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Penelope_Penguin
Posts: 17,288 Forumite
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the eighth 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 July budget, then keep on posting in the July 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!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galtizz
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.
I hope everyone has a great month!
Penny x
Welcome to the eighth 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 July budget, then keep on posting in the July 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!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galtizz
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.
I hope everyone has a great month!
Penny x
:rudolf: Sheep, pigs, hens and bees on our Teesdale smallholding :rudolf:
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Comments
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*BigBird* £350 £434.42
*Mari * £195 £124
4moneysaver £100 £82.57
Ailz95 £150
Airedaleterrier £300
Alexelisey £200 £222.33
Almar £450 £490
Alphie25 £250
Always_skint £200
Andan £120
Andrinaperry £350
Angelatgraceland £350 £374.24
AngelNikki £300 £241.55
Angelraesunshine £200 £194.35
Angchris £100
AnitaJ73 £250
Anna-Spanna £250 £247
Annaangeluk £120
Annelouise €365 €298.35
Annie123 £300 £296
Annifranakapan £300
Anzac Biscuit £140 £127.06
Arabellamilla £200
Aril £180 £185.44
BabyMother £300 £230
Bails £100 £98.58
Barneysmom £180 £176.55
Beemuzed £230
belfastgirl23 £150 £205.43
Betterlife £300
BigMummaF £350 £280.34
Blairweech £100
Blondie Bear £400 £397.27
boredofbeingathome £150 £140
Bowski_1011 £150
Bree £500
Brighton Belle £200 £199.88
Brummiebabe £300 £358.92
Bumblebeeandboy £120
Bunzee £45
CalleyW £100
Cammumof3 £200 £170.25
Carolt2 £170 £162.47
Cashwise £120
Catnap53 £200 £305.49
Cheapskate £400 £500
Cheletastic £160
Chell £300 £191.12
Cherrie1122 £250 £235.90
CherryBlossom £200 £237.75
Ches £200
Chocolate teddy £280 £280
Chriscroz £400
Cleosmum £210 £165.02
Coco2972 £220
Cookinmummy £240 £212.47
Coolmum66 £250 £228.05
Craftingqueen £450 £462.19
Crazyaboutsaving £185
Cruiksl £350
Dazzle21 £225 £259.56
DdraigGoch £180 £193
Debz66 £60 £116.47
Denisefowler £300 £302.81
Diane239 £200
Dink1 £160 £170
EagerLearner £120 £104.27
Egon £150 £169.96
el-o-l-a-lola £70
Enlli £135
Essex-Girl £300
Ewingoil £180
Fayjmck £200
FedupNow £121.85
Feline Fantastic £220
Fertyskids £400 £369.03
Fi27 £350
Findingmyfeet £420 £366.39
Fizzel81 £200 £187.68
Floxxie £250
Fluffysox £150 £122.07
Frankerooney £180
Frugalswan £160 £165.32
funkyfunkymonkey £150 £159.78
Gailey £200
Galacticgreen £200 £195.72
Galadriel £150
Get me debt free £100
Getting-Sorted-Sarah £200
Gillaman £135 £114.51
Gillian576 £400
Girl least likely to £200 £207.53
Greent £500 £487.24
Gunsandbanjos £175 £173.55
Halia £150
Hamish222 £200
Heatherbelle £200
Helenm2008 £200 £213.72
Herbaholic £300
Herewegoagain £100 £85.16
Huxley £220 £202.81
Ifonlyitwaseasier £75
Isthatreduced £140
jackiegibbo £180 £225.56
Jackk £200 £233.34
Jacks xxx £350 £402.06
JayJay14 £220 £223.94
Jaycee1972 £150
Jediteacher £250
Jinky67 £200 £195.98
Jjef £385
Jo_jo70 £100
Jumps £170 £172.24
KAAT_LADY £200
Kalojac £300
Kaz2904 £286.85
Kazmeister £300 £315.15
Keeping positive £200 £216
Kindlesgirl £350 £301.95
KITTY £275
kittynortheast £350 £278.20
lady roughneck £200 £190.23
lainz £50 £50.56
Le Foot £300
Lemonade_money £300
LilacPixie £250 £307.62
Lingojingo £160 £119.62
Little_belle £200
LittleMissAspie £110
Liuhut £100
Lizzieanne £375 £369.56
Lucifa73 £200 over
LulaHula £150 £192
Lumpycustard £95 £92.15
Madmittens £70 £68.70
mama67 £250 £187.60
Mandy_moo_1 £200 £184.92
Mariel £160 £149.67
Meanmarie €300 €300
MERFE £200
Mhe £200
Millyscarlett £200 £193.12
MissPin £100
Mollymop5 £200
Moniker £280 £254.03
Mooloo £300 £247.97
Mouche £100 £100
Mr+Mrs T £250 £265
Mrs.Irwin £300 £293.37
Mrs Money Penny £200 £228.73
MrsBartolozzi £250 £242.65
Mrs-MoneyPenny £400
mrssnowy £180 £162.42
Mrsmcawber €100 €90.85
Mudbath £25
Mum_2_1_boy £200
mummy gems £340
Mumoffour77 £450
Mumofjusttwo £200 £259.75
NannyOgg £170 £134.97
Naomim £220 £222.16
Naturally £60
natzini £125
Nessquic80 £220 £183
newlywed £320 over
Newmoneysaver £130
Nicki £80 £138.13
Nickynoo08 £120
Nicnacnoo £150 £149.78
NW-Angel £250
nykmedia £40
Orkneystar £160 £154
patent girl £300 £300
Penguin83 £450
Penny-Pincher £275
PerryWinkle £280 £278.71
PetitePeche £200 £440.55
Philsmum £160 £159.33
Pink princess £375 £354.79
Pip-squeak £100 £93.61
PoohBear59 £240 £221
Poppyoscar £40 £43.36
princess leia £250 £260
Procrastinator £250 £199.50
Punkrock06 €160 €250
Queen of string £200
Rachel021967 £650
rachelmk £100 £100.88
Ragz £300
razra £80
Rockie4 £200 £180.37
Roxy7699 £125
Rrutter £300
