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Grocery Challenge Thread Options

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  • greent
    greent Posts: 10,751 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I found the GC in mid May & thought it seemed fab. It has grown SO much since then that I don't find it as fab :rolleyes:

    I don't mean to cause offence with any of the comments I'm about to make - but this is my opinion :p

    I wish people would read page one where it suggests how to approach the challenge - ie: save receipts for a month & go from there. I didn't save mine, but did total all my debit card entries for earlier in that month & saved from when I found the cahllenge in teh 2nd half of May. I also checked on previous statements for april and totalled those & they were similar. As 99% of our grocery spending is by card it worked for me. We seem to have had a lot of people asking how to set a budget for their family - well, post 1 tells you how...... And as previously stated on GC, it is not a competition to see who can manage on the least, but a way of reducing spends to a comfortable level.

    I personally don't like posts which say 'hello - see you later' or 'goodnight' type ones - they take up so much space and don't add anything. This may sound harsh, but I use the 'thanks' button to say thanks for something I find useful or agree with - I don't thank someone saying 'just popped in to say an nsd' type posts (I'm not picking on anyone in particular, just expressing my view). I'm also not fussed on 'hello, I'll be back later when I've been to Mr X shop' - one post after shopping would be more ideal.

    I like some chat to the thread - preferably in with a post that is already relevant. It makes you all more real - and I have no issue with someone saying why they are going through a bad time etc - this is a supportive board :D

    Personally I love the recipe index and the fact its on the first page - but it doesn't seem to stop people asking for recipes which are on there :confused: Also some questions asked on the board could be asked in quick questions or even googled to get an answer

    I would prefer a guideline of 1 post a day, rather than a rule - there are times when people may post twice one day and then not post again for a few days - which I find fine. I would personally like to see an end to 'hello, back later'/ 'goodnight'/ 'nsd for me' - and nothing else GC related in there type posts (if you can make sense of that - very jumbled - sorry)

    I don't mean to sound a grumpy git :rotfl: but I think the vast majority agree the GC can't continue as is - it's too unwieldy. However, I'm not sure what the best solution is

    Apologies for rambling:o Post was not meant to be this long :o

    greent
    I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul
    Repaid mtge early (orig 11/25) 01/09 £124616 01/11 £89873 01/13 £52546 01/15 £12133 07/15 £NIL
    Net sales 2024: £20
  • troo wrote: »
    Ah yes but it can be copied and pasted, and most of the amounts won't change because the monthly people will have already worked their's out for the next few weeks :D

    I don't agree. Mrs M has to keep an eye on every post now and often, without meaning to, misses some, as totals are not always posted in red and bold as asked - imagine having to enter everyones totals at the end of every week - it would be a nightmare! Plus there will be people joining each week, people posting to say they are in that week, people changing their challenge, it would be a logistical nightmare I think...

    I love the thread as the chat does make it what it is - supportive and friendly - but I can see the point about number of posts - I work and find it very difficult, but do like to be involved as it is like a community.

    Maybe we could all chat on the OS board (mental note - need to find these other boards! :D ) or even have a seperate GC chat room for when we need to discuss how much hard work our other halves are with their spending when we are trying to save or just when we need support on something (this is what the GC is so great for ) - so that if it is related to groceries, at least we still have a board that we can search.

    Maybe we could also keep the money saving recipes on this new board and just have a link to them on the beginning of the GC? AngelNikki, I don't think your post adds to the mayhem at all, and letting people know it's there instead of reposting a recipe is much better IMHO.

    Maybe we could also keep photos off the GC and keep them the the chatroom GC (or whatever we do?) as they obviously takes time to download for people on dialup and this may make it easier for them - although I love looking at Mrs M's pottio and everyones cooking triumps - so just banning them would be really sad.

    Sorry if I've not been much help, it's hard as I love the challenge for what it is, but it is difficult to keep up with for me, so I know it must be hard for others, and I must admit, it has become a bit argumentative lately too, maybe because people are trying to catch up - that bit I won't miss ;)

    Good luck with your decision... Denise x
    LBM April 2013 - £29,000.00
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    Barclaycard CC £1400.78 - BoS CC PAID - Freemans Cat PAID
    F/D Loan & CC £1458.96 - Santander Loan PAID - Mum Loan PAID
    RBS OD PAID - F/D OD £1026.52
    Weekly Grocery Challenge - £95.00 budget / spend £-
  • tq16
    tq16 Posts: 233 Forumite
    angelnikki wrote: »
    LOL, I had said this would be a good idea but I've changed my mind :doh: I don't think there should be a GC chat thread because anything that is relevant to the GC should go on the GC thread, any other chat should go on OS daily chat thread (if it's OS chat) or the other chat threads on the other boards.

