January 2009 Grocery Challenge

dreamingofmoney

2 more NSD's for me and hopefully another one tomorrow.
Thanks to all for the help in getting started this month am already looking forward to next month. I won't delcare til next fri but could i please be put down for £300 for Feb thanks, i did request this for jan and wasn't put down but heyho no matter i still completed (so far, so good), think there were loads of newbies like me this month
Many Thanks to all
Dreamer

MRSMCAWBER

Hi dreamingofmoney.....

Sorry if I missed you of the list this month..there were that many new joiners this month I didn't know if I was coming or going
if I do it again -please PM me and give me a shove...

tessie_bear

good evening......hope everyone is frugalling for all they are worth and didnt have to stop themselves popping into the chip shop on the way back from taking ds to cubs.....oh no sorry that was just me...i didnt go in but it was a close call.....we had tuna pasta bake for tea which was made from a mix fron [EMAIL="h@me"]h@me[/EMAIL] [EMAIL="b@argains.....they"]b@argains.....they[/EMAIL] sell some quite cheap food in there....at the mo loads of pataks stuff...im making a chilli in the sc for tomorrow....its yum from the sc really succulent....i was in aldi today and saw the big bag of potatoes for 49p looked good but i didnt need any....typical when something is cheap.....do any of u have a heron freezer centre near u ? ours is fab for really cheap yogurts...x4 actimel yogs 39p for example....they do nice cakes and sweets as well :cool: ......tata tess

fatcattaff

I didn't know you had to be on a list. Hope I didn't bypass some kind of Moneysaving etiquette! If I did, apologies. It was pure oversight on my part.

Right...just updating the signature for the day. I spent £6.50 today, £5 in Somerfields on Rice Krispies, 24 bags of Walkers Crisps (a pound off) and a small bag of carrots. I hated buying my krispies from there, as they're 50p dearer than Mr S!!! BUT it is my local/corner shop, so it was an emergency. There was also £1.50 on chips from the chip shop which I teamed up with fishcakes and carrots with orange/thyme and rosemary butter (Jamie Oliver's Christmas butter, frozen after Christmas and being worked through as we speak!).

I've figured there's still a fair bit of shopping I need for next week: Carrots, potatoes, green apples, bananas, meatballs, pasta, cucumber, gammon & steak, (both requested by husband) whole chicken, ovenchips, bread and milk. Hopefully, the budget will just hold out! And hopefully, that'll give me a day or two into Feb too.

I'm heading for Farm Foods for bread and milk, Aldi for fruit and veg, Mr Sainsbury for the rest...unless Mr T lures me in with his half price or better reductions!

I've enjoyed this month so much and feel really great for my achievements. If we carry on like this, we could have over £2k extra to pay off the mortgage this year. Thanks all for the updates and shop lists from everyone. Someone suggested Farm Foods in one of their posts and I'm sooooo grateful. We use it regularly now for bread, milk and various frozen bits and bobs.

MRSMCAWBER

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
well that just proves my point
I miss dreamingofmoney of the list when they asked to go on .....and fattcattaff I put you down for £80 a week ..so I must have read your post

All you need to do IF you want putting on the list every month is just post your target in big red type ..and if I miss you PM me
the list goes on the front page every month so you can keep track of what is happening

Lucylocket01

Household grocery bill at the moment is about £48 per week.
2 adults 1 child 1 dog.
I'm starting to get really stressed about money. I'm on IB and have to attend a medical on 3rd feb. dh's is getting less and less. He's self employed tradesman.
So I'm just looking at ways of cutting back. And wondered what people thought was a decent enough amount to spend on groceries for this i sont just mean food I mean everything from soap to bleach to tomatoes.?

LOUBOB

Hello all
havent been around for a few days as had uni essay due in today....thank goodness thats over for now, although writing the essay kept me away from the shops so the NSD's are mounting up!!! Im not going to declare yet as I work on a week by week budget so still have next week to go but just managing to stay in budget so far!!! (although best not speak to soon!!!) have a good evening.....

geordie_joe

I don't think there is a definitive "decent enough amount to spend on groceries". What you spend depends on a lot of things, your lifestyle, likes/dislikes, where you live, are you near one of the cheap supermarkets or are you forced to use one of the expensive ones.

I would say don't set a target, just try to reducing your spending each week. Read the threads in here as they are full of great ways to save money. Just pick the tips/tricks that you feel you can do and use them and the more you do the more you will save.

You may even mange to get your spending below what you were going to set your target at.

Rowan9

Well I spent a few £ of my last £6 or so, on soya milk, reduced apples and........ta dah!!!!.....my haggis for Sunday . It will do a couple of days so that's good. So...I have just over £1 to last till 31st......hhmmm I don't think so but in my defence I've had lovely DD down for a few days and also DH home for longer than I had originally budgeted. I'm really happy with my frugality this month. Off to put my feet up and drink a bottle of Hobgoblin beer. I must be low in B vitamins as I never have beer yet really fancied a bottle of it. Cheers folks :beer:

notenoughcash

Hi lucky and good luck. £48 per week is quite good really but I'm sure there are plenty of ways you could reduce that. Do you use value products, the majority of them are just as good quality as branded but a fraction of the cost. Do you have the time and space to try and grow some of your own fruit veg and salad stuff. It really is very rewarding and you can grow some products with very little effort. You can also use less meat in your meals and bulk up with home-grown veg which saves quite a bit over the long term.

Another good tip is to visit your local fruit and veg market and hour before they close. You can get a carrier bag full for a pound or two, especially saturday afternoons.

Bulk buying is a great money-saver, such as sacks of potatoes from a local farm, large packs of meat that can be split and frozen.

What are your biggest costs at the moment?