October 2008 Grocery Challenge. Please read first two posts.

Chaos_Theory wrote: »

cw18, I'll be watching your progress closely for hints and tips as our household is me, hubby and a 17yo son! I'm also just counting food.

It will be interesting to see how we match up after a couple of months, but.....

OrkneyStar wrote: »

I think it is very difficult to compare what people with apparently similar families are spending

this is very true. Some of it is driven by how much you have to stick to budget (no choice here, as I need to cut it lower if we want money for clothes, presents, and unexpected vet or house/car repair bills due to me being made redundant at the end of November.

but I have the luxury of being paid to stay at home until then (have actually been in this position since the middle of May), so I use some of that time to nip down to two very local stores several times each day to check the markdowns which can be brilliant -- and most of our meals are based around whatever meat I can buy that way (often at 75% off). Also means I have the time to walk an extra few minutes to save 6p on each 4pt container of milk, Even that 6p on an almost daily basis makes a huuuuuge difference to our grocery bill.

booklover wrote: »

Hello again

Sorry to be nuisance but what does everyone's target include?

For example, mine includes milk, fruit, veg, meat, cleaning stuff but not toiletries and Does Not include alcohol or magazines .

Many thanks again for doing this.. :A

Fiona

My budget includes all human food, cleaning stuff (I use Stardrops for just about everything!) and toiletries. I don't buy papers/magazines (can read most of them online), nor do I smoke. I do drink but I have a big stock of Sloe Vodka from last year and I often get gifted wine/vodka from my Father when he drops round as he drives to Germany for work a few times a month - in short, I don't often need to actually buy alcohol.

The one thing my budget doesn't include which I do buy is petfood. I have a Neapolitan Mastiff with a sensitive tum so he's on a natural food diet which is basically fish/veg/rice or chicken/veg/rice. Currently I buy whole chickens from Aldi and slow cook them (3-4 a week, approx £10). I don't mind budgeting and cutting back for myself and Mr WW, but we won't skimp on the food the dog needs as the giant breeds can get all sorts of health issues if not fed properly.

£80 for me please

I tested this out without signing up for september and *just* stuck to it so I'll try it properly this month and hopefully reduce it a little next!

I've had this idea to try this and I wondered if anybody else would be interested in either trying it, as well, or hearing how it goes.

I get "paid" on the 1st and 15th of every month when my husband gives me cash for the household budget. (This was my idea... don't anybody get upset about the arrangement.)

Anyway, I was wondering what it would be like to buy only the el cheapo stuff for at least the first pay period if not all of October. Thought it might help me save up a bit for Christmas. Actually, I could say "Any money I save doing this can be spent on Christmas presents."

There will have to be some exceptions, I guess. Milk, for one. Also fresh fruit and veg. And, I think I can make a couple of other exceptions. For example: I can buy anything that is marked down for quick sale - like the Warburtons rolls I bought for 15p the other day, or the hamburgers I got for 50p a few weeks ago. And, there are a couple of instances where the value/smart price alternative isn't actually any cheaper than something else. For example, my husband actually likes those ersatz "cheese" slices and they're significantly cheaper than even the cheapest Smart Price cheddar. It wouldn't make sense to pay over £5 per kilo when I can get the "cheese" my husband prefers for less than £4 a kilo.

So... I get "paid" tonight and will be going shopping tomorow. I think I will resolve to buy only the value items except for:

Milk
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Items reduced for a quick sale
Those items that are actually cheaper than the Value brand equivelents
Something on offer that is genuinely cheaper than the Value brand equivelent
Something I absolutely need for which there is no Value brand alternative (such as milk... there may be other things I haven't considered.)

I have plenty of dishwashing liquid but if I were running low, I would probably make an exception for Fairy, as I honestly believe that anything else is a false economy. That's about the only thing I think I'm unwilling to compromise on for this experiment.

So... I'll let you know how it goes. And, I'll give feedback on what products are good or bad.

ETA: I've been saving receipts, lately, so I'm going to have a look at those to get an idea of what I've been spending on groceries. This will give me an idea of what I'm saving.

good luck with this it will be interesting to hear how u go