April 2009 Grocery Challenge

wigwam

Can I please join in the May challenge?
I was due to start on the 28th but as I've done an unexpected shop today I think its fair to get going!!! I will extend the month to 27th May.

First time for me so it going to be £200 for 1 adult and a 13 year old boy- a lot I know but need to see what I'm spending.

Good luck all xxx

Ninno820

Just popping in to say - TWink's hobnobs - absolutley fantastic - thanks!!

Ninnno

Moniker

Hi, just popping in to declare at £278.56 which is £8.56 over budget. Given the extra visitors we had over Easter I am not feeling too bad about this, especially as this is my first overspend of the year. If I hadn't cut my budget by £5 I would only have been £3.56 over!

Off on our hols tomorrow - house is clean, all the washing and ironing done and cases packed. We have had a using up of the odds and ends type of day, so it was beans on toast for lunch and cheese omlette with sauteed new potatoes and runner beans for supper! I have managed to run down the freezer and defrosted it yesterday, so will need to re-stock when we come back. Haven't decided yet on budget for May, but will be back on 2nd and will post to the new list then.

Thanks and take care everyone.

Love Moniker

tattycath

Well done everyone so far. I've been awol for a few months and my grocery spending has spiralled as a result. I'm too late for this month but would like to be included next month please.
£200 budget for 2 adults and 2/3 children.

WelshWoofer

Hello all!
I've decided after much deliberation to go weekly instead of monthly. I seem to spend a lot one week to promise myself that I'll economise even more next week and never quite get there. So in order to try to keep things in check I'm going to try to set a sensible budget for the weekly shop and stick to it.

This week I'm going for £55 and am hopefully going to manage to stick to that for the next x weeks and maybe bring it down a bit week by week.

I've just been to Mr Ts and spent coppers away from £50 on what I thought was a little shop. I managed to spend £13.35 on fruit and veg, exactly £13 on household and toiletries, £3.86 on cereal and £20 ish on who knows what!

Things are so expensive and what with trying to eat healthily (lots of F&V) and keeping the OH in meat and the dog in dog chow its getting ridiculous! Its much easier to eat cheap rubbish but its no good for my health or waistline (wedding dress to get into!).

Janae

Hi
I'll be joining this challenge on Monday (pay day!) and need to set a target budget this weekend. just been looking at this month's receipts - very scary :eek: But am looking forward to the Challenge and already learning new ways - was in our only local supernarket at 8am picking up BOGOF Utterly Buttery and whoopsied chickens!

merzal

Hey! Could I join please?! In May I really want to use up what we have in the freezer & cupboards (I just can't help buying stuff when it's reduced loads!) My oh is in the Navy and returns on May 1st so will start from then, although I'm gonna go to M&S to get some nice food for his retun (using vouchers from survey sites of course!) so will not incude that.
As I'm trying to use everything up can I go for £40 for May for the two of us? I know it's very low and obv other months will be more! All I need to get is milk, fruit & veg so I think £10 a week is realistic and hopefully knowing i'm reporting on here will keep my spending down and encourage me no to buy stuff / go shopping!
I have meat (reduced), fish (tmfs) and bread in the freezer. Pasta, rice, cous cous, tinned toms, tinned sweetcorn, soup, beans, squash, pies etc in the cupboards so will meal plan around all this!
I must get in the habit of not buying reuced stuff when I don't need it as the freezer is always crammed - there will be more reduced stuff when I hae room in the freezer!

Julimk

My computer crashed completely yesterday. I have managed to restore it from the recovery disks, but have lost a lot of data, including my grocery spreadsheet. Should be able to reconstruct it, as have receipts from the beginning of the year & spending diary. But it is all a bit of a pain.

Small spend today on bits for DD’s pack-ups. But still under half the budget spent with most of the groceries for the month (May) stocked up.

JayneC

Hi all,

Im declaring today at £250.66 which is only 66p over budget so i'm well pleased with myself. DS 1 is home from uni mid May so I'm going to set my budget a bit higher at £280 for May please.

Just need to get my other spending sorted now!! I seem to have an addiction to charity shops!

rosieben

fayjmck wrote: »

... I have my own little corner shop in my garage so I will be dipping into that for my non-perishables - which I worked out was about £50 a month......

I seem to remember reading about a woman who had her 'corner shop' in her spare bedroom; she used to 'shop' there and put the money into a savings jar ready for her next big stock up.