January 2009 Grocery Challenge

mumzyof2

MRS M can you please change my target to £100 as im hoping to spend £1200.00 on food this year...thankyou x

kunekune

Food arrived, and was £290, so total spend so far is £295. My freezers are full to bursting, and I haven't put away everything yet (thanks for the bags that tell me I can risk that). OH is sceptical - and has good reason to be - so let's see what happens next.

Money_Fritter

Hi Everybody,

Can you put me down for £90 for jan grocery challenge.

Thanks

Money Fritter

happyjazza

Hi everybody

This is my first ever post. I've been dropping by the site for a few months now but there's so much info it's hard to take it all in and know where to start. Anyway, OH out tonight so I thought I'd bite the bullet and face up to our ever mounting, ever spiralling money problems!
Anyway, came across this challenge and after spending £165.34 today in tesco... and now having put our money problems down on paper, I'm going to try and do £280 for the month.
How do I do a signature?
Many thanks

Tracey.32

Bless you happyjazza

It is hard but you can do it! I am brand new to all this, but there is always loads of help and stacks of tips on this thread - keeping up with it is the problem!

Go the Quick Links at the top of the page and edit signature is listed there...

Lots of luck!

Tracey.32

And can anyone tell me if Mr T's value potatoes actually exist?? We have had a Mr T's in my local town for a couple of years now and I have NEVER EVER seen any! I usually go in the evening after work, so used to wonder if maybe I was just too late. But I have a theory that they just keep an empty bin there so that shoppers think they have missed a bargain and have to buy the more expensive spuds anyway!

I am going to pop to Aldi tomorrow and hope I can get em there for 39p - knowing my luck tho' the offers will change then and I'll get nowt!!

Also chuffed to bits that my freezer is now full! Made loads of stuff this weekend - 4 servings of shepherds pie, 4 of chilli and 6 of pasta sauce. All from 500g of steak mince! I used some oats and red lentils to make it stretch, but we had some shepherds pie tonight and honestly you couldn't tell the difference... I half expected it to taste of porridge!! :rotfl:

sam010185

Hi,
I'm new here too. We've decided that we need to spend less on food shopping as we do spend a hell of a lot of money with nothing much to show for it. We also need to start eating properly rather than filling ourselves up with junk, which is now even more important as our son who is 8 months old is just starting to eat 'proper' food rather than jars!
So, I think we'll start off with a food budget of £250 for Jan. This includes nappies/toiletries etc. although I've already got all of this for the month from Boots and managed to get loads of points too!
I've only briefly looked through this thread but I take it I'm meant to save ALL of my till receipts then add them up at the end of the month to see how close I've got to our budget?
Sam x

Kiwisaver_2

Desperate times calls for desperate measures and I'll be slashing the budget this month (five weeks, oh my, and a dinner party to cater for later in the month) going for $75 per week - so $375 for the month. The usual budget is $120 per week - eek!

First shop today, spent $72.41 including $5 Christmas Club, mainly bought eggs, bread, butter and milk, one piece of boiling bacon and heaps of veggies and salad, not forgetting a bag of lentils.

Recipe plan for this week will consist mostly of rubberised boiled bacon to see how many meals we can s-t-r-e-t-c-h that into. Currently bubbling away in the slow cooker with some veggies for soup stock later in the week.

Today - boiled bacon, jacket potatoes and corn on the cob
Tomorrow - boiled bacon, salad and HM bread
Tuesday - Bacon and lentil soup and HM bread

After that who knows? It's gonna be freezer surprises and salad.

angelatgraceland

butterfly72 wrote: »

This is my first go at this challenge. Can I ask, do you include eating out in your budget? We went to the sales yesterday and ended up having lunch at Pret for £8.50 (and it was lovely!) oh and tea and a blueberry muffin in the morning - £6.0ish I think. Also, OH bought some beers on the way home... do they count too? If all this counts we've not doing very well this month!!:rolleyes:

Well I tend to think that if its edible-count it! That is with the exception of special meals out-anniversaries-birthdays etc. These little snacks out are lovely but just think what you could have bought with the same money? £15 is enough to feed a person for a week-if you want it to be-but it really is a matter of preferences. Maybe you would do best to set aside a separate budget for eating out? That way you will know what you are spending and where it is going. We all do it differently. I am a bit mean at times methinks! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
I had a nsd day toay with the exception of a packet of sweets. Took my lunch to work-the tuna and sweetcorn in white wine sauce with rice which I had cooked last night-but I fancied something sweet. 77p didnt break the bank though.
Made more veggie curries this week which worrk out at approx 50p per meal and the tuna and sweetcorn one approx the same. Could have bought sarnies for about £3 instead(total cost of last nights tuna and sweetcorn/rice for 6 people).
Thawing out a happy chicken now for Sunday dinner-had to send hubby to the freezer though as the cold really is getting to me. Still got plenty of frozen veg left which I bought for Christmas. I was going to have a turkey this weekend but I forgot to take it out(to cold to venture to freezer)so it will keep for next week.
Ordered some stuff from Approved foods but they are still closed for New Year-so hope they open soon and that my order is safe with them> Not used them before. Need to tidy up the cupboards and shelves for when it does arrive as frankly Ive no idea where its gonna go!
Stocked up on Charmin loo rolls yesterday(and dint buy anything else)as they have 9 roll packs for £2.50 in Somerfield at the moment. They are destined for the loft as nowhere else to put them and if they are put in the bathroom they will get used up in a rather wasteful way by past experience.
DD23 wanted a Goodfellas pizza yesterday-I offered to make her a pizza but no-had to be a Goodfellas cos she fancied it. Fine-but she had to pay for it as I refused. Reminds me-I have pizza dough left for one pizza in the fridge which I must use up tomorrow. Used to count my grocery monet Sat to Sat but Im now doing the challenge by calendar month as I know I will manage it this way also and it makes it easier to do other calculations.

happyjazza

Hah - look at me with my signature. Thanks Tracey.32

Just worked this out:
grocery challenge is £280. Already spent £165. that leaves me 115 for the rest of the month. So that gives me just under £40 a week starting next Sat!!!!! Watch this space - I am so determined!!