February 2006 Grocery Challenge

funky-footprints

I feel like a cheat now as my monthly figure doesnt include any fuel. I am changing my car next week from a 2.5tdi to one with a smaller engine which will reduce fuel and insurance, so dont want to include my current guzzler in february budget as I prob currently spend about £150 a month on fuel and my insurance is £44.29 a month., which for a 2nd family car i know is ridiculous !!

Dh is all for the budget but wont change his car, he has had it lpg converted so our combined fuel bill last month was £348.68. (his insurance is £70.08 !! dont ask !!)

squeaky

Most people's budgets for the grocery challenge don't include the fuel. It's a grocery challenge after all

You are, of course, at liberty to include anything you please. Or not. As you please.

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi

I include my fuel weekly in my grocery challange and manage between the food and petrol about £40-£50 a week. Theres 3 of us, but OH & I are at home 24/7 (hes my carer) and Im always scoffing my face:o I have a budget of £75 pw and any excess gets moved to my high interest account-towards my conservatory:D just moved over £100 for last 4 weeks, but have a ton of food in the freezers which are mainly main meal items (fish, chicken, chops, lamb for chops or stew, couple of meat joints, pies) have been buying whenever i see cheap, so shouldnt need alot at all this month.

Good luck everyone.

PP
xx

skystar

funky-footprints wrote:

I feel like a cheat now as my monthly figure doesnt include any fuel. I am changing my car next week from a 2.5tdi to one with a smaller engine which will reduce fuel and insurance, so dont want to include my current guzzler in february budget as I prob currently spend about £150 a month on fuel and my insurance is £44.29 a month., which for a 2nd family car i know is ridiculous !!

Dh is all for the budget but wont change his car, he has had it lpg converted so our combined fuel bill last month was £348.68. (his insurance is £70.08 !! dont ask !!)

I include my fuel because I find it works best for me. I have a credit card that I use only for that purpose so I know it can be paid off in full each month (and also get the points)!!

Don't feel like a cheat. Just do whatever suits you best.

lucyblue

I'm new to this challenge too - I usually spend well over £400, for 2 adults and 3 kids - but last month I did ok, and cut approx £120 off my supermarket bill. :rolleyes:

This month, I've plucked a figure of £340 out the air - but I would really love to be under that!

So - for all you experts who feed load of people on not much money - how do you do it? We are a veggie household, and we don't eat "convenience" foods, so everything is cooked from scratch.

My house is totally empty at the mo of food, so I thought I'd do one massive "store cupboard" shop for the month, and then buy the fresh fruit, veg etc throughout the month. Is that a good idea?

squeaky

lucyblue wrote:

So - for all you experts who feed load of people on not much money - how do you do it? We are a veggie household, and we don't eat "convenience" foods, so everything is cooked from scratch.

If you read back through posts in the earlier challenges you'll find all sorts of hints, tips, and advice that you can use to best advantage.

You can find these via my signature any time you see it or...

..you can use the Monthly Challenges link in the Blue Bar at the top of every page which looks something like this:-

sa1nt

Here goes!
For 2 adults, 2 kids & 1 dog (also guinea pig, rabbit & 2 hammies)

Last few months I have spent between 300 & 450 on shopping (added up the money on the last few months visa bills & was SHOCKED!), never used to budget, just used to wander round Asda picking up what I fancied then pop to the local shop every day/other day for odds & sods.
We also had an organic veggie box every 2 weeks £11.50 - NOW CANCELLED!

Now I write down everything we buy & put it on a spreadsheet (not just food).
Last month I spent £293 which included dog food £35 (lasts about 6 weeks - he's a big dog!).

So now going to:
1)do online shopping £40 MAX a week, £35 if poss.
2)ONLY use local co-op for extra milk & salad & bread (everyone having packed lunches now so still working out how much bread we get through)
3)BIG bag of spuds from the local veggie shop + other veggies/fruit depending on price (which will prob make the online shopping even cheaper)

Still learning what lasts how long so will be able to budget even better when I get the hang of this.

Good luck to everyone with their Feb challenge
Julie

[Deleted User]

I`m in for february. I`m a bit haywire re the figure for january as I did put car fuel into the pot and it was for business miles too. I need to simplify things so grocery plus cleaning etc will be £180. My january month finishes on 31st. It has been soooo long. I think I`ll be putting the cash into a pot and will take out of this as needed

lilac_lady

I started January's challenge but fell by the wayside because I didn't keep track of EVERYTHING I spent. This month I'm going to take Kittie's advice and use £150 for everything (including petrol). This seems a better way for me (I hope) as it seems to give a choice about what you spend even though the challenge is still there. Have spent £47 in Tesco, £7 in Co-op, £27 on petrol so will try to be careful for the rest of the month. Hope this method works for me.

cyrilsneer

Hello,

Can I join in too?

My aim is to shave £50 off what I spent on groceries in January.

This is my first time and I already plan meals and cook "Old Style".

I will do a Tescos.com order at the very beginning of the month for all the storable things and then shop for fresh things every Monday (for the week) and Friday (for the weekend).

I am planning on making savings by:
1. Buying tescos own brand cleaning products - I've always bought the "name" brand
2. Making my own washing powder (see other thread) instead of buying Ariel liquid and Fairy liquid
3. Keeping a spreadsheet to keep tabs on my spending.

Good luck to everyone!

cyril x