of money since Feb. and I don't waste food or money any more. So I'm happy with my budget.
For guidelines on posting in this thread please read the second post in this thread.
For the Grocery challenge Recipe Index please see posts #5 and #6 on this thread.
For everyone's targets and totals for the month please read posts #3 and #4 on this thread.
I hope everyone has a great month!
Pink
0
Comments
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Guidelines for posting on the Grocery Challenge thread.
What is the Grocery Challenge thread?
This is a thread where people who are taking part in the Grocery Challenge can post for help encouragement and support and talk about anything related to grocery shopping. We ask that you try to keep on topic and post things that are relevant to the challenge.
Posting grocery budgets and spends for the month
Some people like to post their grocery budget and final spend for each month. If you wish to be included in the master list then please post these in red and in a large font as this makes it easier for the volunteers to keep a record of everyone’s totals.
Number of posts
In order to make the thread easier to read it would be helpful if users would try not to post multiple posts in quick succession.
Chat
Chatty posts that are relevant to the Challenge are fine. Irrelevant chat or posts simply saying ‘Good morning/Goodnight’, ‘just popping on to say hello’, ‘I’ve sent you a pm’ etc aren’t, as they clutter up the thread and may be removed to make the thread easier for others to read. Unfortunately the board guides simply don't have the time to pm users individually when posts are removed to keep the thread on topic. If your post has been removed and you are unhappy with the decision, please feel free to send us a pm.
If you want to say thanks to another user please use the thanks button and please post any chat not related to the Grocery Challenge into the Daily Thread or use the pm function.
No Spend days (NSD’s)
A number of people like to record that they have had a no spend day. Again to reduce the number of posts we would ask that rather than post just that you had a no spend day you record it in your signature and/or add it to a post that is directly relevant to the Grocery Challenge.
Pictures
Please keep these relevant to the challenge. While photographs of produce or cooking are great, pictures of semi-naked men or large clip art aren’t.
Bargains
Please don’t forget to check out the Grabbit and Shop but Don’t drop boards for any bargains and the Discount Codes 'n Vouchers (online & offline) board to see if there are any current vouchers around.
Questions about recipes, freezing, techniques etc
These don’t always fit into the Grocery Challenge. There are a number of threads where it may be more appropriate to ask questions. There is a wealth of information available on the Old Style board so please do a search to see if there is a better thread for your question. For more help with searching see here or feel free to send a private message to a board guide who will be happy to help.
Useful Links to threads on the Old Style board
Quick Questions thread
Recipe thread
Cheap recipe threads
Don't throw food away challenge...
The Complete Cooking Collection
Old Style Daily thread General chat about Old Style (new thread started daily)