Rubydoiwannabee £300 £338
Ruthibe73 £200
Russetred £340 £351.59
Saffouri £220 £221.71
Sashanut £225 £220.96
Savingfortravel £250 £36.06
Savvystudent £130 £139.80
SAV3R £400 £398.77
Scaredy cat £400
Scattymam £160 £152.08
Scenic route £120
ScooterWife £300
ScotSaver £161 £156.34
Searching me £100 £115
Shala-moo £200
Shelovestobuystuff £200 £99.76
Shezza £150
Sjaypink £300
Skintmam £150
skintscotslass £100
Sleepy-Lady £150
SmellyOldSock £300
Smetf £380 £379.69
Sosh £260 £285.54
Sproggi £350
StudentGirl £320
SueB £450
SunnyDay £140
SunnyDonny £225 £210.49
susan946 £400 £339
SuziQ £180
Suzybloo £350:A0 -
Taffy1969 £350 £367.59
Taplady £285 £269.89
tattycath £220
Teedy23 £45 £40.78
the_cat £300 £307.40
Tigerpants £400
Toottifrootti £130 £113.72
Tq16 £145 £135.08
Triggles £200
Turbo5019 £180 £189.26
Wannabe sybil £400
Welshwoofs £150
Wendywitch £200 £215.42
Winniepooh £350
WitchMabel £300
Wmf £100 £126
Yellow Monkey £315 £312
Zend £200
Zekepes £325
Zenzen £200
zoe260373 £350
Zoegirl $80
Fortnightly
Moneysavinghornette £200
Pen_and_paper £70
ShelBell £100
Weekly
Astonished £100 £99.27
Crockpot £50
Justamum £84.45
Mary33 £65
Moneysavinghornette £50
PablosMummy £45:A0 -
thank you for starting this,
can i have £75 for my august total, it's only a part month as will be off honeymooning from the 22ndNonny mouse and Proud!!
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience!!
Debtfightingdivaextraordinaire!!!!
Amor et metus. Lac? Sugar? Quisque massa vel duo? (stolen from a lovely forumite!)0 -
Hi everyone :hello:
Thanks for starting the thread Penny :A
I'm gonna set my budget for this month at £300 which will be £75/Week. My month doesnt start until wednesday though, and I still have one MrT delivery left for July.
Good luck everyone and welcome all newbies :wave:
Nikki x:A0 -
Can I sneak back in here this month, it must be a year since I fell off the wagon:o and my food bills have escalated to scary levels:eek:
I will set a target of £350 for 2 adults, 2 teenagers, 2 children, 3 cats & 1 dog
It seems quite high, but I have DD1 & DD2's birthdays and the hoards of people that need feeding on those days
Sproggi'We can get over being poor, but it takes longer to get over being ignorant'
Jane Sequichie HiflerBeware of little expenses.A small leak will sink a great ship
Benjamin Franklin0 -
Hi,
Can you put me down for £450 for August, as it will be a five week month for us so have put an extra £50 for the extra week ,compared to July budget this is for 2 adults,2 teenagers,3 children and 1 dog. Will declare my July figure tomorrow when shopping is delivered.
CQProud to be No. 61 in the DMP mutual support group.0 -
Please can you put me down for £80, still need to tally up last months spends as with being away for a family wedding and being poorly I kinda lost track:o
As always this is for everything and its still only me to feed, just been and done an online shop which will prob come in around £50, which goes to show how much food has risen, I used to struggle to get the total upto £50 to get free delivery now I seem to get there really easily:rolleyes:
Good luck everyoneJune Grocery Challenge 270.80/250July Grocery Challenge 0/3000 -
Afternoon everyone,:hello: just logged on to catch up on july's thread and noticed this was up and running.
Angelnikki, could you please put us down for £170 for this month.
This is to last from 1/08/08 to 31/08/08.
To include all food,cleaning things and pet food etc.
Thanks for all your work keeping the totals Angelnikki.'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle'0 -
Happy new thread everyone :beer:
Spent just over £100 in Mr T this morning :eek: But my cupboards and freezers are now stuffed. I also liberated the cupboard in the "utility area" in the garage - shifted out all the pots with dregs of dried up paint in them, and it is now my storage area for bulk buys.
Made a big pot of carrot and coriander soup for lunch, just waiting for the remainder to cool down now so I can freeze it. And whilst I wait, I'm off to sit in the garden with my book - gotta make the most of the nice weather whilst its here. Housework can wait til tomorrow, when it's supposed to be chucking it down Let's face it, the dust ain't going nowhere!You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change.0 -
Afternoon everyone, wow august already! well since june and july were very low spend months for me ive run down so much that i dont have much in now
so august will be £200 for me budget wise, this will also include the fact its the holidays and anything we have when out and about will be included
this budget is for me and 3 children, and also includes bbq food for sons birthday next weekend (2nd aug)DFW 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
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