February 2006 Grocery Challenge

brummiebabe

Judi101 wrote:

(first baby due tomorrow)

Best of luck Judi101 & welcome to OS!!!!!:hello:

balijay

Hi to all - first post on here, mainly to join the challenge. Think I will do better if I record my progress for all to see on here! Am aiming for £200 from 25th Jan - 24th Feb. Also hoping to purchase a slow cooker after reading the recipe thread yesterday. Will be stocking up at Iceland tomorrow....

Joopin

Hi first challenge for me too.
I get paid on the 3rd friday of every month so Im already a week into it.
So far Ive spent £80 ( a bit more on birthday cakes and party stuff for my sons birthday but Im not including that or eles I would be pulling faces at the cost of shop bought cakes and my little sasuage is only 10 once).
Need a few more things this week for packed lunches and maybe a chicken but that should be all.
Im aiming for £50 pw but would even be happy if I could get in arround £57. Im feeding 3 adults and my son. Doggies food comes out of a differint budget.
Ive gone back to home cooking, well not really gone back cos this is all new to me. After eating good wholesome food for a few weeks my son had a meal of whatever he wanted for his bday. He and a friend choose to have burger king and after my son said the yucky food made his tummy hurt and he would of liked my hm burrgers better.

savingpennies

had a go with PM challenge in January and did quite well. Need to cut down on groceries now so hoping for £300 to start with. Shocked by how I did spend last month on groceries. New month starts pay day, usually 28th. Wish me luck.

magentadreamer

Count me in!

I'm aiming for £150 a month, this is for me and DD age 8, 2 cats a house rabbit, a guinea pig and a hamster. I'm including all food,pack lunches for us both, household cleaners, toiletries and petrol. My month will run from 27th - 26th Feb Never tried this before so wish me luck!

pagan705

Decided to join for the first time this month. I spent £75 last month so am going to aim for £65 this month ...just for me !!!

ladywood

January was my first month - set target at £280 (had previously been spending over £400 for 2 adults and 3 large dogs! :eek: so drastic measures needed!). Came in at £229.48 :j So this month am setting a target of £200.
This includes all people food, household goods and dog food. Month starts on 26th.

moo842

ok i'm gonna do this, we don't have a car so i internet shop once maybe twice a month and then do little bits in between my aim is £170
week 1 £100
week 2 £10 top up shop
week 3 £50
week 4 £10 top up

this is for me hubby a 2 and 4 year old.... am currently potty training so no nappies this month(1st time in 4 years) hurray :j :j :j

grimelda

This is also my first time. I don't know how some of you manage to keep your costs so low. I go out twice a week and if I only spend £7 on one drink and a meal that's still over £50 a month on outings alone! Or do I misunderstand the nature of the challenge?

Anyway, inspired by MSE for the last few weeks I have made an effort to cut back on spending. I used to get lunch from the cafe near work but now I have a loaf of bread in the freezer and some sandwich spread in the fridge, and eat a sandwich and cuppa soup for lunch. This has saved me at least £2 a day. I also buy cheap cereal and some yoghurt for breakfast. I don't think i'm getting enough veges though, so I will have to actively plan my meals from now on.

My personal challenge, which I think is slightly different from the grocery challenge, is to only spend £50 a week. That includes electricity (which is on one of those pre-pay meters), transport, outings, clothes, books, magazines and food. Not gas, which is billed monthly, council tax, rent or other bills for which I have budgeted £500 a month.

I am not organised enough to figure out a proper budget. I always forget things and I find it hopelessly tedious to collect receipts and to track all my spendings. I admire people who have the patience for it. The only way I've ever been able to make myself stick to a budget is by allocating lumps of money to broad categories of expenses and trying not to go over.

clbanks

Hi, I am a complete newbie but would like to accept the challenge. Where do I start? We are a family of five and I could do with some tips on getting started. I already try never to buy any processed boxed food, always use fresh veg etc. Get through a lot of bread with pack ups etc so have toyed with the idea of making my own but on the odd occasion I have it's similar to the bread in 'About a Boy' when the Duck was killed!!

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.