Flylady thread Cleaning thread (new thread weekly)
Enough is Enough (decluttering)
Lose weight the Old Style way
Finally if you are new to Old Style and want help to find your way around, this thread may help: Welcome to Old Style and there is some excellent practical help and advice on posting on MSE chat forums in this thread: Unofficial A-Z (Look here first)0 -
4moneysaver £85
Ailz95£180
AliBobsy £200
Allegra £200 £225.86
Allie23 £200 £164.24
Almar £400
Alphie25 £200
AlwaysHappy£240 £238.87
Andrinaperry £300
Angelatgraceland £350 £250.06
Angelraesunshine £250
Annaangeluk £120
Annelouise £310
Annie123£300 £410
Arabellamilla£200
Aril £160
Baileysbabe £350 £300.60
Bails £75
BarneysMom £160 £141
Beemuzed £230
belfastgirl23 £160 £173
Beltainebabe £300
BertieBots £200
*Big Bird* £300 £299.81
BigMummaF £350 £289.32
Bigspender2 £330 £329.59
Blairweech £100
Booklover £200 £275
boredofbeingathome £200
Borneo Girl £120
Bullet £280 £343.97
Brummiebabe £400
CalleyW £160
CandyGirl £160 £164
Carolt2 £160 £152.76
Casperthefriendlyghost £30 £35.41
Catnap £250 £248.05
Cazzdevil £40
Chaostheory £350
Cheapskate £400
Cheerfulness4 £100 £173.98
ChelseaBun £250
Cherie1122 £200
Cherry Blossom £200
CherryPie £100 £130
ChoccyBix £300
Chocolate teddy £350 £349.88
Cookinmummy £250
Coolmum66 £250
CraftingQueen £400
CravingSaving £300
Crazyaboutsaving £160 £205
CurlyCabbage £200
CW18 £155 £121.50
Damita £160
Dazzle21£200 £229
DebbieMc £50
Dink1 £250 £369.62
Donnajt £300 £262.59
Dontpanicyet £280 £254.16
Echelon101 £60
Egon £190
Eilo1007 £80
Eireaine £250
Empy £200
Essex-girl £400
Eveie189 £300 + 300 extras £471.77 + £655.22
FairyElephant £160 £164
Fallen Angel Shelley £160
Fedupnow £180 £167.83
Fertyskids£350 £307.43
Findingmyfeet £300
Fizzle81 £100
Flylady Flower £300 £185.24
Frasersmum123 £400
Funkyfunkymonkey £250
FuzzyFelt £200
Galaxy863 £150 £158.61
Gillaman£100
GlasweJen £50
Got-it-spend-it £100
Greent £400 £367.02
gtx £200 £149.07
Guns n banjos £180
Hamish222 £200
Helenm £200 £246
Here we go again £90 £53.55
Hollysan £350 £439.31
Huxley £215 £301.65
Ifonlyitwaseasier £125 £127.92
Ily £300
Inamess200 £450 £483
IrishWexford £150
jackiegibbo £220 £240.12
Jackie £350
Jackk £200
Jacks xxx £350 £419
Jane2112 £250
JayneC £250 £252.40
JayJay14 £200 £165.95
JediTeacher£200
Jet77 £150
JexysBird £300
Jinky67 £250
JulieJim £300
JulieMK £160 £139.96
KAAT_LADY £200 £182.48
Kalojac £320
Karb £400 + £50 petrol
Katie2407 £150
KatieJones £250
Kaz2904 £300 £307.34
Kazmeister £300
Kellitots £160
Kerriebaby £40
Kippers £300
Kindlesgirl £280
Kiwi Blue $100 $70
KJ*Daisy £300 £307.11
Kymbogs £300 £255.05
Ladyroughneck £180 £173.74
lainz £88.88 £123.60
Lee Barton £300 £346
Lelc £250
LeopardLady £150
Leyla-Aurelia £400
Lil me £300
Lilmisskitkat £300
Lingojingo £160 £140.22
Little Miss Frugal £300
LizzieAnne £400
Lucifa73 £200
LumpyCustard £100
Mad mittens £80 £66.53
mama67 £250 £242.33
MangoTree €300
Meanmarie€300 £332.75
mhe £200
millieJo £375 £325
MillieMonster £200
Millionaire in training £280
Millyscarlett £200
MissKay £300 £301.05
Miss Piggy £150
Money Fritter £60 £55.80
MoneySavingMumOfOne £150
Moneysaving Diva £300 £273.90
Moniker £325 £302.14
MooLoo £300 £302.87
Mouche £100
-6 -8 -3 -1.5 -2.5 -3 -1.5-3.50 -
Mr & Mrs T £250 £270
Mrs Money Penny £190 £175.35
Mrs-MoneyPenny £400
mrssnowy £180 £180
Mrsmcawber €100 €49.04
Mumker £260 £254