    If there was a GC chat thread it would just end up being a chat thread because anything to do with the GC will be posted on the non chat thread if that makes sense :confused:

    How would a GC chat thread differ from the OS daily chat thread?

    Is there a reason why people dont feel they can post their questions on the quick questions thread or their chat on the daily chat thread instead of on GC? Maybe that is the issue that needs to be addressed rather than making another thread. :confused::confused:

    I think that me posting the Recipe Index has probably added to all the chat as people are posting recipe requests & queries which really arent anything to do with the GC. :o Sorry.

    Nikki x
    Can't speak for anyone else but I have no idea what the os daily chat thread is, or the quick Found the GC thread when first logged on and that is the only of forums that i have looked at. Could this be the case for others and maybe why so many posts on GC thread? I find the info on GC thread fantastic but I do struggle to keep up with the thread and then often feel I am missing useful tips as often skip pages at a time. Not sure what the answer is though really? ....
    (Family of 5: 2 adults & 3 children aged 7yrs, 4yrs, and 18months)
  • Loads to think about here and I'm really pleased to hear smarter minds than mine are already working on it (pink-winged and Penelope Penguin :) ) It's really interesting to hear different views because I've been trying to figure out whether I'm hiding out from the thread because I've lost the plot a bit or whether it really is too overwhelming. In one way I really like the chat and bits of info you pick up there and I am really in awe of some of the moneysaving that goes on there (MrsM in particular, she should be running the country :) ). But the downside of that is that every time you check in there's another several pages. And some are probably a bit too chatty and too little GC-y for me.

    Also I think I got the options wrong for the poll :) which will teach me for sitting up too late when DH is away. I really like the idea of a support thread for newbies that might have more chat on it, Nikki and Rosie you are right that there are people out there who really need this kind of support. And then have the regular GC for people who still want to participate but don't need quite the same level of support any more. I know I too would probably pop into the newbie thread from time to time according to how much I had going on and I'm pretty sure others would too.

    I guess the other thing I've been thinking as I read responses was that this issue is likely to grow as more and more people join the GC because of the current economic situation.

    And finally...great to see some of the 'old' names popping up here - this is the other thing about not being able to keep up with the thread, I feel like I've lost track of some people I had enjoyed keeping up with. Hi guys :wave:

    PS I've just been looking back over the posts and would really love to hear from some more people new to the GC - i think a lot of the comments to date are from people who've been around a while (with one or two exceptions :) )
  • MRSMCAWBER
    MRSMCAWBER Posts: 5,442 Forumite
    Afternoon all

    Sorry.. I know its not helpful and I know i shouldn't chuckle :p but I think you have found a solution.. since this thread went on..there have only been 29 posts on the grocery thread today:rotfl: tada....problem solved.. I will shuffle off now before i get pelted with veggies -(whoopsed ones i hope):D
    -6 -8 -3 -1.5 -2.5 -3 -1.5-3.5
  • tq16 wrote: »
    Can't speak for anyone else but I have no idea what the os daily chat thread is, or the quick

    Today's Old Style Daily Thread (there'll be a new one along tomorrow ;) )

    The Quick Questions Thread is a sticky (so is always at the top of page 1 of Old Style ;)

    You might also want to check out Welcome to Old Style :T

    Lots of interesting opinions here. Still not sure how we'll satisfy everyone :o

    Penny. x
    :rudolf: Sheep, pigs, hens and bees on our Teesdale smallholding :rudolf:
  • greent wrote: »
    I found the GC in mid May & thought it seemed fab. It has grown SO much since then that I don't find it as fab :rolleyes: I don't mean to cause offence with any of the comments I'm about to make - but this is my opinion :p

    I wish people would read page one where it suggests how to approach the challenge - ie: save receipts for a month & go from there. I didn't save mine, but did total all my debit card entries for earlier in that month & saved from when I found the cahllenge in teh 2nd half of May. I also checked on previous statements for april and totalled those & they were similar. As 99% of our grocery spending is by card it worked for me. We seem to have had a lot of people asking how to set a budget for their family - well, post 1 tells you how...... And as previously stated on GC, it is not a competition to see who can manage on the least, but a way of reducing spends to a comfortable level.

    I personally don't like posts which say 'hello - see you later' or 'goodnight' type ones - they take up so much space and don't add anything. This may sound harsh, but I use the 'thanks' button to say thanks for something I find useful or agree with - I don't thank someone saying 'just popped in to say an nsd' type posts (I'm not picking on anyone in particular, just expressing my view). I'm also not fussed on 'hello, I'll be back later when I've been to Mr X shop' - one post after shopping would be more ideal.