mummy gems £340 £334.56
Natty68 £250 £192.28 + £23 veg box + £114.12 extras
newlywed £330
Nickynoo08 £100
nimbo £200 £216.31
nykmedia £50 £67.95
Orlando26 £250
patent girl £200
Pengwern16 £100
PerryWinkle £350 £334.59
Philsmum£160 £176.22
Phoolgrrrl £120
PigPen £600
PinkJen £120 £111.37
Pink Fluffy £350 £350
PinkPrincess £350
Pip-Squeak £100 £100.30
Piquant £200
Pollysg £150 £240
PositivelyPurple £400
princess leia £250 £235
Procrastinator £200
Prophecy-grrl £200 £179.21
Prudent £120 £97.44
Purple Skies £50 £65.18
Puss14 $400
QOTD £200
Queen of string £200 £164.69
Rach £220 £229.88
rachelmk £150 £191.47
RavyLesley £400 £379
razra £70
Redmel1621 £350 £382.56
Rellaella £400
Rockie4 £170 £191.53
RosieBen £80 £85
Russetred £340 £388.34
Saffouri £200 £211.21
SammyJig £200
Sashanut £220 £226.59
Savingfortravel £200 £40.21
SavingPennies £300
Savvystudent £40
SAV3R £400 £423.35
Scenic route £125 £136.52
ScotSaver £200 £199.53
Shelly1977 £100 £105.04
Shelovestobuystuff £135 £287.64
Silly Cow £180
SisterCas £300 £276.11
sjc31 £100
Smetf £470
SmlSave £200 £180
SnugglePants £80
Sosh £255
Sparklymessgirl £150 £175
Stargirl29 £180
SunnyDonny £190 £197.61
Susan946 £350
SuziQ £160
Suzybloo £300
Taffy1969 £350
Taka £137.60 £134.90
Teedy23 £45
The Bees £350
the_cat £220 £155.91
Tirlittan £100
ToottiFrootti £100 £89.23
Tq16 £145
Triggles £200 £193.51
Turbo5019 £200 £181.09
Urg123 £90 £88.18
VickiStorey £300
Victoriajj £300
Webitha £250
WelshWoofs £65 £73
Wendywitch £250
Winky the house Elf £85
WitchMable £120
Wmf £180 £106.67
Weekly
Ashia £20
Betterlife £60
Chell £55
Dozygirl £50
Moodydonkey £50
MrsHayes £50
Mumzyof2 £25 W1 £27.05 W2 £12.32 W3-4 £55.50 total £93.87
Ness w £80
Penny-Pincher £50
Shellbell £50-6 -8 -3 -1.5 -2.5 -3 -1.5-3.50 -
Main Meals & Side Dishes
Baked potato pizza
Baked Beans (home made)
Broad Bean Burgers
Chicken Cannelloni
Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup
Chicken Fried Rice
Chilli
Chinese style cabbage
Corned Beef Hash - MrsMCawber's recipe
Creamy Chicken and Potato casserole
Curry Sauce
Diet Coke Chicken
Duchesse potatoes
Fishcakes
Fish Pie
Ham and Lentil Soup
Iced cucumber soup
Individual chicken pies
Lasagne
Lemon Chicken
Lemon chicken with basil and tagliatelle
Meatballs
Mediterranean Mince and Potato 'Pie'
Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta
Mince & onion pie
Minced Beef Curry
Mini Goat's Cheese, Pear & Walnut Quiche
Moussaka
Open top 'pizza' pie
Parsnip & Apple Soup
Pizza / Pizza Base Recipe
Potato layer bake
Quiche Lorraine
Real Tomato Soup
Sausage Casserole
Sausage Meat Patties
Spaghetti with courgettes, tomato and brie
Spicy Bean & Sweet Potato Stew
Spicy Carrot and Tomato Soup
Stuffing - MrsMcawber's recipe
Suet crust pie with quorn
Super Tasty Bacon, Bean and Sausage
Sweet & Sour Chicken/Pork
TexMex Skillett
Thai green curry
Toad in the Hole
Tofu burgers
Turkey and Bubble and Squeak Pie
Vegetable Casserole
Veggie Haggis
Bread
Bagels
Baguettes
Bread - Mrs McC's recipe for Remoska
Breadsticks MrsM's / angelnikki's (No Salt Recipe)
Cheese & Potato Bread
Cheesy Bread Rolls
Chewy Soft Flour Tortilla
Chocolate Bread
Courgette Flatbread
Focaccia
Garlic Dough Balls
Herb Quick bread
HM Bread
Naan Bread MrsM's / OrkneyStar's
Oatmeal bread
soft bread rolls
Super Seedy Bread
... don't throw the string away. You always need string!
C.R.A.P.R.O.L.L.Z Head Sharpener0 -
Dips, Jams & Chutneys
Alioli / Traditional allioli
Elderberry cordial
Jams & Preserves
Pineapple Salsa
Tomato Chutney
Cakes, Biscuits, Snacks & Desserts
Apple delight
Apple Charlotte
Apricot Flapjack bars
Banana and lemon drizzle cake
Banana and Walnut cake
Banana Ginger Parkin
Branflake cake
Bounty Balls
Bran Fruit Loaf
Bread & Butter Pudding
Bulk pancake mix
Cheese n marmite twists
Cheesy Biscuits
Chocolate fudge
Chocolate Fudge Cake
Chocolate Krackolates
Coconut Cake
Cookie Dough
Courgette Tea Bread/Muffins
Cranberry And Chocolate Brownies
Currant Loaf
Custard Cookies
D&DD’s Apple Braid
Date, Nut and Oat biscuits
Eggless Chocolate Cake
Flaky Bars
Flapjacks
Gingerbread Men
Ginger Raisin Crunches
Golden Syrup Tart
Iced Buns
Impossible Coconut Pie
Jammy Buns
Key lime pie
Krispie marshmallow bars
Lemon Curd Cake
Lemon Curd Ice-Cream JeniD's / MoneySavingDiva's
Malt Bread
Marshmallow Squares
Mascarpone and Lime Torte
Mascarpone Ice-cream
Millies Cookies
Muffins: Basic Recipe / Chocolate Orange Muffins / Gingerbread Muffins / Kiwi Muffins / Sticky Date Muffins / Strawberry Muffins / Toffee Apple Muffins
No fat sponge
Oaty Shortbread Biscuits
Peanut Butter Cookies
Scones
Spiced Apple Bars
St Peter's Mud Pie (no cooking required)
Sticky gingerbread
Teacakes
Twink’s Hobnobs
Weetabix Brownies
Weetabix Cake
Wonderbites
Yoghurt: Homemade yoghurt, Slow Cooker Yoghurt
Yoghurt Cake (the easy way)
Top Tips & Links
Grocery Challenge Top Tips
How to feed your whole family a healthy, balanced diet... (Webook)
Laundry Washing Gel/ Gloop, Fab conditioner, vinegar.....
List of conversions
Love Food Hate Waste website
Show Jamie How To Cook On A Budget Champagne Contest... don't throw the string away. You always need string!
C.R.A.P.R.O.L.L.Z Head Sharpener0 -
I'm in. I know I have not been around for the past few weeks, and I fell off the wagon in September, but I am here now!
So £100 for me please. Ugh, I can't even stick to this for more than one month let alone reduce it.
Right, off to read the new rules thenWe must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment0 -
I'm getting all excited about starting this on Tuesday -- but I know the rest of the family will think I'm [strike]sad[/strike] mad if I let on !!!!
I'm hoping to pick up nothing but bread, milk and Whoopsies! before Tuesday -- so I may want/need to adjust my October target (starts Tuesday) down a bit (even yesterday pulled my daily average for September down a bit, which is what I'm using as my starting point for October).
Plan to do a 'stock take' before the end of Tuesday, and play around with a menu plan of sorts as well -- though this will be flexible as the last three months I've just worked around whatever I've managed to pick up in Whoopsie! that day or the day before (or raided the freezer if there wasn't anything worth getting).
Main shop will probably be Wednesday (have plans for Tuesday that mean staying around the house).Cheryl0 -
Hi count me in for October grocery challenge.
I aim to get down to 50.00 per week, this month, all in.
I am very new to these forums, 1 day, so excuse me if i come across as a bit slow, now you know why call me dozygirl.:eek: grocery reduction planning now down to 50.00 per week
seriously on track to be debt free in 12 months.......0 -
count me in
not sure if i signed up for september but was aiming for under £150 and ive so far spent 73.89 (lots of asda bargins)
for october this is a very hopefull £100.00 this is for me (but work days i will get a free meal at work) Michael (who will also get free meals at work) and the boys (2 of whom take packed lunchs to childminders) will be interesting to see how i do this month adding in an extra adult (he doesnt live with me but here most days)
need to do a store cupboard inventry and also try and do a rough monthly meal plan rather than weekly that way maximising what is already here as its a tight monthDFW nerd club number 039 'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts' :money: i will be debt free aug 2010
2008 live on 4k +cb £6,247.98/£6282.80 :T
sealed pot 2670g
2009 target £4k + cb £643.89:eek: /£6412.800 -
£25 for me please a week
for me and 2 kidsSealed Pot dec 08 - dec 09 so far £27.67, Live off £4k Spent £330.20 GC £1,200 for 2009 Spent £50.78 PaD so far £650.07Debts: L/woods £154.00 C/One PAID O/D £649.90 Next £299.95 O/D PAID Gas £72.60 Electric £155.73 Mum £640.00 Orange £490.320
This discussion has been closed.
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