    I like some chat to the thread - preferably in with a post that is already relevant. It makes you all more real - and I have no issue with someone saying why they are going through a bad time etc - this is a supportive board :D

    Personally I love the recipe index and the fact its on the first page - but it doesn't seem to stop people asking for recipes which are on there :confused: Also some questions asked on the board could be asked in quick questions or even googled to get an answer

    I would prefer a guideline of 1 post a day, rather than a rule - there are times when people may post twice one day and then not post again for a few days - which I find fine. I would personally like to see an end to 'hello, back later'/ 'goodnight'/ 'nsd for me' - and nothing else GC related in there type posts (if you can make sense of that - very jumbled - sorry)

    greent

    Have just read through the rest of posts and think above post sums up a lot to what I am thinking - I agree, asking how much to spend is impossible for anyone to tell - we all found it hard enough to work out our own targets - how can you work out someones who you do not know (think this was mentioned on the thread when someone asked for everyone to list next to their challenge) It would be impossible.

    Also, one post a day would work sometimes, but you may need to put something on later in the day too, what would happen then? a guideline would be best here.

    Also, I find I tend to skim the big posts - they are harder to read than just a few lines when you are rushed - so cramming everything into one post wouldn't work for me as I miss soooo much - short and sweet is much easier but people who have even less time than me may want to comment more on this?

    Someone else mentioned a weekly thread and copy/pasting the challenges - this wouldn't work as you have to add the challenge total - what you actually achieved and this can't be copied or pasted as it changes every shop - also, as someone else said, when you are monthly paid, you may bulk shop at the beginning of the month and then top up, but may bulk shop again later if necessary - totally different from weekly paid when you only have a certain amount each week and cannot change (having been in both camps in the past, they really are totally different.)

    Sorry for not quoting names here - I am just doing this from notes.

    Someone also said about there would still be chat on the GC thread if we had a seperate chat thread - well these could be moved to the chat room instead couldn't they? That way, if a newbie posts on there and then chats by mistake, they will find themselves in the right place and get an answer and know where to go from then on - I know this might mean more work for you PinkWinged and Penelope, but it may be easier if it is a smaller thread?

    I thought the idea of a link from the first (or maybe even a second) post to all the necessary places to go would be great - one for freezing, tips, etc - but I would hate to loose our recipe list so nicely done by AngelNikki -the recipes on there are really relevent to the GC thread (lots of bulking :rotfl: ) and a lot of us know them because we have tried them - I would like to see that stay.

    I'm sorry if I am rambling and this post is a bit big, but I did want to get these points over. Hope that helps in some way, Denise
    LBM April 2013 - £29,000.00
    Vanquis CC's PAID - Debenhams SC PAID - A+L OD PAID - Asda CC £783.75
    Barclaycard CC £1400.78 - BoS CC PAID - Freemans Cat PAID
    F/D Loan & CC £1458.96 - Santander Loan PAID - Mum Loan PAID
    RBS OD PAID - F/D OD £1026.52
    Weekly Grocery Challenge - £95.00 budget / spend £-
  • troo
    troo Posts: 252 Forumite
    This thread has been on my mind all day :D

    Some people want 2 threads - one for grocery chat and one for the challenge. I don't think another chat thread will be allowed (we're lucky to have the Daily for that) soooooooo, how about 2 challenges? One for weekly and one for monthly?
    I am a coffee bean
  • lday77
    lday77 Posts: 320 Forumite
    I am a newbie to the GC but have found it really helpful in cutting the monthly outgoings. Is there any way it could be divided up into separate boards that run along side each other. So that you subscribe to one board and only post on that board, but can read the posts on the other board) Not sure how this could be done, but some suggestions could be done by user name (alphabetically), by user location, by the budget we are setting ourselves. Or possibly lump all the newbies in together and have some O/S veteran volunteers to assist (say about 10)

    Don't know if any of these ideas are any good but the posts do need to be reduced and I don't think limiting posts is the fairest way as sometimes you need to post more than once, or might just want to for the essential support that GC provides (sometimes I need talking down from buying that takeaway and getting my bum in gear to make the shepperd's pie!!)
    Murphy's No More Pies Member No. 28 on hold
  • jackk_2
    jackk_2 Posts: 288 Forumite
    100 Posts
    I just had another thought :p ....I think another reason why the GC thread is more popular than the daily OS thread is maybe because the GC thread has continuity, and it is possible to go back and see who people are and how they've been coping and what they've been doing over a few months. I think the daily thread only works for people who are here daily posting on it, ive popped on a couple of time and not had a clue what people are on about, it feels a bit like gate crashing someones coffee morning :rotfl: :D .

    Jackie x
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